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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Mishpatim
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Hana Bat Haim
The question begs: what is the point of writing the matter in a way that sounds like he should be executed if we are not to do so? Rabbeinu Chananel (to Bava Kamma 27a) says that the Torah is telling us that the owner who did not curb his murderous ox really deserves death. However, the Torah spared him and gave him a lesser sentence and a means of making some amends through a special, atoning monetary payment.
Yet, one can still ask why this is the only case where one who indirectly caused death is worthy of death. Why do we not find this idea regarding one who digs a pit, is warned to cover it, and refuses to do so or one who lights a fire, is warned to extinguish it, and continues? They make full damage payments like the owner of a dangerous ox, so why should they not be fit to die for their criminal negligence?
The key to the special nature of the owner of the murderous ox may be the Torah’s description, "lo yishmerenu" (he will not watch it). The Torah doesn’t say he didn’t watch it, in the past tense. It may be hinting that some people act in a way that shows that they have no intention to ever watch the ox. When a person lights a fire, he realizes that if it damages or kills, it is, to a great extent, he who did it. The same is true of a ditch he dug in the public domain. It is unlikely that his negligence is a philosophy. In contrast, the owner of the ox can point fingers: "It’s not me. The ox did it. That, after all, is the reason that the Torah says to kill the ox." One who shifts responsibility to another, claiming that he is responsible only for things he does himself possesses a sick yet all too human philosophy. It is dangerous to leave the standard rules of culpability. The Torah confronts him with the phrase "yumat."
From a halachic perspective, the scenario is limited to animal owners. However, the lesson of fighting the tendency to shift blame for endangering people away from oneself is important. When a driver speeds or tailgates, his reaction to one who dares confront him may be that he is too good a driver for anything to happen. If, Heaven forbid, something does happen, he can reassure himself that someone else was at fault for stopping abruptly or building poor roads. The Torah teaches us that failing to minimize risks to others is tantamount, on some levels, to murder itself.
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
