Parsha Pix As is typical, the PP contains some straightforward items and some wordplays. Mad Magazine's Spy vs. Spy, which we can apply to the 10 black Meraglim vs. the 2 white ones. They are carrying a bomb... like a grenade, RIMON in Hebrew, one of the fruits that the Meraglim brought back. The author of Spy vs. Spy always signed his name in Morse code. Here we have Kalev's call in Morse - ALO NA'ALEH. The compass represents the directions that Moshe sent the Meraglim to explore. The grapes refer to the timing: "...And the days were the days of the ripening of the grapes." (B'midbar 13:20), and to the famous cluster of grapes that the Meraglim brought back with them. The tree with the eye is a play on words: See if the Land has trees, IM AYIN, or not. Switch the initial ALEFs of IM AYIN to AYINs and the question becomes: Is there a tree with an eye? And there it is! Towards the upper-right are the spies with the grapes as they appear in the emblem of the Ministry of Tourism and the logo of Carmel-Mizrachi Wines. Interesting how both industries took the same emblem. For a winery, it makes sense - the grapes represent the bounty of the Land and quality of its produce. On the other hand, why would the Ministry of Tourism want to be represented by "tourists" who bad-mouthed the Land and greatly discouraged Aliya? Among the names of the Meraglim (including fathers' names) are three related to animal names: Gadi (goat) b. Susi (horse) and (Amiel b.) G'mali (camel). Flour (flower), Olive Oyl, and wine (R' Wein) are for the MENACHOT and N'SACHIM presented in the sedra. The Challah stands for the mitzva of CHALLAH. Tzitzit, obvious. The particular photo is of the way the strings are tied with T'cheilet, according to the GR"A's (Vilna Gaon) opinion. Comparing it with the standard way of tying all white tzitzit, there are 5 double knots and four sets of windings between each two consecutive knots. Specifically (opinions vary widely) the windings in the photo are in groups of three windings each (known as a CHULYA), between the first and second knot (closest to the garment), 4 CHULYOT, white, blue, white, blue, the same between the 2nd and 3rd knots and between the 3rd and 4th ones, - that's 12 CHULYOT so far, and then a single white CHULYA between the 4th and 5th knot, for a total of 13 CHULYOT. As mentioned earlier, there are many different customs as to how to tie the tzitzit when T'cheilet is involved. For more on this - much more - check out www.tekhelet.com Near Olive Oyl's left foot is Murex Trunculus, possible (probable) source T'cheilet, used by many people today for that aspect of the mitzva. See the website noted above. How many snails does it take to complete a set of tzitzit? 30, one to make the dye and 29 to tie the tzitzit. (This is the one joke on the website; the rest is totally serious.) The heart with the eyes combine the two warnings of not to follow the evil temptations of your heart and your eyes. Lower-left is the wood gathered on Shabbat and the stone used to execute the Shabbat desecrater. The window with a red ribbon hanging from it is the sign for Yehosha's army to spare the lives of Rachav and her family. Between the tzitzit and the heart is the emblem of Jewish Scouts, sort of a description of the Meraglim. Steam shovel (earth mover) is a play on LACHPOR HAARETZ, to "dig" the land, also to scout it out (as in the haftara). The SF is the logo of the San Francisco baseball team, the Giants. The meraglim reported that they had seen giants in the Land. The key, a skeleton key, is (or used to be) referred to as an EFES KEY. Labeled with a zero, it served as a master key for many doors with that type of lock. EFES KI... is a phrase from Parshat Shalach (and 4 other places in Tanach). The large YUD is from the word YIGDAL in Bamidbar 14:17. The ALEF and the two dots are noted in Chumashim as missing from 3 different words. There are several unexplaineds in this week's ParshaPix. Consider them visual TTriddles. 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 (Naso-B'ha'alo-t'cha) TTriddles: [1] Buchman is far from the Rova Buchman is a well-known neighborhood in Modiin. The Rova, of course, refers to the Rova HaYehudi of the Old City of Jerusalem. Parshat B'haalot'cha contains the episode of the first annual Korban Pesach, one year out of Egypt, and the mitzvot of Pesach Sheni. The Torah speaks of two different reasons why someone would be unable to participate in the Korban Pesach in Nissan - TAMEI, ritually defiled or DERECH R'CHOKA, "far" from the Mikdash. A person with either of these situations (or any other reasons - good or bad - for not doing Korban Pesach) is commanded to bring Korban Pesach on the 14th of Iyar in the afternoon. The mishna (P'sachim 9:2) asks and answers, what is DERECH R'CHOKA, what is considered "far" from Yerushalayim. Rabbi Akiva says (and his opinion is accepted in halacha), from Modiin and further and similar distances in all directions. It seems then, as far as Pesach Sheni is concerned, that Buchman is far from the Rova. [2] Shimshon's dad was lost to Amitai's son From the haftara of Naso we read that Shimshon's father was MANO'ACH. From the haftara of Yom Kippur Mincha, we