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Ki Savo כי תבוא
Parsha Questions (from ohr.edu)
- When did the obligation to bring bikkurim begin?
- Bikkurim are from which crops?
- How does one designate bikkurim?
- Who shakes the basket containing the bikkurim?
- What does “v’anita v’amarta” mean?
- Which Arami “tried to destroy my father?”
- When during the year may bikkurim be brought? Until when are the special verses recited?
- Someone declaring that he separated terumah and ma’aser says: “And I didn’t forget.” What didn’t he forget?
- What were the Jewish People to do with the 12 stones on Mt.Eval?
- Six tribes stood on Mt.Eval and six on Mt.Gerizim. Who and what were in the middle?
- Who “causes the blind to go astray?”
- How does one “strike another secretly?”
- Eleven curses were spoken on Mt.Eval. What is the significance of this number?
- Why are sheep called “ashterot”?
- How is the manner of expressing the curses in Parshat Bechukotai more severe than in this week’s parsha?
SO WHAT’S THE QUESTION?
The answer is “A Digital Display”
Some possible questions:
What do you get when you ask a 2-year-old her age?
What’s the difference between penny-loafers and open-toed sandals?
A Daily Dose of Wisdom from the Rebbe(Chabad.org)
The Puzzle
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Think of your world as a massive jigsaw puzzle in time and three dimensions. All the objects and events are meant to fit together neatly, yet they seem just a heap of dysfunctional fragments.
Here is the trick to reassembling those fragments: Find your own purpose first and start moving headstrong towards it. Once in that mode, all things related to your purpose will find you. And those things already attached to you will find their place as well. Suddenly, where once noise and chaos tore you in a thousand directions, now a great symphony occurs.
Thanks for contributing to the Parsha Fun page: מדוע היכן וכמה ; Torah Tidbits; L’chaim Weekly; Shema Yisrael.com; Eishes Chayil Newsletter,
Parsha Answers
All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated
- 26:1 - After the Land was conquered and divided.
- 26:2 - The seven species for which Eretz Yisrael is praised.
- 26:2 - When he sees the first fruit ripen on a tree, he binds a piece of straw around it to mark it as bikkurim.
- 26:4 - The kohen places his hands under the hands of the one bringing it, and they wave the basket together.
- 26:5 - Speak loudly.
- 26:5 - Lavan.
- 26:11 - Bikkurim are brought from Shavuot until Chanukah. The verses are recited only until Succot.
- 26:13 - To bless G-d.
- 27:2 - Build an altar.
- 27:12 - Kohanim, levi'im and the Holy Ark.
- 27:18 - Any person who intentionally gives bad advice.
- 27:24 - By slandering him.
- 27:24 - Each curse corresponds to one of the tribes, except for the tribe of Shimon. Since Moshe didn't intend to bless the tribe of Shimon before his death, he did not want to curse them either.
- 28:4 - Because they "enrich" (m'ashirot) their owners.
- 28:23 - In Bechukotai the Torah speaks in the plural, whereas in this week's Parsha the curses are mentioned in the singular.
BORER (Selecting) ON SHABBOS –Practical Applications
by Rabbi Dovid Ostroff (shemayisrael.com)
May one set the table and then go to shul?
Ideally a person may only separate prior to the actual eating. The poskim say that separating before a meal for the entire meal is also considered דרךאכילה. However, anything done prior to that is a classical case of separation and forbidden. Therefore the housewife may only separate directly prior to the meal and not plan anything between the separating and the meal.
She may not intentionally plan to daven at home or go to shul after peeling eggs, sorting cutlery, peeling onions and any other separating. She may of course set the table and then go to shul if no separating is involved when setting the table.
Is one permitted to remove a chumash from within a jumble of seforim, when the chumash is only needed after shacharis?
The entire davening is compared to a meal, where the shachris is the first course, reading the Torah as the second and mussaf as the third. Therefore one may prepare for the reading of the Torah before davening and one does not have to wait until immediately before reading the Torah in order to find a chumash. (Seforim lined neatly on the shelf are not considered in a mixture, because each sefer is noticeable and discernable as an own entity.).
