Parshat Ekev
Questions
- What must the Jewish People do to ensure that Hashem will fulfill His promise to do good for us?
- What were the:
(a) wonders
(b) strong hand
(c) outstretched arm
that the Jewish People saw in Egypt? - When a group performs a mitzvah, whose name is attached to the mitzvah?
- How did the Jewish People do their laundry in the midbar?
- How did the Jewish People obtain clothing for their growing children in the midbar?
- How many days did Moshe spend on Mt. Sinai altogether?
- On what day did Moshe come down from Mt. Sinai having received complete forgiveness for the Jewish People?
- How was Aharon punished for his role in the golden calf?
- Who made the ark in which Moshe placed the second set of tablets? What special function did it later serve?
- Which sin of the Jewish People was prompted by the death of Aharon?
- Why were the levi'im chosen by Hashem?
- Why do the levi'im have no portion in the land?
- All aspects of man's life are in Hashem's "hands" except one. What is this?
- What is the "added benefit" of observing the mitzvot?
- What is meant by circumcising one's heart?
- What are the sources of water for the fields of Egypt and Eretz Yisrael?
- What path does the Torah prescribe for gaining new knowledge?
- Which activity is "serving Hashem with the heart"?
- When the Jewish People sin, why are they considered worse than the generation of the flood?
- How does one "cleave to Hashem"?
Answers:
1. 7:12 - Guard even the "light" commandments.
2. 7:19 - The:
(a) Plagues;
(b) Pestilence;
(c) Slaying of the firstborn.
3. 8:1 - The person who finishes it.
4. 8:4 - The ananei kavod (clouds of glory) cleaned and bleached their clothes.
5. 8:4 - As their children grew, their clothing grew with them.
6. 9:18 - 120 days.
7. 9:18 - The tenth of Tishrei, Yom Kippur.
8. 9:20 - His two sons died.
9. 10:1 - Moshe. This ark would accompany the Jewish People into battle.
10. 10:6-7 - When Aharon died the ananei kavod departed, causing many Jews to fear war with the King of Arad and to retreat toward Egypt.
11. 10:8 - Because they did not participate in the sin of the golden calf.
12. 10:9 -- Since they served in the Temple, thus they were not free to work the land.
13. 10:12 - Fear of Heaven, which is dependent upon the person.
14. 10:13 - There is reward.
15. 10:16 - To remove those things that block the words of Torah from entering.
16. 11:10 - Egypt is irrigated by manually carrying water up from the Nile. Eretz Yisrael is supplied by rainwater requiring no work on the part of its inhabitants.
17. 11:13 - By repeatedly reviewing what one knows, one more easily acquires new knowledge.
18. 11:13 - Prayer.
19. 11:17 - Because the generation of the flood had no one from whom to learn.
20. 11:22 - Attaching oneself to Torah scholars.
