posts so far for parshat veZos Habrachah

2011

1. veZos haBracha sources -- begun in 2008 as links by perek and aliyah to an online Mikraos Gedolos. Then, added more than 100 commentaries on the parasha and haftarah. Further expanded in 2010 and 2011.
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2. An alternate explanation of ה מִסִּינַי בָּא -- The second pasuk of Zos Habracha reads: וַיֹּאמַר, ה מִסִּינַי בָּא וְזָרַח מִשֵּׂעִיר לָמוֹ--הוֹפִיעַ מֵהַר פָּארָן, וְאָתָה מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ; מִימִינוֹ, אשדת (אֵשׁ דָּת) לָמוֹ.
   While the famous traditional explanation of the pasuk "Hashem miSinai ba..." is about mattan Torah, and Hashem offering the Torah to various nations first, the Ramban offers a competing explanation. The Tur follows in his path, quoting and excerpting the main points. This post presents the Tur, in his long commentary, where explains most of it as referring to Hashem's manifesting His Presence through the stay in the midbar.
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3. Eshdat Lamo as a reference to אַשְׁדֹּת הַפִּסְגָּה -- And if so, then neither the reisha nor seifa of the pasuk is speaking about mattan Torah.
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4. Who buried Moshe? According to Ibn Janach, Moshe, via a miracle. Then he retracts to say that it was Hashem.
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5. Zos Habracha and biodynamic agriculture -- Are there plants which grow, and fruits which ripen, based on moonlight, rather than sunlight?

2010

1. Multivalence in Asher's blessing -- An interesting example of multi-valence in the Sifrei's interpretation of Asher's bracha, in parashat veZos haBeracha. Does themi mean "more than" or "with"? Or does it mean both simultaneously? Also, why I believe Rashi's girsa of the Sifrei is better than Ramban's variant.
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2. How could Rabbi Yehuda respond regarding the complete Torah? The famous dispute about the last eightpesukim in the Torah.
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3. If pre-describing Moshe's death is a problem, why isn't the land of Naftali? BrooklynWolf asks this excellent question. And here is a few ways one might, and some did, answer it.
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4. Why to Kohanim and not Kings? Considering a suggestion of Chasam Sofer as to Rashi's choice in bringing onemidrash of two. Does Rashi specify that the daughters of the tribe of Asher married kohanim gedolim, rather than kings?
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5. The Chasam Sofer on the last eight pesukim, or the last twelve pesukim -- Does the Chasam Sofer actually hold like Ibn Ezra on this?!
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6. Who buried Moshe? and what this has to do with post-Mosaic authorship -- A most straightforward local reading of the pasuk is that an unspecified human being buried Moshe. Considering the context, why this is difficult to say, and why midash, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and the Karaites all say otherwise. And how the alternative is avery late authorship for the last eight pesukim.

2009

1. Reuven and viyhi metav mispar; should it be, or should it not be? The dispute between Rashi et al. and Ibn Ezra et al on whether al applies to this second clause.
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2. Here is a link to an article at the Leiman Library, by Dr. Richard Steiner and Dr. Shnayer Leiman, about the meaning of eshdat in parshat v'Zot HaBrachah.
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3. Considering Ibn Ezra and the secret of the last eight pesukim. And how he maintains that the last eight pesukim of the Torah, as well as other psukim throughout, were written by Yehoshua rather than Moshe.
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4. Binyamin with three yuds! An interesting masorah mentioned by Minchas Shai, and why we should not be concerned with it.
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5. Were Moshe's eyes not dim before or after his death? A stira in Rashi, or in two midrashim he cites. Is one meant as peshat and the other as derash?
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6. The last eight pesukim in Chumash -- why assume Moshe didn't write them? Explaining Rashi and his sources, as well as just what in the pesukim besides Moshe's death indicates post-Mosaic authorship.
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7. On the same topic, Ibn Ezra and the secret of the twelve pesukim. From parshat Devarim.

2007

1. Esh De-At Lamo -- where I take it as an Aramaism, de + at, "which comes".