Parshat Ki Teitzei - a Collector's Item

• Going through old files, I recently found the source sheets for my first Parsha Club ever, during my first week at Ma'ayanot (back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth...).  You can find it here.
• Check out here to see if you were able to catch all of the pictures connection to the Parsha.
• This week's Torah Teasers: (see here for answers).

Ki Tetzei(Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)

Torah Teasers Parshat Ki Tetzei

1. The first law in this parsha involves a "yefas to'ar" (beautiful woman) who is captured in war. Who is the only woman in the Torah specifically described as "yefas to'ar"?

2. Which part of the body is mentioned in this parsha, and nowhere else in the Torah?

3. In this parsha, what part of a house is mentioned?

4. Where else is a roof mentioned in the Torah - but having nothing to do with a house

5. Shatnez is a garment containing wool and linen (flax). Where else in the Torah are those two fabrics mentioned in the same verse?

6. Where in this parsha is a garment (simlah) mentioned? (5 answers)

7. Where in this parsha do bread and water appear in the same verse?

8. Which law in this parsha involves a shovel?

9. Which law in this parsha involves a dog? Which other law in the Torah involves a dog?

10. Which two of the six "zechirot" - the events we are required to remember (found in most prayer books after the morning service) - are mentioned in this parsha?

11. Which two laws in this parsha involve forgetting?

12. Where in this parsha is the number 40 found?

13. Which law in this parsha involves spitting? In what two other places does the Torah mention spitting?

From "Rabbi Moshe Atik's Torah Teasers"http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463791623/friendsofaishhat

Parshat Shoftim

This Parsha always falls at the end of the summer and it's a real shame.  There is so much loaded into it - much of the discussion of Jewish leadership models (judges, kings, prophets & military leaders) originate here.  There are also other fascinating topics like:

• זקן ממרא - a rebellious sage who challenges a rule of the Sanhedrin.  This is a death penalty crime and raises important issues about authority, autonomy, machloket and psak.
• Magic - a favorite subject of students everywhere!  If you're interested in an extended treatment of these issues, have a listen to Rabbi Daniel Feldman (our Mrs. Feldman's brother in law - he spoke to our students at the seforim sale once) on Witchcraft and Wizardry in Halacha and Machshava.
• Some questions for thought and discussion:

1. The Torah commands us to appoint a king.  Is a monarchy the Torah's ideal government? Is it better than democracy? What are the advantages of each? How would the Torah address some of the historical difficulties with monarchy which led to the revolutions that brought about our world where every country at least claims to be a democracy?
2. While the Torah tells us that a king must write a Torah and carry it with him wherever he goes, The rambam explains that he actually needs two Torahs.  One to keep with him and one to leave at home.  What does this all represent? What are we to learn from it?

• A dikduk (Hebrew grammar) question I've wondered about (please ask your Ivrit teachers for help): the Pasuk (דברים יז) says
  ה  וְהוֹצֵאתָ אֶת-הָאִישׁ הַהוּא אוֹ אֶת-הָאִשָּׁה הַהִוא אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶת-הַדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה, אֶל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ--אֶת-הָאִישׁ, אוֹ אֶת-הָאִשָּׁה; וּסְקַלְתָּם בָּאֲבָנִים, וָמֵתוּ.
  In English, the phrase "a pen or pencil" is singular.  I thought that was the case in Hebrew as well, but here the passuk starts with  “אֶת-הָאִישׁ הַהוּא אוֹ אֶת-הָאִשָּׁה הַהִוא” and then uses plural verbs like עשו,וסקלתם & ומת.  Any theories?
• There's a Rashi I always found interesting.  The passuk says that it's prohibited to make a מצבה - a private altar - that Hashem hates.  Rashi notes that even though it once was beloved to Hashem (all the אבות built them) since the idolaters adopted the practice, it became hateful.  (See Rabbi Assaf Bednarsh in a 2 minute shiur - literally - with a different answer from the שם משמואל.)  I wonder what practices or ideologies today that may once have been acceptable or even good might be considered warped by the way they have been adopted.

Please comment or e-mail your thoughts.  Have a great Shabbos.

