* PARSHA Q&A * In-Depth Questions on the Parsha and Rashi's commentary. Parshas Shlach For the week ending 21 Sivan 5756 (28 Sivan 5756)* 7 & 8 June 1996 (14 & 15 June 1996)* *Week ending dates for locations outside of Israel =========================================================================== All Ohr Somayach Publications are now available in Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word formats from our web site: www.jer1.co.il/orgs/ohr =========================================================================== Parsha Questions 1. Why is the portion about the spies written immediately after the portion about Miriam's having tzara'as? 2. Which Tribe did not send a spy? 3. Which fruit did the meraglim bring back from Eretz Yisrael? 4. How many men were needed to carry the cluster of grapes? 5. Which of the meraglim returned empty handed? 6. Why did Hashem shorten the journey of the meraglim? 7. With which true statement did the meraglim begin their evil report? 8. How did Calev quiet the people? 9. Why did the Land appear like a "land that eats its inhabitants" (13:32)? 10. On which date did the Bnei Yisrael cry because of the report of the meraglim? How did this affect the future of the Jewish Nation? 11. "Don't fear the people of the land... their defense is departed" (14:9). Who was one of their "defenders"? 12. Calev and Yehoshua praised Eretz Canaan and tried to reassure the Jewish People that they could be victorious. How did the Jewish People respond? 13. Which portion of Eretz Canaan did Calev receive? 14. "How long shall I bear this evil congregation (14:27)?" Hashem is referring to the ten meraglim who slandered the Land. What important concept do we learn from this verse? 15. Which two locations were named for events which occurred in Parshas Shlach? 16. How is the mitzvah of Challah different from other mitzvos that are associated with Eretz Yisrael? 17. What is the minimum measurement of Challah that must be given to a Kohen according to Torah Law? Rabbinical Law? 18. How does the prohibition against worshipping idols differ from all other prohibitions in the Torah? 19. How many times did the Jewish People keep Shabbos before someone violated it by gathering wood? 20. From what is "techeles" derived? Bonus QUESTION: Since Hashem knew that the Jewish People would sin through sending the meraglim, why did He allow the Jewish People to send them? I Did Not Know That! The mitzvah of Challah, taking the first portion of the dough, acts as a reminder that everything man has is a gift from Hashem. Avnei Ezel =========================================================================== Recommended Reading List Ramban 13:4 Order of the Meraglim 13:27,32 & 14:1,3 Tactics of the Meraglim 14:17 Moshe Rabbeinu's Prayer 15:2 Order of the Chapters Sefer Hachinuch 385 Challah 386 Tzitzis 387 Avoiding Intellectual and Physical Temptations =========================================================================== Answers to this Week's Questions All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated 1. 13:2 - To show the evil of the meraglim (spies), that they saw Miriam punished for speaking lashon hara (slander) and didn't learn a lesson from that. 2. 13:4-15 - Levi. 3. 13:23 - A cluster of grapes, a pomegranate and a fig. 4. 13:23 - Eight. 5. 13:23 - Yehoshua and Calev. 6. 13:25 - Hashem knew that the Jewish People would sin on account of the meraglim and would spend a year in the midbar for every day of the mission. Therefore, Hashem shortened the journey to soften the decree against the Jewish People. 7. 13:27 - That Eretz Canaan is a land flowing with milk and honey. 8. 13:30 - He fooled them by shouting, "Is this all that Moshe did to us?" The people quieted themselves to hear what further disparagement Calev wished to add. 9. 13:32 - Hashem caused many deaths among the Canaanites so that they would be preoccupied with burying their dead and not notice the meraglim. 10. 14:1 - On Tisha B'Av. Therefore, the Temples were destructed on this date. 11. 14:9 - Iyov. 12. 14:10 - The Jewish People wanted to stone them. 13. 14:24 - Hebron. 14. 14:27 - That ten men are considered a congregation. 15. 13:24, 14:45 - Nachal Eshkol, because of the cluster of grapes taken there. Chormah, because of the destruction that occurred there. 16. 15:18 - The obligation to observe other mitzvos associated with Eretz Yisrael begins only after the possession and division of the Land. The obligation to observe the mitzvah of Challah starts immediately upon entering the Land. 17. 15:20 - No fixed amount is stated in the Torah. Rabbinical Law requires a household to give 1/24, and a baker to give 1/48. 18. 15:31 - Hashem gave this commandment directly to the Jewish People. 19. 15:32 - Just one. 20. 15:39 - From the blood of the chilazon. Bonus ANSWER: Rebuke is only appropriate when it will be accepted. If the individual will not understand from the reproof the error that he is making, rebuke will cause more harm than good. Hashem understood that the Jewish People could not be dissuaded from sending the meraglim, and that to prevent the mission would have had consequences far more devastating than allowing it. Be'er Mechokek =========================================================================== Do you link to us? 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