Riddles of the Week

Limuday Moshe | December 10, 2025

How were the Jewish people able to fulfill the mitzvah of giving tzedokah in the wilderness when there were no poor and needy Jews, as all of them received food and drink on a daily basis?
Did the babies in the wilderness eat manna, or did they nurse from their mothers?
In this week’s parsha we have the pasuk: ויאמר משה אכלהו היום כי שבת היום לה' היום לא תמצאו בשדה. The Gemara in Shabbos (117b) learns from this pasuk which mentions the word היום three times, that there is an obligation to eat three meals on Shabbos. There is a dispute in the poskim as to whether the obligation is de’O’raisa or derabonon. The Charedim (14:3) and Levush (Orach Chaim 291) learn that it’s de’O’raisa, whereas the Maharil (siman 94, cited in Elyah Rabbah, Orach Chaim 291) learns that it’s derabonon. The Gemara in Shabbos (118b) cites R’ Nachman who says: תיתי לי דקיימת שלש סעודת בשבת - “I deserve to be rewarded, as I eat three meals on Shabbos”. The question is, everyone agrees that there is a mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos, so why should R’ Nachman receive special reward for doing so?
We mentioned above, that we learn out from a pasuk in this week’s parsha that there is a mitzvah to eat three meals on Shabbos. Being as it is a mitzvah, why don’t we make a berachah: אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וצונו על אכילת ג' סעודות בשבת – “Who sanctified us with his mitzvos and commanded us with the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos”?
In this week’s parsha we learn about Krias Yam Suf, after emerging Klal Yisroel sang Shirah, in the Shirah we have the pasuk: זה אלי ואנוהו – “This is my G-d, and we should beautify him”, we learn from this pasuk the concept of hiddur mitzvah. The Gemara in Shabbos (133b) learns from here that one should make the mitzvos beautiful and one should write a nice sefer Torah, using nice ink, and a nice quill. The question is, why is a nice quill considered hiddur mitzvah? Nice ink, and nice writing makes the sefer Torah nicer, but what does a nice quill achieve, surely it’s not noticeable in the final product?

How were the Jewish people able to fulfill the mitzvah of giving tzedokah in the wilderness when there were no poor and needy Jews, as all of them received food and drink on a daily basis?
Did the babies in the wilderness eat manna, or did they nurse from their mothers?
In this week’s parsha we have the pasuk: ויאמר משה אכלהו היום כי שבת היום לה' היום לא תמצאו בשדה. The Gemara in Shabbos (117b) learns from this pasuk which mentions the word היום three times, that there is an obligation to eat three meals on Shabbos. There is a dispute in the poskim as to whether the obligation is de’O’raisa or derabonon. The Charedim (14:3) and Levush (Orach Chaim 291) learn that it’s de’O’raisa, whereas the Maharil (siman 94, cited in Elyah Rabbah, Orach Chaim 291) learns that it’s derabonon. The Gemara in Shabbos (118b) cites R’ Nachman who says: תיתי לי דקיימת שלש סעודת בשבת - “I deserve to be rewarded, as I eat three meals on Shabbos”. The question is, everyone agrees that there is a mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos, so why should R’ Nachman receive special reward for doing so?
We mentioned above, that we learn out from a pasuk in this week’s parsha that there is a mitzvah to eat three meals on Shabbos. Being as it is a mitzvah, why don’t we make a berachah: אשר קדשנו במצוותיו וצונו על אכילת ג' סעודות בשבת – “Who sanctified us with his mitzvos and commanded us with the mitzvah of eating three meals on Shabbos”?
In this week’s parsha we learn about Krias Yam Suf, after emerging Klal Yisroel sang Shirah, in the Shirah we have the pasuk: זה אלי ואנוהו – “This is my G-d, and we should beautify him”, we learn from this pasuk the concept of hiddur mitzvah. The Gemara in Shabbos (133b) learns from here that one should make the mitzvos beautiful and one should write a nice sefer Torah, using nice ink, and a nice quill. The question is, why is a nice quill considered hiddur mitzvah? Nice ink, and nice writing makes the sefer Torah nicer, but what does a nice quill achieve, surely it’s not noticeable in the final product?

View The Full Article (PDF)

Limuday Moshe | January 25, 2024