Wednesday, May 29, 2013

YUTorah on parshas Shelach

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Sunday, May 26, 2013

posts so far for parashat Shelach


2012

1. Shelach sources -- further improved.

2. The large samach, because the spies were 60 cubits tall -- So Rav Chaim Kanievksy. I offer that it is enlarged because the word וַיַּהַס is an onomatopoeia.

3. Running commentary on parashat Shelach, part one and two.

4. YUTorah on parshas Shlach.

5. A trup tutorial: kadma vs. pashta -- How to distinguish between the melech and mesharet. Why the pashta will sometimes be repeated in a word. And in an interesting instance, where the pashta is not repeated, what that means in terms of stress. I argue with Chelek HaDikduk. Or perhaps I don't.

6. How to translate יוֹרִשֶׁנָּה. Should we emend Onkelos? Take II -- Chelek HaDikduk explains why the Teimanim will disregard Rashi and preserve their reading of Onkelos, as יוֹרְתִנַּהּ. I agree, but take slight exception. Is Rashi setting out to emend the text, or to justify what he believes is the only extant reading of the Targum? I first addressed the girsa issue in Onkelos last year.

2011

  1. The mercha kfula in parshas Shmini -- How shall we account for it? Is it conjunctive or disjunctive? This is relevant because there is an instance of a mercha kefula in Shlach as well.
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  2. Who said 'I am the LORD' A silly change in Divine appellation, by Samaritan scribes, at the start of Vaera. And after mentioning that modification, I note another extremely silly change, or Yehoshua bin Nun's name in the list of spies in parshat Shlach.
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  3. Shlach sources - 2011 edition -- further improved and expanded. For example, many more meforshei Rashi.
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  4. Shadal's resolution regarding who initiated the sending of scouts -- indeed, they asked first. And Hashem allowed it for Shadal's resolution regarding who initiated the sending of scouts Moshe's benefit, as well as a pretext so as to cause the Jews to learn in kollel for forty years.
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  5. How the Samaritans emend the beginning of Shlach: Is the Samaritan Targum's harmonization of the beginning of Shlach with sefer Devarim an example of Ziyuf? This is a different emendation than the one mentioned in entry #2, above.
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  6. Why, according to Tg Yonatan, should the spies be swift-minded? My answer -- they shouldn't. Targum Pseudo-Yonatan has a typographical error in need of correction. That is, rather than guvrin charifin, it should read guvrin chafirin!
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  7. YU Torah on parashat Shelach.
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  8. Rashi's girsa of Onkelos, on יוֹרִשֶׁנָּה: While Rashi makes a diyuk in Onkelos and establishes the proper girsa in Onkelos, Shadal begs to differ. And how that makes me reevaluate Rashi and propose a different girsa in Rashi citing Onkelos.
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  9. Should we translate ha'anak as singular or plural? In Onkelos, different girsaot exist. The scholars fight it out. Ohev Ger has evidence, from Targum Pseudo-Yonatan and various manuscripts of Onkelos, that it should be singular. HaMaamar and Lechem Abirim bring counter-evidence, but I don't find it persuasive.
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  10. Understanding the derasha of כִּי חָזָק הוּא מִמֶּנּוּ as stronger than God -- Rashi based on a gemara understands מִמֶּנּוּ as the spies implying a lack of ability of the Almighty. But how shall we understand the derasha, based on not reading מִמֶּנּוּ but מִמֶּנּוּ, when they are pronounced the same? One can emend the gemara, as Rashi does, or one can find differences in pronunciation, based on analyses by Ibn Ezra.
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  11. Resolving Rashi on חַי אָנִי. What does he say? What does he NOT say? Two statements of Rashi contradict one another. Is וְיִמָּלֵא כְבוֹד ה part of the oath or not? The first Rashi puts it in, and as a present tense verb, and the second Rashi reorganizes the verse, taking it out, and has it as a future tense verb. This leads various supercommentators to suggest emendations, but the correct one comes from Berliner, based on manuscript evidence, that the second Rashi is a later insertion, and was authored by Rabbi Yosef Kara.
    .