read that the prophet YONA was the son of Amitai. Using different meanings for YONA and MANO'ACH, we go to B'reishit 8:9 and find V'LO MATZ'A HAYONA MANO'ACH L'CHAF RAGLAH... that the dove that No'ach had sent out of the TEIVA (Ark) "did not find rest for her feet" and returned to No'ach. Taking the first four words and retranslating them into TTriddlese, we get that the YONA did not find MANO'ACH - or Shimshon's dad was lost to Amitai's son. [3] geometric progression: big ones, one kind of little ones, the other kind of little ones As far as kosher domesticated animals go, cows are the big ones (B'HEIMA GASA) and both sheep and goats are the little ones (B'HEIMA DAKA). If you look at the gifts of each of the tribal leaders to the dedication of the Mizbei'ach, and consider just the animals, you will find one PAR BEN BAKAR (young bull), one AYIL (ram), and one KEVES (lamb in its first year) for Korban OLAH; a S'IR IZIM (goat) for a CHATAT; and for SH'LAMIM: 2 BAKAR (cows - male? female?), 5 rams, 5 ATUDIM (male goats), and 5 lambs. Totals: 3 animals from the cattle (the big ones), 6 goats (one kind of the little ones), and 12 sheep (6 rams and 6 lambs), the other kind of little ones. 3,6,12 is a geometric progression (in this case, start with 3, double it to get 6 and double 6 to get 12 - that's a geometric progression, in contrast to an arithmetic progression, such as 3, 6, 9). [4] its namesake has only one; Naso has 3 exact copies This is an example of a TTriddle whose answer comes first and then a TTriddle is composed to lead to that answer. (Actually, almost all TTriddles come about that way.) The words EILEH F'KUDEI... jumped out from Naso and insisted on being the subject of a TTriddle. A search through Tanach for those two words results in 7 finds, all in the Torah. Three of them are EILEH P'KUDEI, with the DAGESH KAL in the PEI remaining in place. The other four are EILEH F'KUDEI. Three of them are in Parshat Naso; the other starts the sedra named by those words - Parshat P'kudei. So the sedra carrying the name F'KUDEI has the phrase only once, whereas Naso has it thrice - exactly the same (F'KUDEI). [5] Its symbol from the Latin and its might-have-been symbol if from English What symbols are often taken from the Latin names for things? Chemical elements, that's what. C is for carbon and He is for Helium, but the symbol for gold, for example, is Au, not G or Go as it might have been if that particular symbol was taken from the English. (Gold is Aurum in Latin.) For this TTriddle, the element intended is Sodium, whose symbol is Na, based on the Latin word for Sodium - Natrium. If taken from English, the symbol could have been So (S being taken by Sulfur). Put together, we get the name of the sedra that this year preceded Shavuot but which most often (80% of the time in Israel, 90% of the years in Chutz LaAretz) follows Shavuot (but even when it follows Shavuot, its first part precedes Shavuot at Mincha of the Shabbat before) - NaSo. Want to know what TTriddles are for? They are to teach (or remind) you of the Latin names of gold and sodium, and to share with you the stats on Naso's position vis-a-vis Shavuot. And various and sundry other bits of general and Jewish trivia that abound in the TTriddles report in each issue of Torah Tidbits. This, of course, in addition to challenging some of you to solve the TTriddles before they are explained. [6] 3 foods not recommended for nursing women Once in a while, a TTriddle really isn't a TTriddle, in the true TTriddle sense of the word, but rather it is a straightforward question. The only thing devious about this particular TTriddle is the fact that regular TTriddle-solvers do not expect a straight question and will try twisting the words this way and that in the hope of solving it. But, this one is a regular question, based on a Rashi in Parshat B'ha'alo-t'cha. The people - instigated by the Asafsuf) complain about the MN (manna) and lament the loss of the great foods they ate in Egypt. Aside from being very insulting to HaShem, and being something that "angered" Him greatly (and Moshe Rabeinu too), there is a question to be asked. Bamidbar 11:5 says: "We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for free (free from mitza-obligations, says Rashi); the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic." Rashi's implied question is, if the MN could taste like anything, why should there have been any foods that the people "missed" from Egypt? Rashi quotes Rabbi Shimon: How come the MN could taste like anything these foods? Because they are hard on nursing mothers. So, KISHU'IM, garlic and onion are not recommended (according to Rashi) for nursing women. This week's TTriddles: [1] Ehud Shiliu did seize on alti sedici [2] Water - Yaakov - the Land [3] SIMCHAT CHAIM [4] 4 letters, 4 strokes, three times [5] If one tribe is xxx and 3 are xxy, who makes Bamba? [6] How many Sh'lach p'sukim are said on YK? [7] B'reishit has one; Sh'mot, none; Vayikra one' Bamidbar 5 (4 in a row); D'varim 2 [8] There are several unexplaineds in this week's ParshaPix (and throughout the pages in the Hard Copy of TT). Consider them visual TTriddles. [The Parshat Sh'lach Homepage] |
