Chapter 1
Guide Questions
1. According to Rashi on verse 1 "and [God] called," what is the meaning of the Hebrew word וַיִּקְרָא? What is the difference between "calling" and "saying" or "commanding"?2. According to Rashi on verse 1 "the Tent of Meeting," how did the voice of God sound to Moses? How do you imagine God sounds?
3. According to the Stone Chumash (p. 544), why is the word וַיִּקְרָא written with a small aleph? What lesson does this teach us?
4. According to Rashi on verse 2 and in the Stone Chumash on p. 545, why is the word אָדָם used here for "man," and what does it teach? What else do you think it could imply?
5. According to the Stone Chumash (p. 545), what is the root of the word קָרְבָּן and what does it teach according to Rabbi Hirsch? Why is the word "sacrifice" inadequate?
6. According to Etz Hayyim (p. 588), why is an animal "without blemish" necessary, but what about a blemished soul?
7. According to Rabbi Nachman (p. 301), who is supposed to study the book of Leviticus, and why? What are some of the things the small aleph in the first word symbolize for him?
8. According to Plaut's Modern Commentary (p. 756), what is the first type of sacrifice that is discussed in Leviticus, and how is it translated? What is the Hebrew root of עֹלָה? What does it mean, and how does it relate? How else does this Hebrew root relate in Judaism?
Why does it note that God spoke to Moshe from the Ohel Moed? Why doesn't it just say "And God spoke to Moshe and said:" Like it does in my Bar Mitzvah parsha?
ReplyDeleteMaybe because the Ohel Moed is a special place, so it should be noted that this is where God and Moshe are speaking.
DeleteWhy do you think the Ohel Moed was special? Is there a special place in your life that when you are there you feel close to God (for whatever reason)? What is it?
DeleteAlso, why does it note that the sacrifice must be an "Unblemished MALE cattle"? Why is the male innately superior (Or inferior) to the female? I understand that at the time sexism was the way of life, but nevertheless...
ReplyDeleteI also notice that the man atoning is supposed to slay the bull; not the Kohanim. I was under the impression that the Kohanim, or possibly even the Kohan Gadol, was supposed to sacrifice it.
DeleteAre you saying that Men are "superior" to women?! This being shown in animals and people.
Delete-Jules
No, im saying that AT THE TIME they thought so. Im QUESTIONING that practice for gods sake
DeleteI think it had to do with the value of the animal. One bull was more valuable for breeding purposes than one cow. I think this was simply a practical consideration of value.
DeleteAs for sacrificing it yourself, what are some of the things you need to do yourself in order for them to be meaningful, and what are some things others can do for you? For instance, is it more meaningful to read a book and picture the story yourself or to watch a movie and see how a director pictures it?
Well, for example, prayer. Standing there letting the congregation pray for me isnt meaninfull at all, but praying for myself might be,
Deletethis is by ben and ben
ReplyDeletethe root of cora is to go near like going near god
that is fror 5
DeleteHow do you think offering a sacrifice (korban) made them feel close (karov) to God?
Deletei don't think it did because they had to give away food
DeleteHave you ever had to cook for someone else? Or one of your parents? How can that make someone feel close to people around them?
DeleteIm assuming you mean KORBAN right? er, we got told this in class.
DeleteLeora and Micah
ReplyDeleteWe are answering question number one, what is the meaning of the Hebrew word וַיִּקְרָא in verse 1 "and [God] called,"? What is the difference between "calling" and "saying" or "commanding"?
According to Rashi, וַיִּקְרָא is an expression of affection. Saying something is dialogue, commanding is ordering, and calling is conversing with someone.
What are the different ways that your parent(s) call your name? What do they mean?
DeleteIf they use a mad tone of voice, it means that they are mad at me.
DeleteI did guide question 7. This questions asks: who is supposed to study Vayikra? Acording to Rabbi Nachman children are to learn Vayikra becouse they are pure and they should learn to stay pure: "Let the pure come and engage themselves with the study of the pure"
ReplyDelete-Adin
Ok...so what makes you "pure."
Delete-Jules
Why just children. Don't adults have to stay pure too?
DeleteFirst of all: Did I ever say a was "pure"? Second: Chances are if your an adult your not "pure". Third: I'm no longer a child, I have reached the age of bar mitzvah.
DeleteThe comment says that children are innocent and pure. Do you think this is true? The Rabbis think that children are basically wild animals that have to be civilized through education. Which do you think it is, and how does this relate to learning Leviticus, especially all the ethical laws of Leviticus 19 (love your neighbor as yourself, etc.)?
