(For answers see inside)
1) In this week’s parsha (7:14) we have the pasuk:ברוך תהיה מכל העמים לא יהיה בך עקר ועקרה ובבהמתך – “You shall be blessed more than all nations, you will not have amongst you sterile males, females or animals.” What halachah do we learn from this pasuk regarding Hilchos Beis Hakisay? If you answered “That it is forbidden to hold oneself back from being excused, then how come Rav Aba Bar Zavda, Rav Gidel, Rebbi Chelbo, and Rav Shashes were sitting in a shiur of Rav Huna, and they held themselves back from being excused, why is this not in violation of the above halachah?
2) Seven species of insects are mentioned in the Torah, one of which can be found in Parshas Eikev. How many of them can you identify?
3) A 12-year-old boy ate a meal just before shkia on the day before his Bar Mitzvah and recited Birchas Hamazon (Devarim 8:10) when he finished. If the food has not yet been fully digested and he remains satiated after shkia – when he legally becomes an adult and Biblically obligated to recite Birchas Hamazon – must he bentch again, as his Rabbinically-mandated recitation before sunset cannot fulfill his newfound Biblical obligation?
4) In this week’s parsha (10:12) we have the pasuk: ועתה ישראל מה ה 'אלוקיך שואל מעמך וגו' – “And now Yisroel, what does Hashem ask from you etc.” The Gemara in Menachos (43b) derives from here that “one is obligated to recite 100 berachos daily.” How do we learn this out from the pasuk? One of the 100 berachos isברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שלא עשאני גוי – “Blessed are You Hashem King of the Universe for not creating me as a non-Jew”, why do we need to make this berachah every day, surely, it would be enough to make it once in a lifetime?
For more riddles see pg. 35
