PARSHA-PIX Parshat T'tzaveh

Parsha Pix
The sedra begins with the command to take pure olive oil and use it to light the Menora daily in the Mikdash, so that it will burn (at least) from evening until morning. (Upper-left and upper-right.)
The shell to the left of the Menora is Murex Trunculus, the snail which is thought, by a growing number of scholars and rabbis, to be the source of T'CHEILET, mentioned often (8 times) in our sedra in connection with the garments of the Kohen Gadol.
The gemstones under the olive oil are for the CHOSHEN. 3 of the 12 are shown here.
The chain (below the crossword puzzle) is for connecting the CHOSHEN to the EIFOD.
Of course, that's the Davka Judaica Graphics Kohen Gadol on the bottom-left. The Menora and the Mizbei'ach HaZahav are also from Davka.
Silhouettes of the bull and 2 rams are the inaugural korbanot of the kohanim.
The matza represents the Mincha offerings that accompanied the animal sacrifices. Most, but not all, Menachot are halachically matza.
At the Kohein Gadol's elbow are two lambs for the twice-daily T'MIDIM. Although the mitzva to bring the T'midim is learned from Parshat Pinchas, the T'midim are also mentioned here in T'tzaveh.
We can also consider the lambs and sheep to represent the animals of Amalek that Shaul brought back with him, supposedly to offer korbanot to G-d. Shmuel made it very clear to him that he was greatly mistaken in what he did.
Beside the sheep, Shaul also made the fatal error of keeping the king of Amalek alive. AGAG was his name, and he is represented by the roof (top- middle) which in Hebrew is "a GAG".
The Golden Altar, a.k.a. the Incense Mizbei'ach and the Inner Altar. The command to make this Mizbei'ach does not appear in T'rumah with the rest of the main items of the Mishkan, but in T'tzaveh.
The heart with the graduation cap represents the CHACHMEI LEIV, the skilled weavers, etc. who did the work on the garments and other Mikdash requirements.
The pomegranate and bell (lower-right) are for the bottom of the ME’IL of the Kohein Gadol.
The book marked with a 4 is section 4 of the Shulchan Oreich, known as CHOSHEN MISHPAT.
The crossword is TASHBEITZ in Hebrew, the word in the Torah for the weave of the linen garments.
The chest of drawers is a dresser, which is what Moshe was during the Mishkan inauguration.
The elephant with his trunk tied in a knot. The simple explanation is ZACHOR, since it is well-known that elephants never forget. But we can go a little further. Tying a knot is a traditional way to give yourself a reminder of something. So if elephants never forget and a knot is to remember, the elephant with a knot in his trunk is a depiction of both mitzvot related to Amalek - ZACHOR and LO TISHKACH.
Joining the other elements of this ParshaPix is Magilla Gorilla. His first name is in honor of Purim's main mitzva. (His second name could represent Chanuka and the guerilla warfare tactics of the Chashmona'im.)
The dominoes are all double sixes. In T'tzaveh, the word SHEISH (meaning linen, not the number 6) occurs 6 times, represented by the three standing dominoes. Twice we find the word SHISHA, which does mean 6 - represented by the horizontal domino. (No significance to vertical or horizontal, just that the words have different meanings.

