Parsha Q&A - Parshas Naso

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Parsha Q&A

Parshas Naso

For the week ending 14 Sivan 5759 / 28 - 29 May 1999 Outside of the Land of Israel
For the week ending 7 Sivan 5759 / 21 - 22 May 1999 Inside the Land of Israel

Contents:
  • Parsha Questions
  • I Did Not Know That!
  • Recommended Reading List
  • Answers to Parsha Questions
  • Back issues of Parsha Q&A
  • Subscription Information
  • Ohr Somayach Home Page
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    Parsha Questions

    Answers | Contents

    1. What is the significance of the number 8,580 in this week's Parsha?
    2. Besides transporting the Mishkan, what other service performed by the levi'im is mentioned in this Parsha?
    3. On which day did Moshe teach the command to send those who are teme'im (ritually impure) out of the camp?
    4. Name the three camps in the desert.
    5. Who was sent out of each of the camps?
    6. A person stole from another and swore that he was innocent. If he later confesses his guilt, what are his obligations?
    7. Who determines which kohen receives the gifts that must be given to the kohanim?
    8. What does the Torah promise a person who gives matnos kehuna?
    9. Why are the verses about matnos kehuna followed by the verses about the sotah?
    10. Why is the sotah given water from the holy basin?
    11. What does the kohen do to the hair of a sotah?
    12. When a sotah who is guilty of adultery drinks the water, she dies in a very specific fashion. What happens to the adulterer?
    13. Before the name of Hashem is erased, the sotah has the option either to admit guilt or to drink the water. Does she have a third option?
    14. What are chartzanim? What are zagim?
    15. What sin does a nazir commit against himself?
    16. Where was the cut hair of a nazir placed?
    17. A kohen should bless the people "with a full heart." What word in the Parsha conveys this idea of "a full heart?"
    18. What is the meaning of the blessing, "May Hashem bless you and guard you?"
    19. What is the meaning of the blessing, "May Hashem lift up His countenance upon you?"
    20. The tribe of Yissachar was the second tribe to offer their gifts. Why did they merit this position?

    I Did Not Know That!

    "And he instructs the woman to drink the bitter, cursing water…" (5:24).

    Verses from the Torah are written with ink on parchment, and the parchment is then erased into the water. The dissolved ink is what gives the water its bitter flavor.

    (Ramban 5:18 quoting Sifri; Abarbanel)

    Recommended Reading List

    Ramban
    5:2, 5:6
    Organization of this Parsha
    5:20
    Waters of the Sotah
    6:11
    Sin of the Nazir
    6:24
    Blessings of the Kohanim

    Sforno
    7:13
    Gifts of the Nesi'im
    Sefer Hachinuch
    362
    Tumah and Kedusha
    364
    Confession
    365
    Marital Peace
    366
    Sotah Offering
    374
    Appropriate Asceticism
    378
    The Blessing of the Kohanim

    Answers to this Week's Questions

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

    1. What is the significance of the number 8,580 in this week's Parsha?
      4:47-48 - It is the number of levi'im between ages thirty and fifty.

    2. Besides transporting the Mishkan, what other service performed by the levi'im is mentioned in this Parsha?
      4:47 - Singing and playing cymbals and harps to accompany the sacrifices.

    3. On which day did Moshe teach the command to send those who are teme'im (ritually impure) out of the camp?
      5:2 - The day the Mishkan was erected.

    4. Name the three camps in the desert.
      5:2 - The Camp of the Shechina was in the center, surrounded by the Camp of Levi which was surrounded by the Camp of Yisrael.

    5. Who was sent out of each of the camps?
      5:2 - A metzora was sent out of all three camps. A zav was permitted in the Camp of Yisrael but excluded from the two inner camps. A person who was tamei from contact with the dead had to leave only the Camp of the Shechina.

    6. A person stole from another and swore that he was innocent. If he later confesses his guilt, what are his obligations?
      5:6-8 - He pays the principle plus a fifth to the victim, and brings a korban asham.

    7. Who determines which kohen receives the gifts that must be given to the kohanim?
      5:10 - The giver.

    8. What does the Torah promise a person who gives matnos kehuna?
      5:10 - Great wealth.

    9. Why are the verses about matnos kehuna followed by the verses about the sotah?
      5:12 - To teach that someone who withholds the gifts due the kohanim is deserving of eventually bringing his wife to the kohanim to be tried as a sota.

    10. Why is the sotah given water from the holy basin?
      5:17 - The holy basin was made from the mirrors of the righteous women who left Egypt; the sota strayed from the example set by these women.

    11. What does the kohen do to the hair of a sotah?
      5:18 - He uncovers it.

    12. When a sotah who is guilty of adultery drinks the water, she dies in a very specific fashion. What happens to the adulterer?
      5:22 - He dies a similar death.

    13. Before the name of Hashem is erased, the sotah has the option either to admit guilt or to drink the water. Does she have a third option?
      5:27 - Yes, she can refuse both: She can refuse to admit guilt and also refuse to drink the water. (After the Name of Hashem is erased, she loses this option.)

    14. What are chartzanim? What are zagim?
      6:4 - Chartzanim are seeds. Zagim are peels.

    15. What sin does a nazir commit against himself?
      6:11 - He abstains from enjoying wine.

    16. Where was the cut hair of a nazir placed?
      6:18 - It was placed on the fire under the pot in which the nazir's shlamim offering was cooked.

    17. A kohen should bless the people "with a full heart." What word in the Parsha conveys this idea of "a full heart?"
      6:23 - "Amor."

    18. What is the meaning of the blessing, "May Hashem bless you and guard you?"
      6:24 - "May Hashem bless you" that your property may increase, "and guard you" from robbery.

    19. What is the meaning of the blessing, "May Hashem lift up His countenance upon you?"
      6:26 - "May He suppress His anger."

    20. The tribe of Yissachar was the second tribe to offer their gifts. Why did they merit this position?
      7:18 - The Tribe of Yissachar was well versed in Torah. Also, they proposed the idea that the nesi'im should offer gifts.
    Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
    General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
    Production Design: Eli Ballon
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