First Rashi on the Torah

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1. The Attempted Rebellion against Babylon and Yirmiyahu's Prophecy Concerning the Bonds

   Rabbi David Sabato

   The chapter contains a three part prophecy: The first to the kings of the nations who plan a rebellion against Babylon; to Tzidkiyahu king of Yehuda; to the priest and the people. All three prophecies have a similar structure: They open with a positive command – to submit to the king of Babylonia – and then they warn against listening to the words of the false prophets who prophesy just the opposite.

   King Nevuchadnetzar does not conquer countries by his own power. Rather, God puts them in his hands, and therefore anyone who rebels against Nevuchadnetzer rebels against God who gave him rule over the world. At the end, Nevuchadnetzer will be punished too since he did not act out of a sense of mission, but simply in an attempt to glorify his own name, he has no real right to do so, and he will therefore be punished for his actions.

   Until the rise of the king of Babylonia, Yirmiyahu’s goal was to bring about the mending of Israel's ways so that they not become subjugated to the people from the north. However, now that this period has come to a close, Yirmiyahu's prophetic message changes. Now he preaches to accept the yoke of the king of Babylonia, and warns of the greater dangers that may fall upon the people should they try to turn back the clock and undo the decree.

2. Why are There Stories in the Torah?

   Dr. Baruch Alster

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ה | |

   Rashi's first comment on the Torah famously asks why the Torah begins with creation and not with the mitzvot. In essence, he is dealing with the question of the Torah's genre - is it a history book or a legal text? This question is dealt with by other parshanim as well. In this lesson, we will compare three approaches - those of Rashi, Rashbam, and Ramban. We will see that each of the later parshanim saw the question as a dichotomy - the Torah is either law or narrative, while Rashi's view is more complex.

3. Rashi's Bible Commentary- Does it Really Reflect his Inner World of Values?

   Dr. Lisa Fredman |

   Despite the fact that Rashi's Bible Commentary is primarily culled from Midrashic and Talmudic literature, we will seek to detect Rashi's own values and ideals. We will implement certain principles through which we will search for the man behind the commentary.

4. From Bereishit to Beracha

   A Synopsis of the Five Chumshei Torah

   Rabbi David Milston

   תאריך פרסום: תשעד | | Hour and 3 minutes

   In this shiur, we survey the Chumash - from Parashat Bereisheet to Vezot Haberacha. The aim is to define ach sefer to a degree and try to show a connection between them. When we look at the Torah in this way, we see how the Torah, from Bereisheet to Beracha, can be viewed as following each other - from the wrestling with the Torah's values, to the emerging peoplehood, to the ideal, reality, and summmary. and we can see how the values and the rules of the Torah interact and coexist.