Last Week's PPP (Va-yak-al/Pekudei)

there was none

Radio Riddles - there were

[A] We read about it three times this Shabbat. What is it?

[B] Three weeks in a row, the dot fell from the (prominent) mouth.

The TT357PPP Report...

No one submitted solutions for last week's non-existent PPP. Or maybe 17 people did and their submissions were invisible. Whatever.

TT358PPP - Vayikra

Answers to the Radio Riddles

[A] This one was pretty easy. The answer is ROSH CHODESH NISSAN. In the sedra (remember, it was Vayakhel-P'kudei), the first of Nissan is the date of the first setting up of the Mishkan. The Maftir referred to it (although it did not actually mention the date) as in, HACHODESH HAZEH LACHEM (assumption being that G-d commandedMoshe and Aharon about Kiddush HaChodesh on Rosh Chodesh. And the Haftara for HaChodesh contains the instructions by Yechezkel to purify the Beit HaMikdash with special sacrifices on the first day of the first month. We read about Rosh Chodesh Nissan three times last Shabbat.

[B] This was harder and referred to the grammatical rule of Hebrew that a Dagesh Kal drops out of the letter it is in at the beginning of a word if it follows certain letters from the previous word in the same phrase. Don't worry about that if you didn't follow it, I didn't do too well in the popular education course, TeachingDikduk. You'll see what I mean in a moment.

It just so happens that a PEI became a FEI (that's the dot dropping from the mouth - PEH) three times recently, from words that were very prominent. Back on Purim, in the Megila, we can almost hear the drumroll in the background as the Megila explains the name of the holiday."Therefore, they called these days... FURIM." Not Purim, but FURIM, because of the HEI of HA'EILEH. Then, the following Shabbat, in the Maftir, again the drumroll, Zot Chukat HaTorah... "And take to you a FARA ADUMA". Again, the dot drops because of the end of the previous word, EILECHA. And then the following Shabbat(last week, that is), the name of the second sedra of the sedra pair - EILEH F'KUDEI.

There's no big deal about all this, I just think it's... something. What was the name of Avimelech's chief of staff? Probably Pichol. But he's always "and Pichol", which becomes U'FICHOL. And how about the city next to Ramat Gan and CocaCola? It shouldn't be Bnei Brak, but rather BNEI V'RAK, as in the Hagada. Whatever. (I hope no one is counting how many times I've said WHATEVER.)

And speaking of Radio, I'd like to wish a special Happy Birthday and welcome to the TEENS (please go easy on your parents) to the co-host and music director of Torah Tidbits Audio, ORA ZEEVA. Happy Birthday, Sweetie. Love you.

Rabbi Yaakov Auerbach z"l points out that the opening pasuk of Vayikra (the middle book of the Torah) serves its middle position well. First word of the Torah, B'REISHIT = 913; last word, YISRAEL = 541. Combined, 1454, which is the G'matriya of Vayikra 1:1, without the little ALEF. (Little letters can be dropped from aG'matriya, that's what makes this particular observation very neat.)

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