2010
  1. Shelach sources -- revamped, with more than 100 meforshim on the parasha and haftorah.
    h
  2. The trup on kol -- The trup, and nikkud, on the word kol of kol nasi bahem is evidence for Rashbam of the expression's meaning. He is right, but it is the words in the pasuk which determine this trup and nikkud.h
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  3. Did Moshe really send nesiim as scoutsThe differing position of Rashbam on this matter, and how it works out with the harmonization with the account in sefer Devarim.h
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  4. After what was Nachal Eshkol namedAfter the cluster of grapes, but what about the Biblical character Eshkol? And why does it seem to be called that before they even arrived? The Gra has an interesting suggestion, which I then analyze. See also this earlier post, about dual etymology of Nachal Eshkol.
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  5. How many times did the Bnei Yisrael 'test' HashemTen times, some good number of times, or no times? Angering or testing?
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  6. When did Moshe call Hoshea Yehoshua? On a peshat level, just when did Moshe give Yehoshua his new name? For what purpose? As per Rashi, Bechor Shor, Rashbam, and Shadal.
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  7. How should we parse וּפִגְרֵיכֶם, אַתֶּם--יִפְּלוּ, בַּמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה?  Rashi says ketargumo. What is bothering Rashi? Also, how we might differ.

2009
  1. Shlach sources -- links by aliyah and perek to an online mikraos gedolos, as well as to many meforshim on the parsha and haftara.
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  2. Why would Moshe send the meraglim if he knew they would sin? My own suggestion to a question posed elsewhere, based on some other Rashis.
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  3. vehaAnashim asher alu imo -- explaining a masoretic note on Shelach, that there are two instances of vehaAnashim, and to remember that this one has a kadma veAzla.
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  4. Why did Yehoshua send the spies? Especially given the problem which resulted from Moshe's sending of spies!
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  5. Why would Moshe pray for Yehoshua and not Kalev? Rav Elyashiv has an answer, but I believe it goes against an explicit midrash or two.
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  6. Was Rachav an innkeeper or a harlot? The "famous" explanation that she was an innkeeper may be the result of misreading / overreading the Targum, according to Radak. I examine all the places Targum translates zonah as pundekita and weigh it, as well as showing how Radak and Ralbag treat it.
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  7. Radak is right; Rachav was a harlot. In this post, I consider one of the pundekita sources I missed, about Yiftach's mother. There, an addendum to the Targum makes it fairly explicit that pundekita means prostitute, in an explanation of the application of the name which corresponds well with Ralbag's explanation.
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  8. Why does Rashi shift grasshoppers to ants? A few explanations, but I believe that the correct explanation is that he doesn't, and that by nemalim he means chagavim, since he uses that term elsewhere.
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  9. Why the chirik in bin Nun? A cute answer, involving borrowing of dots...
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  10. Who in the world is Nun? And I am not just saying "Yehoshua's father"...
2008
  1. From Shadal's Vikuach -- Bamidbar Rabba for parshat Shelach notes that techeles has been hidden away, yet the gemara makes clear that the Amoraim and early Savoraim had techeiles. This can help us date Bemidbar Rabba.
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  2. Was sending the spies a good thing? And what is the implication of lecha here and elsewhere? And then Rabbenu Bachya actually says it!
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  3. Did Calev go by himself to Chevron? The sudden shift from plural to singular for going to Chevron, but other psukim indicate otherwise. How do different meforshim deal with this question?
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  4. The Egyptians, occupied with burial -- cross-listed from Masei, a parallel midrashic theme of the enemy occupied with burying so as to not make trouble.
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  5. The metaphor of tzitzis and mezuzah. In the course of this post, I mention Ramban's dismissal of Rashi's explanation of the count associated with tzitzis.
2007
  • The Meraglim Didn't Lie. Also, why mention Hoshea and the name change.
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  • From Shadal's Vikuach -- Rashbam uses trup / nikkud to determine what "kol nasi bahem" means every spy was a prince, but not that every prince was a spy.
2006
2005
2004
to be continued...

