CHAMISHOH MI YODEI'A - FIVE QUESTIONS ON THE WEEKLY SEDRAH - PARSHAS EIKEV 5767 - BS"D

2) Ch. 8, v. 8: "Eretz chitoh u's'oroh v'gefen u's'einoh v'rimone eretz zeis SHEMEN udvosh" - The gemara Brochos 41a says that whichever item is closer to the word "eretz," receives a blessing earlier, meaning that if a number of the items mentioned in this verse are in front of a person and they require the same blessing, if he wishes to partake of each of them, he should make the blessing on the item mentioned closest to the word "eretz" in our verse. How do we know that this is the intention of our verse? Perhaps, all these items are equal, and there is no priority of making a blessing on one over the other, but there is no choice but to list them one after another, even if they are equal.

3) Ch. 9, v. 17: "Vo'ashabreim l'eineichem" - And I shattered them in front of your eyes - Since the commands of "Onochi" and "lo yi'h'yeh l'cho" both appear on the first tablet, why did Moshe shatter both tablets?

4) Ch. 10, v. 12: "V'ato Yisroel moh Hashem Elokecho sho'eil mei'imoch" - The Daas Z'keinim brings the gemara M'nochos 43b which states the halacha of the requirement of reciting one hundred brochos daily. How many sources for this do you know?

5) Ch. 11, v. 10: "V'hishkiso v'rag'l'cho" - And you will water it with your foot - Rashi explains that in Egypt fields that were distanced from the Nile had no source of water, and it was therefore necessary to bring water by foot. Obviously, when one carries water he walks with both feet. Yet the verse does not say "v'raglEcho." Is there a way of explaining our verse so that "v'rag'l'cho," with your FOOT, is literal?

ANSWERS:

#1

As mentioned in Yerushalmi Challoh 1:6, they are:

1) "Lo sacharosh"

2) "Lo sizra sodcho kiloyim"

3) Leket

4) Shikchoh

5) Pei'oh

6) "Lo sach'some"

7) Trumoh

8) Maa'seir Rishon

9) Maa'seir Sheini

10) Chaloh

As well, these ten words allude to placing ten fingers on the loaf of bread when making the blessing "Hamotzi" (Tosfos on gemara Brochos 38b d.h. "V'hil'ch'sa")

Perhaps, these ten words are also an allusion to the ten words in the blessing "Hamotzi."

#2

This question was asked to Rabbi Yitzchok Zev Brisker and he answered that we see that when the Torah wants to equate two items to each other the Torah goes out of its way to show this. We find this (M.R. Shir Hashirim 4:13) when the verse says "hu Aharon uMoshe (Shmos 6:26) and "hu Moshe v'Aharon," (6:27). This teaches that otherwise there is a difference between one and the next, indicated by their order.

It can be added that we find another proof for this from Bmidbar 27:1 and 36:11. Rashi on 27:1 says that the order of the names of the daughters of Tz'lofchod is changed in these two verses to indicate that they were equal.

#3

1) Idol worship is equated with transgressing all the mitzvos of the Torah, so the mitzvos listed on the second tablet were also transgressed.

2) The gemara Yerushalmi Shkolim chapter #6 brings an opinion that all Ten Commandments were etched into each of the tablets.

3) The Ibn Ezra in parshas Yisro says in the name of the Gaon that the text of the Ten Commandments of parshas Yisro appeared on the first tablet, while the text of the Ten Commandments in parshas Vo'es'chanan appeared on the second tablet.

4) Numerous commentators say that the first commandment corresponds to the sixth commandment, embodying the same concept, the second to the seventh, and so on. If so, by transgressing the first and second commandment, the sixth and seventh were also violated.

Perhaps this is the intention of Rashi (verse 10) when he states that we derive from the word "luchos" being spelled lacking a letter Vov that the 2 tablets are equal, i.e. that they each contain the same concepts.

#4

1) The word "moh" of our verse is to be read "mei'oh," meaning one hundred. (gemara M'nochos)

2) The Daas Z'keinim points out that in the transmutation system of "at bash" where the last letter of the alphabet is transformed to the first, and so on, the letters "Mem-Hei" (moh) turn into "Yud-Tzaddi," which add up to one hundred. He brings the opinion (Tur O.Ch. #46) that King David was the first to institute the hundred daily blessings to stem a plague which brought about the death of one hundred people daily.

3) As well, the Daas Z'keinim brings another hint to the one hundred daily blessings from T'hilim 128:4 "Hinei KI CHEIN y'vorach gover." The letters of "ki chein," Kof-Yud-Chof-Nun, add up to one hundred, "y'vorach gover", a man should bless. (He adds that when we say "modim" we mean to say that we thank Hashem with one hundred blessings, the numerical value of "modim," Mem-Vov-Dalet-Yud-Mem.)

#5

Rabbi Yoseif B'chor Shor says that the Nile overflowed and ran into tributaries. To avoid having water run into the fields before it was needed, stoppers were placed into the tributaries at the edge of the fields. These were knocked out when the water was needed, allowing the water to enter. To kick a plug out of place requires only one foot.

A GUTTEN SHABBOS KODESH. FEEL FREE TO DISTRIBUTE BY COPY OR ELECTRONICALLY.

FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED. TO SUBSCRIBE, KINDLY SEND REQUEST TO: SHOLOM613@AOL.COM

See also Sedrah Selections, Oroh V'Simchoh - Meshech Chochmoh on the Weekly Parsha and Chasidic Insights