Hal Miller

Shabbat Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   And Moshe assembled the entire assembly of the children of Israel and said to   them, these are the things that God commanded to do them [Shemot 35:1]   Moshe said to the entire assembly of the children of Israel saying, this is the   word that God commanded saying [Shemot 35:4] These two verses seem to be nearly duplicates. Why do we need both? Most commentators, based on Shabbat [70a, 97], derive from the first ver

Shabbat Parashat Ki Tisa - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Aharon said to them, remove the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your   sons and your daughters and bring them to me. [Shemot 32:2]   The entire people unburdened themselves of the golden rings that were in their ears   and brought them to Aharon. [Shemot 32:3] The root of the word translated here as "remove" and as "unburdened" is pey-reish-kuf. As with all Hebrew, its meaning is dependent on context. What do

Purim - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller (Reminder: It is traditional that on Purim we read "Purim Torah". These are fashioned in the same way as regular divrei Torah, but are humorous, nonsensical, and often just plain silly. Any "rulings" of law herein are expressly disclaimed as being jokes, not serious.... Oh, and bear in mind you're supposed to be a little schicker when you read it.  --HM) Those of you who have been following my writings over the past thirty-some years are aware of

Shabbat Parashat Tetzaveh - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   You shall place it (Tzitz) on a turquoise woolen string and it shall be on the Mitznefet,   opposite the face of the Mitznefet shall it be. Shemot [28:37] There is much room for confusion in the verses about the special garments for Aharon as the Kohen Gadol. Here in our parsha God gives Moshe the commandments, and in Vayikra [8:9] these commands are actually implemented. Our verse says to put the Tzitz on a string of techei

Shabbat Parashat Terumah - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Speak to the children of Israel and they shall take to Me a portion, from every man   whose heart will motivate him you shall take My portion. [Shemot 25:2] Nearly all givings for holy purposes are commandments. Some are sacrifices, whether for atonement such as a guilt offering, or whether for a holiday such as the Pesach. Some are non-sacrifical offerings, such as the taking of challah, giving tzedakah or bringing of first

Shabbat Parashat Mishpatim - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   They saw the God of Israel and under His feet was the likeness of a sapphire   brick and it was like the essence of the heavens in purity. [Shemot 24:10] At first glance, this verse seems very odd. Who was seeing, what were they looking at, and what is this verse doing here? The first question is easily answered from the previous verse, "Moshe, Aharon, Nadav and Avihu and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended." That migh

Shabbat Parashat Yitro - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Moshe said to God, the people will not be able to ascend Mount Sinai for You   have warned us saying bound the mountain and sanctify it. [Shemot 19:23] In verse 21, God tells Moshe to descend the mountain and warn the people not to approach Mount Sinai. But in verse 12 God had told Moshe to warn the people that if they approach the mountain they will die. Our verse now is Moshe asking God why he needs to descend and warn them a

Shabbat Parashat Beshallach - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   He removed the wheel of their chariots and He led them with heaviness. Egypt   said, "I shall flee before Israel for God is waging war on their behalf against Egypt."   [Shemot 14:25] The word for wheel here, ofen, is in the singular. Onkelos pluralizes it and virtually all commentators follow him. The verse leads from that right into "He led them with heaviness", which is rather unclear. What does this mean? How does it t

Shabbat Parashat Bo - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   Then all these slaves of yours will come down to me and bow to me saying, leave,   you and the entire people who are at your feet. And after that, I will go forth." And he   went forth from Pharaoh's presence in burning anger. [Shemot 11:8] What is Moshe telling Pharaoh here? Why would Pharaoh's slaves come bow to Moshe and tell the Jews to leave Egypt? And if they did, why would that make a difference to anything, such that after

Shabbat Parashat Va'eira - 5786 Rabbi Hal Miller   God spoke to Moshe and to Aharon and commanded them to the children of Israel and to   Pharaoh king of Egypt to take the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. [Shemot 6:13] Breaking this verse down leaves us with some questions. "God spoke to Moshe and to Aharon" is pretty straightforward but the next word, va'yitzaveim, is not. There is also a question of what God wanted the two brothers to do "to the children of Isra