1. How do you know that borei pri haadama is a proper bracha on grapes?
2. In the standard Hagada, the Ben Rasha is condemned for saying אשר ציווה אתכם, that you were commanded, separating himself from the rest of the Jewish People. In a different Hagada (which is the source of almost all of the standard hagada) we see that while a person is doing a mitzvah there is nothing wrong with saying “Your God.”
3. Our parsha begins with two recitations involving agricultural mattanos. The first is called Mikra Bikkurim and the second Chazal call Viduy Maaser. The Gemara in Sotah says that one should be proclaimed loud and clear, and the other recited in a soft voice. Which is which, and why.
4. The Mishna in Sotah lists those recitations that can be in any language and those that must be in Hebrew. In our Parsha, we find the three such recitals: Mikra Bikurim, Viduy Maaser, and then the national oration at Har Grizim and Har Eival. Chazal say that two of these have to be said in Hebrew, and one in any language. There is no evidence that this is the case in the simple reading. It is purely based on drashos. Can you guess which is which? Can you suggest a reason? Bikkurim, Maaser, and Grizim v’Eival.
5. The UAE, the United Arab Emirates is named after the seven emirates that formed a federation. An Emirate is synonymous with a Sheikdom, and refers to an area ruled by a Sheik, or an Emir. Where do we find this term used in our Parsha.
6. The Gemara in Megilla says that a person who wears Kosher Tefillin with the right Kavana will cause fear in his enemies who see him.
תניא רבי אליעזר הגדול אומר אלו תפלין שבראש (מגילה טז:)
This is only true where the person does the mitzva perfectly without exception, and that the tefillin and his head form one indivisible unit, such as was the case with the Vilner Gaon, and no one of our time can rely upon it. Where do we see this idea in the parsha?
7. An object mentioned four times in our parsha and nowhere else in Tanach. According to some, it is the same Gematria as the number of masechtos in Shas.
1. How do you know that borei pri haadama is a proper bracha on grapes?
Because Bikkurim were brought from the Shivas Haminim, and you say (26:2) מראשית כל פרי האדמה
2. In the standard Hagada, the Ben Rasha is condemned for saying אשר ציווה אתכם, that you were commanded, separating himself from the rest of the Jewish People. In a different Hagada (which is the source of almost all of the standard hagada) we see that while a person is doing a mitzvah there is nothing wrong with saying “Your God.”
26:3
ובאת אל הכהן אשר יהיה בימים ההם ואמרת אליו הגדתי היום לה' אלהיך כי באתי אל הארץ אשר נשבע ה' לאבתינו לתת לנו
3. Our parsha begins with two recitations involving agricultural mattanos. The first is called Mikra Bikkurim and the second Chazal call Viduy Maaser. The Gemara in Sotah says that one should be proclaimed loud and clear, and the other recited in a soft voice. Which is which, and why.
26:5, Bikkurim, וְעָנִיתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ, loud.
26:13, Maaser, וְאָמַרְתָּ, soft.
Bikkurim and Har Grizim ve'Har Eival are davka in Hebrew. Maaser is in any language.
The simplest explanation is that Har Grizim ve'Har Eival is a national event, and Mikra Bikkurim is the Jewish People speaking through individuals in a recap of the nation's history. Viduy Maaser is purely personal.
5. The UAE, the United Arab Emirates is named after the seven emirates that formed a federation. An Emirate is synonymous with a Sheikdom, and refers to an area ruled by a Sheik, or an Emir. Where do we find this term used in our Parsha.
26:17-18
את ה' האמרת היום להיות לך לאלהים וללכת בדרכיו ולשמר חקיו ומצותיו ומשפטיו ולשמע בקלו
וה' האמירך היום להיות לו לעם סגלה כאשר דבר לך ולשמר כל מצותיו
6. The Gemara in Megilla says that a person who wears Kosher Tefillin with the right Kavana will cause fear in his enemies who see him.
תניא רבי אליעזר הגדול אומר אלו תפלין שבראש (מגילה טז:)
This is only true where the person does the mitzva perfectly without exception, and that the tefillin and his head form one indivisible unit, such as was the case with the Vilner Gaon, and no one of our time can rely upon it. Where do we see this idea in the parsha?
28:9-10
יְקִימְךָ ה' לוֹ לְעַם קָדוֹשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לָךְ כִּי תִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְהָלַכְתָּ בִּדְרָכָיו: וְרָאוּ כָּל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ כִּי שֵׁם ה' נִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ וְיָרְאוּ מִמֶּךָּ
Tosfos in Brachos 6a says this is the four-armed letter Shin on the Shel Rosh. The Maharshal says the letter is both a reference to the Sheim Shakkai and also the number of days in the year that we wear tefillin (If and only If you wear tefillin on Chol Hamoed.)
Story, as written by Ozer Alport in his Parsha Potpourri:
The Vilna Gaon was once lodging at an inn when he heard loud cries and screams for help coming from the innkeeper’s room. Although the Gaon was in the middle of the morning prayers, he quickly ran to the aid of a fellow Jew. He threw open the innkeeper’s door and discovered a non-Jew mercilessly beating him. The attacked looked up at the door, and upon seeing the Gaon wearing his tallis and tefillin, was overcome with terror and promptly fainted.
After pulling himself together and recovering from the shock of the incident, the innkeeper expressed his tremendous gratitude to the Gaon for coming to his rescue. He added that while he was certainly appreciative, he was also curious as to the Gaon’s “magic weapon” which had inspired such fear in the heart of his attacker. The Gaon replied by citing the aforementioned Gemora and explaining that the sight of him adorned in his tefillin had caused the non-Jew to faint. The innkeeper asked for clarification, as he himself had been wearing his tefillin prior to the attack, but they had clearly proven ineffective.
The Gaon pointed out that the Gemora uses a peculiar expression. It doesn’t interpret the verse as referring to the tefillin which are on one’s head but rather to the tefillin which are in one’s head. He explained that merely placing the tefillin on one’s body is insufficient. Rather, one must contemplate the message of the portions contained therein until they are internalized. While the innkeeper had not yet done so, the Vilna Gaon was clearly on such a level, and when the non-Jew perceived his spiritual loftiness, he was overcome with dread to the point of fainting – exactly as promised by the Gemora!
(Also- they say that Reb Chaim Brisker Rav Chaim said that the ability to know if tefillin are kosher by looking at them is easily attained and that he himself already possessed it at the age of 6 or 7.)
7. An object mentioned four times in our parsha and nowhere else in Tanach. According to some, it is the same Gematria as the number of masechtos in Shas.
Teneh. 26:2, 4 by Bikkurim, and 28:5, 17 by the Brachos and Klalos.
Shas stands for ששה סדרי משנה. But the Ohr Hachaim in 26:5 uses it as a a remez for the original sixty masechtos in Shas, until they were redivided into 63, by separating the Bavos and separating Sanhedrin from Makkos. טנה בגימטריא ס.
After pointing out that the Torah is called ראשית, the Ohr HaChaim says
ואומרו ושמת בטנא. ירמוז שצריך כל מפעלות הטובות שעשה יהיו על פי דבריהם, כאומרו (לעיל י"ז י"א) על פי התורה אשר יורוך ועל המשפט וגו', והתורה והמשפטים ביארו אותם חכמים בס' מסכתות כמנין טנא, שזולת זה הגם שיעשה כל מצות שבעולם ישרף הוא והם.
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