Hagar 101

Jews have always cherished the land of Israel, and yearned to be buried there upon their passing. They also seek to have their grave marked honorably, so as to enable loved ones to visit and pray. Yet Moshe Rabbeinu merited none of these, buried in “the Valley of Moab,” where “no person knows the place of his burial unto this day”.
Why was he assigned this fate? Does this somehow reflect his life’s unparalleled accomplishments?
(Hebrew)

The Biblical account of the destruction of Sedom raises many
questions. Amongst them: Why does the Torah imply that the angels defied G-d’s wishes by acting independently? Did Lot in fact direct his prayers to the angels? Was
his defense of the inhabitants of Tzoar that much better than Avraham’s
arguments to spare Sedom?

The Bible seems to be littered with tales of
the misdeeds of the righteous. Is it naïve to ignore these stories? Do we need
to reconsider our role models? How can we interpret these stories truthfully but
in a way that confirms the holiness of our heroes?

ההנחה הפשוטה היא כי שבירת הלוחות היתה תוצאה מרוגזו של משה על חטאם של ישראל. אלא שמבט נוסף במפרשי המקרא מגלה טעמים וממתקים נוספים על דבר כוונתו של רוען של ישראל. שבעים פנים לתורה.

The
census figures recorded in the Torah seem too perfect to be true. Each of the
tribes reported a population that was a convenient multiple of 5, 10 or 100.
Were these numbers rounded out?  

The Biblical account of Sarah’s treatment of Hagar is well-known. How do the classic commentators and other authorities understand her behavior? Is she to be criticized or vindicated? What moral defense can be offered for Sarah banishing Yishmael?