שלום.नमस्ते.สมาธิ.Pax.سلم.Peace.Sat Nam.صلح.Kwey.Amani.ειρήνη.Pace.Paz.Paix.Fred.Frieden.Vrede.Siochana.мир.和平.平和.평화.Aloha.
Torah Trivia for Parshah 18. Mishpatim
1.) What does a master post near a door or doorpost to signify his perpetual ownership of a willing slave: a.) a mezuzah; b.) an awl pierced through his slave’s earlobe; c.) the blood of the Peschal lamb; d.) a hin of oil; e.) the burn mark from an iron brand?
2.) What are the 3 categories of provisions that a man must continue to give, in the same manner, to his slave wife, after he marries another wife; what is the stipulated consequence amidst the man abstaining from making such provisions; and what is the consequence that is prescribed for a man who seduces and sleeps with a free virgin?
3.) On how many occasions is the death penalty prescribed, in one way or another, within this Parshah; and what are the corresponding offences for which the death penalty is prescribed?
4.) What is the punishment for a master who strikes and destroys an eye of his servant: a.) the master is compelled to write, “my bad,” 100 times each day to his servant; b.) the master must relinquish all his material wealth and provide it to his servant; c.) the master must replace his servant’s eye with the most advanced technology commensurate with the master’s material wealth; or d.) the master must release his servant into freedom.
5.) Technically and explicitly, what are the proportions of restitution (1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1) that a person is commanded to provide for “stealing” the proceeding items: a.) a free life, b.) a free eye, c.) a free tooth, d.) a free hand, e.) a free foot, f.) an ox that is slaughtered by the thief, g.) a sheep that is slaughter by the thief, h.) money or products entrusted for safekeeping?
6.) How many times is the term, “ger,” utilised within this Parshah, what is a prominent mitzvah that is commanded regarding the ger (described within Shemot 22:20), and where else within the Torah is this mitzvah included?
7.) According to Shemot 22:24, and exclusively within severe circumstances, what is an acceptable interest rate that predatory lendors may impose upon Hebrew borrowers: a.) 50%, compounded quarterly; b.) 20% annually, with the availability of a revolving line of credit based upon the established equity of collateral property; c.) 10% annually, with appropriately qualifying co-signers; d.) a modest 3% for materially indigent people who qualify; e.) 2.5% exclusively for immediate family members and “special friends” of the lender; f.) 0%.
8.) Within this Parshah, there is admonishment regarding different forms of adverse speech that emanate from one’s mouth; how many times is such speech admonished and/or forbidden, within this Parshah; and what are the respective contexts or characteristics of these forms of speech?
9.) What are we supposed to do when seeing an enemy’s cattle wandering or lying hindered by his cattle’s burden?
10.) How many times a year is a festival prescribed, and what are those occasions?
11.) Why does Adonai abstain from immediately removing all the enemies of the Israelites before the Israelites arrive and inhabit Eretz Israel?
12.) After Moshe dashes the blood upon the Israelites, how many men ascend the mountain and see Adonai?
Torah Trivia for Parshah 18. Mishpatim (with Answers)
1.) What does a master post near a door or doorpost to signify his perpetual ownership of a willing slave: a.) a mezuzah; b.) an awl pierced through his slave’s earlobe; c.) the blood of the Peschal lamb; d.) a hin of oil; e.) the burn mark from an iron brand?
Answer: It is necessary for a master to pierce his slave’s earlobe with an awl; Shemot 21:2 – 6.
2.) What are the 3 categories of provisions that a man must continue to give, in the same manner, to his slave wife, after he marries another wife; what is the stipulated consequence amidst the man abstaining from making such provisions; and what is the consequence that is prescribed for a man who seduces and sleeps with a free virgin?
Answer: A man must provide the same amount of 1.) food, 2.) clothing, and 3.) conjugal visits or shelter rights, depending on interpretation (Shemot 21:10); if the man abstains from doing so, she is to become free without any payment (Shemot 21:11); and a man who seduces and sleeps with a virgin is required to marry the virgin, and if her far refuses the marriage, the man must pay the bridal price (dowry) in silver (Shemot 22:15 – 16).
