Answers to this Week’s Riddles

(For the riddles, please see back page)

1. The Gemara (Yoma 64a) teaches that if a person (permissibly) shechts a female goat on Yom Kippur to save the life of a critically ill patient, the goat’s children are disqualified from serving as the scapegoat sent away to Azazel because of the prohibition against slaughtering a mother and her offspring on the same day. Although the Torah only appears to forbid the slaughter of both goats and the scapegoat is not shechted, the Gemara explains that דחייתו לצוק זו היא שחיטתו – killing the scapegoat by pushing it off a cliff is legally considered its form of shechita, as this is the way we are commanded to kill it. Thus, if the person designated to bring the goat to Azazel uses the child of a goat that was slaughtered earlier that day by someone else, he violates the Torah prohibition without ever shechting a single animal. (R’ Ozer Alport, Parsha Potpourri)
2. The Ramban (Bereishis 31:35, and Vayikra 12:4) writes, that a niddah in the times of the Kadmonim would be distanced from the rest of society and they would be sent to sit by themselves in a special tent. People wouldn’t talk to them. The Kadmonim in their wisdom knew, that their breath causes harm. A niddah would also be careful not to walk on the floor, as the earth that she would trample on would become tomei, like earth which comes from rotting dead bodies. The simple meaning of the word “niddah” is to be distanced.
   However, the Shu”t Chasam Sofer (Orach Chaim 23) writes regarding this Ramban, that nowadays, if one is stringent about the above he is acting strangely, as no one today is concerned about this. Either because nature has changed, or because there is a rule that even if something is dangerous, if everyone is not careful about it we say, שומר פתאים ה' – “Hashem protects those who are foolish”.
   However, although Jews don’t this today, I have heard that there are African tribes which still act like this.
3. Every Jew is commanded (Vayikra 19:3) to revere his father. A person is put to death for cursing his father (20:9) or lying with his father’s wife (20:11). (Parsha Challenge)
4. The Ramban (Vayikra 19:19) explains that when Hashem created the world, He imbued each species with its own unique traits and the ability to reproduce with other members of its species. By crossbreeding two species and creating a new one, a person is deviating from Hashem’s plan and insinuating that He did not fully finish the task of Creation.
   The Moshav Z’keinim (Vayikra 19:19) notes that products of crossbreeding – such as mules – are incapable of reproducing, which undermines the natural order.
   The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:37) writes that at the time of Matan Torah, idolatrous priests wore garments that contained wool and linen, so the Torah forbade shatnez to distance us from this foreign practice.
   The Medrash (Pirkei D’Rav Eliezer 21) points out that wool and linen were responsible for the first murder in world history, as Kayin became jealous when his offering of flax did not find favor with Hashem, while Hevel’s offering of a sheep and its wool was accepted, so Hashem permanently forbade their combination.
   The Daas Z’keinim (Devorim 22:11) observes that the paroches [special curtain] in the Mishkan contained wool and linen. Just as the Torah (Shemos 30:38) forbids us to duplicate the recipe for the ketores, Hashem wanted to keep the mixture of wool and linen exclusively reserved for holy purposes, so He prohibited their combination in our mundane garments.
5. The Minchas Chinuch (257:8) cites the Gemara’s ruling (32a-b) that although a Talmid Chochom can waive the honor to which he is entitled, a king may not. The difference between them is that a Talmid Chocham acquired his Torah knowledge through his own exertion, so he may relinquish the respect to which he is entitled as a result of his wisdom, whereas a king’s honor is not his to forego. The honor we must show to the Talmid Chochom’s wife does not intrinsically belong to her, but is a form of showing respect to her husband. Therefore, although he may waive the honor that others must show him, his wife is like a king in this regard and may not give up the respect to which she is entitled. (Parsha Potpourri)
6. The Minchas Elozor in his sefer Divrei Torah (Mahadura 9, ois 26) brings from HaRav Boruch Halberstam the following answer: The relationship between brothers is very different to the relationship between one Yid and another, as generally speaking brothers hate each other. Either due to fights over inheritance, or because their father showed favored to one more than the other, and various such scenarios. Therefore, the Torah warns, לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך, even if you don’t love your bother the way you should love another Yid, at least don’t hate him. Really you should love you brother in a positive manner and do nice things for him like you should to every Yid, however, this is very difficult, but at least make sure לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך, in your heart you don’t hate him.