Parsha Q&A

For the week ending 1 August 2020 / 11 Av 5780

Va'etchanan

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Questions

  1. "And I prayed to Hashem at that time." Why "at that time"?
  2. What characteristic trait is represented by Hashem's "strong hand"?
  3. What is ha'levanon?
  4. What did Hashem tell Yehoshua after the battle of Ai?
  5. What will happen if the Jewish People fail to keep the mitzvot properly?
  6. How did the decree that Moshe not enter the Land affect him even in death?
  7. What is hinted by the word v'noshantem?
  8. Why were the Jewish People exiled two years earlier than indicated by Moshe's prophecy?
  9. "You'll serve man-made gods." Is this literal?
  10. Why is east called mizrach?
  11. "Keep the Shabbat day as I have commanded you." When had Hashem previously commanded us to keep Shabbat?
  12. Where did the Jewish People first receive the command to honor parents?
  13. What is meant by "Hashem, our G-d, Hashem is One"?
  14. What are two meanings of loving Hashem "with all your might"?
  15. How well-versed must one be in Torah?
  16. Where does the word totafot come from?
  17. Who is fit to swear in Hashem's name?
  18. What does it mean that the Jews are the "smallest nation"?
  19. When someone serves Hashem with love, how many generations receive reward?
  20. Why are evil-doers rewarded in this world?

Answers:

  1. 3:23 - Defeating Sichon and Og, whose lands were part of Eretz Canaan, Moshe thought perhaps Hashem had annulled the vow against his entering the Land.
  2. 3:24 - His willingness to forgive.
  3. 3:25 - Ha'levanon means the Beit Hamikdash, which makes "white" (lavan), i.e., atones for, the Jewish People.
  4. 3:28 - Yehoshua must lead the army into battle.
  5. 4:9 - The non-Jewish world will regard them as foolish.
  6. 4:22 - Even his remains weren't buried in the Land.
  7. 4:25 - The gematria of v'noshantem, 852, hints at the number of years until the first exile.
  8. 4:25 - So that the rest of the prophecy "that you shall utterly perish" would not be fulfilled.
  9. 4:28 - No. It means you'll serve others who serve idols.
  10. 4:41 - It's the direction from which the sun shines (mizrach means shining).
  11. 5:13 - Before Matan Torah, at Marah. (Shmot 15:25)
  12. 5:16 - At Marah. (Shmot 15:25).
  13. 6:4 - Hashem, who is now our G-d, but not [accepted as] G-d of the other nations, will eventually be [accepted as] the one and only G-d.
  14. 6:5 - 1) With everything you own. 2) Whether Hashem treats you with kindness or harshness.
  15. 6:7 - If asked a Torah question, one should be able to reply quickly and clearly.
  16. 6:8 - Tot means two in Caspi. Fot means two in Afriki. Together they allude to the four sections of tefillin.
  17. 6:13 - One who serves Hashem and reveres His name.
  18. 7:7 - B'nei Yisrael are the humblest nation.
  19. 7:9 - 2,000.
  20. 7:10 - So that they get no reward in the next world.

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