Questions on Parshas Eikev to think about and discuss:

1. Rashi brings that the word “Eikev”, literally heal, refers only to the mitzvos that are trampled over by the heal. If these are kept then the possuk continues with the rewards. What is bothering Rashi that he translates it in this way and not simply as “because” where it refers to all the mitzvos (like other meforshim explain)?
2. Where in davening do we say lots of the brochos that are said at the beginning of Parshas Eikev?
3. The possuk (7:16) says that Hashem will remove from the Jews every “choili” and all the “mudvei” Mitzrayim. What are these things?
4. When the possuk (7:16) talks about destroying the nations in Eretz Yisroel it uses the expression of “eating”. What has eating got to do with destroying?
5. Besides for the fighting of the seven nations, Hashem sent another thing against the enemy called the “Tzera”. What is this and why the need for it?
6. After the victory the pesukim (7:25-26) describe the need to destroy the avoda zora, idols of the captured nations, and forbids any benefit from them. What is the problem with them after the enemy that had worshipped them had been killed?
7. The possuk (8:4) describes the special conditions for the the Jews in the desert. One of them was that their feet did not get cracked or swelling, implying that they walked barefoot. However, in Parshas Ki Sovoi (29:4) it says that their shoes did not ware out on their feet implying that they did not go barefoot. How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction?
8. Which terrible midda, character trait, are we warned about in our parsha?
9. How many times did Moshe go up the mountain for forty days and why?
10. What is the significance of the going up for forty days and why is it emphasised separately as forty days and forty nights? Why didn’t Moshe take up with him food and drink and how could he survive so long without eating or drinking?
11. What day of the week and when on it did Moshe come down from the mountain with the first Luchos and then smash them? (We know that the date in the year was the 17th of Tammuz.)
12. In Parshas Eikev (9:17) it brings that Moshe grabbed hold of the Luchos and broke them. They were already in his hand. Why then did he grab them?
13. Which possuk in our parsha is the key and basis that lists the full avoda to serve Hashem?
14. Where in Parshas Eikev does it have one of the six remembrances said daily after Shachris?
15. What is the difference in the formation of the first and second Luchos?
16. How many different aronous were there for the Luchos?
17. In Parshas Eikev (11:6) it again mentions about the ground swallowing up people. Why does it only mention the swallowing up of Doson and Avirom and omits any mention of Korach and the other 250 men?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

