Riddles of the Week

Riddles of the Week

(For answers see inside)

1. There were two groups of people who came to Moshe with grievances that he was unable to answer and for which he needed to ask Hashem to clarify: the men who were tomei [impure] at the time of the Korban Pesach and the daughters of Tzelafchad who wanted to inherit their father’s portion in Eretz Yisroel. Moshe told the first group (9:8) to stand and wait while he went to ask Hashem for guidance, but to the daughters of Tzelafchad he said nothing before taking their claim to Hashem (27:5). Why did he treat the two groups differently?
2. In this week’s parsha we learn all about the daughters of Tzelafchad. They came to Moshe Rabbeinu and complained: “למה יגרע שם אבינו מתוך משפחתינו כי אין לו בן – Why should the name of our father disappear from the midst of his family, just because he did not have a son?”. Rashi explains (based on the Gemara in Bava Basra 119b): “אנו במקום בן עומדות ואם אין הנקיבות חשובות זרע תתייבם אמנו – We stand in place of boys, and if girls are not considered offspring, then our mother should be obligated to perform yibbum”.
   
   Tzelafchad desecrated Shabbos on public. The Gemara in Shabbos (96b) teaches that the mekoshesh (the one who went around collecting wood on Shabbos and publicly desecrating Shabbos) was Tzelafchad. The Gemara in Chullin (8a) teaches, that if one desecrates Shabbos in public, then he is considered a mumar [rebel] in regard to the entire Torah.
   
   The Mordechai in Yevamos (Perek 4, siman 29, cited in Beis Yosef, Even HaEzer 156) maintains, that if a mumar dies without any children his wife is exempt from performing yibbum.
   
   The question therefore is, what were the daughters of Tzelafchad trying to argue when they said, “if we aren’t considered offspring our mother should have to perform yibbum”, surely their father was a mumar, therefore, their mother should be exempt from yibbum?
3. Why does Hashem refer (Bamidbar 28:2) to the korban tomid [continual daily offering] as “קרבני – My offering”, while all other korbonos are referred to as “קרבנכם – your offerings”?
4. In this week’s parsha we learn about the korban tomid, and how two sheep were offered up every single day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. What will be Le’osid Lovoi, in the future by the third Beis HaMikdosh, will there also be two tamidim offered up every day?
5. How tall were the sheep used for the korban tomid?
6. The fast day of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz often falls during the week when Parshas Pinchas is read, as it does this year. What catastrophe occurred to our ancestors on this day that is linked to a topic discussed in Parshas Pinchas?