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Respect the Process (Ki Tetzei)
Preview: The laws of sefer Devarim seem uniquely focused on procedural issues (the process for resolving disputes), and among the reasons for this may be that it was an inability to resolve disputes which divided the Bible’s first group of people who tried to live together in the Promised Land (Abraham and Lot) — and it was the failure of procedural justice (how the law is administered) even more than substantive justice (what the law says) which ultimately undermined the earliest Biblical societies, too (Noah’s generation and the city of Sodom).
Word Games (Korach)
Preview: The rebellion of Korach was riddled with contradictions, but he won support because his strategy was not to persuade through logic — it was to undermine the very language used to debate. (Plus: New thoughts on the connection between Korach, korchah, Nadav, and Avihu).
The Proactivity Paradox (Shemini)
Preview: Nadav and Avihu were merely following the model of Moshe, Aharon, and the nesi’im, who innovated nearly every major ritual during the Tabernacle’s dedication ceremony without command from God – and whose innovations included nearly every detail involved in the innovative act of Nadav and Avihu.
The Imperfectionists (Tetzaveh)
Preview: Was Israel instructed to build the Tabernacle before they had fashioned the Golden Calf (as some say), or after they had fashioned the Golden Calf (as others say) — or might both positions somehow be correct? Might the answer actually depend on which Torah portion you are reading: Terumah vs. Tetzaveh?
The Switch in Time (Bo)
Preview: Prior to yetziat Mitzrayim, Hashem commanded that future observance of the Korban Pesach must occur specifically in Eretz Yisrael. This limitation made sense: Eretz Yisrael was where b’nei Yisrael expected they’d be in a year’s time, and the meaning of the Korban Pesach is fundamentally linked to successful completion of that journey. But on the first of Nissan, nearly one year later, something changed: the nesi’im launched a twelve-day ceremony to inaugurate the Mishkan. This unplanned ceremony made it impossible to reach Eretz Yisrael by the first anniversary of Pesach—and reshaped the trajectory of Chumash as a result.
Reader Response (Vayeshev)
Preview: The standard read of Yosef’s story is that he rose to power through his technical ability to read dreams. Read closer, though, and you come to a different conclusion: Yosef’s success rose and fell on his ability to read people.
Under the Heavens (Nitzavim)
Preview: Moshe leads the people “standing stationed” (נצב) before Hashem. Special attention is paid to those on the edge of the camp. Someone important appears to be “absent” (אין), but is actually present. Faith is lacking. A crisis of thirst (צמא) gives way to an even greater ordeal. A foreign people arrive from a faraway place. A message is “written” (כתב) in a “scroll” (ספר) for later “generations” (דור). Something “under the heavens” (מתחת השמים) gets “erased” (מחה). All these details appear in our parshah—and in one other story…