PARSHA-PIX - Parshat Tzav

Parsha Pix
Fire represents the fire of the Mizbei’ach that was to always remain lit. If the Menora ever went out, it was relit from the Mizvei’ach’s fire. Ner Tamid in shuls commemorates both the eternal lights of the Menorah and the fire of the Mizbei’ach.
Yes, matza; no, chametz is not just a Pesach rule. It is the rule for most Menachot.
Ear, thumb, big toe - application of some bloods and some oils in various rituals in the Mikdash.
Oven and frying pan - two of several methods of preparing Menachot.
Turtle with poor spelling - in Hebrew, TZAV (TZADI-VET), a misspelling of Parshat TZAV.
Kohein Gadol is the Kohein Gadol, as the red cow is the Para Aduma.
Tent is oft-repeated in the rules of TUM’AT MEIT.
Who knows five? Not only the books of the Torah, but the 5 ZOT TORAT... in the sedra.

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 presented for call-in solution on Torah Tidbits Audio (Arutz-7, Thursday night). The best solution set submitted each week (there isn't 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 (VAYIKRa-PURIM) TTriddles:
[1] with this, the orders are opposite Motza"Sh's
[2] Mordechai didn't and did these homophones
[3] All same size, but one missing
[4] This Shabbat, we layn it and sing it
[5] This we will say, layn, and sing
[6] See if you can decipher this TT fragment:Taanit Esther is (almost) the only fast that we don't... except when... The only other fast... when...
[7] The 2 or 3 dot issue a 4th time this Shabbat
[8] Dual leaders of naval class sacrifice all
[9] Find at least two Megila connections between Purim & Kipurim
Plus the MegilaMix from Megila Morsels

