Parsha Q&A - Vaeschanan

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Parsha Q&A

Parshas Vaeschanan

For the week ending 16 Av 5758; 7 & 8 August 1998

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

  • This publication is also available in the following formats: [Text] [Word] [PDF] Explanation of these symbols

    Parsha Questions

    Answers | Contents

    1. "And I prayed to Hashem at that time..." Why ‘at that time?’
    2. What is Ha’Levanon?
    3. Part of Moshe's request was granted. Which part?
    4. What did Hashem tell Yehoshua after the battle of Ai?
    5. When do the nations view the Jews as a wise people?
    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. "You’ll serve man-made gods..." Is this literal?
    9. Why is East called Mizrach?
    10. How often is Mitzraim mentioned in the 10 commandments?
    11. "Keep the Shabbos day as I have commanded you." When did Hashem command us to keep Shabbos.
    12. What is meant by ‘Hashem, our G-d, Hashem is One?’
    13. What are two meanings of loving Hashem ‘with all your might?’
    14. How well-versed must one be in Torah?
    15. ‘And teach them to your children...’ Your children refers to whom?
    16. Where does the word Totafos 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?


    Bonus Question
    Answer
    Contents
    Moshe thought perhaps the vow against his entering the Land had been annulled (see question#1 and answer). If so, why did he need to pray to enter the Land?


    I Did Not Know That!

    "And you will be careful to do (the mitzvos) ... a land flowing with milk and honey." (6:3) If we carefully observe the mitzvos, then it is a land flowing with milk and honey. If not, it is transformed into a barren wasteland.

    (Moznaim LaTorah)


    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

    Answers to this Week's Questions

    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 is Ha'Levanon?
      3:25 - Ha'Levanon means the Beis Hamikdash, which 'whitens' (lavan), i.e., atones for, the Jewish People.

    3. Part of Moshe's request was granted. Which part?
      3:27 - Moshe was allowed to see the Land.

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

    5. When do the nations view the Jews as a wise people?
      4:6 - When we study Torah and do mitzvos.

    6. How did the decree that Moshe not enter the Land affect him even in death?
      4:22 - Even his bones 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. "You'll serve man-made gods..." Is this literal?
      4:28 - No. It means you'll serve others who serve idols.

    9. Why is East called Mizrach?
      4:41 - It's the direction from which the sun shines. (Mizrach means shining.)

    10. How often is Mitzraim mentioned in the 10 commandments?
      5:6, 5:15 - Twice.

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

    12. 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.

    13. 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.

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

    15. 'And teach them to your children...' Your children refers to whom?
      6:7 - Your students

    16. Where does the word Totafos come from?
      6:8 - Tot means two in Caspi. Fos 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 - The B'nei 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.

    Bonus Question
    Question
    Contents

    There were two separate aspects: (1) Hashem’s Decree that he not enter, and (2) Hashem’s Vow that he not enter. Only after Moshe thought the Vow had been annulled was he able to pray for the rescinding of the Decree.

    (In the name of Rabbi Yitzchak Ze’ev Solevetchik)

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