3.) On how many occasions is the death penalty prescribed, in one way or another, within this Parshah; and what are the corresponding offences for which the death penalty is prescribed?
Answer: The death penalty is effectively prescribed on 14 occasions, within this Parshah, for the proceeding offences:
a.) fatally striking a man (Shemot 21:12);
b.) scheming and killing another person (21:14);
c.) striking one’s far or mor (21:15);
d.) kidnapping a man, regardless of whether the man is kept or sold (21:16);
e.) insulting one’s far or mor (21:17);
f.) striking and killing a foreigner slave (21:20);
g.) directly causing the death of a pregnant woman whilst fighting with another man (21:22 – 25);
h.) death is prescribed to an ox for goring a man or woman to death (21:26);
i.) death is prescribed to an owner who is previously aware of his ox previously goring and harming a person, subsequently failing to contain the ox, and the ox subsequently goring a free person to death, with the opportunity of the owner of paying a redemption sum (Shemot 21:28 – 29)
j.) there is the acceptability of a thief being beaten to death after being seized during the act of “breaking and entering” during the nighttime (Shemot 22:1 – 4);
k.) sorcery (Shemot 22:17);
l.) beastiality (Shemot 22:18);
m.) blasphemous/polytheistic sacrifices (Shemot 22:19);
n.) wronging or oppressing a ger, widow, or orphan (Shemot 22:20 – 23);
4.) What is the punishment for a master who strikes and destroys an eye of his servant: a.) the master is compelled to write, “my bad,” 100 times each day to his servant; b.) the master must relinquish all his material wealth and provide it to his servant; c.) the master must replace his servant’s eye with the most advanced technology commensurate with the master’s material wealth; or d.) the master must release his servant into freedom.
Answer: d.) The master must release his servant into freedom; Shemot 21:26.
5.) Technically and explicitly, what are the proportions of restitution (1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1) that a person is commanded to provide for “stealing” the proceeding items: a.) a free life, b.) a free eye, c.) a free tooth, d.) a free hand, e.) a free foot, f.) an ox that is slaughtered by the thief, g.) a sheep that is slaughter by the thief, h.) money or products entrusted for safekeeping?
Answer: The following proportions of restitution are prescribed for the proceeding items:
a.) Restitution for a free life: 1:1 (Shemot 21:23);
b.) Restitution for a free eye: 1:1 (Shemot 21:24);
c.) Restitution for a free tooth: 1:1 (Shemot 21:24);
d.) Restitution for a free hand: 1:1 (Shemot 21:24);
e.) Restitution for a free foot: 1:1 (Shemot 21:24);
f.) Restitution for an ox that is slaughtered by the thief: 5:1 (Shemot 21:37);
g.) Restitution for a sheep that is slaughtered by the thief: 4:1 (Shemot 21:37);
h.) Restitution for entrusted money or products that are stolen: 2:1 (Shemot 22:6 – 8).
6.) How many times is the term, “ger,” utilised within this Parshah, what is a prominent mitzvah that is commanded regarding the ger (described within Shemot 22:20), and where else within the Torah is this mitzvah included?
Answer: “Ger” (“גר”) appears 5 times within the 2 proceeding passages that communicate the prominent mitzvah to abstain from oppressing the stranger:
(Shemot 22:20): (twice) “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
(Shemot 23:9): (thrice) “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feeling of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.”
