Mitzvos and Rewards
What will Hashem give us if we do the mitzvos properly?
Tremendous beracha in all areas of life
What was special about the clothing we wore in the midbar?
It never wore out and it grew as we grew
What are we warned many times in the parsha not to do?
Serve avodah zara
When is the best time for rain (according to rashi here)?
On Friday night (see שפתי חכמים as to why Rashi doesn't mention Tuesday nights)
What was the צרעה?
Chazal say it was a creature which would spit venom into the eyes of the enemies in Eretz Yisrael. These creatures would blind the enemies without even crossing the Yarden into Eretz Yisrael
How many special foods are there which are specific to Eretz Yisrael?
Seven
What did Moshe do with the eigel?
He burned it and ground it up into a powder dust and threw it into a river running down a mountain (if you answered that Moshe gave it to Bnei Yisrael to drink, you are correct - see the Ramban)
Why do we read the parsha of והיה אם שמע second when saying shema?
Because first we must accept the yolk and "burden" of the mitzvos. Then reward and punishment can be discussed
Why does the pasuk use the language of עקב, which means a heel (like by Yaakov Avinu), in regards to mitzvos?
Because it is talking about the mitzvos which might not seem so important to a person, and a person “tramples” on them with his feet. We don’t usually worry about stepping on things which aren’t meaningful to us.
What major change in Klal Yisrael happened because of the eigel?
Shevet Levi now would serve Hashem in the mishkan and beis hamikdash, and not the firstborns
What does the pasuk say Hashem asks from us?
To fear Him
What does the Torah warn us not to do because maybe we will become haughty and think we accomplished great things ourselves, like building big cities and becoming wealthy?
We should not forget Hashem. This is a מצות לא תעשה. The Chofetz Chaim lists this mitzva as one of the aveiros a person does when saying lashon hara – how can someone say bad about someone else if Hashem is right here??
Hashem is the One who allows us to do whatever we are able to do
To what is it compared to when Hashem presents us with challenges in life?
Like a father causing pain to his son. A father’s love for a son is very special and very strong. Yet sometimes the father has to punish his son, in order to make sure he is going on the proper path. But the father doesn’t enjoy punishing his son. And the father does it for his child’s own good. The same is with Hashem. He only punishes us to help us, and He does it with love and care.
What does Hashem constantly do with Eretz Yisrael?
Hashem's Eyes are on it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. Eretz Yisrael is more special than all other lands
How is Hashem an אש אכלה - an all consuming fire?
There is no metziyus without Him, and if He doesn't want something around, or if someone is doing something against His will, that person will not have any ability to exist
Name a halacha which is learned from the pasuk of ארץ חטה ושערה וגפן ותאנה ורמון ארץ זית שמן ודבש?
1. The gemara says that the pasuk lists the most valuable ones first, and if a person has more than one of the 7 species in front of him, he should make a beracha on the one which is earlier in the pasuk (assuming that you do not like one more than the other. If you do, please ask your Rov)
2. There are ten words in the pasuk. When a person says hamotzi, one should hold the bread or challah with all ten of his fingers
What did Hashem want to do to Aharon Hakohen, and why, and what ended up happening?
Hashem wanted to destroy Aharon by killing all of his sons, because he had listened to Klal Yisrael when they asked to create an eigel. Moshe davened for Aharon and was able to annul half of the gezeirah. So only two of Aharon's sons died - נדב and אביהוא
When we praise Hashem in the first beracha of shemoneh esrei, why is it only a specific few praises, like הגדול הגבור והנורא?
Because we cannot really list all of Hashem's praises. We just say the ones which Moshe Rabbeinu said in this week's parsha, with the help of the אנשי כנסת הגדולה (see Megillah 25a)