Parallels and Contrasts

Found 5 Search results

1. Faces in the shadows: Decrypting Shir Hashirim

   Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ג | |

   We tend to sense Shir Hashirim’s holiness and majesty, but are perplexed by every aspect of this deeply cryptic ”love story”. Both the surface metaphor and its underlying message seem to elude our grasp. This shiur will BE"H present a holistic approach to the sefer, focusing on a half dozen keys that unlock the deeper meaning of the book, and lend coherence and cogency to both its metaphor and message. In the end, we will better understand of what this Song of Songs sings, and why Shlomo Hamelech’s was uniquely suited to compose it.

2. Navot's Vineyard (Part 9)

   Concluding Study: ֠Structure of the Narrative (Part 2)

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Various thematic and literary parallels and contrasts are drawn between the two halves of the story before and after the central axis of the story highlighting Izevel’s influence on Ahav and the movement from the sin to the punishment.

3. Bilaam and Avraham

   Rabbi Alex Israel | 35 minutes

   It is difficult to assess the character of Bilam. At first glance, Bilam seems to be a completely commendable character, and a devoted servant of God. Or is he? Why does he have a terrible reputation in the words of the Sages? Bilam appears in an increasingly negative light as the Torah’s narrative continues. We seek to present a fuller picture of Bilam, and examine positive and negative perspectives of Bilam. Following the Mishna's contrast in Masekhet Avot, we compare and contrast Bilam with Avraham. As we explore the powerful parallels, we find that elements of the story of Bilam have been interposed onto midrashic depictions of Avraham's journey for Akeidat Yitzhak.The power of prophecy comes with important choices. Character traits make the major difference in determining the value of one's prophecy.

4. Ripping Scrolls or Tearing Clothes: Yehoyakim is not Yoshiyahu

   Rabbi David Sabato

5. Psalm 127: The Difference Between “In Vain” and “Tranquility”

   Part 6

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   This psalm, with its two halves, deals with the fundamental values of man's life, with his most basic existential needs: a roof over his head, a city to defend him from enemies, and food for the subsistence of himself and his family. The family is the crown of all the other values mentioned before it, and they all constitute conditions and preparations for its establishment. This is because family is not merely a necessary aid to the survival of its members, but rather, with the establishment of a family, a person realizes his most basic human mission: to emerge from his solitariness and give rise to progeny who will perpetuate his existence over the course of the generations.

   Our psalm in its entirety describes adult life from the building of a house and attaining a livelihood, to the siring of children and their reaching adulthood, when they can already assist their father.