Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Vayikra (Hachodesh) 1 Nissan 5775 (21 March 2015) AS SHABBAT APPROACHES A Perfect Pesach - by Rabbi Oury Cherki, Machon Meir, Rabbi of Beit Yehuda Congregation, Jerusalem The special Haftarah reading for this week (Parshat Hachodesh) is a prophecy by Yechezkel which describes a unique set of sacrifices. The question of the differences between the prophet's description and the laws of sacrifices in the Torah was already addressed in the days of the Tana'im, and the apparent contradictions were explained in an analysis by Chananiah Ben Chizkiyah Ben Garon (Shabbat 13b). However, since his explanations were not handed down to us, the early commentators disagreed about Chananiah's ideas. For example, perhaps the prophecy is a temporary command for the first year after the construction of the Third Temple (Rambam), or it may be referring to the time after resurrection, when all mitzvot will be cancelled, or the prophet was indeed modifying the halacha (see the commentary of Rabbi Yehudah Ibn Balaam). Irrespective of the halachic validity of the prophecy, we can see in it a picture of a world which is very different from the one with which we are familiar. The Torah commands that one sheep or goat must be sacrificed on the fourteenth of Nissan for every group of celebrants, but Yechezkel gives a command that only one sacrifice should be brought by the leader for all of Bnei Yisrael. And it is a bull and not a sheep, and a Chatat Sacrifice and not a Shelamim. There is no longer any need to mention the Exodus from Egypt, since a more important redemption has come after it. This is certainly true of the rabbis who disagreed with Ben Zoma and who feel that there will be no obligation to mention the redemption from Egypt once the Mashiach has come (Berachot 12b). We therefore no longer slaughter a kid of the type that the Egyptians worshipped. The bull of the Chatat, similar to the bull of Yom Kippur, is brought to atone for the sins of the nation during its last exile. The Holiday of the Matzot, which marks the eternal freedom after the last redemption, continues for seven days. Every day seven bulls and seven rams are sacrificed, not two bulls and one ram as in the Mussaf sacrifices in the Torah. This symbolizes the existence of a world where the light of the sun is seven times brighter than the light of the seven days (Yeshayahu 30:26). There will be no sheep, which are a symbol of further development, or a goat brought as a Chatat Sacrifice, because the repair of the world will be finished. The amounts brought for the Mincha and the amounts of oil will be full measures and not fractions. A full "eiphah" of flour, not divided into tenths, and a full "hin" of oil, not half or a third of a hin. The only other holiday is Succot, which has sacrifices that are the same as the ones brought on the holiday of matzot. This marks

the victory of the war against Gog and Magog, as is described by Zecharia (14). The holidays of Shavuot and Succot, which are symbols of the giving of the Torah, will no longer exist since the world will have reached the stage described in the Midrash: "In this world I gave you Torah, in the distant future I will give you life" [Kohellet Rabba]. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will also not exist any more, since there are no longer any sins and G-d is permanently recognized as the King. The most remarkable element in all of this is the daily Tamid sacrifices, where a sheep in the morning and a sheep in the afternoon are replaced by a single sheep that is brought every morning. This is a hint that darkness will be vanquished from the world, and there will be light as evening approaches (Zecharia 14:7). Rabbi Cherki is the head of Brit Olam – Noahide World Center, Jerusalem POINT OF VIEW Elections as a Nuisance - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute Democracy has Changed As I write this article, I of course have no way of knowing what the election results will be, and I will not even try to guess whether there will be some sort of definite decision or if we will be in a situation where the voting blocs remain in a tie. The election process has completely changed from the way it was in the twentieth century, and as time goes on the parties have moved more and more to operating on a personal basis. In the elections we just had, a different novel approach was an "anti-" trend against specific people, both as ideology and as a party platform ("Zionist Union," Shas-Yachad). In addition, I had trouble finding parties that are moved by ideologies (except for Yahadut Hatorah and Meretz). In the not too distant past, "platform committees" would sit day and night, and every line that they produced had operational or qualitative meaning. Today if there are platforms at all they are political and full of meaningless slogans which were recommended by media advisors and pollsters as being catchy, but nothing more. From this point of view, democracy has changed drastically. As far as I am concerned, the main reason for the change is the central arena of the competition in the elections, which has moved to the realms of the communications media. Paralysis