Welcome (Back) to Why-aanot

Hi All - 

For the uninitiated, Why-aanot is Ma'ayanot's Jewish Studies faculty blog, and it serves a number of related purposes.  First, as the name implies, it is a place for dialogue between teachers and students.  A student sends her question(s) to me (we're working to re-connect questions@maayanot.org, for now just use my e-mail) and I'll circulate it to the other teachers and hopefully, one of us responds to you on the blog for everyone to see.  If you're uncomfortable using your name, send the question anonymously.  Also, the comments are available to continue the conversation.

I also is a place where teachers post ideas, thoughts or links that we think you might find interesting; often about the parsha or chagim or current events. It has been somewhat dormant the last few years - the last couple of dozen posts have been Mrs. Cohen's weekly Parsha א-ב challenge.  

As yesterday was Rosh Chodesh Elul, we started blowing shofar daily at the end of davening.  The Rambam teaches "עורו ישנים משנתכם ונרדמים הקיצו מתרדמתכם" -“Awake, o sleepy ones, and slumberers, shake off your torpor." I couldn't think of a more appropriate time to poke this sleeping giant out of it's extended hibernation.  

So as we start getting some more material up here, feel free to look around, look through the archives from the good old days (particularly 2009-2011), get your questions in and put us to work.  Also, why not "like" us on Facebook?

Alphabetical Parsha Challenge: פרשת בחקתי

א Together with the answer to letter ‘ה’, Hashem promises us these two aspects if we follow in His ways.

ב If we don’t follow in Hashem’s ways, He will make our heavens like:

ג What is one of the things that Hashem will provide if we follow his commandments?

ד If we follow Hashem’s ways, then the season for _______ will run into the season of the grape harvest (because the former will be so plentiful).

ה Together with the answer to letter ‘א’, Hashem promises us these two aspects if we follow in His ways.

ו The parsha starts out, "אם בחקתי תלכו".  If we do this, then Hashem will reciprocate, “__________  ___________”

ז If when we are in גלות we are sorry for our sinful behavior, what will Hashem do?

ח The value of a person in what age group (______ to ______) is worth the least?

ט If an animal (that may be brought as a korban) is pledged to Hashem, it may not be exchanged ______  ______

י The value of a field is calculated in relation to what?

כ Part of the curse is that even though no one will be chasing them, people will ____________________.

ל Hashem reassures us by saying that even though we are in galus, “_________________________”.

מ If we follow in Hashem’s ways, what will He place among us?

נ If we follow Hashem’s ways, He promises that He will do this for us: “_________________________”

ס The mitzvot in this parsha were given to Moshe Rabbeinu where?

ע A significant portion of this parsha discusses the laws of someone who makes a נדר to Hashem regarding what?

פ What should be done with a non-kosher animal that was designated for the upkeep of the Beit HaMikdash?

צ Ma’aser is taken not only from produce, but also from what?

ק We are warned not to behave towards Hashem in this way, or He will behave towards us in this way:

ר If we do not follow in Hashem’s ways, He will not ‘smell’ (pay attention to) our:

ש During the time that we are in גלות, Eretz Yisrael will make up for what?

ת Part of the curse is that 10 women will have to bake bread in one __________

Alphabetical Parsha Challenge: פרשת בהר

א At the end of the parsha we are told that we are not allowed to make these for ourselves:

ב Hashem promises that if we follow his halachos, we will live in Eretz Yisrael  ______ל.

ג What is the term for a person who buys back land that his relative sold?

ד What are we supposed to proclaim throughout the land, for all who live there, during a yovel year?
(This pasuk is inscribed in English on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia!)

ה Where was Moshe when he received the laws of shemita?

ו Because some of the halachos in this parsha are dependent on the intention of the person doing them, and are otherwise hidden from sight, we are therefore warned:

ז This is one type of work that we are not allowed to do in Eretz Yisrael during a shemita year:

ח Which (number) year is set aside to be the Yovel year?

ט Although no word beginning with ט appears in this parsha, in what context does the number 9 come up?

י This is the only holiday that is mentioned in this parsha.  (And in what context is it mentioned?)

כ In relating the halachos of shemita, the Torah specifies that it applies to both fields and:

ל Whose cities and fields can always be redeemed (bought back) at any time and never become the permanent acquisition of someone who buys it from them?

מ When one buys a field from his neighbor, according to what should the payment be calculated?

נ If a person borrows money, what are you not allowed to take from him?

ס Although these were not planted, but rather grew on their own, one is not allowed to harvest them during the shemita year:

ע A house in this location may be redeemed for up until a year after it is sold; after that point, it may not be bought back, and isn’t returned even during a yovel year.

