Parshas Matos / Masei

For the week ending 2 Av 5758 / 24 - 25 July 1998

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Contents:

Parsha Questions

Sherlox Holmes

I Did Not Know That!

Recommended Reading List

Answers to Parsha Questions

Solution to Sherlox Holmes

Back issues of Parsha Q&A

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Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

MATOS

1. Who may annul a vow?
2. When may a father annul the nedarim of his widowed daughter?
3. The Jewish People were commanded to attack Midian. Why were they not commanded to attack Moav?
4. The people selected to fight Midian went unwillingly. Why?
5. What holy vessels accompanied the Jewish People into battle?
6. Those who killed in the war against Midian were required to remain outside the machaneh (camp). To which machaneh is the Torah referring?
7. In addition to proper cleansing to remove traces of forbidden food, what other preparation is needed to make metallic vessels obtained from a non-Jew fit for a Jewish owner?
8. Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven said, "We will build sheep-pens here for our livestock and cities for our little ones." What was improper about this statement?
9. During the conquest of the Land, where did Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven position themselves?
10. What promise did the Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven make beyond that which Moshe required of them?

MASEI

1. Why does the Torah list the places where the Jewish People camped?
2. Why did the King of Arad feel at liberty to attack the Jewish People?
3. What was the length of the camp in the midbar?
4. Why does the Torah need to specify the boundaries that are to be inherited by the Jewish People?
5. What was the role of the nesi'im (Princes) in the division of the Land?
6. When did the three cities on the east of the Jordan begin to function as places of refuge for murderers?
7. There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan. Yet, on the eastern side of the Jordan, there were only two and a half tribes. Why did they need three cities?
8. In order to be judged as an intentional murderer, what type of weapon must the murderer use?
9. Why does the murderer remain in the city of refuge until the death of the Kohen Gadol?
10. When an ancestral field moves through inheritance from one tribe to another, what happens to the field in yovel (Jubilee year)?

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Solution  Contents

Sherlox Holmes "This text is most unusual," said Watstein: "And G-d spoke to Moshe saying: Avenge the vengeance of Bnei Yisrael from the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered unto your people (i.e., die). And Moshe said to the people saying: Detach from your midst men for the army, and they shall be against Midian, to bring about the revenge of G-d against Midian. (Bamidbar 31, 1-3)" "G-d commanded, Moshe acted," said world famous detextive Sherlox Holmes. "What's unusual about that?" "Nothing!" said Watstein. "That's exactly my question! There's absolutely nothing unusual about it!" "So what's bothering you, my dear Watstein?" asked Sherlox. "Rashi's comment bothers me," said Watstein. "On the verse 'and Moshe said to the people saying...' Rashi comments: Even though Moshe heard that his death depended on the matter, he did it with joy and didn't delay." "Such selflessness," said Sherlox. "Yes, but where does Rashi see in the verse that Moshe acted with joy? Rashi doesn't simply make comments unless something in the text prompts him to do so. What's bothering Rashi?"

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I Did Not Know That!

When listing the name of the nasi (prince) of each tribe, three tribes - Yehudah, Binyamin and Shimon - do not have the word nasi mentioned. Rav Nissim Gaon explains that in the case of Yehudah, everybody knew that Calev deserved to be the nasi due to his actions during the episode of the spies. The tribe of Shimon did not deserve a nasi, due to the actions of Zimri (25:14). The nasi for Binyamin was Eldad, who had prophesied in the camp (Bamidbar 11:26), and being a prophet an even higher spiritual level than being a nasi.

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Recommended Reading List

MATOS Ramban 30:16 Responsibility 31:2,6 Vengeance 31:23 Cleansing Vessels 31:36 Miracle of the Spoils 31:49 Jewish Victory 32:33 Menashe's Inheritance 32:41 Yair's Ancestry Sforno 31:15 The Meaning of Silence

MASEI Ramban 33:53 The Land 35:14 Cities of Refuge 35:29 The Sanhedrin Kli Yakar 33:49 The Greater Loss 35:6 Temporary Dweller Sefer Hachinuch 408 Cities of the Levi'im 409 Capital Punishment 410 Exile Sforno 33:1 The Merit of the Journeys 36:4 The Inheritance of Daughters 36:12 The Husbands of the Daughters of Tzlafchad

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Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

MATOS

1. Who may annul a vow?
   30:2 - Preferably, an individual who is an expert in the laws of nedarim. If such a person is not available then three ordinary people.

