Where Does It Say...?
Q. Why, in your 39 things forbidden to do on the Sabbath article, you didn't give any Scripture showing where these are taught in the Bible?
A. Thanks for your question. The answer is kind of implicit in the question; we don't give Biblical sources for the 39 categories of labor because there really aren't any. Only one or two kinds of labor are explicit in the Torah. What we're told is much more general. Specifically, we're told that, as important as the building of the Tabernacle was, work had to be suspended for the Sabbath. (See, for example, Exodus chapter 31.) So, what we know is that the labors necessary for the construction of the Tabernacle were not permitted on Shabbos. The Talmud lists what the necessary labors were, and these are the 39 categories that we observe today.
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Q. Good day, Rabbi. I'm no expert, but it seems like the written Torah does not explicitly tell anyone to be fruitful and multiply, except for Adam, and Noah and his 3 sons. Are we able to plainly prove from the written Torah that be fruitful and multiply is a mitzvah for male Jews to try to do? Thank you!
A. Thanks for your question. The answer, if you ask me, is simple logic. God commanded Adam, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that creeps on the earth." Logically speaking, this is something that Adam (or Noah) wouldn't be able to accomplish on their own. Rather, it would take generations upon generations to fulfill. This is clearly a command for posterity and not just to an individual.
You can see more about this mitzvah here, including where it's discussed in Rabbinic literature: 1. B’Sha'ah Tovah: The obligation for a man to have children with his wife - Taryag - OU Torah
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Referring to another author's article on OU Torah:
Q. You guys are promoting false teaching here and it's unhealthy. HaShem DOES get angry at people. It's clearly in scripture even to the point where he killed them just for being ungrateful
A. Thanks for your message, but I'm afraid the author of that article is correct. When we speak of God having human-like emotions, it's like when we speak of Him having human-like body parts. It's not intended literally; rather, it's an anthropomorphism, i.e., the Torah speaks in terms that humans can understand because we couldn't possibly understand the actual nature of God. In this case, it means that if a human being acts a certain manner, God will respond to him in the way that another human would when angry.
You will see that the translator par excellence Onkelos has removed the anthropomorphisms from his Aramaic translation of the Torah because of the nature of people to take such things literally, plus Maimonides addresses this topic at some length in his Guide for the Perplexed. You can read more about this topic here: 1. Anthropomorphism of God in the Torah - The God Papers - OU Torah and here: Is God Angry With Us? - Q&A With Rabbi Jack - OU Torah
Rabbi Jack's book Ask Rabbi Jack is available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.