Drash: This text implies that the Written Torah and the Oral Torah were both procured by Moshe at Mount Sinai. Therefore, since the Chumash and Oral Torah were both originally given by God directly to Moshe at Mount Sinai, they are of equivalent authority and are of equal Halakhic importance.

P'shat: God vows to give Moshe the tablets, the teachings, and the commandments at Mount Sinai which he wrote for the Israelites' instruction.

This image consists of a Tanakh, Talmud, and an equal sign between the two which illustrates how the Tanakh (The Written Torah) and the Talmud (The Oral Torah) are equal to one another. This is because based on Berakhot 5a, they both directly came from God and sustain equivalent authority.

Drash: This parable illustrates that humans must resourcefully make use of the Torah and Halacha which God has provided us with. If we make use of the material we have been provided with (flax and wheat), then we are able to gain great value from it (bread and cloth). However, if we ignore the holiness of the Torah and don't make use of it, then God would be quite disappointed with us since we would be "foolish servants". Therefore, our role as humans is to make use of the materials God has given us, not foolishly disregard them

P'shat: A king asked two of his servants, a sensible one and a foolish one, to make use of wheat and a bundle of flax. The sensible servant resourcefully made use of these materials by making bread and cloth, while the foolish one didn't do anything.

This image depicts a maze and an arrow which highlights an alternative, well thought out route which avoids the complexities of navigating through a maze. The image sheds light on resourcefulness and stresses how making use of the knowledge/materials at hand is incredibly crucial towards success. Thus, this relates back to how Jews should resourcefully utilize the Torah and all Halacha at hand if they would like to succeed and be "sensible servants".

P'shat: Moshe led the Israelites to Mount Sinai and they waited at the bottom of the mountain for him.

Drash: According to the text, God had coerced the Israelites to believe in torah or else they would parish. Therefore, God threatened the lives of the Israelites in order to extrinsically motivate them to follow the Torah. However, when the Israelites were no longer posed with any threat during the times of King Ahasuerus, they became intrinsically motivated to follow Halacha independently from God's original coercion. This therefore shows that God originally forced the Jews into believing in Torah, until Jews eventually practiced Halacha voluntarily.

This image illustrates a few key differences between intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is shown to be something that is sought out for one's own fulfillment, while extrinsic motivation is done with the intention of pleasing others and tends to be involuntary. The extrinsic and intrinsic motivation highlighted in this image relate to how Israelites believed in the Torah over the course of time. Originally, Israelites felt forced by God into abiding by the Torah, but Jews eventually believed in Torah voluntarily for the purpose of their own fulfillment.

P'shat: Rabbi Eliezer claims that the oven of 'Aknai is pure, while the majority of sages claim that isn't. After much dispute, Rabbi Eliezer is ultimately excommunicated since he refused to follow the majority and more importantly went against the conventional way of proving a point.

Drash: Rabbi Eliezer is adamantly defending his argument and goes so far as to call upon the heavens, which is not within the boundaries of effectively proving a point. This is because God does not have a role in interpreting Halacha (לא בשמים היא) since he only provided us with the texts which we are supposed to interpret. Therefore, humans are the sole indivuals who are responsible for analyzing texts and determining how Halachot are applied to life.

This image illustrates human reasoning which is a major component of properly interpreting a text. This relates to the text since only logical thinking and evidence-based reasoning should be employed when defending an argument or drawing a conclusion, no references to anything which is theologically related. We should therefore only rely on humane reasoning in order to address our concerns, similar to the man depicted in this picture who is metaphorically solving a puzzle of his own cognition.

P'shat: Both the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel are arguing with one another about whose ideology is more correct. They are unable to come to a compromise with one another until a heavenly voice comes out to say that the House of Hillel's halacha should be followed.

Drash: Beit Hillel was not chosen by God since their beliefs were more correct than Beit Shammai's, but rather because Beit Hillel recognized that their ideology was just as valid as Shammai's. They taught Beit Shammai's ideology before sharing their own which showed Beit Hillel's objectivity since they didn't impose their ideology on anyone, but rather presented both ideas in an unbiased way. It is important to recognize that multiple valid opinions can exist, and personal beliefs regarding a specific halacha vary since it's up to an individual's interpretation. Furthermore, God's only role here is that he provided us with the resources to analyze, and therefore it is our duty to interpret texts and form strong, inevitable varying opinions.

This image illustrates two rabbis arguing with one another about a certain topic. Neither one however is shown to be more correct than the other, since both of their opinions are valid and co-exist. The argument between these two rabbis is representative of the argument between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, since in both of these situations, neither party has a more valid opinion than the other.