Can a parent prepare the children’s clothing before going to bed at night?
Here too separating may only be done prior to use and if the clothes are in a jumble or mixture she may not prepare the clothes before going to bed because it is separating for later on and not immediately before use.
A small boy once approached his slightly older sister with a question about G-d. "Sara, can anybody ever really see G-d?" he asked.
Busy with other things, Sara curtly replied: "No, of course not silly. G-d is so far up in heaven that nobody can see him"
Time passed, but his question still lingered so he approached his mom: "Mom, can anybody ever really see G-d?" "No, not really," she gently said. "G-d is a spirit and he dwells in our hearts, but we can never really see Him."
Somewhat satisfied but still wondering, the youngster went on his way. Not long afterwards, his saintly old grandfather took the little boy on a fishing trip.
They were having a great time together. The sun was beginning to set with unusual splendor and the grandfather stared silently at the exquisite beauty unfolding before them.
On seeing the face of his grandfather reflecting such deep peace and contentment, the little boy thought for a moment and finally spoke hesitatingly:
"Tzaide, I--I-- wasn't going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me the answer to something I've been wondering about a long time. Can anybody--can anybody ever really see G-d?"
The old man did not even turn his head. A long moment slipped by before he finally answered. "Son," he quietly said. "It's getting so I can't see anything else."
Torah Leaders of the 20th Century
By Rabbi Dr Michael Harris, Hampstead Synagogue.
RABBI JOSEPH B. SOLOVEITCHIK
Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was born in 1903 in Pruzhan, Poland, into a famous Lithuanian Rabbinical family. His father, Rabbi Moshe, was an important scholar and his grandfather was the great Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, who had pioneered a new method of Talmudic study.
Until his early twenties, Rav Soloveitchik's studies focused almost exclusively on Talmud and Halakhah. At the age of 22 he entered the University of Berlin, concentrating on philosophy and in 1931 attained his doctorate for a thesis on the neo-Kantian philosopher Hermann Cohen.
In the same year Rav Soloveitchik married Dr. Tonya Lewitt. In 1932 they immigrated to the United States, settling in Boston, the city which remained their home. Rav Soloveitchik founded the Maimonides Jewish day school in Boston, and in 1941 succeeded his father as Professor of Talmud at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. For many years, he also served as Professor of Jewish Philosophy at YeshivaUniversity.
At YeshivaUniversity, Rabbi Soloveitchik became immensely influential as the spiritual guide of many American-trained Rabbis. Throughout North America and far beyond, he was acknowledged as the leader of Modern Orthodoxy and was popularly known simply as "The Rav".
His shiurim and public discourses were highly influential; in particular the annual discourse which he delivered at YeshivaUniversity on his father's Yahrzeit, which attracted thousands of listeners. His published writings - among them Halakhic Man and his famous article "The Lonely Man of Faith" - also had a major impact on the Jewish world. He died in 1994.
/ by Zvi Akiva FleisherTEFILIN" Ve'ro'u kol amei ho'oretz ki Sheim Hashem nikro olecho veyor'u mimeko (and all the nations of the world will see that the Name of G-d is called upon you and they will be afraid of you)". This, says Rebbi Eliezer, refers to the Tefilin shel Rosh. That explains, says the Ba'al ha'Turim, why the first letters of "Sheim Hashem nikro" spell 'Shin', a clear reference to the Tefilin shel Rosh. And the Torah continues "And Hashem will leave you over ... ", a hint at the long life that result from the Mitzvah of Tefilin.
The NAMEOF HASHEM appears twenty-six times in the Tochachah. Correspondingly, the Ba'al ha'Turim comments, Chazal inserted it twenty-six times in the Amidah (not counting Birchas ha'Minim ['ve'Lamalshinim]), to counter the evil effects of the Tochachah.
GAMI "V'lokachto meireishis" (26:2) Rashi mentions the mishneh in Bikurim 3:1, which says that when a person enters his field of fig trees and sees that a fig has ripened, he should designate it as such by tying a GAMI band around it.
