
PARSHA-PIX Parshat Acharei Mot

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Parsha Pix
Kohein Gadol is between two identical goats. He will draw lots over them
and one will be the special Yom Kippur chatat, while the other will be the
scapesgoat that will be sent out into the midbar.
The numbers on the left should be familiar from the Yom Kippur musaf which
describes the Avoda of the Kohein Gadol on Yom Kippur. ACHAT. ACHAT
V'ACHAT, etc. was the counting of the blood sprinkling.
The Mizbei'ach is the Mizbei'ach, a major "player" in Parshat Acharei, and
not just for Yom Kippur service. For example, notice the cow, goat, and
sheep that as korbanot can only be offered on the Mizbei'ach. Not outside
the Mikdash. Note the arrow pointing away from the Mizbei'ach is pointing
to a DO NOT ENTER sign, which in this case is a DO NOT GO IN THAT
DIRECTION sign. The opposite is also true. Animals for personal use may
NOT be slaughtered in the Mikdash area.
The faucet represents the water of the KIYOR from which the Kohein Gadol
washed his hands and feet ten times in the course of the Yom Kippur
service. It cannot really represent the water of the Mikveh in which the
Kohein Gadol immersed himself five times in the course of the Avoda,
because water draw from a tap is invalid for Mikveh. On the other hand,
perhaps the Mikveh had its required minimum of properly collected rain
water, and the tap water only added to the Mikveh.
That leaves the very large pair of candle sticks, representing Shabbat
HaGadol. Big candlesticks for the big Shabbat.
That leaves one visual TTriddle.
Speaking of TTriddles, YYW submitted the best solution set for last week's
TTriddles. Let us know when you want to come by to collect your "loot".
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 (M'TZORA) TTriddles:
[1] Two dots = -er; one dot = -ee
[2] Israel's borders and Egypt's sin
[3] A unique 6 in 2 sequence
[4] 2 elements from the Parsha Pix
And the envelope, please...
[1] The answer to this one was found in the Towards Better Davening and
Torah Reading column, which discussed the words M'TAHEIR and MITAHEIR. The
words are spelled the same, the only difference being the SH'VA under the
MEM in the first case and the CHIRIK under the MEM in the second case.
M'TAHEIR describes the Kohein who is the one who purifies the m'tzora. He
is the purifier and the Hebrew word has two dots under the MEM. The
purifi-ee, the one being purified, has one dot, the CHIRIK under the MEM.
[2] Although we generally call last week's sedra M'TZORA, the name is not
so "nice" and different communities renamed the sedra with a nicer name.
Some S'faradi communities call the sedra TAHARA as a euphemism for the
ritual defilement of the M'tzora. Or taking as a name the content of the
beginning of the sedra rather than one of its first key words, as sedras
are usually named. Yemenites call the sedra ZOT TIH-YEH, as in ZOT TIH-YEH
TORAH HAM'TZORA. Taking the phrase ZOT TIH-YEH, this will be (the Laws,
procedures, of the M'tzora) and searching Tanach for other occurrences,
one is surprised to find only two other places. In Parshat Mas'ei, we find
ZOT TIH-YEH LACHEM the Land in its boundaries all around. The other time
is in Zecharia - This will be CHATAT MITZRAYIM, the sin of Egypt. That's
it. Three times ZOT TIH-YEH.
[3] The shortest p'sukim in the Torah have three words. There are around a
dozen such p'sukim. Two of the three-word p'sukim are found in M'tzora,
one right after the other. They are Vayikra 14:55-56...
U'L'TZ'RAAT HABEGED V'L'BAYIT: V'L'SEIT V'L'SAPACHAT V'L'B'HERET:
There seems to be some kind of SEGULA in reciting the three-word p'sukim,
as one can find such a list in a good Siddur, as part of the Motza'ei
Shabbat recitations. There are other lists of unusual p'ukim as well.
[4] AB-- was supposed to be a very negative kind of blood, like the blood
in the sedra that rendered a man or woman TAMEI.
[5] The four guys with N'GA'IM on their foreheads and strange coloring in
their hair are standing around a soccer goal, so they represent the
opening of the haftara of M'tzora - V'ARBA'A ANASHIM HAYU M'TZORA'IM
PETACH HASHAAR...SHAAR in the context of the haftara is the gate of a
city. In TTriddlese, it is a soccer or hockey goal.
This week's TTriddles:
[1] Off-beat reason YK is Yom K'Purim
[2] Sharp contrast of the sedra's avoda and the day's
[3] The sedra & the original Shabbat HaGadol
[4] Mr. Jeremy Fisher failed his O levels
[5] Slogan common to sedra & Motza"Sh
[6] Two promises in one pasuk come in handy about 13-14 hours after we
read them
[7] Pair of common factors of Shabbat & Motza"Sh
[8] one element from the Parsha Pix
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