However, amidst an extremely modest literacy of Hebrew, and amidst distinctions within the vowels included within the “Etz Hayim” gomash, the letters, “גר,” also appear on 6 additional occasions, within this Parshah, within the proceeding passages, and within the respective contexts:
(Shemot 21:10): “eegera” (“יגרע”), referring to the restitution due to a slave wife when her husband marries another wife;
(Shemot 21:18): “vageraf” (“באגרף”), referring to men quarrelling and one being struck;
(Shemot 23:12): “vager” (“והגר”), referring to the respite required for foreign labourers during Shabbat;
(Shemot 23:28): “vegersha” (“וגרשה”), referring to the driving out of the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites;
(Shemot 23:30): “agershenu” (“אגרשנו”), referring to gradually driving out the previous inhabitants of Eretz Israel;
(Shemot 23:31): “vegershetemo” (“וגרשתמו”), referring to the establishment of the boundaries of Eretz Israel and the driving out of the previous inhabitants
This mitzvah similarly appears within Devarim 10:19: “You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Additional examples of this mitzvah being described within the Torah, and further explanation of the Hebrew terms, are welcome.
7.) According to Shemot 22:24, and exclusively within severe circumstances, what is an acceptable interest rate that predatory lendors may impose upon Hebrew borrowers: a.) 50%, compounded quarterly; b.) 20% annually, with the availability of a revolving line of credit based upon the established equity of collateral property; c.) 10% annually, with appropriately qualifying co-signers; d.) a modest 3% for materially indigent people who qualify; e.) 2.5% exclusively for immediate family members and “special friends” of the lender; f.) 0%.
Answer: The answer is: f.) 0% is commanded to be imposed upon Hebrew borrowers; Shemot 22:24.
8.) Within this Parshah, there is admonishment regarding different forms of adverse speech that emanate from one’s mouth; how many times is such speech admonished and/or forbidden, within this Parshah; and what are the respective contexts or characteristics of these forms of speech?
Answer: There are at least 7 occasions where different forms of speech are admonished and/or forbidden:
1.) It may be considered that a slave’s proclamation to remain with his master is effectively admonished through his consequential, continuing enslavement (Shemot 21:5 – 6);
2.) Insulting one’s far or mor is explicitly forbidden (Shemot 21:17);
3.) Consequences are explicitly established for seducing a virgin (presumably with words, although this may admittedly be through additional means) and sleeping with her (Shemot 22:15 – 16)
4.) Cursing a “nasi” (chieftain) is explicitly forbidden (Shemot 22:27)
5.) Carrying worthless utterance is explicitly forbidden (Shemot 23:1)
6.) Becoming a malicious witness is explicitly forbidden (Shemot 23:1)
7.) Making covenant with the deities of, and, the previous inhabitants of Eretz Israel is explicitly forbidden (Shemot 23:32).
9.) What are we supposed to do when seeing an enemy’s cattle wandering or lying hindered by his cattle’s burden?
Answer: There are the 2 proceeding passages:
“When you encounter your enemy’s ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him.” (Shemot 23:4);
“When you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him.” (Shemot 23:5).
10.) How many times a year is a festival prescribed, and what are those occasions?
Answer: A festival is prescribed 3 times during the year (Shemot 23:14): the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pesach (Shemot 23:15); the Feast of the Harvest/Weeks, Shavuot (Shemot 23:16); and the Feast of Ingathering/Booths, Sukkot (Shemot 23:16).
11.) Why does Adonai abstain from immediately removing all the enemies of the Israelites before the Israelites arrive and inhabit Eretz Israel?
Answer: “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply to your hurt.” (Shemot 23:29).
12.) After Moshe dashes the blood upon the Israelites, how many men ascend the mountain and see Adonai?
Answer: There is the specific description of Moshe, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu ascending the mountain with 70 Israelite elders, presumably making the total number: 74 (Shemot 24:9 – 10); however, there is also the presumption of Yoshua being present, as he ascends the mountain further with Moshe to receive the stone tablets, so that either includes Yoshua as 1 of the 70 Israelite elders, or increases the total number to 75 (Shemot 23:13); and, before continuing on with Yoshua, Moshe makes a specific reference to the leadership of Hur, who may also be considered as 1 of the 70 Israelite elders or may remain within the camp of Israel during that period (Shemot 23:14).