The word GAMI seems to literally mean a gum-base thread. The word GAMI is intentionally used to allude to the farmer's giving recognition to Hashem for the fruitful results. One who works hard in his orchards and fields has a tendency to accredit only himself with the results. Naturally, this is shortsighted. Without the cooperation of Hashem with His rainfall, sunshine, etc., all farming efforts would be futile. The person therefore designates his first ripe fruit with a band called a GAMI, spelled Gimmel-Mem-Yud, which is an acronym for G'dolim Maa'sei Hashem (Yud), thus acknowledging that his agricultural success is all due to Hashem.
We know that Hashem has instituted constant reminders that the Holy Land He has given us is in reality His. This is demonstrated in the mitzvoh of Shmitoh as well. Perhaps this is why at the onset of the mitzvoh of bringing "bikurim" to Yerusholayim, the previous verse says "El ho'oretz asher Hashem Elokecho NOSEIN l'cho nachaloh," in the present tense, rather than YITEIN in the future tense, similar to "sovo" which is in the future tense. One should always be cognizant that Hashem is the true owner of the Holy Land and that He is constantly giving us the privilege to occupy it.
ELUL The Bnei Yisoschor (Elul, ma'amar 1, #22) says that the month of Elul always has twenty-nine days. There are five days in Elul when we do not say "tachanun," Rosh Chodesh and the four Shabbosos. That leaves twenty-four days on which tachanun is said. There are twenty-four hours in each day, giving us a total of 576 hours. 576 equals "tiku," tof, kuf, ayin,vov. This is a hint to blowing shofar daily throughout the month. (We do, however, blow the shofar on Rosh Chodesh as well, since the Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer, Ch.46 says that on Rosh Chodesh Elul, which was the day that Moshe ascended to the heavens to beseech Hashem for forgiveness, a shofar was sounded. An adjustment might be to count Rosh Chodesh, but not count erev Rosh Hashono which has no tachanun from shacharis onward.)
A Note for Readers (of Torah and of Hallel)
Hashkifa (Deut. 26:15) ('look down') The form is Hiph'il and having the suffix Heh makes it what is known as the 'elongated' form. The tune is a Telisha Ketana that is always printed at the end of the word but the stress should nevertheless be put on the grammatically correct syllable (R' S.Y. Weinfeld, Taamei HaMikra Table A). The Heh of the elongated form is normally not stressed. Hence here one should stress the second last syllable hashkifa. (Putting the stress on the last syllable is an error; for a discussion of the Halachik implications see Dikdukei Shai by R' S. Y. Mandelbaum, pp160-165.)
In the reading of Hallel there is a long standing-dispute whether hatzlicha (Psalms 118:25) follows this rule or not. Minhat Shai (Psalms 118:25), discusses the sources at length, and leaves it according to the tradition which maintains that one should read hoshia but hatzlicha. Rabbi M. Breuer shlita, does not accept this ruling and in the Tanach that he edited, indicates that one should read both hoshia and hatzlicha. (Although grammatically accurate siddurim tend to follow the Minhat Shai, many Hazanim read both words with the stress on the second last syllable as Rabbi Breuer.)
ז / ג / ג / ש / א / ב / ת / י / כ / ש / נ / מ
ה / ק / נ / ץ / ר / א / ה / ש / א / מ / ל / ש
ת / ח / כ / ש / ת / ש / ח / נ / ת / ח / ב / ה
ג / ס / ק / ן / ד / ר / י / מ / מ / ז / ל / ז
ל / מ / ה / ח / א / מ / ם / ה / נ / ק / י / ו
ה / פ / ם / א / ה / פ / י / ק / ש / ה / ת / ת
נ / ת / א / ר / ח / י / ת / מ / ס / פ / ה / ח
ק / י / ר / ו / ק / מ / ה / פ / ג / א / ר / נ
מ / ם / ב / ב / י / ב / ל / ת / ל / מ / א / ו
ת / ר / ר / ע / ם / ר / ב / י / ה / ע / ש / כ
מ / ו / י / ר / ח / כ / ל / ם / ה / ש / ד / ה
ך / ה / ם / ה / י / ת / י / ש / א / ר / מ / כ
משה / הארץ / מראשית / חזקה
מעשר / החקים / השקיפה / סגלה
ברוך / מפתים / ירדן / נחשת
Number of verses in this Parsha marks the number of days from Rosh Chodesh Ellul to this special day
P L E A S E T E L L M E W H A T T H E R E B B E S A I D
Parshas Ki Tavo
At the end of Parshas Ki Savo, HaShem makes a covenant with the Jewish people. A covenant is an agreement, and a promise to keep that agreement. Does this remind you of Mattan Torah, when the Jewish people said "Na'aseh v'Nishmah," agreeing to do everything HaShem commands? So why did the Jewish people need another covenant?
