Questions Matot

1. Who may annul a vow?
2. When may a father annul his widowed daughter's vows?
3. Why were the Jewish People not commanded to attack Moav, as they were to attack Midian?
4. Those selected to fight Midian went unwillingly. Why?
5. What holy vessels accompanied the Jewish People into battle?
6. Those who killed in the war against Midian were required to remain outside the"machane" (camp). Which machane?
7. Besides removing traces of forbidden food, what else is needed to make metal vessels obtained from a non-Jew fit for a Jewish owner?
8. "We will build sheep-pens here for our livestock and cities for our little ones." What was improper about this statement?
9. During the conquest of the Land, where did Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven position themselves?
10. What promise did Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven make beyond that which Moshe required?

Questions Masei

1. Why does the Torah list the places where the Jewish People camped?
2. Why did the King of Arad feel at liberty to attack the Jewish People?
3. What length was the camp in the midbar?
4. Why does the Torah need to specify the boundaries that are to be inherited by the Jewish People?
5. What was the nesi'im's role in dividing the Land?
6. When did the three cities east of the Jordan begin to function as refuge cities?
7. There were six refuge cities, three on each side of the Jordan. Yet, on the east side of the Jordan there were only two and a half tribes. Why did they need three cities?
8. To be judged as an intentional murderer, what type of weapon must the murderer use?
9. Why is the kohen gadol blamed for accidental deaths?
10. When an ancestral field moves by inheritance from one tribe to another, what happens to it in Yovel?

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated.

Answers Matot

1. Who may annul a vow?
   30:2 - Preferably, an expert in the laws of nedarim. Otherwise, three ordinary people.
2. When may a father annul his widowed daughter's vows?
   30:10 - If she is under 12 1/2 years old and widowed before she was fully married.
3. Why were the Jewish People not commanded to attack Moav, as they were to attack Midian?
   31:2 - Because Moav only acted out of fear against the Jewish People. Also, Ruth was destined to come from Moav.
4. Those selected to fight Midian went unwillingly. Why?
   31:5 - They knew that Moshe's death would follow.
5. What holy vessels accompanied the Jewish People into battle?
   31:6 - The aron and the tzitz.
6. Those who killed in the war against Midian were required to remain outside the"machane" (camp). Which machane?
   31:19 - The Machane Shechina.
7. Besides removing traces of forbidden food, what else is needed to make metal vessels obtained from a non-Jew fit for a Jewish owner?
   31:23 - Immersion in a mikve.
8. "We will build sheep-pens here for our livestock and cities for our little ones." What was improper about this statement?
   32:16 - They showed more regard for their property than for their children.
9. During the conquest of the Land, where did Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven position themselves?
   32:17 - At the head of the troops.
10. What promise did Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven make beyond that which Moshe required?
    32:24 - Moshe required them to remain west of the Jordan during the conquest of the Land. They promised to remain after the conquest until the Land was divided among the tribes.

Answers Masei

1. Why does the Torah list the places where the Jewish People camped?
   33:1 - To show G-d's love of the Jewish People. Although it was decreed that they wander in the desert, they did not travel continuously. During 38 years, they moved only 20 times.
2. Why did the King of Arad feel at liberty to attack the Jewish People?
   33:40 - When Aharon died, the clouds of glory protecting the Jewish People departed.
3. What length was the camp in the midbar?
   33:49 - Twelve mil (one mil is 2,000 amot).
4. Why does the Torah need to specify the boundaries that are to be inherited by the Jewish People?
   34:2 - Because certain mitzvot apply only in the Land.
5. What was the nesi'im's role in dividing the Land?
   34:17 - Each nasi represented his tribe. He also allocated the inheritance to each family in his tribe.
6. When did the three cities east of the Jordan begin to function as refuge cities?
   35:13 - After Yehoshua separated three cities west of the Jordan.
7. There were six refuge cities, three on each side of the Jordan. Yet, on the east side of the Jordan there were only two and a half tribes. Why did they need three cities?
   35:14 - Because murders were more common there.
8. To be judged as an intentional murderer, what type of weapon must the murderer use?
   35:16 - One capable of inflicting lethal injury.
9. Why is the kohen gadol blamed for accidental deaths?
   35:25 - He should have prayed that such things not occur.
10. When an ancestral field moves by inheritance from one tribe to another, what happens to it in Yovel?
    36:4 - It remains with the new tribe.

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