2. Lots of the brochos at the beginning of Parshas Eikev are mentioned on Motzoai Shabbos when we say Veyitain Lecha. This is said after Shabbos when we are about to start a new week and want it to be full of blessings and therefore say this tefilla that is compiled of many pesukim that talk about blessings to the Jews.
3. The Ibn Ezra says that the first one is a natural illness while the second one is an unnatural illness. Rabbeinu Bechai says that choili is an illness that comes from outside while mudvei is an internal illness. The Vilna Gaon says that the first is where the whole body is affected and results in being bedridden while the second is an illness in one particular limb while the rest of the body is healthy. The Netziv says that the first one is an illness that a person brings on himself by not looking after himself while the second are illnesses that come as punishments.
5. Rashi (7:20) brings that it is a type of flying bird that throws poison from a distant (see Rashi Mishpotim 23:28) that it did so from across the Yarden and it resulted in killing the enemies. The Chizkuni learns that it is an illness on their bodies, like the tzoraas. Although the Jews were able to kill the people of the seven nations whom they found, however there were lots of them who fled elsewhere and hid. To this end Hashem sent the Tzera to deal with and kill the hidden enemy so that none survived.
6. There are two problems when entering a foreign land. The first is the enemy nation and their negative influences that go against the Jewish religion. This was dealt with by the battle and killing of the seven nations. The second danger lay in their form of foreign worship that could become an enticement to the Jews by offering an alternative source of worship. To this end came the command to totally destroy all idols with the addition of being forbidden to have any benefit from them.
7. When it says in Parshas Eikev that their feet did not swell the reason for this is like it says later, that they had shoes on that did not wear away and therefore their feet were protected. (Bartenura) The possuk in Parshas Eikev that implies they went barefoot talks about the Leviyim who carried the Aron barefoot. However, when it talks about having shoes on refers to all the other Jews. (Rabbeinu Bechai)
8. The midda of ga’ava, haughtiness. The Rambam tells us that usually the middle pathway is correct for all middos. However, an exception is haughtiness from which we must be totally distanced.
9. He went up three times. The first time to receive the first Luchos after Shavuos. He came down on the 17th of Tammuz and smashed the Luchos when seeing the egel, gold calf. The second time he went up was to attain forgiveness, and he came back down on the 29th of Av, and the third time he went up on Rosh Chodesh Elul to receive the second Luchos that he came down with on Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei.
10. The Shach says that forty days is like the forty days it takes for the foetus to be formed. This means that here we are talking about forming a spiritual body for the Jews and therefore it took forty days. He explains that the forty days was when Moshe learnt the revealed parts of the Torah while during the forty nights he learned the hidden parts of the Torah, Nistar. (Perhaps if people want I will do an article about the significance of each number. The number forty is associated with a dramatic change in situation – e.g. a mikva has forty soeh – the change from tuma to tehara, and Moshe gets the Torah in forty days.) Perhaps the idea of not eating is that this is the difference between the spiritual and physical world. The Malochim, Angels, do not need to eat and yet when they come into this world and visit Avrohom (in Parshas Vayeira) they do eat. So too, when Moshe goes to the spiritual world, his sustenance is provided by a spiritual source and therefore he does not need for survival any physical food or drink.
11. The Chizkuni (9:11) brings that this took place on Erev Shabbos at Alos, dawn.
12. The Ohr Hachaim says an amazing thing. Before the sin of the egel, the Luchos (like the Aron) carried themselves and therefore were just resting in Moshe’s hands. However, after the sin, the kedusha left the Luchos and then they became heavy and then they needed grabbing and carrying all by Moshe himself. This is seen in the Gemora Nedorim 38a that brings how Moshe was such a strong person being able to carry these large and heavy Luchos.
13. The Mesillas Yeshorim in his introduction brings the possuk from Parshas Eikev (10:12) that details the basis for all avoda – it includes fearing Hashem; going in His pathways; Loving Hashem; full heart and keeping mitzvos.
14. In Parshas Eikev (9:7) – “Remember, do not forget, that you provoked Hashem, your G-d, in the Wilderness”. This is referring to the egel, the sin of the golden calf. Why do we bring this possuk more than any others that talk about the egel?
15. The first Luchos, both the material of stone and the writing were all spiritual – Ma’asei Elokim, while by the second Luchos Moshe was told to hew out the physical stone while the writing was spiritual. (see 10:4)
16. There is a dispute. Rashi (10:1) brings that there were two Aron’s. One was made by Moshe out of wood that housed the first broken Luchos and this was the Aron that went out with the Jews to battle. The second Aron made by Betzalel contained the second Luchos and this remained in the Mishkon (except it was also taken out to battle during the times of Eili). The Ramban holds that the Aron of Betzalel contained both the broken first Luchos and the whole second Luchos and Moshe’s aron was hidden away. See the Malbim that implies that Moshe made the wooden Aron and Betzalel made two gold ones. Perhaps these three came together to form the single Aron of the Mishkon that was made out of these three boxes and it contained both sets of Luchos.
17. The Ramban brings that the 250 men transgressed a prohibition for non-Kohanim to bring up ketores. In Parshas Eikev it is mentioning only people who died specifically due to sins done uniquely in the desert. Rabbeinu Bichai brings that, (we know that Sefer Devorim was said by Moshe), Moshe was embarrassed to mention the sin of his close relative Korach. Alternatively, he wanted specifically to mention Doson and Avirom since they were the worst in being so brazen to argue with Moshe. They meddled into an argument that was not theirs while Korach instigated his own argument. The Ponim Yefes adds that this is seen in their punishments – no offspring from Doson and Avirom while the Bnei Korach survived and Shmuel descended from them. The Haamek Dovor brings that Korach was not intrinsically bad only that he got heavily involved in this argument. On the other hand, Doson and Avirom was intrinsically bad and therefore we should be happy by their deaths.

Questions on the praises of Eretz Yisroel:

1. In Parshas Eikev (8:8) the Shivas Haminim, the seven species that Eretz Yisroel is praised with, are detailed. Why does the word “eretz” separate the first five species from the last two?
2. What halachic difference is there when a fruit is from the shivas haminim?
3. When the pesukim talk about the praise of Eretz Yisroel, the praise of the Shivas Haminim is only one of the things mentioned. What are the other things mentioned and what is the addition of each thing?
4. The obligation to bentch is seen in Parshas Eikev (8:8). It is brought in the context of the praises of Eretz Yisroel, implying that bentching is linked to food of Eretz Yisroel. How does this fit in with the halocho that we must bentch anywhere in the world?

