Riddles of the Week

(For answers see above)

1. When the time comes for a slave to go home and he wants to stay, the halachah is that the master pierces his right ear (21:6). Rashi brings from Chazal that the reason we pierce the right ear is because we make a gezeirah shovah אוזן אוזן, and just like later on it means the right ear, here to it also refers to the right ear. The question is, why do we need a gezeirah shovah, by all mitzvos in the Torah we start with the right, so why this time should it be different?
2. When a slave would get his ear pierced, would the master also pierce through the door, or would he just pierce through the ear of slave and that’s it?
3. In this week’s parsha we learn that if a master knocks out his slave’s tooth, the slave goes free (Shemos 21:27). The question is, who gets to keep the tooth, does the slave keep it, or does it go to the master?
4. In this week’s parsha we have the pasuk: ורפא ירפא – “you shall surely heal” (21:19). The Gemara in Berachos (60a) learns from here: מכאן שניתנה רשות לרופא לרפות – “From here we see, a doctor has permission to heal.” We even find in Chazal that various Amoraim were doctors. In Bava Metzia (113b) we find that Shmuel was a doctor. Shmuel said about himself that he knew how to heel all illnesses except for three. In Bava Metzia (85b) we find that Shmuel heeled Rebbi. In Yoma (49a) we find that R’ Chaninah was a doctor. The question is, how does this fit with the Gemara in Kiddushin (82a) which says: טוב שברופאים לגיהנם – “The best of doctors is destined for Gehinnom”. We find that Amoraim were doctors, and we find that Chazal give doctors permission to heal, and surely doctors who are heeling are doing a big chesed with permission from the Torah, so how can we say they are destined for Gehinnom?
5. Is there a concept of reward and punishment by animals? Are there any proofs from this week’s parsha?
6. What did R’ Yonasan Eibshitz read whilst he was in the beis hakisay? How did this enlighten him with understanding the pasuk which talks about the mitzvah of bikkurim, and the prohibition to cook milk and meat together - ראשית בכורי אדמתך תביא בית ה' אלקיך לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו?