Riddles of the Week

(For answers see inside)

1. In this week’s parsha we have the pasuk (35:3): לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם ביום השבת – “Fire shall not be kindled in all your dwelling places on the day of Shabbos.” The Gemara in Shabbos (119b) teaches: אין הדליקה מצויה אלא במקום שיש חילול שבת – “Fire is not frequent, except in places where there is chillul Shabbos”. The Achronim (Chida, Chomas Anoch in the name of Rabbeinu Ephraim, Kli Yokar and the Shlah) write that this is hinted at in the aforementioned pasuk. לא תבערו אש בכל מושבותיכם, if you don’t want fire in any of your dwelling places, ביום השבת, make sure to keep the day of Shabbos holy and guard it. The question is, why is the punishment for chillul Shabbos, the burning down of one’s property? Why doesn’t he deserve some other type of punishment?
2. It is well known that the fire of Gehenom rests on Shabbos, where is there a hint to this in this week’s parsha? Does this apply even to one who is mechalel Shabbos?
3. Before carrying out a matter of kedusha, such as davening, or a mitzvah, ideally one should immerse in a mikvah. If so, when the women spun the threads which were to be used in building of the Mishkan, presumably they immersed in a mikvah, where do we find a hint to this in this week’s parsha?
4. Rashi writes (Shemos 35:27) that the Nesiyim [tribal leaders] were punished by the removal of the letter י from their titles because they waited to donate to the Mishkan until after everyone else had already given their contributions. Why wasn’t Moshe similarly punished for not giving to the Mishkan (Vayikra Rabbah 1:6), and to the contrary, Rashi writes (Shemos 39:33) that because he had not participated in the Mishkan, Hashem arranged that nobody should be able to erect it except for Moshe in order to give him a part in its construction?
5. There is a special type of copy-paper, that when one writes on it, there is another paper underneath, and whatever one writes on the top gets copied on the bottom. The halachah is, that to be liable for writing on Shabbos one must write two letters. What’s the halachah if one writes one letter on such a paper, and the letter gets copied. Do we say he is chayav as he caused two letters to be written, or do we say since the writer did an act of writing just one letter he is exempt?

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.