Friday, May 24, 2013

וְכִי יָגוּר אִתְּכֶם גֵּר -- Pesach Rishon, Sheni, or the general case?

In parshas Behaalosecha (Bemidbar 9:14), after detailing the laws of Pesach Sheni for those who were impure for Pesach Rishon, the Torah concludes with the following statement (I include Rashi's commentary):

14If a proselyte dwells with you, and he makes a Passover sacrifice to the Lord, according to the statutes of the Passover sacrifice and its ordinances he shall make it. One statute shall apply to you, to the proselyte and to the native-born citizen.יד. וְכִי יָגוּר אִתְּכֶם גֵּר וְעָשָׂה פֶסַח לַה' כְּחֻקַּת הַפֶּסַח וּכְמִשְׁפָּטוֹ כֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה חֻקָּה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָכֶם וְלַגֵּר וּלְאֶזְרַח הָאָרֶץ:
If a proselyte dwells with you, and he makes a Passover sacrifice: I might think that anyone who converts should immediately make a Passover sacrifice. Therefore, Scripture teaches us, “One statute [shall apply to you, to the proselyte and to the native-born citizen].” And this is its meaning: If a proselyte dwells with you, and he comes (Reggio ed. - and the time comes) to make a Passover sacrifice with his friends,“according to the statutes of the Passover sacrifice and its ordinances he shall make it.” - [Sifrei Beha’alothecha 1:30]וכי יגור אתכם גר ועשה פסח: יכול כל המתגייר יעשה פסח מיד, תלמוד לומר חקה אחת וגו', אלא כך משמעו, וכי יגור אתכם גר ובא עת לעשות פסח עם חביריו כחקה וכמשפט יעשה:


We read the following in Nesivos HaShalom:

"If a ger dwells with you: This is a ger tzedek [convert] and not a ger shaar [of the gate; this is a ger toshav who follows the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach].

He makes a Passover sacrifice: And he wishes to make a Passover sacrifice with all of Israel, then according to the statutes and ordinances of the Passover sacrifice shall he make it. And behold, the commandments upon the gerim [converts] regarding Pesach were already written in parashat Bo: 'And when a ger dwells with you, he shall make a Pesach, etc.'

(The author says: And it is possible that the Scriptures is speaking about Pesach Sheni [Josh: given the preceding context], that the ger who converts prior to Pesach and due to uncontrollable circumstances does not make the Pesach in its set time, that he as well shall make a Pesach Sheni according to all its statutes. And so wrote Ibn Ezra.And so have I found in the Sifrei: Rabbi Shimon ben Eleazer says: Behold, if he converts between the two Pesachs, how do I deduce that he makes Pesach Sheni? Therefore it teaches 'like the native-born citizen'. Just as a native-born citizen who did not make the Pesach Rishon makes the Pesach Sheni, so too a ger who did not make the Rishon should make the Sheni. Thus it is explained as well as about Pesach Sheni.)

And the Ramban write that in Parashat Bo it was stated about the Pesach made in Egypt, and the implication was just regarding the converts who converted when they left Egypt, for they all well were part of the miracle, and were encompassed in 'and we He took out from there'. And here it commands regarding the converts who converted in the Midbar, or in Eretz Yisrael, to obligate them in Pesach Doros."

Note the word וירצה on the first line, "and he wishes". In his translation to German as well, he seems to say that this is optional and up to the ger. Thus:
The red underlined words mit machen will means "wants to do".

