Parsha Q&A

For the week ending 23 August 2003 / 25 Av 5763

Parshat Re'eh

The Color of HeavenArtscroll


1. What were the sites designated for the "blessings and the curses" to be pronounced by the people?

2. On what condition will Bnei Yisrael receive the blessings from Hashem?

3. Why does the Torah use idolatry as an example when describing one who strays from the path that Hashem commanded?

4. What was to be the sign for the Jewish People that they would inherit the Land?

5. During the 14 years of the conquest and division of the Land, what types of offerings were permitted on private altars?

6. What must one do with consecrated animals that develop a blemish?

7. In what ways does a consecrated animal that develops a blemish retain a degree of kedusha (holiness) even after it has been redeemed?

8. Why was the tribe of Yehuda not permitted to conquer Jerusalem?

9. In consecutive verses, the Torah repeats the prohibition against eating blood. What two types of blood are referred to?

10. Why were the Jewish People allowed to see the extermination of the Canaanites?

11. What forms of idol worship are punishable by death?

12. If a person performs miracles in the name of Hashem and then says that the laws of the Torah have been revised, what is done to this person?

13. The Torah says, "to Him (Hashem) you shall cleave." How does one fulfill this command?

14. The trial of a person accused of encouraging others to worship idols differs from the trial of other capital cases. How?

15. Who has the primary responsibility of inflicting the punishment on one who tried to entice others to worship idols?

16. What is the "source" of the Jewish People being an am kadosh (holy nation)?

17. How should the Jewish People maintain themselves as an am kadosh?

18. What is the order of priority regarding to whom one should give charity?

19. What mitzvah recalls the Exodus from Egypt?

20. Which four individuals are under Hashem's "special protection"?

I Did Not Know That!

When King Ptolmy commanded the elders to translate the Torah into Greek, Hashem put into their hearts to alter the translation. One example - the word arneves (rabbit) was changed to tze'iras hareglaim (short legged creature). King Ptolmy's wife was named Arneves, and it wasn't deemed wise to list the king's wife as one of the non-kosher animals.

(Megilla 9b)

Reading List

Search for Hashem
Serving Hashem
False Prophets
The True Path
Limits of Grief
Forbidden Foods
Collecting Debts
Never Average
Limited Mourning
Limits to Charity
Sefer Hachinuch
Sanctity of the Divine Name
Supporting Hashem's Servants
Don't Add or Subtract
A Rebellious City
Rejoicing in the Mitzvos


1. 11:26 - Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eval, respectively.

2. 11:27 - On condition that they listen to Hashem's commandments.

3. 11:28 - Because those who worship idols are considered as if they have strayed from the entire Torah.

4. 11:31 - The miracles that would occur while crossing the Jordan River.

5. 12:8 - Vow offerings or free-will offerings.

6. 12:15 - They must be redeemed and may then be eaten.

7. 12:15 - Eating it is permitted, but use of its milk or fleece is forbidden.

8. 12:17 - When Avraham bought ma'arat hamachpelah, he made a covenant of peace with the Hittites who sold it; his descendants honored this pact regarding the Hittite descendants in Jerusalem.

9. 12:24-25 - Blood that seeps slowly from the incision as soon as the cut is made and again after it no longer gushes. Blood absorbed into the limbs of the animal.

10. 12:30 - To learn not to follow in their depraved ways.

11. 12:30 - Slaughtering or burning a sacrifice on an altar, pouring libations, prostrating oneself, and any normal manner of worshipping that idol.

12. 13:2-6 - He is put to death.

13. 13:5 - One should emulate Hashem's actions by performing good deeds, assisting in burying the dead and visiting the sick.

14. 13:10 - If he was acquitted and new information of a condemning nature arises, he is retried. If he was judged guilty, he is not returned to court to plead in his favor.

15. 13:10 - The person whom the guilty one attempted to entice.

16. 14:2 - The kedusha is inherited from the avot.

17. 14:21 - By avoiding excesses even in permitted matters.

18. 15:7 - The most needy, a brother from one's father, a brother from one's mother, the poor of one's city, the poor of another city.

19. 16:3 - Eating the korban pesach and the matzah on the night of Pesach.

20. 16:10 - A levi, convert, orphan, and widow.

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