פ If a Jew sells himself as a slave to you, you are not allowed to make him do this kind of work:

צ If we keep the halachos of shemita, what will Hashem do for us in the sixth year?

ק This is one type of work that we are not allowed to do in Eretz Yisrael during a shemita year:

ר If a Jew sells himself as a slave to a non-Jew, and then is able to redeem himself through payment, he calculates the payment based on whether there are still ________  ________, or fewer remain.

ש What (number) year is set aside to be a shemita year?  How many shemita cycles happen before a yovel year?

ת We are commanded to sound a ________ on the 10^th day of the 7^th month of the yovel year.

Alphabetical Parsha Challenge: פרשת אמור

א A Kohen is allowed to become טמא למת for this relative only If certain conditions are met.

ב When on the 14th of Nisan is the Pesach offering brought?

ג A Kohen is not allowed to marry a woman who is a:

ד The Jewish woman who had a son with an Egyptian man was שלמית בן ______.

ה What does the Kohen do with the korban ha’omer that is brought on the second day of Pesach?

ו What are we supposed to do on the tenth day of the seventh month?

ז What are we supposed to have on the first day of the seventh month?

ח What penalty does a non-Kohen have to pay if he accidentally eats something that was קודש?

ט The Kohen Gadol was not allowed to become _______________, even for his mother or father.

י The tenth day of the seventh month is known as:

כ One of the ד' מינים that we are supposed to take for ourselves on חג הסוכות is:

ל What was placed on top of the stacks of לחם הפנים which were on the שלחן?

מ This disqualifies a Kohen from bringing korbanot:

נ What was שמן זית זך used for in the משכן?

ס What were B’nei Yisrael supposed to do to the son of the Jewish woman and Egyptian man?

ע The eighth day after the start of חג הסוכות is called:

פ What mitzvah is when one leaves the wheat in the corner of the field for the poor?

צ A Kohen who has this is not allowed to eat from קדשים.

ק What sin did the man who had a Jewish mother and an Egyptian father do?

ר In addition to waiting until nightfall, what must a Kohen who is טמא do before he is allowed to eat קדשים?

ש How much time must elapse after an animal is born before it is allowed to be brought as a korban?

ת Any animal offered as a korban must be:

Alphabetical Parsha Challenge: פרשת קדושים

א This מצוה is similar to כבד את אביך ואת אמך:

ב What should one do with the leftover meat from a korban that is no longer allowed to be eaten?

ג We can’t act wrongly toward a ________, but we have to treat him just like we would any other person, because we were once like him.  (Where?)

ד Righteousness means that we are not allowed to (unjustly) favor even this person:

ה If we see someone doing something wrong, we have a מצוה of:

ו This mitzvah is considered by Rabbi Akiva to be one of the foundations of the Torah.

ז We are supposed to show deference to a:

ח We are not supposed to insult or curse a __________

ט We are supposed to separate between what types of animals?         

י This is one type of raising spirits of the dead which we are not allowed to do.

כ This term refers to a prohibited mixture of two types of the same thing, such as animals, or plants.

ל While you are harvesting your fields, you are not supposed to pick up individual stalks of wheat that fall to the ground, rather you should leave them there for the poor.  What is this mitzvah called?

מ What are we not supposed to put in the path of a blind person?  (This can be interpreted metaphorically as well, to mean someone who is not literally blind, but ignorant of something.)

נ We aren’t allowed to make ourselves abominable; "לא תשקצו את ________ ,through animals that are טמא.

ס Although this word is not used in our parsha, its synonym is – and it is the punishment for those who practice raising spirits of the dead.

ע What is the term for fruit that grows on a tree during the first three years after it is planted?  This fruit may not be eaten.

פ One who brings a קרבן שלמים is allowed to eat from it for two days.  A sacrifice which was offered with the intention of eating it on the third day is called __________ and is not accepted.

צ We are supposed to act with ________ in our business dealings (ex. with weights and measurements).

ק This idea is stated three times in this parsha.  The command itself is rather vague, and the mefarshim debate what exactly it means, but it refers to an aspect of our behavior.

ר We are not allowed to round off the corners of this:

ש It is prohibited to wear a garment of wool and linen together.  This kind of mixture is called:

ת In the same sentence that we are told to observe Shabbos, we are also told to do what in relation to Hashem’s מקדש?

