* PARSHA Q&A * In-Depth Questions on the Parsha and Rashi's commentary. Parshas Ha'azinu For the week ending 3 Tishrei 5758 3 & 4 October 1997 =========================================================================== We wish all our readers a Gemar Chasima Tova. =========================================================================== Yom Kippur is almost here -- Sukkos is not far behind it. Stay on top of them with Ohr Somayach http://www.ohr.org.il/special/roshhash (for Rosh Hashanah AND Yom Kippur) http://www.ohr.org.il/special/sukkos =========================================================================== The following is a message from the Deans of Ohr Somayach: (Parsha Q&A appears below this letter) Dear Friend, On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Jews traditionally wish one another: "May you be inscribed for a Good Year." To our Internet Subscribers - members of the Ohr Somayach family - we would like to personally offer this blessing to you and your loved ones. And as family, you can send a special greeting to the rest of the Ohr Somayach family, to Jews throughout the world, the countless thousands participating in Ohr Somayach programs in a dozen centers on five continents. You can wish a good year to over 600 students discovering their Jewish roots at our main campus in Jerusalem, to more than 500 Russian families in the redeveloping Jewish communities in Odessa, to hundreds of adults immersing themselves like children in the Torah of their forefathers in New York and cities around the world. Wherever the light of Ohr Somayach radiates, your blessing will shine forth. All it takes is your generous contribution to our Rosh Hashanah Campaign. Your encouragement will enable us to reach many thousands more and bring them back to their Torah, their land and their people. They are waiting to hear from you. Please send in your gift today and earn the heavenly reward of a good year filled with health, happiness and success. Sincerely yours, Rabbi Nota Schiller Rabbi Mendel Weinbach 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103, Jerusalem 91180, Israel tel 972-2-581-0315, fax 972-2-581-2890, e-mail office@ohr.israel.net =========================================================================== Parsha Questions 1. What is so special about the heavens and the earth that Moshe chooses them as witnesses? 2. Why is the Torah compared to rain? 3. In what way is Hashem "faithful without injustice?" (32:4) 4. Why is Hashem called a "Tzaddik"? 5. How many floods did Hashem bring upon the world? 6. Which group of people does the Torah call "fathers"? Cite an example. 7. Why did Hashem separate the peoples of the world into exactly 70 nations? 8. Why is the merit of the Jewish People's ancestry called a "rope"? 9. How is Hashem's behavior toward the Jewish People similar to an eagle's behavior toward its offspring? 10. Hashem says regarding punishment of the Jewish People "I will spend my arrows on them" (32:23). What is the positive aspect of this punishment? 11. How does the idea of "chillul Hashem" not allow the nations to destroy the Jewish People? 12. What will happen to the nations that conquer the Jewish People? 13. When Hashem overturns a nation that persecutes the Jewish People, His attribute of Mercy is "replaced" by which attribute? 14. When Hashem punishes the heathen nations, for whose sins does He exact punishment? 15. How will Hashem's punishment change the way the nations view the Jewish People? 16. On what day was Ha'azinu taught to the Jewish People? 17. In verse 32:44 Yehoshua is called Hoshea. Why? 18. In verse 32:47 what does "it is not empty from you" mean? 19. Why did Hashem tell Moshe that he would die a similar death to that of his brother Aaron? 20. If Moshe had spoken to the rock rather than striking it, what would the Jewish People have learned? Bonus QUESTION: Rashi states that Hashem "pays" the righteous for their mitzvos in the World to Come, whereas he "pays" the wicked for their mitzvos in this world (32:4). But since Hashem is just, why is it that an evil person is rewarded only in this world, even if he did a perfect mitzvah? I Did Not Know That! The Torah is often compared to "water." In 32:2, the Torah is likened to rain, dew, light rain, and showers, corresponding to the four types of students in the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avos. One who is quick to learn and quick to forget, one who is slow to learn and slow to forget, one who is slow to learn but quick to forget, and one who is quick to learn but slow to forget. Ba'al HaTurim =========================================================================== Recommended Reading List Ramban 32:1 Biblical Witnesses 32:16 The Rebuke of Ha'azinu 32:40 The Testimony of Ha'azinu Sforno 32:2 Waters of the Torah 32:13 Purpose of Eretz Yisrael 32:19 Purpose of Galus 32:27 Salvation of Dispersion =========================================================================== Answers to this Week's Questions All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated 1. 32:1 - They endure forever. 2. 32:2 - Just as rain gives life and promotes growth, so too does the Torah. 3. 32:4 - He is "faithful" and rewards the righteous, and He is "without injustice" and rewards even the wicked for any good deeds. 4. 32:4 - Everyone will agree that his judgments are righteous. 5. 32:7 - Two. The first was in the generation of Enosh the grandson of Adam, and the second was in the time of Noach. 6. 32:7 - The Prophets are called "fathers". When Eliyahu was leaving this world, his student Elisha called after him, "My father, my father" (Melachim II 2:12). 7. 32:8 - Corresponding to the 70 Bnei Yisrael who entered Egypt. 8. 32:9 - Their merit is "woven from" the merits of the Avos. 9. 32:12 - He is merciful by waking them gently, hovering over them, and carrying them on His wings. 10. 32:23 - "The arrows will be spent" implies that the supply of arrows will come to an end, but the Jewish People will not. 11. 32:27 - The nations would attribute their success to their own might and to the might of their own gods. Hashem would not allow His name to be desecrated through the complete annihilation of His people. 12. 32:35 - They will eventually be punished. 13. 32:41 - His attribute of Justice. 14. 32:42 - For their own sins, and the sins of their ancestors. 15. 32:43 - They will view the Jewish People as praiseworthy for cleaving to Hashem. 16. 32:44 - The Shabbos on which Moshe died, and Yehoshua took over as leader. 17. 32:44 - To indicate that although he was the leader of the Jewish People, he still maintained a humble bearing. 18. 32:47 - That you will receive reward for studying Torah, and that there is nothing meaningless in the Torah. 19. 32:50 - Because Moshe wanted this. 20. 32:51 - If the rock had produced water without being struck, then the Jewish People would have reasoned that if a rock, which receives no reward or punishment, obeys Hashem's commands, all the more so they should too. Bonus ANSWER: The mitzvos performed by a righteous person reflect his essence, while his sins are secondary. The sins of a wicked person reflect his essence, while his good deeds are secondary. Hashem rewards or punishes a person for his essence in the World to Come, and for what is secondary, He rewards or punishes in this world. Gur Aryeh =========================================================================== Do you link to us? Let everyone know about the Ohr Somayach Home Page by dropping the following text into the HTML document of YOUR home page: The Ohr Somayach International Home Page =========================================================================== SUBSCRIBE! to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions: ohrnews - Keep up-to-date with the Ohr Somayach Web Site weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion dafyomi - Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into the Daf Yomi ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr Somayach os-alum - "B'Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter judaismo - Spanish-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism month - Seasons of the Moon - The Jewish Year through its months Ohr Somayach NEVER charges for any of the above lists. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe {listname} {your full name} mailto:listproc@virtual.co.il =========================================================================== Dedication opportunities are available for Parsha Q&A. Please contact us for details. =========================================================================== Written and Compiled by Rabbi Reuven Subar General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman Production Design: Lev Seltzer =========================================================================== Jewish L EEEEEEEE Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of J L E Ohr Somayach International J L E 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 J L Exchange Jerusalem 91180, Israel J L E Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890 J J L E Mailto:ohr@virtual.co.il JJJJ Learning EEEEEEEE http://www.ohr.org.il =========================================================================== (C) 1997 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue newsletters. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission, and then send us a sample issue.