Parsha Q&A - Mishpatim - Shabbos Shekalim
Parshas Mishpatim - Shabbos Shekalim
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Parsha Questions
1. In what context is a mezuza mentioned in this week's Parsha? (tricky question)
2. What special mitzvah does the Torah give to the master of a Hebrew maidservant?
3. What is the penalty for striking one's father or mother and causing a wound?
4. 'A' intentionally hits 'B'. As a result, B is dangerously close to death. Besides any possible monetary payments, what happens to A?
5. What is the penalty for someone who tries to murder a particular person, but accidentally kills another person instead? Give two opinions.
6. A slave goes free if his master knocks out one of the slave's teeth. What teeth do not qualify for this rule and why?
7. An ox gores another ox. What is the maximum the owner of the damaging ox must pay, provided his animal had gored no more than twice previously?
8. From where in this week's Parsha can the importance of work be demonstrated?
9. What is meant by the words "If the sun shone on him"?
10. A person is given an object for safe-keeping. Later, he swears it was stolen. Witnesses come and say that in fact he is the one who stole it. How much must he pay?
11. A person borrows his employee's car. The car is struck by lightning. How much must he pay his employee for the damage to the car?
12. Why is lending money at interest called "biting"?
13. Non-kosher meat - "treifa" - is preferentially fed to dogs. Why?
14. Which verse forbids listening to slander?
15. What constitutes a majority-ruling in a capital case?
16. How is the festival of Shavuos referred to in this week's Parsha?
17. How many prohibitions are transgressed when cooking meat and milk together?
18. What was written in the Sefer HaBris which Moshe wrote prior to the giving of the Torah?
19. What was the livnas hasapir a reminder of?
20. Who was Efras? Who was her husband? Who was her son?
"What’s Bothering Rashi?"
Rashi: "Divrei tzadikim: Words that are righteous; judgments of truth."
Rashi translates the Hebrew in an unusual way. Divrei tzadikim would normally mean "words of the righteous people." Why does Rashi reject this in favor of the translation "righteous words?"
What's bothering Rashi? Answer
I Did Not Know That!
Parshas Mishpatim, dealing largely with monetary laws, precedes Parshas Terumah which details the donations needed to build the Sanctuary. This teaches that even when donating to charity (terumah), a person must be sure that the money honestly belongs to him (mishpatim).
Recommended Reading List
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Answers to this Week's Questions
All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated 1. 21:6 - If a Hebrew slave desires to remain enslaved, the Torah tells his owner to bring him "to the door or to the door post - mezuza - and to pierce his ear.
2. 21:8,9 - To marry her.
3. 21:15 - Death by strangulation.
4. 21:19 - He is put in jail until 'B' recovers or dies.
5. 21:23 - One opinion: The murderer deserves the death penalty. Another opinion: The murderer is exempt from capital punishment, but must compensate the heirs of his victim.
6. 21:26 - Baby teeth, because they grow back.
7. 21:35 - The full value of his own animal.
8. 21:37 - From the "five-times" penalty for stealing an ox and then selling it or slaughtering it. This heavy fine can be seen as a punishment for preventing the owner from working with his ox to plow his field.
9. 22:2 - If it's as clear as the sun that the thief has no intent to kill.
10. 22:8 - Double value of the object denied.
11. 22:14 - Nothing.
12. 22:24 - Interest on a loan is like a poisonous snake bite. Just as the poison is not noticed at first but soon overwhelms the person, so too interest is barely noticeable until suddenly it accumulates to an overwhelming sum.
13. 22:30 - As "reward" for their silence during the plague of the first born (Shmos 11:7).
14. 23:1 - Targum Onkelos translates "Don't bear a false report" as "Don't receive a false report."
15. 23:2 - A simple majority is needed for an acquittal. A majority of two is needed for a ruling of guilty.
16. 23:16 - Chag HaKatzir - Festival of Reaping.
17. 23:19 - One. There are three prohibitions (cooking, eating and deriving benefit) involving milk and meat. Only one is violated by cooking them together.
18. 24:4,7 - The Torah, starting from Bereshis until the giving of the Torah, and the commandments given at Mara.
19. 24:10 - That the Jews in Egypt were forced to toil by making bricks.
20. 24:14 - Miriam, wife of Calev, mother of Chur.
Answer to "What’s Bothering Rashi?"
Rashi can't reconcile calling judges who take bribes "righteous people." It is a contradiction in terms! Therefore, the words - not the judges - are righteous, coming as they do from the Torah.
Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Lev Seltzer
HTML Design: Eli Ballon
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