Shadal writes about this:

"And makes a Passover sacrifice: Not that he makes it if he wants, as it seems from the Targum of Rambman [=Mendelsohnn], but rather as Rashi explains.

He makes a Pesach for Hashem: There is no doubt that the explanation is only like as Rashi explains it, that when a convert converts, and afterwards, when the time comes to make the Pesach [Rishon] and he makes the Pesach, he needs to make it in accordance with all its statutes and commandments. (Even though neither he nor his ancestors left Egypt.) And this is whether for Pesach Rishon or Pesach Sheni.

And the word וירצה which the מבאר wrote, and the word וילל (Josh: underlined German above, mit machen will) that the Metargem [translator] wrote, are not correct."

I concur with Shadal in this. Yes, the immediately preceding context is the laws of Pesach Sheni, but the character of the pasuk does not suggest that this is limited to Pesach Rishon or Sheni; rather, that it is a general inclusion of the ger in all the laws of Pesach. I am not sure of the reasoning offered, that this is so even though he did not personally leave Egypt he is obligated. We should consider it in light of all the other explicit inclusions of geirim.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Ribbi or Rabbi

From yesterday's daf Yomi (Eruvin 75b):

אמר רב יוסף תני רבי היו ג' אסורין אמר להו רב ביבי לא תציתו ליה אנא אמריתה ניהלה ומשמיה דרב אדא בר אהבה אמריתה ניהלה הואיל ואני קורא בהן רבים בחיצונה אמר רב יוסף מריה דאברהם רבים ברבי איחלף לי 
Rav Yosef taught a brayta in the name of Rabbi. But, due to an illness he had, he was somewhat forgetful, and students would need to remind him of things he had said and in what context. Here, Rav Bibi said to the other students not to heed Rav Yosed in this, because it was not Rabbi, but rather something he had himself reported to Rav Yosef in the name of Rav Ada bar Ahava, and gave the full context, that he calls such a situation rabbim in the outer chatzer. And Rav Yosef exclaimed that he had switched "Rabbi" with "Rabbim".
Ribbi or Rabbi?

Perhaps this can help resolve the dispute whether רבי in general, as a title, should be pronounced as Ribbi or Rabbi. See here at On the Main Line:
There are two dominant traditional pronunciations for "רבי" the rabbinic Hebrew word and title, as found in vocalized manuscripts of the mishnah and perpetuated in siddurim: ribbi (ribee) and rabbi (rahbee). Roughly speaking, Jews of eastern descent have ribbi and those of western, rabbi
After all, rabbee sounds a lot more like rabbim than ribee. But there might well be a difference between the title in general and Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi's appelation. Or maybe the sounds ribbi / rabbim were close enough.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

YUTorah on parshas Behaaloscha

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Sunday, May 19, 2013

posts so far for parashat Behaalotecha

[menorah-med.jpg]
2012

1. Behaaloscha sources -- even further expanded.

2. YUTorah on the parasha.

3. Why the pasek after the word tameiMidrashically, as well as from a system of trup.

4. Did Avraham call anyone 'My Master' besides HashemAccording to Meshech Chochma, he did not, and so was of the select few to be called an eved Hashem. But it is not so simple, according to Rav Yechezkel Abramsky's son. According to one opinion, Adonay at the start of Vayera is chol. Then, I weigh in with what I think is an even stronger counter-example, עַל-עַבְדְּכֶם.