--
Discussion Questions:
How are the rules governing servitude to be understood within the context in which these rules are originally communicated, and also within contemporary terms? What are the social implications and constructs regarding a freed servant’s wife and children who are borne to him whilst he is a slave? Do the children have the opportunity to independently proclaim liberation at some point before the Jubilee year? And if otherwise, do there exist, within the present day, “permanent” servants who are descendants of servants who previously decide to stay with respective masters in such a manner?
Amidst the mitzvah of providing a freed slave with material provisions with which to begin a new life, to what extent is a master compelled to encourage such liberation rather than passively, implicitly “discouraging” a slave to remain in servitude with the master?
Is there a penalty against the owner of an ox who gores a slave?
Ultimately what does the human imposition of justice achieve? What is effectively gained from the death penalty? Whilst material compensation may provide ease for one who experiences an injurious transgression, is it possible to actually alleviate any suffering that is previously experienced? In what manner is the practise of forgiveness relevant, appropriate, and/or mandatory? What responsibility does the perpetrator maintain in healing a victim, and what responsibility does the aggregate community maintain in healing a victim? And how is this healing tangibly facilitated?
Amidst these rules for justice, is it possible for the community to “autonomously” and extemporaneously enact additional “justice” upon a perpetrator, such as refusing to trade with that person or cooperate in additional economic, political, and social manners? What is an appropriate extent of this comprehensive “boycott”? And, at what point does such exclusion contradict with the many mitzot of charity, compassion, and forgiveness?
What are some lessons regarding the specific valuation of life and property that can be extrapolated from the guidance of imposing justice? And how is the institution of slavery involved within these processes?
What comparison can be drawn between the trial process of: 1.) a person who is provided with money for safekeeping and it being stolen, 2.) a person who borrows another’s cattle and it dying or being injured or being taken away, and 3.) a woman who is accused of adultery? What is the tangible measure for determining who is speaking the Truth?
What is the intrinsic esoteric and exoteric nature within the principle and practise of protecting the “ger”? What is the nature of the vulnerability of the ger: the intrinsic sacrifice of, value within, and even aversion towards the characteristic of the ger? How does this compare and contrast with the protection and characteristics of the widow and the orphan? And how can the nature of these protection guidelines and these characteristics be applicable to everyone, and the very experience of life itself?
How is one supposed to regard one’s enemy? Within the mitzvot to return the enemy’s cattle, and to help the enemy’s cattle when it is struggling with its burden, there is the guidance to abstain from “hating” or “loving” the enemy; what is the nature of the balance that exists within this spectrum? And how can the “wandering” and the “burden” of the enemy’s cattle be perceived in an increasingly “Universal” manner regarding the very existence and concept of the “enemy,” and perhaps the existence of one’s own self, and the expectation of how the “enemy” acts towards one’s self?
Within this Parshah, Adonai refers to an angel going before Israel to provide guidance, and Adonai commands Israel to heed the word of the angel; what is the actual, temporal nature of this angel, and what is the nature of the interaction between this angel and the children of Israel? Can the notion of Adonai, and Adonai’s angel, summarily defeating the foe be legitimately understood in an actual and comprehensive manner, alleviating the necessity for us to even enact physical conflict or violence (such as with the parting of the Reed Sea)? Is such “ushering” simply a matter of Faith?
Also within this Parshah, there is the description of Moshe communicating all these mitzvot to the Israelites, and then writing down these mitzvot before ascending the mountain to receive the stone tablets; do these writings of Moshe include the “10 Commandments,” and if so, what is the apparent necessity and significance for Moshe to ascend the mountain and commune with Adonai to receive the stone tablets?
שלום.नमस्ते.สมาธิ.Pax.سلم.Peace.Sat Nam.صلح.Kwey.Amani.ειρήνη.Pace.Paz.Paix.Fred.Frieden.Vrede.Siochana.мир.和平.平和.평화.Aloha.
No comments:
Post a Comment