PARSHA-PIX Parshat Sho-f'tim

Click on image for enlargement

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 so, and the king is additionally commanded the same thing.
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 (earth mover, 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.
Home Sweet Home picture with the pyramids is negated because we are not allowed to return to Egypt to live there.
There is an eye with the letter I in it, which is a play on AYIN B'AYIN. The phrase appears only three times in all of Tanach. Two of those times are Parshat Sho-f’tim and the haftara for Parshat Sho-f’tim!
The dice are double-4, which is for the 4 double words in the haftara - check them out.
The peace symbol in a speech bubble stands for the mitzva to offer peace to an enemy before engaging it in battle.
The recycling symbol reminds us to avoid the prohibition of BAL TASHCHIT.
That leaves 2 unexplained items as visual TTriddles, one of which is a double.

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] E.T., cane, cane, sort of all blue
[2] strong like a stone
[3] false prophets and witnesses
[4] Don't try Friday night's suggestion this Shabbat morning
[5] Shabbat and spring with, all the mitzvot without
[6] plus two elements from the Parsha Pix, and...

And the envelope, please...
[1] LO TAASUN... Do not do... appears four times in Tanach, all in Chumash, twice in Parshat R’ei. G-d says (in the end of Yitro, after the Aseret HaDibrot), do not do “with me” (ITI, i.e. E.T.) gods of silver... When Moshe is speaking with the leaders of Reuven and Gad, he says V’IM LO TAASUN KEIN... and if you will not do thus... In R’EI, we find KEIN (cane) again: Do not do thus to G-d... and again, do not do K’CHOL, like all that you have done until now... K’CHOL sounds like KACHOL, blue.
[2] RAK (rock) CHAZAK... a strong rock, or strong like a stone. Parshat R;ei has 6 of the 41 RAKs in the Torah. When you listen to the sedra, the word sort of jumps out at you. And one of them said: Make a TTriddle out of me. So we did.
[3] In R’ei, we find the expression KI YAKUM, if there arises from your midst, a (false) prophet of dream dreamer... KI YAKUM occurs only one other time in Chumash - in the portion of the specific type of false witness known as EIDIM ZOM’MIM, plotting witnesses and once more in the book of IYOV. That’s it.
[4] In the Friday night davening, at the conclusion of the BAMEH MADLIKIN “interlude between Kabbalat SHabbat and Maariv, we find a quote from Yeshayahu 54:13, V’CHOL BANAYICH LIMUDEI HASHEM... and we are told to read the word BANAYICH (your sons) as BONAYICH (your builders). This allows a DRASH on the pasuk. However, don’t take that suggestion on Shabbat morning of Parshat R’ei, when we read that pasuk in the haftara. If you read the word as BONAIYCH, you will be instructed to reread it correctly - BANAYICH.
[5] SHAMOR ET YOM HASHABBAT L’KAD’SHO... Preserve the Shabbat... (from Va’etchanan, second version of the Aseret HaDibrot). SHAMOR ET CHODESH HA’AVIV... Preserve the spring month - make sure it is spring when you bring the Korban Pesach. Those are the only two times the phrase SHAMOR ET occurs in Tanach. There is one other occurrence with SHAMOR spelled without the VAV that it has the two other times. In Ki Tavo, Moshe and the Elders command the people to SHAMOR ET KOL HAMITZVA... preserve all the mitzvot...
[6] At the top of R’ei’s ParshaPix there were three arrows crossed out. They represent the haftara of Machar Chodesh which did not preempt the haftara of R’ei as it ordinarily preempts the weekly haftara of Shabbat Erev Rosh Chodesh. And even those shuls that followed the haftara of R’ei with the first and last pasuk of the Machar Chodesh haftara did not read of the three arrows that were a signal between Yonatan and David.
[7] The small photo is of actor Raymond Burr in his signature role as Perry Mason. In 88 novels, 10 years worth of weekly TV shows, and several movies (not to mention a radio series and other media formats), Perry Mason proved himself worthy of representing, in TTriddle form, the mitzva in R’ei of questioning and cross-examining witnesses - V’DARASHTA, V’CHAKARTA, V’SHALTA HEITEIV...
[8] And that leaves us with the unmentioned - but no less so - TTriddle, namely the Word of the Month Mazal-Pic. Beginning with the torus that replaced Taurus for Iyar, we’ve had a Minnesota Twins baseball cap for Sivan, a crab (apple) for Tammuz, and Snagglepuss representing Av. To introduce Elul’s mazal, here is the subject line of the email received from AW (another CD is due him), “yes, virginia, there is a symbol for the month” AW is correct that the symbol in the Word of the Month box is the outline of the state of Virginia, which was named for Queen Elizabeth the first, who was known as the Virgin Queen.

This week's TTriddles:
[1] 27 79-47 (8 with 29), 39 47-79, (1 with 29)
[2] Confused knowledge is surrounded by falsehood
[3] oaths one witness
[4] Besides righteous people, whose words?
[5] plus 2 elements from the ParshaPixs, one of which is a double.

[The Parshat Sho-f'tim Homepage]
[The TORAH tidbits Homepage] [How to use TORAH tidbits]
[About The OU/NCSY Israel Center] [About TORAH tidbits]
 [www.ou.org]