Torah tidbits
PARSHA-PIX Parshat Sho-f'tim


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Parsha Pix
Upper-left are the symbols of SHO-F’TIM (gavel) and SHO-T’RIM (sheriff’s star).
Negation circle over the planting of a sappling = prohibition of planting trees in the Mikdash or Mizbei’ach area.
Tilted scales = perversion of justice - a recurring theme in the sedra.
Crown is for the mitzva of appointing a king.
He must write a special Torah (quill & parchment).
He may not own an excessive number of horses (3 chess knights is too many).
Gift-wrapped present represents MATANOT, the gifts to a kohein, specific ally the parts of an slaughtered animal .
Negation of veering to the right or left.
Times 2 because all are commanded, and the king is additionally commanded.
Rabbit in hat stands for magic (but is not the same kind that the Torah forbids - That's why it is not in a negation circle.)
Ax handle detached from head - classic SHOGEG situation.
Bulldozer (earthmover, as it is called today) (below gavel and above crown) is to prepare the roads to IR MIKLAT for better access to the cities of refuge.
Bottom, from left. Three military deferments: Building new house, engagement to marry, and vineyard.
Lower-right is KI HA’ADAM EITZ HASADEH, for man is like the tree of the field.
The Home Sweet Home picture with the pyramids is negated because we are not supposed to return to Egypt to live.
There is an eye with the letter I in it, which is a play on AYIN B'AYIN.
The dice are double-4, which is for the 4 double words in the haftara - check them out.
That leaves 3 unexplained items as PixTTriddles.

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. 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 issue’s (R'EI) TTriddles:

[1] Change of one vowel changes the halachic status of classmates
[2] According to Moshe in Va'etchanan, it wasn't done
[3] 51129029974045
[4] Can a giraffe carry a tune?
[5] This time, at least, it is partnered with what seems to fit, but still with a significant diff.
[6] plus 4 elements from the ParshaPixPuzzle

And the envelope, please...

[1] The ram and the deer are classmates in that they both belong to the class of mammals. The ram is AYIL and the deer is AYAL, spelled the same way in Hebrew, with only the vowel under the YUD being different. The ram is a B'HEIMA T'HORA, a kosher domesticated farm animal. A deer is a CHAYA T'HORA, a kosher "wild" animal. There are halachic differences between the two types of mammals, e.g. KISUI DAM (covering the blood of Sh'chita) is required for an AYAL but not for an AYIL.
[2] In Va'etchanan, Moshe reminded us that we did not see an image of G-d when He spoke to us from the fire at Sinai. We didn't R'EI ANOCHI.
[3] 51129029974045 - 5 is for the 5th book - D'varim. 11:29 is the perek and pasuk that tell us that the BRACHA will be on HAR G'RIZIM. (02) 997- 4045 is the phone number for HAR BRACHA.
[4] The answer is, "we suppose so", because the ZEMER is identified as the giraffe, and ZEMER is a melodious word.
[5] This is a more serious TTriddle than most. No plays-on-words, no trick answers, no misdirection. LO T'VASHEIL G'DI BACHALEIV IMO, thou shalt not cook a G'DI in its mother's milk, appears three times in the Torah. In Mishpatim and Ki Tisa, where it teaches us the prohibitions of cooking meat in milk and of eating meat-in-milkmixtures, the command shares a pasuk with the command to bring BIKURIM to the Beit HaMikdash. It is not well-understood what Bikurim and Basar b'Chalav are doing in the same pasuk. In R'ei, it is partnered with another forbidden food, viz. N'VEILA. These two mitzvot seem to fit together better than the pairs from Sh'mot.Yet there is a significant difference: One is permitted to derive benefit (other than eating) from N'VEILA (meat of an animal that died other than by Sh'chita). This third occurrence of LO T'VASHEIL comes to teach us that Basar b'Chalav is ASUR B'HANA'A.
[6] There are the letters CI. They stand for R'EI (see), ANOCHI (I). The number 101 in Roman numerals is CI, so we'll keep these two together.
[7] The bird watcher is for the positive mitzva to check that a bird is kosher.
[8] Letters A, B, O are missing. No blood.

This week's TTriddles:

[1] If we counted 3 or 180 instead of 50, we would have this
[2] Eliezer, a person who intentionally does not bring KP, Moshe Rabeinu, a Zakein Mamrei, a poor borrower
[3] Any Olim from the States this week?
[4] And stirs the sea - in addition to what?
[5] Yitzchak Avinu, Yiftach, the wise one, the Chafetz Chayim... and whom?


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