2 However, I want to complain today about something that is very different than the above: the paralysis of the country for more than three months before the elections. And based on past experience, I fear that we will lose just as much time after the elections, until a stable government is formed (if at all). From the time the government fell in December, the government has had no budget, no new laws have been passed, the only meetings in the Knesset are those of vital committees, no senior officials can be appointed (including high-ranking police officers), search committees for important jobs have been frozen, government offices are blocked from making any operational decisions, and many government authorities are at least partially paralyzed. As far as I can tell, this situation is not the result of a direct law but rather in great measure stems from decisions by the government legal advisor, in his capacity as the supreme manager of the country (not only during the election process), from the heights of his throne which towers above all the other authorities. The reason for "freezing the country" is a fear of "governmental corruption"; perhaps appointments will be made for the purpose of advancing a specific party or giving unwarranted credit to a person who is taking part in the elections. I am quite sure that these suspicions are not warranted, and the price we pay by paralyzing the country is way too high. And what will happen if the new government also falls, and we very quickly are dragged into another election? Will all our official activity come to a complete standstill? As an example, take the matter of the freezing of the government budget. The budget is always built up according to the political agendas of the parties which make up the coalition. What difference does it make if a budget was passed a month before the Knesset fell or a month after? In any case, it is always geared to the approach of whatever government is in power, and this continues to rule until the elections. The same is true for appointments of senior officials. We cannot allow our public lives to come to a stop, and there will always be issues of personal preferences, no matter whether there are elections or not. I can see a justification for "some sort of "freeze" after the elections, until the new government is formed, since at that point the government has finished its task and is serving only as a "transition government." However, before the elections the government continues to exist and it must be given the ability to govern. Life continues at this time. My Advice Thus, what is needed at this time is a decision that limits the power of the legal advisor to stop the current flow of government activity. At the very most, he might be allowed to keep watch and to issue criticisms of decisions and steps that were made, by showing that they were illogical and that they were connected to the approaching elections. In extreme cases, a court will be asked to decide whether an appointment is tainted by electionary considerations. It is also possible to put a limit on long-term budgetary decisions, and similar matters. I have one more relevant comment: I suggest that a law be passed that limits the time of an election campaign to be no

more than the minimum time set by law, as needed to organize elections, and no more than this. And this time can be shortened in the modern computerized era. The voting register is constantly updated, and as far as I am concerned a maximum period of six weeks is sufficient for our needs. I admit that in the time after the elections, when the transition government continues to rule, the decisions of the government and the Knesset should be limited to emergency conditions, and at that point there will indeed be a justified government vacuum. The previous government will have gone, and it remains in power only to handle emergency situations that involve security, international relations, and economics. And that is why I fear the possible consequences of needlessly lengthening the time for coalition negotiations. I do not know if there is any legal limit to this period. If so, what is it? In any case, at this time too it is necessary to shorten the time in order to allow public life to continue to flow on all fronts. * * * * * * A governmental vacuum reminds me of the verse that characterized the era of the judges, which is repeated three times in the book of Shoftim. It even appears at the end of the book: "In those days, there was no king in Yisrael and every man did what was right in his own eyes" [17:6; 18:1; 21:25]. In my book, "Shoftim at the Height of the Sages," I show that this phrase has nothing to do with anarchism. The phrase "right in his own eyes" means that as far as every person was concerned the way he acted was the most suitable and righteous way. LET YOUR WELLSPRINGS BURST FORTH The Secret of the Sacrifices - by Rabbi Moshe Shilat, Director of "The Torah of Chabad for Yeshiva Students" Every time we begin to read the book of Vayikra the subject of sacrifices cries out for an explanation. Why does the Torah give such great importance to this matter? Of all the 613 mitzvot, more than a hundred involve the sacrifices! We pray every day for the rebuilding of the Temple and for the renewal of the holy service there. But what does all this mean? Why is it such a vital factor, what do we get from burning the bodies of animals and offering them to G-d? The well-known explanation, that sacrifices are a replacement for the person who brings them, and that he himself would be worthy of having his blood spilled and being treated in the same way as the sacrifice, "are things that are accepted by the heart as words of Aggadah" [Ramban, Vayikra 1:9]. However, the Ramban also states that there is a much more exalted factor, which is a "hidden secret" [ibid]. It is written in the Zohar, "The secret of the sacrifices rises up to the secret of the infinite." Bread and a Pleasant Aroma We cannot understand a hidden secret, but we do know that what happens when a sacrifice is brought, as is written in the Torah. We are taught that the sacrifices are "bread of an offering for G-d" [Vayikra 3:11] and also "a pleasant odor for G-d" [1:9; repeated many times]. Both of these images convey a similar concept:

3 eating bread gives us life and causes the soul to remain linked to the body. Comparing a sacrifice to bread teaches us that bringing a sacrifice forms a bond between G-d and the world and "keeps Him there" – that is, it is an expression of the presence of G-d in the world. This idea is even stronger with respect to odor. The author of the Tanya explains that a sacrifice has an effect on the Holy One, Blessed be He, which is similar to the effect of odor on a person. First he draws the scent into himself, an act of "lifting it up" – by pulling it inside. The next action is to have a pleasant feeling, and to disseminate the scent to all the parts of the body. "Nachat ruach" – a pleasant feeling - is also a hint of how the spirit settles below ("nechitah"). The Holy One, Blessed be He, is given pleasure by humanity and by the world through the sacrifices, and this pleasant feeling leads Him to expand the blessings and the good in the world. This explains why the sages tell us in more than one place that the sacrifices are the mainstay of the heaven and the earth – no less. Specifically through the animals brought on the Altar, which serve as elements at a low level that still "lives" in this world, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is "drawn" into the world. The Kabbalah explains that the roots of animals are at a very high level, stemming from the world of "tohu" – void – which came before the world in which we live. They – the animals – draw very exalted light into the world. And that is the internal reason why human beings, with all the high level at which they exist, receive their vitality by eating animals and plants which are at a lower level than they are. The exalted roots of the living creatures causes life to flow to us. My Will has been Accomplished Rashi explains that the "pleasant scent for G-d" refers to "a pleasant feeling for Me, since I commanded and My will has been accomplished." Thus, there is another element in the sacrifice which gives G-d pleasure, and that is that G-d's will has been performed. "I said it, and that is what they did." However, we may well ask: What is there about sacrifices that especially links to the phrase, "I commanded and My will has been accomplished," more than any other mitzva? Why are sacrifices different from any other mitzvot, which do not have any special odor or taste and which we perform simply because it is G-d's command to do so? The Rebbe of Lubavitch explains as follows: Every mitzva has a reason, and even those mitzvot that do not have an explicit reason are openly beneficial to mankind, since performing them strengthens our acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of G-d. However, with respect to sacrifices the Torah emphasizes that the one who benefits is the Holy One, Blessed be He. The offering is meant for Him, this is His bread – "My sacrifice, my personal bread" [Bamidbar 28:2]. The unique pleasant feeling of a sacrifice comes about because something has been done which "causes a pleasant feeling" for G-d, without going into any detailed explanation of the phrase. It has happened simply because I said it should. That is why the phrase is "it has been accomplished," and not that "they have done my will." G-d's joy in the sacrifices

is related to the sacrifices themselves and not to the fact that we brought them. In all the other mitzvot, there is an element of the mitzva itself and Yisrael, who perform the action. For a sacrifice, it is the action that has taken place which is emphasized. This is true because the action is so exalted and so strange – therefore the essence is the action itself. THE LIGHT STARTS IN THE EAST Osnat Barazani (The "Tana'it"): A Princess – by Chezi Cohen, Yeshivat Maaleh Gilboa and Midreshet Ein Hanatziv Throughout our history there have been a number of women, in the east and in the west, who were Torah scholars and righteous. But to the best of my knowledge only one woman ever held the position of Rosh Yeshiva. A "rabbanit" (a rabbi's wife), Osnat Barazani lived at the end of the seventeenth century in Kurdistan. From her youth, her father, Rabbi Shmuel Barazani, prepared her to teach Torah (according to one tradition, she spoke from behind a curtain). She joint the teaching staff of the yeshiva that her father established in Mosul, and later on she taught together with her husband, Rabbi Yaacov Mizrahi. After her husband passed away, she took on the role of the Rosh Yeshiva. The Jews of Kurdistan liked her so much that they gave her the title "tana'it" – after the Tana'im who wrote the Mishna. They also used the title, "the honorable teacher and rabbi, the rebbe ..." which is usually reserved only for men. She was also called "a woman who is like a 'chaver'" – a pious and learned man (see Avodah Zara 39a, "the wife of a chaver is like a chaver"). Osnat taught and made halachic rulings in a broad range of subjects. As she said, "I remained as a teacher of Torah, and one who rebukes, and one who gave sermons about immersion, Shabbat, nidda, prayer, and more." She worked hard for the yeshiva. When it had a financial crisis, she wrote letters in order to raise money, which made it clear how learned she was in Talmud, the Torah, and poetry. Luckily, some of the letters that she sent have survived, and we can learn from them about her unique character. Osnat was picked to study Torah by her father: "From my youngest age, I never left the door of my house, I was a daughter of a king of Yisrael. Who was my king? The rabbis! I grew up among wise men, giving great pleasure to my father. I learned no other labor than the work of heaven, observing the verse, "You shall study it day and night" [Yehoshua 1:8]. For his sins, my father had no sons but only daughters. And he made my husband swear not to make me work, and he did as he had promised." The following story can shed some light on the tension between motherhood and the study and teaching of Torah: "The Rabbanit Osnat was known for the power of her prayers and for her ability to perform miracles. After she had given birth to a son and a daughter, she prayed that she would lose her regular periods so that she would be able to dedicate all of her time to Torah study. And so it was."