Ideas for answers to the praises of Eretz Yisroel:

1. The Vilna Gaon explains that the first five species are foods consumed in their natural state. The last two are separated since the by-product of the fruit is used. They are used for the juice. The problem with this is that grapes are also mainly used for their juice as seen in the halochos of sechita, squeezing juices, on Shabbos that olive oil and grape juice is stricter since they are used mainly for their juice? The Meshech Chochma explains that in Mitzrayim they did not have naturally olives and honey. This is seen in that when the Jews complained in the desert about having things in Mitzrayim they only mention the first three fruits of these minim (see Parshas Chukas 20:5). Therefore the Torah adds the word “Eretz” before the last two minim since these are special to Eretz Yisroel!
2. Some differences: the brocha acharoina, end brocha; instead of a normal borei nefoshois we say Al HoEitz. Additionally, bikkurim are only brought from fruit of the shivas haminim.
3. The pesukim that discuss the praise of Eretz Yisroel are (8:7-10). The Vilna Gaon points out something interesting. Amongst all these praises of Eretz Yisroel it goes through the four levels of beings (seen in the human food chain) in this world abbreveaited as דצח”מ. These are the levels of inanimate-growth from the ground-animals-humans. Therefore it mentions about the stones and metal (8:9), the inanimate; the shivas haminim (8:8), seven species being the growth from the ground; he says that when it says it is missing nothing in association with bread (8:9) this refers to meat of animals and it says addressing humans that they should eat, be satisfied and bless Hashem (8:10).
4. The Zohar (Teruma 157a) brings that the source of all sustenance in the world ultimately comes from Eretz Yisroel. Therefore, whatever we eat is traced back to food from Eretz Yisroel. (This is fine as an idea but will not define halocho otherwise restrictions of food from Eretz Yisroel would extend to all over the world.) This is further seen in the Ramban in his introduction to Sefer Bereishis that King Shlomo was able to plant successfully all plants from all over the world from inside Eretz Yisroel since he knew in his great wisdom the source of that plant’s sustenance that started in Eretz Yisroel.

Questions on Aaron and the egel:

Aaron participated in the egel and therefore was punished with the death of his children. Moshe davened and was able to reduce it to only killing two of his four sons. (Rashi Parshas Eikev 9:20):

1. Why is this only mentioned here in Parshas Eikev and not by the actual story of the egel (in Parshas Ki Sisa)?
2. Rashi here implies that the death of Nodov and Aviyhoo was due to their father Aaron and the egel. However, elsewhere (Bamidbar, 3:4) it brings the reason for their deaths due to their own actions of bringing incense wrongly?
3. Rashi brings that Aaron’s two sons died to fulfil the punishment that they should have no further offspring (known as “hashmode”). Why then was it not enough that only one son should die. Why the need for two to die?
4. Aaron acted with the right intentions when he did his part in the egel. This is seen in that the reason for his death is blamed on Mei Meriva, the sin involved in getting water from the rock, not because of any involvement with the egel. Why then was he punished with the death of two of his sons?
5. At which point was Aaron’s participation in the egel punishable?

Idea for answers on Aaron and the egel:

1. This is in order to honour Aaron to not embarrass him. Therefore it is not mentioned in the Torah until after the death of Aaron. (Mincha Belula) What still needs understanding is that what is written in the Torah is eternal and therefore Aaron knows about it despite his death.
2. The Gur Aryeh explains that for their own sin they would have been allowed to first get married and then have children before dying. However, due to Aaron’s part in the egel, they died before getting married and having children.
3. Perhaps the idea here is that because of Aaron, only one son would have died. However, we pointed out in the previous answer that these two sons sinned themselves and would have died anyhow and therefore perhaps this is why two died.
4. Rabbeinu Bichai (9:20) that this is because Hashem punishes the righteous even though they only do something small wrong. Even though Aaron himself did not sin but since a Chilul Hashem came about from his action done by the Jews, therefore on some level he is liable.
5. The Malbim (9:20) brings that it was only when Moshe burnt the egel in front of the people and they did not protest, then Aaron was liable for his part in the egel. This is because it showed that Aaron could have done the same and therefore there is the claim on him why did he also not burn the egel.