Click on image for enlargement Parsha Pix Following Miriam's death, the Well dried up and there was no water for the people (the faucet with the spider's web at the spout). Although Moshe was commanded to speak to the Rock (its ear indicates that it was ready to listen), he struck it with the MATEH twice and water gushed forth from the rock(s). The Kohen Gadol is pictured, with the garments that were transferred from Aharon to Elazar. Following Aharon's death, the people panicked and a plague of serpents attacked the people. G-d told Moshe to put the form of a snake on a rod (which he did, making the snake from copper) and anyone bitten by a poisonous snake who looks at the snake-on-the-stick would live. The symbol of the medical corps is a serpent (or two) wound around a staff. Known as a caduceus, dictionaries and encyclopedias give it an origin in Greek mythology. One wonders if the Torah is its original source... or something like that. The sedra mentions SEFER MILCHAMOT HASHEM, some kind of written record of the battles. It is represented by the open book with a tank on one page and the HEI-apostrophe on the other. DO NOT ENTER sign has a double-double meaning. Edom and Emori both responded to Israel's request for safe passage through their territory with DO NOT ENTER. Moshe and Aharon, as a result of the "hitting the rock rather than talking to it episode", were given DO NOT ENTER orders for Eretz Yisrael. The bottle of water marked 2NIS represents the offer Bnei Yisrael made to pay for the water they would use while passing through Edom's land. The well with the musical clef stands for the Song of the Well. At the bottom is a mathematical expression equaling 256+44+1, which is 301, the g'matriya of fire. That is what the expression is equal to in the ParshaPix, and altogether it represents the phrase,"For a fire has come out of CHESHBON..." There are two new elements in
the ParshaPix that each become a visual TTriddle. One is easy, the other -
nearly impossible. [2] One TTriddler suggested that this refers to the molad, announced on Shabbat but taking place on - and therefore reminding us of - Wednesday. Not what we had in mind, but acceptable as an answer. The TTriddle points to the Psalm of the Day for Wednesday, which ends with first two p'sukim of L'CHU N'RAN'NA (Psalm 95), the first Psalm of Kabbalat Shabbat. That can be said of any Shabbat reminding one of Wednesday - or vice versa. But the haftara of Korach has another reminder. KI LO YITOSH HASHEM (ET) AMO, a phrase that appears only in Shmuel Alef (12:22), haftara of Korach, and in T'hilim 94, Shir Shel Yom of Wednesday. BTW, since T'hilim 94 is followed by L'CHU N'RAN'NA, the first two p'sukim were appended to the Psalm of Wednesday as if to remind us that beginning with the second half of the week, we focus on the coming Shabbat. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday can be seen as the preparatory days for the coming Shabbat, as Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday at the beginning of the week, draw some of the flavor of the preceding Shabbat. One manifestation of that idea is that havdala can be said in extenuating circumstances until (but not including) Tuesday evening. [3] This TTriddle was born when we changed the footer of the page from SHLACH to KORACH, only switching the SHL to KOR and leaving the ACH intact. From there it was a search of the acronym websites to find that the only possibility for a TTriddle would be the three-letter codes for airports around the world. Whereas TTreaders might be more familiar with TLV and JFK, EWR (Newark), LGA (La Guardia - the airport in Queens, not the street and highway exit in Tel Aviv), LHR and LGW (Heathrow and Gatwick for our British TTreaders), we did find both SHL and KOR on the list. From the airport in Shillong, India to the airport in Kokoro, Papau New Guinea is almost 7000 km. [4] ON b. PELET is NOT the correct answer. Since "his brothers" Datan and Aviram were not biological brothers, but only in the sense of partners in crime. However, Datan and Aviram had a brother. His name was NEMUEL (not to be confused with the NEMUEL who was the son of Shimon - they were first cousins twice-removed), and he did not join his brothers in the Korach rebellion. [5] This might have been used as a TTriddle in the past. The word TZITZ appears in the description of the flowering, budding, and fruiting of Aharon's staff. The TZITZ was one of the 8 garments of the Kohein Gadol. Hence the TTriddle. [6] The infamous pair DATAN and AVIRAM are mentioned 6 times in Bamidbar 16 (Parshat Korach), twice in Pinchas and once in Eikev. That makes in 6 pair in Korach and three elsewhere. [7] This TTriddle was born of a curiosity search for sedras of the Torah (there are 54) which end (terminate) with reference to death (termination). Which seems like an unexpected way that sedras end. Korach ends with the words V'LO TAMUTU, and they shall not die). B'midbar ends with VAMEITU, (they - Leviyim from K'hat family - should not witness the covering of the vessels of the Mishkan) and die. Parshat Balak ends with, "And the body-count of the plague was 24,000. Each seem inappropriate in light of what we know about where to put an aliya-break. And then there is Parshat No'ach, ending with, "And Terach died in Charan. Also K'doshim and Emor fit (sort of). That brings the number of the 54 to six. [8] Is this one visual TTriddle
with two parts or two separate ones - take your pick. Both are from the
haftara, and refer to the unusual storm (storm cloud with lightning)
Honorable mention (and a CD) to DM for 007/M. [The Parshat
Chukat Homepage]
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