4 This story shows her great character. She had a reputation as one who knew how to pray and who could perform miracles. It was known that her prayers were answered. The above story reveals her great yearning to study Torah. But she also wanted to observe the mitzva to be fruitful and to multiply (which her husband was obligated to observe). Therefore she asks to have a son and a daughter, as is required by the halacha. She wants to strike a balance between building a family and Torah study. She does not feel that one value overrides the other. She does not choose one of the values as an absolute, but the story shows that she made a decision. She observes the mitzva of producing children before that of Torah study, but she takes care to limit its scope and to observe it in a minimum way. Rabbanit Osnat saw herself as a true daughter of a King. It is interesting to see how she herself used this title: "Because of the debts, she sent letters to Jewish communities all over the world asking for support for the yeshiva. Even though she was the head of the yeshiva and taught the students, she did not go on a journey herself to gather contributions. She explained that it was not fitting for a woman to visit different communities, as is written, 'the glory of the daughter of a king is turned inwards' [Tehillim 45:14]." In her view, the modesty of a woman was expressed in the fact that she could not go out to gather contributions. In this way she was like a princess who must remain at home. However, the fact that she was a Rosh Yeshiva, that she made halachic rulings, and gave lessons – all these were worthy activities in her view. She quotes the verse about the glory of the daughter of a king. In the first quote we brought above, the Rabbanit Osnat purposely used the phrase "daughter of a king" in order to explain her Torah labors and the fact that she was herself as part of the community of wise men: "I was a daughter of a king of Yisrael. Who was my king? The rabbis!" Now she used the same phrase to explain why she herself did not go out to collect money. Evidently the Tana'it Osnat linked her life closely to the study of Torah, and she was ready to teach anybody who came to her in the Beit Midrash, but it was not easy for her to go on a journey to collect contributions from other communities. A FAMILY NAMED "YISRAELI" The Tools G-d Gives Us - by Rabbi Yikhat Rozen, Director of the Or Etzion Institute – Publishing Torah Books of Quality Natanel's Story "Natanel, how was everything today in school?" Abba asked me. "I'm upset! Again I didn't do well on a test," I murmured. And I hid the test paper in my hand. I went on, upset, "And this isn't the first time! I never succeed in anything." And then I heard a voice from the couch, in the living room. "Come here, and I'll tell you a story." I looked, and I was surprised to see my uncle Gadi, Abba's brother, who had come for a visit.

I went over next to Gadi, and he began to speak. * * * * * * How I wanted to make my father happy! How much I wanted to bring him – just one time – an A- instead of all my C's. But I couldn't do it! Whenever I tried, I didn't succeed! One time, when I was alone with my father, I spoke to him about it, to tell him that I was very sorry that I couldn't bring home good marks like my sister did all the time. He heard what I wanted to say, looked at me with his normal loving gaze, and said: "Gadi, a father doesn't love his children because they bring home good marks from school. A father loves his children because nothing else would be possible. They are part of his own blood. They are his very soul. He must love them. Even if they do bad things, he still loves them. But you, Gadi, never did anything bad at all." And I started to reply, "But, father..." He interrupted me, and said, "Shh, Gadi. Listen! When G-d created this world he decided – to our sorrow or to our happiness, I cannot be sure which it is – to build an interesting place, not a perfect world. And this is why He created people in many different shapes, of many colors, and with many different skills. Everybody was given different tools. One is very smart, another is beautiful, one has good hands for skilled labor, while another might be best at music or mathematics. We do not know why G-d does what He does. We can never blame a person because G-d did not give him or her one type of tools or another. The only place where we can put any blame is on the people who do not make the best use of the tools that they were given. Because of this, Gadi, I will tell you one thing and explain one other fact to you. What I want to tell you is never to complain about the tools which G-d gave you. The second fact, which I want to explain to you, is that it sometimes takes time until we discover exactly what tools G-d has given us, because the tools are often very well hidden. So have patience, Gadi, have patience like your father. One day you will discover that you have some very good tools." How I loved him, my father. On that day I just wanted to hug him or even to kiss him. But I was ashamed to do it. A year or two after that conversation I found my own tools. I was sitting in some class, I don't remember the subject, and our regular teacher was sick, so we had a substitute teacher. She spoke about something or other, and as usual I was daydreaming and in another world. And then, suddenly, I saw her standing right in front of me. Before I had a chance to say a single word, she grabbed away the paper in front of me, where I was scribbling something. She looked at the paper and asked me, "What are you doing?" Embarrassed, I answered, "Just scribbling." "What did you draw here?" "Nothing much," I said. "Nothing much, but what is it?"

