*The article below is an excerpt from the above Sefer
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Donate- Lighting the Menorah:
- Hashem told Moshe to command the Jewish people to bring to him clear crushed olive oil for the sake of illumination, to light the eternal candle [i.e. the Menorah]. It is to be lit outside the Paroches in the Ohel Moed. Aaron is to light it from evening to morning before Hashem continuously for all generations. The candles are to be set up on the pure Menorah, before Hashem constantly.
- The Lechem Hapanim:
- You are to take fine flour and bake twelve breads from it, each Challah being two tenth-ephahs. They are to be organized in two stacks, six in each stack, on the pure table that is before Hashem. Pure frankincense is to be placed on the stack and it shall be a bread of remembrance for Hashem. The Lechem Hapanim is to be organized weekly from Shabbos to Shabbos before Hashem continuously, as an everlasting covenant. The bread is to be distributed to Aaron and his sons and eaten in a holy place, as it is Kodesh Kodashim.
- Ish Hamikalel-The man who cursed G-d:
- The curse: A Jewish man, the son of an Egyptian father, but Jewish mother, was involved in an argument with another Jew. His mother’s name was Shlomis Bas Divri from the Shevet of Dan. The Jewish man cursed and blasphemed the name of G-d and was brought before Moshe. The man was imprisoned for his actions until further instructions would be received from Hashem.
- The punishment: Hashem instructed Moshe to have the man taken out of the camp, and to have all those who heard the curse lean their hands on his head, and the entire assembly shall stone him. Tell Bnei Yisrael that any man who blasphemes G-d will carry his sin. One who pronounces the name of G-d in a blasphemous way shall be put to death. The entire nation is to stone him.
- The nation did as they were instructed and stoned the man to death outside of the camp.
- Murder and injury:
- Punishment for murder: One who murders another person is to be killed.
- Restitution for killing animal: One who kills an animal is to pay, a life for a life.
- Injuring a friend: One who injures his friend is to have the same done upon him. A break for a break, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, as he did to his friend so shall be done to him [that he should pay the value to the injured friend].
📘 Rashi Q&A — Vayikra 24:1–23
24:2 — The Menorah
Q1. Why does the Torah say “צַו אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל”?
A: This is where the actual commandment to light the lamps is given. The earlier mention in Parashat Tetzaveh addressed the purpose of the Menorah during construction, not the command itself.
Q2. What does “שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ” mean?
A: Clear olive oil, the highest quality oil—first‑press oil—defined in Menachot and Torat Kohanim.
Q3. What does “תָּמִיד” mean here?
A: Every night, not continuously, like the “continual” daily offering.
24:3 — Setting the Lamps
Q4. What is meant by “לְפָרֹכֶת הָעֵדֻת”?
A:
- Plain meaning: the Curtain in front of the Ark of Testimony.
- Rabbinic interpretation: the western lamp, which testified to the Divine Presence by lasting longer than the others.
Q5. How much oil was placed in each lamp?
A: Half a log per lamp—enough for even the longest winter nights.
24:4 — The Pure Menorah
Q6. Why is the Menorah called “הַמְּנֹרָה הַטְּהֹרָה”?
A:
- Simple meaning: it was made of pure gold, or
- Additional meaning: the Menorah was cleansed of ashes before lighting.
24:5–6 — The Showbread
Q7. How many loaves were baked and how?
A: Twelve loaves, each made from two tenths of an ephah, arranged in two stacks of six.
Q8. What does “הַשֻּׁלְחָן הַטָּהֹר” mean?
A:
- The Table was made of pure gold, or
- The bread rested directly on the table, not lifted by frames.
24:7 — Frankincense
Q9. What was placed with each stack of bread?
A: Two bowls of pure frankincense, each containing a fistful.
Q10. What does “לְאַזְכָּרָה” mean here?
A: The frankincense served as a memorial portion, burned on the Altar to recall the bread before God.
24:8–9 — Eating the Bread
Q11. Who ate the showbread and where?
A: Aaron and his sons, in a holy place.
Q12. Why is the showbread called a מִנְחָה (grain‑offering)?
A: Because all food‑based offerings are included in the term מִנְחָה.
24:10 — The Blasphemer
Q13. From where did “וַיֵּצֵא” (“he went out”) mean he went out?
A:
- Rabbi Levi: he went out from his world.
- Rabbi Berachyah: he left the previous legal passage, mocking the showbread.
- Baraita: he exited Moses’ court, having lost his legal claim to camp in Dan.
Q14. Why was he denied residence in Dan’s camp?
A: Camp affiliation follows the father’s tribe, not the mother’s.
Q15. Who was his father?
A: The Egyptian killed by Moses.
Q16. What does “בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל” teach?
A: He had converted.
24:11 — Pronouncing the Name
Q17. What does “וַיִּקֹּב” mean?
A: He explicitly pronounced the sacred Name and blasphemed.
Q18. Why does the Torah name his mother?
A: To praise Israel, showing that only she was morally compromised.
Q19. What is hinted by her name Shelomit bat Divri?
A: She was excessively talkative, which led to improper conduct.
Q20. Why is her tribe mentioned?
A: To teach that a wicked person brings disgrace upon himself, his father, and his tribe.
24:12 — Holding Him Over
Q21. Why was he placed in custody?
A: They did not yet know whether blasphemy incurred the death penalty.
Q22. Why was this different from the wood‑gatherer?
A: The wood‑gatherer’s death penalty was known, only its method was unclear.
24:14 — Execution
Q23. Who placed hands on his head?
A:
- Witnesses, and
- Judges, who heard from them.
Q24. What did the hand‑placing signify?
A: “Your blood is on your own head.”
24:15–16 — The Crime Defined
Q25. What does “וְנָשָׂא חֶטְאוֹ” teach?
A: Without warning, he incurs excision.
Q26. When is the death penalty incurred?
A: Only when one pronounces the explicit Divine Name while cursing.
24:17 — Homicide
Q27. Why is “כָּל נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם” used?
A: To include women and minors.
24:18–20 — Injury and Compensation
Q28. How is injury to a person repaid?
A: By monetary compensation, measured by loss of value, not literal injury.
Q29. How do we know this?
A: The Torah uses נְתִינָה (“giving”), implying payment.
24:21 — Striking Parents
Q30. Why is striking a person mentioned here?
A: It refers specifically to striking one’s father or mother.
Q31. Why compare humans to animals here?
A: Just as animals can only be injured when alive, so too a parent must be alive for liability.
Q32. When is one liable?
A: Only if the blow causes a bruise.
24:22 — Equality of Law
Q33. What does “גֵּר כְּאֶזְרָח” teach?
A: Converts and native Israelites are equal in all these laws.
24:23 — Carrying Out the Sentence
Q34. Why does it say they stoned him with “one stone”?
A: Because afterward they completed all laws of stoning: pushing, further stones, and hanging the body.
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