Parshat Va'etchanan

For the week ending 11 Av 5760 / 11 & 12 August 2000

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Contents:

Parsha Questions

Recommended Reading List

Answers to Parsha Questions

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Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

1. "And I prayed to Hashem at that time." Why "at that time"?
2. What characteristic trait is represented by Hashem's "strong hand"?
3. What is ha'levanon?
4. What did Hashem tell Yehoshua after the battle of Ai?
5. What will happen if the Jewish People fail to keep the mitzvot properly?
6. How did the decree that Moshe not enter the Land affect him even in death?
7. What is hinted by the word v'noshantem?
8. Why were the Jewish People exiled two years earlier than indicated by Moshe's prophecy?
9. "You'll serve man-made gods." Is this literal?
10. Why is east called mizrach?
11. "Keep the Shabbat day as I have commanded you." When did Hashem command us to keep Shabbat?
12. Where did the Jewish People first receive the command to honor parents?
13. What is meant by "Hashem, our G-d, Hashem is One"?
14. What are two meanings of loving Hashem "with all your might?"
15. How well-versed must one be in Torah?
16. Where does the word Totafot come from?
17. Who is fit to swear in Hashem's name?
18. What does it mean that the Jews are the "smallest nation?"
19. When someone serves Hashem with love, how many generations receive reward?
20. Why are evil-doers rewarded in this world?

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Recommended Reading List

Ramban 4:2 Adding or Subtracting 4:9 Mt. Sinai 4:27 Dispersion 6:5 Love and Fear 6:18 Spirit of the Law 6:20 Significance of the Mitzvos 7:6 Hashem’s People Sforno 4:3 Baal-Peor 4:9 Philosophy 4:39 Aleinu 6:4 Shema Yisrael

Sefer Hachinuch 416 Coveting Property 418 Loving Hashem 419 Learning Torah 420 Reading the Shema 421 Tefillin of the Hand 422 Tefillin of the Head 423 Mezuza 427 Intermarriage

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Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

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

1. "And I prayed to Hashem at that time." Why "at that time"?
   3:23 - Defeating Sichon and Og, whose lands were part of Eretz Canaan, Moshe thought perhaps Hashem had annulled the vow against his entering the Land.

2. What characteristic trait is represented by Hashem's "strong hand"?
   3:24 - His willingness to forgive.

3. What is ha'levanon?
   3:25 - Ha'levanon means the Beit Hamikdash, which "whitens" (lavan), i.e., atones for, the Jewish People.

4. What did Hashem tell Yehoshua after the battle of Ai?
   3:28 - Yehoshua must lead the army into battle.

5. What will happen if the Jewish People fail to keep the mitzvot properly?
   4:9 - The non-Jewish world will regard them as foolish.

6. How did the decree that Moshe not enter the Land affect him even in death?
   4:22 - Even his remains weren't buried in the Land.

7. What is hinted by the word v'noshantem?
   4:25 - The gematria of v'noshantem, 852, hints at the number of years until the first exile.

8. Why were the Jewish People exiled two years earlier than indicated by Moshe's prophecy?
   4:25 - So that the rest of the prophecy "that you shall utterly perish" would not be fulfilled.

9. "You'll serve man-made gods." Is this literal?
   4:28 - No. It means you'll serve others who serve idols.

10. Why is east called mizrach?
    4:41 - It's the direction from which the sun shines (mizrach means shining).

11. "Keep the Shabbat day as I have commanded you." When did Hashem command us to keep Shabbat?
    5:13 - Before the giving of the Torah, at Marah. (Shmot 15:25)

12. Where did the Jewish People first receive the command to honor parents?
    5:16 - At Marah. (Shmot 15:25).

13. What is meant by "Hashem, our G-d, Hashem is One"?
    6:4 - Hashem, who is now our G-d, but not [accepted as] G-d of the other nations, will eventually be [accepted as] the One and only G-d.

14. What are two meanings of loving Hashem "with all your might?"
    6:5 - 1) With everything you own. 2) Whether Hashem treats you with kindness or harshness.

15. How well-versed must one be in Torah?
    6:7 - If asked a Torah question, one should be able to reply quickly and clearly.

16. Where does the word Totafot come from?
    6:8 - Tot means two in Caspi. Fot means two in Afriki. Together they allude to the four sections of tefillin.

17. Who is fit to swear in Hashem's name?
    6:13 - One who serves Hashem and reveres His name.

18. What does it mean that the Jews are the "smallest nation?"
    7:7 - Bnei Yisrael are the humblest nation.

19. When someone serves Hashem with love, how many generations receive reward?
    7:9 - 2,000.

20. Why are evil-doers rewarded in this world?
    7:10 - So that they get no reward in the next world.

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Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Michael Treblow

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