2011

  1. Behaloshcha sources -- further expanded. For example, many more meforshei Rashi.
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  2. Impure to the bone, part ii --  Continuing a topic from last year on parshat Naso, about whether לטמי means bone or impure, and whether דאינשא should be present. This touches on pesukim in Belaalotecha as well.
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  3. YU Torah on parashat Behaalotecha.
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  4. The psik in נֹסְעִים | אֲנַחְנוּ, and whether gierim had to hoof it -   Birkas Avraham darshens another pesik.
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  5. Does the gershayim double the lamed, of gematria 30?  derasha on a gershayim in Behaaloscha, that the doubling of the stroke implies twice, and that it is on a lamed makes for double 30. I disagree with the need, or inclination, todarshen it, and try to explain why a gershayim instead of a geresh. But to each his own. I just discuss this for the sake of completeness.
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  6. Two places named Chatzeros --  Rav Chaim Kanievsky considers whether there were two places named Chatzeros, such that the one at the start of Devarim, in Ever Hayarden, is not the same as the one in themasaot, which is the one mentioned in Behaaloscha, where Miriam was punished with leprosy. I consider his words, and use it as a jumping off point. Plus, the Sifrei darshens a Samaritan text!

2010
  1. Behaaloscha sources -- revamped, with more than 100 meforshim on the parasha and haftara.
    a
  2. When you cause to ascend the lamps -- What is bothering Rashi? He explains בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ in a particular way, but is inconsistent elsewhere in explaining לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד. Meanwhile the derasha is not initially on Behaalotecha. I consider Gur Aryeh, and then differ, and explain my own take on the matter.a
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  3. Ibn Caspi and the magic trumpets -- Does Ibn Caspi have an expansive definition of the term dibra Torah kilshon benei Adam which includes falsehood in line with common  misperception? I consider one possible example.a
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  4. Take the Levites -- should 'take' have more than null value? According to Rashi and according to Ibn Ezra, why does "take the Levites" mean anything? Can't it be a sort of preparatory verb for the purification found later in the pasuk? An answer, I think.
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  5. Why the warlike language when the aron traveledIs the description of what Moshe said when the ark went out and returned really about simple travel in the wilderness? Isn't the warlike topic somewhat tangential? I suggest an answer regarding these moved pesukim.
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  6. How the Zohar spells matzos -- How shall we spell מצות here in Behaaloscha? The Zohar seems to indicate that it ischaser, which goes against all known sefarim as well as the masores. But I rescue the Zohar's statement.
2009
  1. Adi"r Bamarom -- an explanation of a masoretic note on parshat Behaalotecha.
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  2. Behaalotecha sources -- links by aliyah and perek to an online Mikraos Gedolos, and links to many meforshim on the parshah and haftarah.
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  3. Oo as Oh: a reanalysis of Ibn Ezra on ובדרך, discussed last year. I present a translation of Mechokekei Yehuda, and end up agreeing that Ibn Ezra is likely reading the Rambam into the pasuk, and thus it is that he missed Pesach Rishon beshogeg, and now incurs karet if he dismisses Pesach Sheni..
  4. Who was the Kushite woman, and how did she turn black? Relating Ibn Ezra to contemporary science.
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  5. Eldad and Medad's prophecy -- translated, and how it relates to the context.
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  6. The dot on the heh of rechokah, and how it might relate to the gender ambiguity of the word derech.
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  7. Should shatu have the stress on the first or the last syllable? And see the comment section for clarification.
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  8. Did the hand of the LORD or the spirit of God rest on Elisha? A discussion of competing nuschaot in a pasuk in Melachim, and whether we should even consider emending in favor of one.
2008
  1. Rabbenu Bachya's position on nikkud and the ambiguity inherent within pesukim -- I cite him in full, and explain why I think Shadal in his Vikuach is mischaracterizing his position. Based on a pasuk in Behaalotecha, וְאִם-כָּכָה אַתְּ-עֹשֶׂה לִּי, where the word את is a kinnui for the Attribute of Judgment
