Month: August 2013

Why does Hashem not just rescue the people? Why do they continue under slavery? The point of the Exodus is not the rescue of the Jewish people, but the power of G-d. Joseph made Pharaoh like a G-d by giving him total ownership. The new Pharoah forgot Joseph and where his power came from. He… Continue reading Va’eira

[widgets_on_pages id=”21st Century P’shat”] People like purposeless bugs – teemed. Joseph had set up a society without ownership, the producers were the Jews. The Egyptians were neither good (creative) nor holy (connected to the timelessness of divinity although their mummies show they were very concerned about being physically timeless) and so they were very fearful… Continue reading Shemot

Every ancient nation that tried to destroy the Jews was eliminated. The only exception is Persia – because Haman’s plans were cut off in their infancy. Mordechai saved Persia and is the reason it is still here today. The current leadership might undo his good work.

Mamlechet Kohanim and Goi Kadosh. A goi is just a group of people. But you can’t get there unless you go through being a Mamlechet (kingship, or organized group) of Kohanim (people with specific service roles). First comes Mamlechet Kohanim and then Goi Kadosh. The translation is that Moshe reports the words of the people… Continue reading Shavuot (first day)

Why are the offspring contaminated by a Kohen’s marriage to a non-virgin? Because the woman had her soul intertwined with somebody else before the marriage to the Kohen. There was a time before. So even if there is love, it is not the spiritual energy (of religious monogamy) needed to represent Hashem. How does it… Continue reading Emor

With Azazael we see two goats which die. One before Hashem and one off a cliff. In our world, everything dies. Azazael is just reminding us that there are two ways to die. One is with your life being dedicated to Hashem and timeless Kedusha and the other is just hurled over a cliff. We… Continue reading Achrei-Mot Kedoshim

Hugely controversial area. Why does a girl result in longer impurity? Some say girl brings more eventual death – but it isn’t true. Genghis Khan had many more kids than any woman – all of whom eventually died. I think it is about the woman’s own death. She has undergone an enormously dangerous process. Why?… Continue reading Tazria-Metzora

Why did they have to atone now, and not before the prior revelation at Har Sinai? Surely they sinned with the calf – but surely they also sinned in Egypt. They were a nation before – they’d been referred to that way prior to slavery. One answer is that they hadn’t sinned collectively. With the… Continue reading Shemini

Changing garments. In Oregon, we emphasize informality but old British shuls are very formal. They divide things up. Why does this Parsha repeat the sacrifices of the previous ones. It is addressed to Kohanim, but the Kohen parts could have just been tacked on sentences in the previous Parsha. Perhaps the concept is division. Perhaps… Continue reading Tzav

You have to bring offerings from your flock? Why, because you create Kedusha through the conversion of your creative effort into spiritual value, not from some random animals. Your flock is all that will do. In this reading, almost nothing is ‘most holy.’ Only grain offerings are put into this category. Why? These offerings are… Continue reading Vayikra