2. When may a father annul the nedarim of his widowed daughter?
   30:10 - If she is widowed before she is fully married, and is less than twelve and a half years old.

3. The Jewish People were commanded to attack Midian. Why were they not commanded to attack Moav?
   31:2 - Because Moav only acted out of fear against the Jewish People. Also, Ruth was destined to come from Moav.

4. The people selected to fight Midian went unwillingly. Why?
   31:5 - They knew that the death of Moshe would follow the execution of vengeance upon Midian.

5. What holy vessels accompanied the Jewish People into battle?
   31:6 - The aron and the tzitz.

6. Those who killed in the war against Midian were required to remain outside the machaneh (camp). To which machaneh is the Torah referring?
   31:19 - The Machaneh Shechina.

7. In addition to proper cleansing to remove traces of forbidden food, what other preparation is needed to make metallic vessels obtained from a non-Jew fit for a Jewish owner?
   31:23 - Immersion in a mikveh.

8. Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven said, "We will build sheep-pens here for our livestock and cities for our little ones." What was improper about this statement?
   32:16 - They showed more regard for their property than for their children.

9. During the conquest of the Land, where did Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven position themselves?
   32:17 - At the head of the troops.

10. What promise did the Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuven make beyond that which Moshe required of them?
    32:24 - Moshe required them to remain west of the Jordan during the conquest of the Land. They promised not to return home for an additional period after the conquest while the Land was being divided among the tribes.

MASEI

1. Why does the Torah list the places where the Jewish People camped?
   33:1 - To show Hashem's love of the Jewish People. Although it was decreed that they wander in the desert, they did not travel continuously. During the span of the 38 years they moved only 20 times.

2. Why does the Torah list the places where the Jewish People camped?
   33:40 - When Aharon died, the ananei kavod (clouds of glory) which protected the Jewish People departed.

3. What was the length of the camp in the midbar?
   33:49 - Twelve mil.

4. Why does the Torah need to specify the boundaries that are to be inherited by the Jewish People?
   34:2 - Because there are certain mitzvos that apply in the Land, but not outside the Land.

5. What was the role of the nesi'im (Princes) in the division of the Land?
   34:17 - Each nasi represented his tribe in the division among the Tribes. He also allocated the inheritance to each family in his Tribe.

6. When did the three cities on the east of the Jordan begin to function as places of refuge for murderers?
   35:13 - After Yehoshua separated three cities on the western side of the Jordan.

7. There were six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan. Yet, on the eastern side of the Jordan, there were only two and a half tribes. Why did they need three cities?
   35:14 - Because murderers were more numerous on the eastern side of the Jordan.

8. In order to be judged as an intentional murderer, what type of weapon must the murderer use?
   35:16 - One which is capable of inflicting a lethal injury.

9. Why does the murderer remain in the city of refuge until the death of the Kohen Gadol?
   35:25 - Because the Kohen Gadol causes the Shechina to dwell in Israel and prolongs life, and the murderer causes the Shechina to depart from Israel and shortens life. The murderer is not worthy to stand in the vicinity of the Kohen Gadol.

10. When an ancestral field moves through inheritance from one tribe to another, what happens to the field in yovel (Jubilee year)?
    36:4 - It remains in the possession of the new tribe.

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Mystery Contents

Solution to Sherlox Holmes "Notice," said Sherlox, "that Moshe didn't use the exact words that G-d used." "How so?" asked Watstein. "G-d said to exact the vengeance of Bnei Yisrael, the Jewish People. Moshe, however, told the people to bring about the vengeance of G-d." "Is there a difference?" asked Watstein. "Yes and no," replied Sherlox. "On the one hand, the vengeance of the Jewish People is synonymous with the vengeance of G-d, for an enemy of the Jewish People is automatically G-d's enemy, as Rashi says in verse 3. On the other hand, however, one must ask oneself: Why indeed did Moshe choose to shift the focus from 'the vengeance of Bnei Yisrael' to 'the vengeance of G-d?' " "Why?" asked Watstein. "Moshe wanted to infuse the nation with zeal for their mission. They might be willing to forgive their own vengeance, perhaps. But the vengeance of G-d? That is something that would fire them with enthusiasm, and is something which they would not be permitted to forgo. By his subtle change in phraseology, Moshe reveals his enthusiasm and verve to perform the will of G-d, even though his death depended upon it." (Based on Devek Tov)

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Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Eli Ballon
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