Alphabetical Haggadah Challenge

א What is the answer that we give to the חכם?

ב Which phrase expresses the idea that we have to imagine ourselves as if we were also taken out of Egypt?

ג With which phrase did Hashem tell אברם about שעיבוד מצרים?

ד We praise Hashem for doing so many great things for us.  After each one, we say !________, and yet Hashem continued to do even more!

ה What did the students of ר' אליעזר, ר' יהושע, ר' אלעזר בק עזריה, ר' עקיבא, & ר' טרפון come and tell them when these rabbis were discussing יציאת מצרים all night?

ו With which phrase did Hashem tell אברם that He would punish the Mitzrim for enslaving B’nei Yisrael?

ז We do כורך as _______  _______  _______

ח According to ר' יוסי הגלילי, how many plagues struck the Mitzrim at the sea?  (How does he arrive at this calculation?)

ט In one of the songs that we sing, these beings praise Hashem, saying, "...לך ה' הממלכה"

י In another of the songs that we sing, we praise Hashem by praising some of His qualities, with the hope and wish that, ________  ________  ________.

כ With these words at the start of מגיד, we invite any Jew who is hungry and needy, to come and join with us at our Seder.

ל Which 8 words in a row begin with this letter?  (It is expressing our obligation to thank Hashem for taking us out of slavery).

מ According to the second opinion in the Mishnah, the obligation of ספור יציאת מצרים starting from גנאי and ending with שבח means that we should start the story from where?

נ We say, “If Hashem had fed us the מן, but would not have ______________________________, it would have been sufficient for us…”

ס Although it isn’t technically part of the Seder, in חוץ לארץ we do this during נרצה on the second night.

ע This is the beginning of the answer, of why we do so many things differently on the Seder night.

פ During the time of the Beit HaMikdash, our ancestors ate this in commemoration of the fact that Hashem skipped over the houses of the Jews in Mitzrayim.

צ These words introduce the segment where we talk about the fact that Lavan wanted to destroy Yaakov Avinu.

ק We say in the Haggadah that at the beginning our ancestors worshipped idols, but now, _________  _________  _________.       

ר There is a discussion in מגיד as to whether the mitzvah of ספור יציאת מצרים begins from this day.  It is determined though, that it does not.

ש We mention the fact that we came down to Mitzrayim with only ___________________, but then Hashem made us as numerous as the stars.

ת We sing about the fact that this came and drank the water.  (The answer is in Aramaic.)  Why do we sing this song at the Seder?

Alphabetical Haggadah Challenge (for younger children)

א We aren’t supposed to eat anything else after we eat this.  (Do you know what this thing represents?)

ב We make this bracha four times during the course of the Seder: בא"ה אמ"ה ___________________

ג We say this bracha right before we say the bracha on the second כוס.  This theme is the main theme of Pesach.

ד What are the three groups of initials (סימנים) of the מכות?

ה These words/this song begins מגיד.  We indicate that the matzo is לחם עוני, and we invite anyone who is hungry to come and join us.  (This paragraph is in Aramaic, rather than Hebrew.  Why do you think that is?)

ו In which part of the Seder do we wash our hands without making a bracha?

ז This is one of the items on the Seder plate.  What is it supposed to remind us of?

ח We end the Seder singing ____________; it is an analogy to B’nei Yisrael.

ט ________  ר' was one of the 5 rabbis that sat, discussing יציאת מצרים all night long.

י Which matza are we supposed to use for כורך?

כ This is one of the two items that we ‘dip’ at the Seder.

ל Par’oh only decreed to destroy the males, but this man wanted to destroy everyone.

מ We discuss 4 differences between the Seder night and other times by asking this question:

נ The second time we do this at the Seder, we do it with a bracha.

ס The essence of the Seder is the fulfillment of which mitzvah?

ע The telling of the story begins with which idea?

פ This is the first of 3 items which are key components of the Seder.  According to Rabban Gamliel, if we don’t discuss these three things, we haven’t fulfilled our obligation.

צ We are supposed to make sure to get up to this part of the Seder before חצות.

ק Five rabbis, including Rabbi Akiva, were discussing יציאת מצרים all night long, until their students told them it was time for what?

ר This is one of the four sons; the one that excludes himself from the community.

ש We drink the wine and eat the matza at the Seder leaning to which side?

ת Which of the 4 sons asks, "מה זאת?"