The first words of the parshah help us answer this question. The parshah begins Vihayah ki savo el ha'eretz - "When you will come into the Land." The events described in this parshah happened 40 years after that first covenant at Sinai, and at a very special time in history.
The Jewish people would no longer be wanderers in the desert. But life in Eretz Yisrael was going to be very different from life in the desert, and harder too. So HaShem wanted the Jews to promise that they would keep His mitzvos in Eretz Yisrael also. That's what this covenant is all about.
In the desert, HaShem performed many miracles for the Jewish people. For 40 years, He supplied them with food, water and clothing in wondrous ways. Throughout their years of wandering, the Jewish people were led by these miracles.
But in Eretz Yisrael, life would be different. HaShem would take care of His beloved nation, but not through miracles. And that's why HaShem wanted a new covenant.
When we see a miracle, it's easy to believe in HaShem and want to do His mitzvos. Without miracles, we have to work hard to earn a living, and everything looks like it's controlled by nature. So it's much harder to know that HaShem is helping.
But it really isn't that hard. HaShem told the people: "I have given you a knowing heart and eyes that see. For 40 years, you have seen Me perform miracles, so you know I am with you. Even if life in Eretz Yisrael is not as full of miracles as before, since you were shown My hand for so long, you will be able to recognize it even when it is no longer so obvious." (Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XIV, Parshas Ki Savo)
The Wonders of Creation
The Beaver
The beaver is a rodent, which lives in Europe as well as the American Continent, in both water and dry land. We may very well consider the beaver the best architect in the animal kingdom. It builds its nest in rivers and lakes, from wood, small stones, and mud. After it completes the construction of its house, it then creates a dam to raise the water around nest. In this way it protects itself from its enemies and at the same time allows for passageways underwater which do not freeze in sub-freezing temperatures.
The construction of the nest and the dam is not easy by any means. To cut the wood the beaver uses its exceptionally sharp teeth, as its front teeth never stop growing. If the beaver would not use its teeth constantly to cut wood, the front teeth would grow slow long the beaver would be unable to close its mouth. After the wood is cut - and the logs can be as long as 3.5 meters - it is dragged into the water. For this purpose, the beaver has to dig several long water channels to help them carry beams. In America, channels 300 meters long were found.
The beaver feeds off the bark of the wood, and from the rest of the wood it builds its homes and dams. One dam found in America was 600 meters long!
The beaver's work symbolizes consistency and diligence. We are to learn from this great creature, that "So long as the candle is lit, we must continue to build and fix."
Food Storage
Many animals prepare large areas of storage for food before the long, cold winter. The most common of such creatures is, without question, the ant. Ants generally gather food that grows from the ground. Some ants eat mushrooms, and collect twigs and leaves which serve as a mat for their food. Other ants collect lice in order to use the special liquid secreted by these lice.
During the summer, the European hamster prepares a large cave for the winter in which he stores his food. This cave is divided into different compartments, each containing a different type of food, such as potatoes or corn kernels. The European hamster sometimes stores before the winter as much as ninety kilograms of food.
The woodpecker collects acorns. It pecks hundreds of holes in the barks of trees where he hides his acorns, in preparation for the winter. The mole, which eats earthworms, also prepares a huge storage area, in which can be found thousands of earthworms.
The Creator implanted within these animals the knowledge and intellect, not to mention the desire, to prepare food for the difficult times. During these periods, the animals benefit from their previous labor. The message we learn from these creatures is that fortunate is the one who toils in this world, which is compared to Erev Shabbat, for he will then be granted the opportunity to eat on Shabbat - the World to Come.