Deletecan adults learn about this parsha too or just kids
DeleteJared
Leora and Micah
ReplyDeleteWe are answering question number two, how did the voice of God sound to Moses in verse 1, "the Tent of Meeting,"? How do you imagine God sounds?
According to Rashi, the voice sounded loud and powerful, but the tent of meeting was a boundary. Micah thinks that God would speak with a low, powerful voice. Leoras thinks that God would speak with a calm but at the same time powerful voice.
we agree with micah because the way we picture God talking is with a low and powerful voice.
DeleteDanielle and Giselle
In the movie, "The Prince of Egypt," the director had the same actor who did the voice of Moses do the voice of God when God was talking to Moses, and the same actor who did the voice of Aaron do the voice of God when God was talking to Aaron, etc. What idea is behind this? What does it mean?
DeleteI think that this is possibly saying that accoriding to the Prince of Egypt, God's voice appears how you'd like it to. In many times, it's refreshing to hear your own voice
DeleteThat we have a little of God inside our selves.
DeleteThe question I chose to do is question two: According to Rashi on verse 1 "the Tent of Meeting," how did the voice of God sound to Moses? How do you imagine God sounds?
ReplyDeleteRashi says that Moshe describes the voice as a sound of strength and beauty. We agree with this because God is very powerful and a beauty. Also, we picture God having a very low and loud voice
Danielle and Giselle
Why do you think gods voice will sound like that?
DeleteClara and Mia
When you picture the voice of God, is it masculine or feminine, or something in between? Why?
DeleteGods should be voiced by Bill Cosby.
DeleteWe are answering question 1, using Rashi. Rashi says that the word וַיִּקְרָא has more affection then saying just "called" or "commanded", and therefore shows God's love for Bnei Yisrael.
ReplyDeleteLiora, Julia, Kol, Ruby and Noah
Maya & Zach
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3: Why is the א smaller than the other letters?
According to the Stone Chumash, the א is smaller than the other letters to give it prominence. and to imply another word. וַיִּקְרָא means to call and the small א implies the word אלף means to teach.
Our commentator is Rashi and we chose question According to Rashi on verse 1 "the Tent of Meeting," how did the voice of God sound to Moses? How do you imagine God sounds? Our answer is Moshe thinks G-d's voice is strength. We imagine g-d's voice is scary an powerful
ReplyDelete-Gavy, Yechiel, Yosef, Lili
We answered question 2: 2. According to Rashi on verse 1 "the Tent of Meeting," how did the voice of God sound to Moses? How do you imagine God sounds?
ReplyDeleteAccorrding to Rashi the voice of God sounded very loud to Moses. Rashi explains that inside the tent of meeting the sound is very loud, but outside you can't hear it at all so it's almost like the tent of meeting is sound proof. To us God sounds like a fading spiritual, low voiced man.
Jared and Itai
Leora and Micah
ReplyDeleteWe are answering question number 4; According to Rashi on verse 2 and in the Stone Chumash on p. 545, why is the word אָדָם used here for "man," and what does it teach? What else do you think it could imply?
According to Rashi, אָדָם refers to the first man on earth. He didn't offer sacrifices from stolen property, so B'nei Yisrael knew that they too could not offer sacrifices from stolen property. Maybe using the word אָדָם could imply that the sacrifice could bring Bnei Yisrael closer to God, as close to God as אָדָם was.
We choose question number three. It asks why the word וַיִּקְרָא is written with a small aleph? What lesson does this teach us? The stone chumash says that theres a small aleph because as if to make it look like the word balaam. This lesson teaches us that if there is a work with two different meanings then you can make a way to spell it differently.
ReplyDeleteClara and Mia
Vayikra (with the aleph) means to call deliberately, and vayikar (without the aleph) means to bump into accidentally. One midrash says that Moses was so humble that the wrote the aleph smaller because he was embarrassed at having to write that God called and singled him out deliberately. What lesson does this teach us do you think?
DeleteIt teaches us that we should do everything we can to be humble.
DeleteAnswer for question number one.
ReplyDeleteAccording to rashi vayikra is a expression of affection. This means that god likes Moshe. When using the other words it isn't as endearing.
-Aaron and Aurora.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteShai and Josh Bermel
ReplyDeleteWe did question #1
Rashi says that a call is a more meaningful or affectionate way of saying something.
When you picture the voice of God, with what emotion does it speak? Loud? Demanding? Soft? Comforting? Why?
Deletedepends on how I'm feeling at the time he is talking
DeleteI picture a voice with a hole new emotion more powerful then any human can talk in.
Delete