5 she persisted. So I told her, "I drew you standing near the board." And she took the drawing and put it into her bag. It turned out that the father of this substitute teacher was a world famous artist, and she took my drawing and showed it to him. A few days later he came to our home and looked at some more of my pictures, and he told my parents that he recommended that they do everything they could to develop my talent for painting. What can I tell you? From that day on, my father made great efforts in order to send me to extracurricular activities and lessons. He also organized private lessons for me with the greatest artists that were alive. Today I am 42 years old, and I just opened up my twenty-eighth exhibition, in a famous museum in New York. * * * * * * I heard Gadi's story and I was quiet. The end of the story is truly amazing, but things are different for me. I am not good at drawing at all. What am I good at? I am sure there must be something. I will have to think about that... (Source: An anonymous story on the internet) RESPONSA FOR OUR TIMES Selling Unfit Torah Scrolls - by Rabbi Re'eim Hacohen, Rosh Yeshiva and Chief Rabbi, Otniel Question: Are we permitted to sell Torah scrolls that have become unfit for use which cannot be fixed, and to use the money to buy printed holy books? Answer: Two factors must be discussed as part of this question: (1) Are we allowed to sell a Torah scroll, and if this is forbidden, what is the law regarding a scroll that is unfit for use? (2) Are we allowed to use the money from selling a Torah scroll to buy books that are at a lower level of sanctity than a Torah scroll? It is written in the Mishna, "The people of a city who sold... But if they sold a Torah they should not buy books with the money..." [Megillah 3:1]. This Mishna is not discussing whether one is permitted to sell a Torah but involves a case where it has already been sold. It teaches us that we are not allowed to use the money to buy books that are not proper Torah scrolls. Selling a Torah Scroll for the Purposes of a Mitzva With respect to the question of whether one is permitted to sell a Torah, there is a discussion in the Talmud whether one is allowed to sell an old Torah scroll in order to buy a new one. The following Baraita is quoted in the Talmud: "Come and listen: Rabba Bar Rav Chana said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, quoting Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel – a

person should not sell an old Torah scroll in order to buy a new one" [Megillah 27a]. However, the Talmud explains that the prohibition in this case is because we are afraid that the person will in the end not buy a new Torah. But if the new Torah scroll is already in front of us, it would seem that such a sale is permitted. The Talmud brings two more Baraitot. The first is: "Come and listen: Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Meir – A Torah scroll should not be sold unless it is in order to study Torah or to marry a woman" [Megillah 27a]. The Talmud tries to show from this that one is allowed to sell a Torah in order to buy another one. However, it rejects this proof because perhaps Torah study takes precedence because it can be the key that leads to positive action. (This also applies to marrying, because of the verse, "He did not create it to be empty, He created it to be inhabited" [Yeshayahu 45:18].) But one might still be forbidden to sell one Torah scroll in order to buy another one. The Talmud brings a second Baraita which illustrates the serious nature of selling a Torah scroll: "We have been taught: A man should not sell a Torah scroll even if he does not need it. And Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamliel said, even if he does not have what to eat and he sells a Torah or his daughter – he will never see any signs of blessing as a result." [ibid]. Based on these passages, the Rambam completely prohibited selling a Torah scroll: "A proper Torah scroll should be treated with a large measure of sanctity and with great respect. No person is allowed to sell a Torah scroll even if he has nothing to eat, and even if he has many scrolls, and even to sell an old one in order to buy a new one. Nobody should ever sell a Torah scroll except for two reasons: to use the money to study Torah or to use it to marry a woman. And this is only true on condition that he has nothing else to sell." [Hilchot Sefer Torah 10:2]. And what is the law with respect to a Torah scroll that is unfit for use? The Rambam defines the status of an unfit Torah as follows: "You therefore have seen that there are twenty things, each of which can make a Torah unfit. And if one of these things exists the Torah has the status of a Chumash, from which children are taught, but it does not have the sanctity of a Torah scroll and it is not to be used for reading in public..." [ibid, 10:1]. The first ruling quoted above (10:2) implies that the prohibition of selling a Torah scroll applies only to a proper Torah and not one that is unfit. The Noda B'Yehuda in fact concludes from the Rambam that the law prohibiting the use of money from a high level of sanctity to purchase something at a lower level does not apply to an unfit Torah scroll: "The text of our great rabbi the Rambam in Chapter 10, where he writes that twenty things can make a Torah unfit, and that if one

