A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Blessing Over the Bad (and Other Concepts Found in Shema)

A small group of TorahTutors students finished off the last mishna in Brachot, including its interpretations of several clauses repeated multiple times in daily prayers (and found in this week’s Torah portion, Devarim 6:5). This mishna raises a number of questions, from the textual to the theological. Some of the questions these students addressed with…

A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About Text, Translation, and Talking

An adult TorahTutors student wanted to develop skills in translating and understanding biblical commentaries. She and her tutor have learned a wide selection of texts, with an eye towards language and understanding different approaches to interpretation. One example that resonated with the student was the phrase al d’var in Bereishit 12:17: “And God plagued Pharaoh with…

A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About How Individuals Take and Are Taken

This week’s parsha opens with the enigmatic phrase “???? ???” – “and Korach took” (Bamidbar 16:1). Commentators and midrashic texts offer a number of approaches to understanding whether Korach was taker and/or taken, and if taken, who or what “took” him. Despite the challenging wording of the verse, a TorahTutors student learned how it could…

A Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit About The Problem with Shimshon (and Shoftim)

After last week’s Shavuot hiatus, check out this Tuesday TorahTutors (Teen) Tidbit:   A teenaged TorahTutors student was asked to share thoughts on Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 67:12. She wrote (slightly edited):   This Midrash frames Yaakov in contrast with Shimshon. Basically, Yaakov listened to his father when he said not to marry foreign women, while…