Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Parashah Scavenger Hunt שְׁאֵלוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ
Welcome to Devash's Parashah Scavenger Hunt for Parashat Shoftim!
- What does our parashah say that God hates? Look for the answer in Aliyah #1 (Devarim 16:18-17:13)
- Why shouldn’t a king have a lot of horses? Look for the answer in Aliyah #2 (Devarim 17:14-20)
- Which three parts of an animal does the כֹּהֵן (kohen, priest) get when someone slaughters meat to eat? Look for the answer in Aliyah #3 (Devarim 18:1-5)
- In this aliyah, what are the problematic practices of the people living in Eretz Canaan? Look for the answer in Aliyah #4 (Devarim 18:6-13)
- Our parashah gives a specific example of how a person might kill someone else accidentally, with a tool. What is it? Look for the answer in Aliyah #5 (Devarim 18:14-19:13)
- What four groups of people are allowed to go home when the people go to war? Look for the answer in Aliyah #6 (Devarim 19:14-20:9)
- When an army is attacking a city, what are they not allowed to cut down? Look for the answer in Aliyah #7 (Devarim 20:10-21:9)
- What are all the leadership positions mentioned in our parashah?
- What word appears in identical form twice in a row in our parashah?
- What two numbers of witnesses does the Torah explicitly approve of?
Scroll down to see the answers!
Answers:
- Putting up a מַצֵּבָה (matzeivah, stone monument) for idolatry (16:22)
- Because they might lead him to bring the people back to Egypt (17:16)
- Shank, cheeks, stomach (18:3)
- Different kinds of magic and sorcery (18:10-11)
- Someone might be chopping wood in a forest and the blade might fly off the handle of the ax—וְנָשַׁל הַבַּרְזֶל מִן־הָעֵץ (though this could also mean that the ax might cause a wood chip to fly out of the tree!) (19:5)
- 1) Someone who has built a house but not yet dedicated it; 2) Someone who has planted a vineyard but not yet tasted of it; 3) Someone who is engaged but not yet married; 4) Someone who is afraid (20:5-8)
- Trees with edible fruit (20:19-20)
- שֹׁפְטִים (shoftim, judges) (16:18, 17:9, 17:12, 19:17-18, 21:2); שֹׁטְרִים (shotrim, officers) (16:18, 20:5-9); כֹּהֲנִים (kohanim, priests) (17:9, 17:12, 17:18, 18:1, 18:3, 19:17, 20:2, 21:5); מֶלֶךְ (melekh, king) (17:14); לְוִיִּם (Levi’im, members of the tribe of Levi) (18:1, 18:6-7); נָבִיא (navi, prophet) (18:15-22); זִקְנֵי הָעִיר (ziknei ha-ir, the elders of the city) (19:12, 21:2-4, 21:6)
- צֶדֶק צֶדֶק (tzedek tzedek, justice justice) (16:20)
- Two and three (17:6, 19:15)
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