
PARSHA-PIX Parshat Pinchas
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Parsha Pix
Contradictory symbol of war (the spear) and peace (the dove with olive branch). Pinchas' act of "violence" was rewarded by the Covenant of Peace. It works this way sometimes.
The Brit Shalom is the Kehuna, the CHOSHEN.
The broken 6 represents the broken VAV in Shalom.
The small 10 is for the small YUD in Pinchas.
The large 50 is for the large NUN SOFIT referring to the claim of the daughters of TZ'lofchad.
Bill Cosby stands for his Midyanite namesake.
The calculator, for the counting of the people.
Lambs are the daily T'MIDIM, or the Musaf of Shabbat - both of which are mitzvot in Pinchas.
Along the bottom... The binoculars are for Moshe Rabeinu to look out over the Land...
There is a collection of symbols representing Shabbat (candle sticks), Pesach (3 matzot), Shavuot (Har Sinai with the Luchot), Rosh HaShana (apple and honey - the shofar is extra because it is one of this sedra's mitzvot), Yom Kippur (the scales), Sukkot (the sukka, sort of).
That leaves the nastalgic inclusion of one of the very first ParshaPixPuzzles. It reads from left to right. A candy CANE inside a musical NOTE.
Which gives us KEIN B'NOT... Next is a sniper, TZALAF in Hebrew. Combined with the 1 gives us TZELOF-CHAD. The bear is a DOV and the piece of the multiplication table reminds us of the method by which many of us had to learn it - namely, by ROTE. All together, we have G-d's answer through Moshe to Machla, No'a, Chogla, Milka, and Tirtza: KEIN B'NOT TZELOFCHAD DO'V'ROT...
The pot is from the haftara
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 (BALAK) TTriddles:
[1] Jordan & Grier
Jordan, Michael Jordan that is, was THE Chicago Bull. Considered (by most) as the greatest basketball player ever. For TTriddles purposes he is a BULL as offered by Bill'am and Balak on their altars. Grier, as in Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier, a great NFL football player, among many other things (singer, minister, and more),played for the New York Giants and then the Los Angeles RAMS. The Rams are now in St. Louis, but for this TTriddle we are interested in his being a RAM to go along with the BULL as Bil'am's choice of sacrifices.
[2] Wording would link nicely 13 sedras from now
The haftara's opening pasuk contains the phrase: KIRVIVIM ALEI EISEV, like rain showers on the grass. That phrase brings an automatic recognition response to the second pasuk of Parshat Haazinu, which is 13 sedras after Balak.
[3] Alnath & Sharatan
This too was a reference to BULL and RAM, i.e. PAR VA-AYIL, that Bil'am kept requesting of Balak, to be offered on the seven altars he asked be constructed at each of the three locations from which he viewed Bnei Yisrael. Alnath is the beta star (second brightest - beta usually, but not always, is the designation of thesecond brightest star in a constellation) of the constellation TAURUS, the Bull, the mazal of Iyar. Sharatan (not the hotel) is the beta star of ARIES, the Ram, mazal of Nissan.
Every so often we remind readers that the TTriddles report, which are reading right now, often contains Divrei Torah and other goodies. Therefore, even if you don't even try to solve the TTriddles each week, it is K'DAI to read the reports. Case in point of the extra things that find their way onto the TTriddles page, is the following G'MATRIYA MATCH: Bamidbar 23 1:
Bil'am said to Balak: Build for me seven altars and prepare for me seven bulls (5 starters and 2 on the bench - just kidding) and 7 rams (4 short of a playing team - just kidding again).
BTW, this request of Bil'am was for the first time he attempted to not-bless the people. The third time, we find almost an identical pasuk, but the final word EILIM is spelled without the second YUD. The second time, the Torah tells us that Balak built another seven altars and sacrificed another seven bulls and seven rams,without Bil'am's request.
It seems that these altars and sacrifices were a significant part of Bil'am's strategy to accomplish his goal. He knew he needed G-d's cooperation for this, and he thought he would get it with these sacrifices. He failed. Perhaps this is why (at least partially):
There are two identical p'sukim that have the same numeric value (2823) as the above pasuk - Bamidbar 29:16 and 25:
And one goat as a CHATAT, aside from the daily sacrifice, its flour-oil offerings and wine libation.
These two p'sukim are part of the MUSAF of the first and fourth days of Sukkot. The other days have similar p'sukim which produce different g'matriyot.
G-d's command to us, and our fulfillment of His command, to bring a communal sin offering, can be seen as the vaccination against Bil'am's plot.
[4] with eld he might have gone to northern England
VAYEILECH SHEFFI, and he (Bil'am) went to a high place (or a bald hilltop). Add ELD and he went to SHEFFIELD, which is in northern England.
There was a hidden challenge or two in last week's TT. Rabbi Quint's feature on Jewish Law was a two-parter - part one last week and part two this week. Instead of the English one and two, we have used bir and iki, which are Turkish for one and two. Why? Just for the fun of it.
And the bullet that marked off each element of the ParshaPix was... No, wait. Let's see if anyone gets it. A Big Deal gift or a CD awaits the first correct answer. That's last week's ParshaPix explanations.
NachKwestion of the Week
Find people and places in Tanach who have a former name also mentioned in Tanach
E.g. Avraham (Avram), Beit El (Luz)
We'll have to be a little (or a lot) flexible with this one. Avraham had a former name that is never used again after he got his new name. So too with Sara, formerly Sarai. But Yisrael had a former name, Yaakov, which becomes concurrent with Yisrael. Do we count it? Maybe. Maybe not. Most of the names to follow can be arguedas to whether they belong as and answer to this NachKwestion or not. We'll give some of the names from HC's list (he's the first winner) and roll over the NachKwestion to see how many additional names (remember: People or Places) we get.
Sara, formerly Sarai and Yiska.
Edom, Eisav. Maybe.
Gid'on became called Y'rubaal and Y'ruboshet.
Yehosha, formerly Hoshei'a. Okay
Binyamin, formerly (and very briefly) Ben Oni
Eretz Yisrael, formerly K'naan.
Yerushalayim, formerly Y'vus
Dan, formerly Layish
Dvir, formerly Kiryat Sefer
Ir David... Metzudat Tziyon
There are many others, but you get the idea. Submit good new ones (not you, HC) and be eligible for a CD from Noam Productions and or a Big Deal ite,. And anyone with a good Nachkwestion is asked to submit it for consideration. Happy Ttriddling.
This week's TTriddles:
[1] One false pause and 30,968 people go missing - from whom?
[2] Without the 10, the pair can rest
[3] The third, the third, (the sixth,) the third
[4] From him comes a confused oldest
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