PARSHA-PIX - Sh'mini

Parsha Pix

The CALF was the first of the one-time special korbanot of opening day of the Mishkan (following the seven inauguration days). 

The RAM was also part of those EIGHTH DAY korbanot.

8=8 means that the 8th day of SHMINI was the 8th day of Nissan. That is one opinion. The other opinion is that it was Rosh Chodesh, as in 8=1.

The negation circle over the wine represents the "rules of conduct" for kohanim upon entering the Mikdash.

The fire is the fire, the one that should have been used by Nadav and Avihu... but wasn't. 

Sheep, duck, and bass are examples of kosher animals, hence the check mark (a.k.a. vee). Camel, ostrich, and shark are non-kosher counterparts of the kosher trio, hence the x.

The Havdala candle represents the repeated theme in the sedra that a major purpose of many of the mitzvot presented is to distinguish - between sacred and profane, between tahor and tamei, etc.

That leaves the two graphics in the upper-left. Take them as PPPs.

TTRIDDLES... are Torah Tidbits-style riddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on the calendar). They are found in the hard-copy of TT scattered throughout, usually at the bottom of different columns. In the electronic versions of TT, they are found all together at the end of the ParshaPix-TTriddles section. Some TTriddles are also presentedfor call-in solution on Torah Tidbits Audio (Arutz-7, Thursday night). The best solution set submitted each week (there isnt always a best) wins a double prize a CD from Noam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle, book, etc.) from Big Deal 

Last week's (TZAV, HAGADOL,PESACH) TTriddles:

[1] Ezra, Chananya, Chalafta

[2] 39, Who knows 39? (answer related to Pesach)

[3] man, incense, donations, wood

Plus 3 elements of the ParshaPix:

[4] The sedra’s Who Knows 5?

[5] The turtle who can’t spell

[6] CHAYEI ADAM

And the envelope please...

[1] After you read the solution, believe it that someone got this one. YYW. He’s good! Targun Yonatan ben Uziel says that Mal’achi (from where the Haftara of Shabbat HaGadol comes) was Ezra HaSofer. (Other commentaries mention that the identity of Mal’achi is in dispute. For this TTriddle, he’s Ezra.) In 3:16, Mal’achi, a.k.a. Ezra says, AZ NIDB’RU YIR’EI HASHEM... This pasuk is quoted by two different Tana’im in Pirkei Avot, both in the third chapter. R’ Chananya ben T’radyon quotes it to support his statement about two people who sit together and share Torah between them. R’ Chalafta ben Dosa quotes it to support a similar statement about two who sit and concern themselves with Torah. This causes the Divine Presence to descend upon them.

[2] 39 - who knows. 39 - I know. 39 are the people who receive Aliyot to the Torah during the whole holiday of Pesach (in Eretz Yisrael). Take this year, for example. First day Yom Tov, 5 + Maftir. Friday Chol HaMoed, 4 people. Shabbat Chol HaMoed, 7 + Maftir + another 3 at Mincha (that’s 11). 21 so far. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday Chol HaMoed - 4 each day; that’s another 12. 33. And on the last day of Pesach, another 5 + Maftir makes 39 people to get Aliyot. [When the first or last day is Shabbat - both are possible - there are 11 for the Shabbat Yom Tov and 6 for the Sunday or Friday Yom Tov. 4 each for the 5 days of Chol HaMoed adds another 20 to bring the total only to 37. In Chutz LaAretz, the 8th day makes some more possible totals.]

[3] The first word in this TTriddle probably misled attempted solvers and made the possibility of solving it much lower. The first word is not man, as in male human being, but man as in manna. It was collected daily BABOKER, BABOKER - in the earlier part of the morning (before it "melted” in the sun). The phrase BABOKER BABOKER appears only 4 times in the Torah (many more in the rest of Tanach). The incense was offered on the Golden Mizbei’ach by the Kohen Gadol BABOKER BABOKER. The donations from the People to the building of the Mishkan were brought in great abundance BABOKER BABOKER (this time it probably means every morning, rather than early in the morning). And in TZAV we find a kohen clearing the ashes from the fires of the Mizbei’ach and placing new wood thereon... BABOKER BABOKER.

[4] In the Hagada, 5 are the books of the Torah. In Parshat Tzav, 5 are the different Torahs of the types of Korbanot. ZOT TORAT HA’OLAH, V’ZOT TORAT HAMINCHA, ...CHATAT, ...ASHAM, ...SH’LA- MIM. There is a sixth, but it is MILU’IM, which is a SH’LAMIM, so really there are 5.

[5] The turtle can’t even spell in the TTriddle about him. Mispelled turtle in Hebrew is the name of the sedra - TZAV, TZADI-VAV, rather than TZADI-VET, the correct spelling of turtle.

[6] Which brings us to the CHAYEI ADAM, pen name for R’ Avraham Danzig (1748-1820). He wrote other works including ZICHRU TORAT MOSHE, whose name comes from the Haftara of Shabbat HaGadol and answers this TTriddle.

YYW once again has submitted the best set of solutions to this week’s TTriddles, including another answer to [2] Who knows 39? 39 is LAMED-TET or TET-LAMED which spells TAL, which we pray for on, and beginning on, Pesach. Special mention of RHM who came up with another Pesach-related 39. Cohen-Halpern matzot (and maybe others, but she counted and I checked this brand), have 39 holes per row of holes. (15 rows, by the way, and 15 matzot in a 1/2 kilo pack.)

This week's TTriddles:

[1] Scolapacidae are and have them

[2] Parshat HaShavua for $200: Piano & Helsinki

Plus the two items from the ParshaPix.

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