6 of them is present the Torah becomes like a Chumash used for teaching children and no longer has the sanctity of a Torah scroll – seems to imply that the unfit Torah is no longer holy. And if so there is no reason to say that by selling it one is decreasing the level of sanctity." [Tanina, Yorah Dei'ah 174]. However, there can be no doubt that the Rambam was not referring to a Torah which was originally fit for use and became unfit, but rather to a Torah scroll which was unfit from the beginning. This is clear from his list of twenty things which make a Torah unfit, as in halacha 10:1, all of which involve the laws of writing the Torah scroll – such as writing on an unfit parchment or without drawing a straight guideline, or having letters stuck together, or having missing or extra letters. (Thus, the fifteenth thing that makes a Torah unfit must also be understood in the same way: "If the form of one letter is so bad that it cannot be read at all, or if it looks like a different letter, either when the letter was written or because of a hole or a tear or because it is unclear." This too must be referring to the original way the scroll was written.) However, a Torah which was fit and later became unfit clearly maintains the sanctity of a Torah scroll, as can be seen from the Talmud: "A Torah scroll that became worn out and tefillin which became worn out should not be used to make a mezuzah. And the parchment of a Torah scroll should not be used for writing a mezuzah, because nothing should be brought down from a high level of sanctity to a lower level." [Shabbat 79b; by the Rambam, Hilchot Sefer Torah, 5:1]. Conclusion In view of the above, we can certainly accept the ruling of Igrot Moshe (Yorah Dei'ah volume 3, 113), in his responsa to the Jews of Tunis, that since a Torah scroll which has become unfit is at a lower level of sanctity than a Torah which is fit (see Rivash 285 and Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 153:3), at a level equal to the Chumashim – selling such an unfit Torah in order to buy a kosher Torah scroll is an act that raises the level of sanctity. In practice, we can say that a Torah scroll that has become unfit should only be sold if the money is used to buy a valid Torah scroll to replace it. RIDDLE OF THE WEEK by Yoav Shelosberg, Director of "Quiz and Experience" Vayikra In our Torah portion it appears with a bird, And for the "King" it was used to compare with a kid. What the hero took in his hands from a body, Was forbidden in our Torah portion. What is said about a bird? What was forbidden? Who is the hero? Who is the "King?" Answers for last week, Vayakhel-Pekudai. The riddle was: The prophet discards three stones and changes the pronunciation of the third stone. Who is the prophet and when did this happen?

- In Yechezkel's dirge for the King of Tzor, the prophet mentions nine of the twelve stones in the Choshen. Yechezkel lists three of the rows of stones in the Choshen, leaving out the third row: "And the third row was leshem, shevo, and achlamah" [Shemot 39:12]. - Yechezkel also changes the pronunciation of the third stone in the first row ("bareket"), writing it a "barkat." "You were in the Divine Garden of Eden, every precious stone was in your canopy... nofech and barkat. And the labor of gold was within you, starting with the day you were created." [Yechezkel 28:13]. (With thanks to my daughter Bareket Esther who gave me the idea for this riddle.) This weekly publication is distributed in Canada by MIZRACHI ORGANIZATION OF CANADA and by THE ZOMET INSTITUTE OF ALON SHVUT. It is an extract from SHABBAT B’SHABBATO, a weekly bulletin distributed in hundreds of synagogues in Israel and has been translated by Moshe Goldberg. If you are interested in sponsoring or advertising in an issue of Shabbat B’Shabbato contact the Mizrachi office in Toronto at 416-630-9266, mizrachi@rogers.com; or in Montreal 514-483-3660, mizrachimontreal@gmail.com.