TT335PPP sort of

In the Ha'azinu-Sukkot issue, TT335+, there was no PPP per se, but there were two TTA Radio Riddles that were held over from the show right before Shabbat Shuva. TT readers faired better than TTA listeners with the riddles. The second was a bit silly, asking you to find another composer's initial + opera in Parshat Vayeilech. M'Figaro, for example, is M for Mozart and Figaro, one of his operas. B'Carmen, etc. The one from the sedra was V'AIDA, the word that tops the Ha'Azinu column in all Sifrei Torah. That's V for Verdi and Aida. Several correct solutions were received.

Because of the abbreviated week, I'm pressured to finish TT and I'm not giving credit to the solvers this week. IY"H, I'll straighten everything out soon and not only acknowledge winners, but start giving out the prize CDs and tapes. Please be patient.

The other riddle - Find a word in common with Purim and Yamim Nora'im, elicited good answers, better than the one I had in mind.

There were two popular answers:

[1] HAMELECH - The King. It is widely held that reference to HaMelech in Megilat Esther without mentioning the name Achashveirosh can be understood on a different level as referring to G-d. Of course, G-d's Kingship is a major theme of Yamim Nora'im. There are a few phrases that make the connection stronger than just the word. HaMelech Yosheiv... the King sits on an exalted throne, is common to Purim and RH and YK. Good answer.

Then there is the lots that Haman cast (that's where the name Purim comes from) and the lots by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur to determine which goat is to be a Korbanand which is the scapegoat. There is another lottery associated with YK - that of the people on the ship that carried Yona in his aborted plan to escape from his mission to prophesy to the people of Ninveh.

The common word I had in mind is U'V'CHEIN. Commentaries say that when Esther decided that she was going to approach the king in violation of the rules of the kingdom, she said, "and thus I will approach the king against the rules..." We stand on Yamim Nora'im with a bit of a feeling of dispair, that we too are approaching the King without merit on our side, and we too, as Esther did, hope for the best. U'V'CHEIN is the first word of three of the passages in the expanded HaMelech HaKadosh bracha of the RH and YK Amida.

TOKEF is also common to Purim, RH, and YK

As to this week's PPP, note that there is a holdover from Sukkot in the box in the upper left. The rest relate to B'reishit.

The American Touch Football in Israel league has expanded to 33 teams in 3 divisions. One of the new teams is TORAH TIDBITS, to be coached by Danny Taragin, who took an Israel Center team to the top spot in the '95-'96 season.

Competition is going to be tough this year, but Coach Danny is optimistic. TT's first game is this Friday. GO TT, GO!

This Week's PPP (B'reishit)

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