And the envelope please...
A TT reader recently suggested keeping all TTriddles together rather than scatter them throughout Torah Tidbits. This is what we do in the electronic versions of TT (email and website). But they cannot be listed together in the hard-copy (printed version) because they are made up, one by one, and serve the addi- tional purpose of finishing of pages and columns when the material itself leaves just a TTriddle-sized space. Besides, part of the “game” is finding them all. So let’s get to the TTriddles from TT 561.
[1] The answer to this one is M’LIKA, the special way a bird-sacrifice is killed in the Beit haMikdash. SH’CHITA (ritual slaughter) is used for animals (meaning mammals) and birds when being prepared as food, and for korbanot of cow, goat, and sheep. But for the two types of doves, M’LIKA was used. One of the requirements of M’LIKA is LO YAVDIL, not to sever the dove’s head from its body. This “order” is opposite that of Motza’ei Shabbat, namely to yes YAVDIL, say Havdala.
[2] Mordechai didn’t KOREI’A, kneel and bow to Haman. But he did KOREI’A, tear his garments upon hearing Haman’s evil decree. What he didn’t do is spelled with a KAF, and what he did is spelled with a KUF. The words (not exactly as they appear in the Megila) are homophones (like right, write, and rite).
[3] The opening word of the sedra (and the Book) is VAYIKRa, written in a Sefer Torah with a small ALEF. Targum on this first word and name of sedra and Book is U’K’RA. All the letters are the same size, but one is missing - a YUD.
[4] In the Shabbat day Z’mira -- BARUCH KEIL ELYON, the refrain refers to MINCHA AL MACHAVAT, the flour-oil-spice offering that was pan fried. It is described among the other MENACHOT in Parshat Vayikra. So we layned it and sang it last Shabbat.
[5] Similarly, the phrase KETORET HASAMIM refers to the incense offering in the Mikdash. We say that phrase in the Korbanot section of davening, we layned it in Parshat Vayikra (and a several other times in Vayakhel and P’kudei), and we sing it after the Musaf Amida in EIN KELOKEINU...
[6] Taanit Esther is (almost) the only fast that we don’t say AVINU MALKEINU or TACHANUN at Mincha, except when Purim is Motza’ei Shabbat - Sunday, in which case Taanit Esther is pulled back to Thursday, and AVINU MALKEINU and TACHANUN are said. The only other fast day when AVINU MALKEINU and TACHANUN are not said at Mincha is ASARA B’TEVET, when it falls on Friday.
[7] Ah, the 2- and 3-dot issue. Its more famous example of it is the word ZAYIN-CHAF-REISH in Parshat Zachor, which can be read ZEICHER or ZECHER, that’s a TZEIREI (2 dots) under the ZAYIN or a SEGOL (3 dots). Because ZACHOR is a Torah obligation, the common practice is to reread the pasuk (or at least the phrase) containing the word, so that both forms are used. As well known as this one is, the same dispute shows up with the same word in the thrice-daily-recited ASHREI: ZEICHER RAV TUV’CHA YABI’U... Many Siddurim have only ZEICHER, with a 2-dot TZEIREI. Some have both, with the other one in parentheses or a footnote. The GR”A Sidduim have only ZECHER (3 dots), as this is the opinion of the Vilna Gaon.
[8] As of this writing, no one has solved this one. I’m hopeful that someone will; it’s always nicer that way. Dual leaders means the first two letters. Of each of the two words, naval class, are Na and Cl, which when combined form NaCl, sodium chloride, a.k.a. salt - that which is to be used on all sacrifices.
[9] It is well-known that the variation on the name Yom Kippur - namely, Yom KiPurim, is often taken as pointing to comparisons between Yom Kippur and Purim. In the Megila, we find reference to fasting day and night. And we also find the wording HAMELECH YOSHEIV AL KISEI... The king is sitting on his throne, in the Megila. This reminds us of the phrase from Shacharit of Yom Kippur (and Rosh HaShana) of the same wording, referring to HaShem. (Of course, the phrase exists for Shabbat and all Chagim as well, but the image it conjures up definitely is more Yamim Nora’im.
That leaves us with the MegilaMix collection of graphic images from the Purim spoof of Torah Tidbits, known for many years as Megila Morsels.
Start in the upper-left with owl who is saying HOO as in HU ACHASHVEIROSH. HU appears a total of 19 times in the Megila, several of them being prominent enough to rate inclusion in this Megila- Mix. MI HU ZEH V’EIZEH HU... BALAILA HAHU, HU HAGORAL... HU CHODESH ADAR... to name a few HU.
From 1:6, we find KARPAS, represented by the celery; BOOTS is from 8:15 (and almost from 1:6, where it lost the DAGESH from the BET and is pronounced VUTZ - it means fine linen.); and the percent symbol is for the word ACHUZ.
Noah’s Ark is for the word NO’ACH, meaning rested, and mentioned 3 times in the Megila.
PASS is NO-FAIL, as in V’HAMAN NOFEIL... Haman fell onto Esther’s couch (bed). The king did not take kindly to finding Haman there.
Cluster of grapes is ESHKOL, homophone of ESHKOL as in Haman’s promise to fatten the king’s coffers if he agreed to authorize the massa- cre of the Jewish People.
Ruphus Cucullatus is the scientific name for the dodo bird, as in HI ESHTER BAT DODO...
The field of 50 stars from the American flag is for the phrase B’CHOL M’DINOT MALCHUTO or MALCHUTECHA, in all the states of your kingdom.
The bird next to the field of stars is an EGRET, sound-alike and spell-alike of EGERET, the term for the Megila itself. Appears twice in the Megila.
If E=mc², then E over c-squared is m, which is mass, which is MAS, tax, as levied on the people of the kingdom, in 10:1.
Okay, follow this. The elephant is a PIL. Specif- ically, it is an Indian elephant with shorter ears. And its head is its highest part (rather than shoulders, as in the African elephants). Although both male and female African elephants have tusks, only the male Indian elephant does. So the picture is of a male elephant, or a HE (English) - PIL (Hebrew). HIPIL. Below the elephant is a man whose pockets are turned out to show that they are empty. He is a poor person. Together we get HIPIL PUR...
And if you think that one was bad, go to the bottom of the MM for this:
Lower-right is a shoe, brush, and polish, repre- senting a SHOESHINE. The outline of the Lone Star State (Texas) tells us to modify the pronunciation of SHOESHINE to the way it is pronounced in the south - namely, SHUSHAN. The laughing fellow with the speech balloon is saying HA. And we’ll use the Hebrew for beer to get SHUSHAN HA-BIRA.

This week's TTriddles:
[1] Common feature with 1’s 4, 5, & 9
[2] Same verb for him and them, but used for him twice and them once. Who and what?
[3] Common item to the 2nd sedras in Books 1,2,3
[4] Applicator of what and what? What?
[5] This is the Torah link between Torahs?

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