(For answers see inside)
- In this week’s parsha we have the mitzvah of giving machatzis hashekel, did the Yidden make a berachah when fulfilling this mitzvah?
- From the time the golden calf was produced until the time Moshe ground it up (Shemos 32:20), what did the calf do?
- What did R’ Shimon bar Yochai say to his mother to stop her talking so much? What is the punishment for one who talks idle chatter on Shabbos?
- We learn in this week’s parsha that when Moshe came down from the mountain and saw the Eigel HaZahav he took it and burnt it in the fire (ויקח את העגל אשר עשו וישרף באש). The question is the Eigel was made out of gold, and gold doesn’t burn in a fire, all that happens in a fire is it melts, so what does the pasuk mean that “it was burnt”?
- Where do we find in this week’s parsha a source for the custom of paying shadchonus? money?
The sefer Mincha Belulah writes: There is a type of grass which can be placed in a fire together with gold, and it burns immediately and makes the gold turn black, and the process can’t be undone. Or, perhaps it was a miracle. He adds: We find miracles were involved, as the pasuk continues, “That after the Eigel was burnt and crushed up, it was thrown into water, and it floated.” Surely, it should have sunk to the bottom of the water? We see that miracles occurred.
The Sifsei Kohen al HaTorah writes: “As soon as Moshe saw the Eigel HaZahav, Moshe said to the gold, ‘Is this what G-d created you for? Is this why G-d made you more precious than all other metals?’ Upon hearing this, the gold turned into dried out wood, and allowed the fire to catch onto and it was burnt.” The Shach adds: This is why it says וישרף and not וישרוף, as the gold allowed itself to burn, as opposed to someone else throwing it into the fire and burning it. (Otzer Pelois HaTorah)
5) In this week’s parsha (34:29) we learn that Moshe’s face had a special shine. The Medrash Rabbah (33:1) writes that the reason Moshe merited this, was because he was the go between, and the shadchan between Hashem and Klal Yisroel when it came to giving over the Torah. As reward for being the shadchan, Hashem gave him a special gift of having a shiny face.
From here we have a source to the custom of paying shadchonus money. Just like Hashem paid Moshe for being a shadchan. Similarly, the minhag is to pay a shadchan for making a shidduch.
This booklet was compiled with siyata dishmayah by Rabbi Moshe Harris. For final rulings please consult your Rov. For any comments, dedications, or to subscribe to receive the weekly booklet email: [email protected] or call 0583249052.