    a
  2. "And is not on a journey" as "Or is not on a journey" -- where when Ibn Ezra says או בדרך he is making either a phonological or a logical point. Shadal faces off against Avi Ezer, and then we have a Karaite supercommentary and finally my own suggestion. It is a difficult Ibn Ezra, all in all. Perhaps I should check out other supercommentaries of Ibn Ezra this year.
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  3. "Their prophecy did not cease" -- Was the prophetic gift to Eldad and Medad just temporary, or permanent? I would suggest a third possibility. It means that they were not gathered.
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  4. Pesach Sheni, if a convert converts -- should he bring the korban pesach offering immediately, even not in its proper time? I suggest it means that converting in between Pesach Rishon and Sheni, he still brings Pesach Sheni, and this depending on whether the second chag severed from the first. But see inside for details.
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  5. "Miracle Grow" -- Did the shemen hamishcha have the effect of making people miraculously grow taller, or is that ridiculous. What is the true intent of the midrash that says that this was a special mark of distinction.
2007
  1. Parsha Punning Puzzle: What feature of Behaalotecha Am I? an easy one, but I was just getting started, IIRC
    a
  2. An Important Grammatical Form -- cross-posted from Ki Tavo. וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַהֲרֹן בְּמֹשֶׁה in Bahaaloscha shows that a singular verb can apply to multiple individuals (Miryam and Aharon) and even to people of the opposite gender (Aharon). It all follows the identity of the first person mentioned.
2006
  1. Rashbam's Midrashic Literalism? that Moshe married the queen of Kush.
    a
  2. Why the Repetition of Isha Kushit Lakach? within the open-canon approach, it is saying, "Oh yeah, we didn't mention this earlier, but he married a Kushite woman." And what those following a closed-canon approach do.
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  3. Why Was Miriam, and Not Aharon, Punished? Perhaps only Miriam spoke. a grammatical analysis.
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  4. Roundup -- What other blogs are saying about the parsha
    a
  5. Why Couldn't the Manna Taste Like X
    1. And what does it mean to say that nursing mothers could not have it? I argue that it does not mean that everyone is restricted because of nursing mothers. And discuss ADDeRabbi's post on the subject.
    2. Then, in Manna Redux, I reexamine the issue after having seen Rashi in the gemara, which sheds light on Rashi in Chumash. And add a bit to the above discussion.
2005
  1. Parsing Moshe's Prayer
    • based on trup. I argue that na in kel na refa na la means different things. Thus, God, please heal now, her. Also, a keri and ketiv at play here, to parallel Aharon's earlier speech.
  2. Who Is The Naar?
    • considering Yehoshua and Gershom as candidates.
  3. "Na" Only Connotes Please
    • What does this phrase mean? Does it mean it can only mean this and not something else, or does it mean that in certain instances for midrashic purpose, we can read the meaning of "please" into it? I argue for the latter, and that others hold this as well. Indeed, no one ever says achila only means eating, because this is obvious. There must be some alternative, or else there is no purpose to the statement.
2004
  1. Chovav As A Witness, or Guide?
    • Moshe asked Chovav to stay to be their eyes. Is this as a witness or a guide? I suggest the latter. Also, was he successful?
  2. Who Was Chovav? Who Was Yisro? And Who Was Moshe's Father-In-Law?
    • Perhaps they are the same person, and perhaps not. I lot hinges on the definition of chotein moshe.
  3. Related to the Above: Another Interesting Cognate from "Hebrew Cognates In Amharic"
    • in that in Amharic, the same Semitic word means both father-in-law and brother-in-law.
  4. No More, No End, Not Gathered
    • Three possible meanings of וְלֹא יָסָפוּ as regards Eldad and Medad.
  5. BeKetuvim (Eldad and Medad)
    • The midrashic derivation of the contents of Eldad and Medad's prophecies. And how either Eldad and Medad, or their prophecies, were recorded in the "ketuvim."
  6. Would You Go Back To Slavery In Egypt For This?
    • Illustrations of the foodstuffs that the Israelites looked back fondly to.
  7. The Manna, On the Other Hand
    • useful to compare to the above.
  8. cross-listed from parshat Chukas: For What Sin Was Moshe Punished?
    • perhaps he was actually commanded to strike the rock, and his sin was in his initial reaction to the people's complaint.
to be continued...

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