* PARSHA Q&A * In-Depth Questions on the Parsha and Rashi's commentary. Parshas Mishpatim For the week ending 27 Shevat 5756 16 & 17 February 1996 =========================================================================== This issue is dedicated to the memories of Moshe Ben Yakov Baruch (Michael Leigh) Z'L 22nd Shevat and Yetta Freida Bat Avraham Gutman (Nettie Leigh) Z'L 26th Shevat =========================================================================== All Ohr Somayach Publications are now available in Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word formats from our web site: www.jer1.co.il/orgs/ohr =========================================================================== Parsha Questions 1. Where did the Sanhedrin hold court? 2. Who supports the family of an Eved Ivri (Hebrew servant)? 3. If an Eved Ivri wished to remain with his master after the six years of servitude are completed, what must be done to the servant? 4. What special mitzvah does the Torah give to the master of an Amah Ivria (Hebrew maidservant)? 5. What three obligations does a man have toward his wife? 6. What is the penalty for: a) kidnapping; b) cursing one's parents; c) murder? 7. What is the penalty for someone who wants to murder a particular person, but accidentally kills another person instead? 8. An ordinary ox gores a more valuable ox. What is the maximum amount that the owner of the damaging animal is obligated to pay if his animal had previously gored less than three times? 9. Where in the Parsha does the Torah demonstrate its concern for the honor of the wicked? 10. What degree of force may one use to resist a thief who is breaking-and- entering? 11. What fine does the Torah impose upon one who steals and is caught? 12. A person borrows an object from his employee, and it is destroyed accidentally. What financial obligation does the borrower have to the lender? 13. What constraints are placed upon a lender? 14. Where in the Parsha does the dog receive its reward, and why? 15. Which verse forbids listening to slander? 16. What constitutes a majority ruling in a capital case? 17. What happens to a person who the courts mistakenly exonerate? 18. How many prohibitions are transgressed when cooking meat and milk together? 19. How many of the seven Canaanite nations lived east of the Jordan River? 20. How did Moshe manage to "sprinkle the blood" on all of the Jewish People (24:8)? Bonus QUESTION: In verse 21:19, the Torah commands the damager to pay the physician's fee for healing the victim. From this we learn that a doctor is permitted to heal injuries inflicted by other people. How do we know that a physician is permitted to treat also ordinary illnesses? I Did Not Know That! "The word of both of them (the plaintiff and the defendant) shall come before haelohim (the judges)" (22:8). From here we see that anywhere Hashem's name Elokim is used it refers to Hashem as absolute Judge. Sifri =========================================================================== Recommended Reading List Ramban 21:1-2 Parallel with Ten Commandments 21:6 (first part) Divine Role in Human Justice 21:15 The Severity of Cursing One's Parents 21:29-30 Death Penalty and Ransom 22:6 (first part) Two kinds of Shomrim 22:20-22 Prosecutor of the Helpless 22:30 Holiness of Kashrus 23:25 Blessings and Destruction 24:1 Matan Torah Chronology Sefer Hachinuch 42 Human Kindness 43 Divine Kindness 47 Capital Punishment 50 Penalty for Anger 52 Despising Destruction 62 The Danger of Sorcery 66 Why Hashem Creates the Poor 70 Blasphemy 71 Respect for Authority 73 Kashrus 78 Antidote to Anarchy 84 Shemitah 93 Relations with Heathens =========================================================================== Answers to this Week's Questions All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated 1. 21:1 - Adjacent to the Mizbe'ach (Altar). 2. 21:3 - The master of the servant. 3. 21:6 - His master must bore his right ear with an awl. 4. 21:8,9 - The Torah mandates a special mitzvah to marry her. 5. 21:10 - Food, clothing, marital relations. 6. Execution by: a) 21:16 - strangulation; b) 21:17 - stoning; c) 21:20 - sword. 7. 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. 8. 21:35 - The full value of his own animal. 9. 21:37 - When a thief steals a lamb, he degrades himself by carrying it on his shoulders. The Torah counts this degradation as part of the thief's punishment, and reduces the fine he pays when he is caught. 10. 22:1 - Whatever necessary, even at the expense of the thief's life. 11. 22:3 - He pays double the value of the object stolen. 12. 22:14 - None, he is exempt from payment. 13. 22:24 - The lender may neither demand the debt forcibly nor charge interest. 14. 22:30 - Non-kosher meat is preferentially fed to dogs as a reward for their being silent on the night of Makkas Bechoros (Shemos 11:7). 15. 23:1 - Targum Onkolos translates "don't bear a false report" as "don't receive a false report". 16. 23:2 - A simple majority is needed for an acquittal. A majority of two is needed for a ruling of guilty. 17. 23:7 - Hashem exacts punishment. 18. 23:19 - One. There are three prohibitions involving the combining of milk and meat. Only one is violated by cooking. 19. 23:28 - Two, the Hitites and the Canaanites. 20. 24:8 - Targum Onkolos translates "He poured the blood on the Altar as an atonement for the people." Bonus ANSWER: From the phrase "v'rapo y'rapei" (and heal, he will heal). If the Torah had written only "rapo," one might think that a doctor is allowed to heal only injuries caused by others, since they are not Divinely decreed, but illnesses due to Divine decree would not be under the physician's jurisdiction. Thus, the Torah wrote the word twice - "v'rapo y'rapei" - to teach that a doctor may treat even ordinary illnesses. Tosafos, Bava Kama 85a =========================================================================== ** Spend This Coming Summer Break In Israel For As Little As $599 ** ** (including airfare from New York) ** =========================================================================== JLE Israel Summer Seminar '96 7 weeks of study and touring, optional Ulpan, and structured encounters with Israeli Dignitaries Departure June 13th Optional free time from July 28th through August 8th For Jewish men between the ages of 19 & 30 with demonstrated academic achievement and a sincere motivation to explore their roots Minimum scholarship price: $599 Covers round trip ticket, room, board, tuition and tours Undergraduates attending college anywhere in North America who PERMANENTLY reside in New York City (the 5 boroughs), Long Island (Nassau & Suffolk counties) or Westchester County _ as well as undergraduates attending college in any of these areas although permanently residing elsewhere _ may qualify for additional scholarship monies. 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