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 (T'RUMA) TTriddles:
[1] The length of a Y'RI'A (of the Mishkan) is perfect
Mishkan was the name for the whole Mikdash of the Midbar, but it was also the name for the first layer of covering of the Mishkan - the one made from three colors of dyed wool and of linen. It consisted of 10 woven panels, five sewn together to form two main sections, which were connected by a button and loop system. The length of each panel was 28 amot. That is perfect in a mathematical (number theory) sense, simply because 28 is a perfect number.
Quick refresher on Perfect Numbers: Factors of a whole number (positive integer) are those numbers that will divide the given number evenly, without leaving a remainder. The factors of 10, for example, are 1, 2, 5, and 10, because 10 divided by each of these numbers results in a whole number answer (quotient) without a remainder. 3 is not a factor of 10 because 10 divided by 3 is 3 remainder 1. 1 is a factor of all numbers. A number is a factor of itself, but is not considered a "proper" factor. So the proper factors of 10 are 1, 2, and 5. Not 10. Similarly, the proper factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. Next, we have the sum of the proper factors of a number. Add up the proper factors of 10. 1+2+5 = 8. The sum of the proper factors (SPF) of 10 is 8. The SPF of 12 is 16. A number whose SPF is less than itself is called Deficient. If the SPF is greater than the number, the number is called Abundant. 10 is deficient; 12 is abundant. The proper factors of 6 are 1, 2, and 3. The SPF of 6 is 6. 6 is called a Perfect Number, being neither Deficient nor Abundant. Which brings us to 28. Proper factors are 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14. SPF of 28 is 28. 28 is a Perfect Number.
[2] The Mishkan counterparts (male & female) of Yosef's brothers and the MN (manna) collectors/eaters
At one point, Yosef's brothers admitted their guilt to each other. The phrase in the Torah is that they said ISH EL ACHIV - man to his brother... Earlier, when Yosef first found them, they said to each other "The Dreamer is coming..." The phrase occurs there too, and once again when they expressed their fears to each other when their money was returned to their sacks. We find ISH EL ACHIV again when the Israelites in the Midbar first received the MN. They commented to each other about it, because they didn't know what it was. The same phrase occurs in the description of the two K'ruvim on the Kaporet of the Aron. The phrase occurs a few more times elsewhere in Tanach. The female version is ISHA EL ACHOTAH, lit. woman to her sister. In the context of Parshat T'ruma, it refers to the two five-panel sections of the Mishkan (see [1] for details.
[3] Anagrams of gold and fabric
The lid of the Aron in the Mishkan was made of gold. From it were fashioned the K'ruvim. The lid is called the KAPORET. The curtain that separated the Kodesh from the Kodesh Kodashim is called the PAROCHET. It was made of wool and linen fabric. The two words are ANAGRAMS of each other.
[4] Aramaically appropriate repeated phrase head
There is an interesting pasuk on T'ruma that calls out to be TTriddled. And we have done so in the past. And this time too. The pasuk is Sh'mot 25:35 and is unusual because the 5-word phrase that begins it is repeated twice more, for a total of three times in a row: V'CHAFTOR TACHAT SH'NEI HAKANIM MIMENA, and an orb under (at the juncture of) two branches (of the Menora) that come from the center of the Menora. KAFTOR, orb, in Targum is CHEIZUR, an Aramaically appropriate word for beginning the phrase that is repeated, since CHEIZUR is a sound- alike for the Hebrew word "to repeat".
[5] you can’t wear them with wool socks
Well, you really can, but not in a TTriddle sense of a play on words. BUTZ is Hebrew for fine linen. In T'ruma, linen is called SHEISH, but Onkeles renders it as BUTZ. BUTZ sounds like the English words BOOTS, which conjures up the idea of BUTZ BOOTS or linen boots. If one were to wear wool socks with linen boots over them, although the wool and linen are not mixed in a garment, the combination constitutes Shaatnez d'Rabbanan because the socks could not be removed without first taking of the boots. So you cannot wear BUTZ BOOTS with wool socks.
[6] most kids’ favorite subject
Ask a typical school kid what his favorite subject is and he is likely to sarcastically reply, "recess". Shabbat Parshat T'ruma was the HAFSAKA (recess) this year among the Four Parshiyot. The previous Shabbat was Sh'kalim, this coming Shabbat is Zachor, followed by Para and HaChodesh. This year, one Hafsaka (some years have 2, all years have at least one) and T'ruma was it.
[7] For whom is it really give and get?
This TTriddle played on the explanation of the term V'YIK-CHU LI T'RUMA, take for Me, rather than give to Me. Without goning it that in detail, the answer here is KOHANIM, who had to give for the T'RUMA of the building of the Mishkan, including the Half-Shekel but were to receive T'RUMA from the people in the future.
We've got two more TTriddles to discuss - visual ones. As advertised, one easy and one not so easy.
[8] an axe (hatchet or whatever)
Simple. GARZEN is mentioned in the haftara of T'ruma, as being one of the metal tools not heard in the Temple area during construction.
[9] a cucumber
M'LAP'FAN (Targun on 26:3 and more) sounds like M'LAF'FON.

This weeks TTriddles:
[1] Where did Nathan's father drink honey juice after a dinner of calzone and work on a glossina with a small pen in the dark
[2] Can this mean LUF?
[3] Actually, they all are (just not with a Maftir)
[4] The phrase that connects the restaurant advertised with this week’s sedra
[5] 3 on Shabbat, one pushed one way, one the other
[6] Think you can use them in paintball?

Over the past many weeks, as we approached issue number 755, many baseball-knowledgable TTreaders have commented on our tying and then IY"H overtaking Hank Aaron's MLB record of 755 (steroid-free) homeruns - and with this issue, we do, indeed, reach that number. (Well in advance of Barry Bonds getting there, we might add.) Some of those who commented pointed out that TT "plays winter ball" and therefore has an advantage of baseball players. So be it. Actually, they can play as many as 162 games a year; we've got 50 or so issues. YS also pointed out that with Moshe's name not appearing in T'tzaveh, Aharon takes center stage, as it were. Our T'tzveh TT is 755, so another Aaron [L] takes center stage in this week's TT.

[The Parshat T'tzaveh Homepage]
[The TORAH tidbits Homepage] [How to use TORAH tidbits]
[About The OU/NCSY Israel Center] [About TORAH tidbits]
 [www.ou.org]