Parsha Pix Solution — Bechukotai

Prominently at the top of the ParshaPix is a graphic of rain falling from a cloudy sky (so too the bullets on this page!), onto the ground, from which a plant is growing. To the right of that image is a watch. Together they represent G-d’s promise of beneficial rain in its proper time and that the ground will yield its bounty. (Add to that the unusual rain we’ve been receiving even as these Torah Tidbits are being prepared for publication. [Serious note: The mishna in Taanit says that if it hasn’t rained until Nisan (or through Nisan), then rain after Nisan is a negative thing, a sign of G-d’s (further) anger with the people. This year, B”H, we received a decent amount of rainfall (although many said VAANEINU all the way up to Pesach), so we need not consider the rain we’ve recently recieved other than beneficial.]

To the right of the watch is another part of the promise – that we will eat bread in abundance.

And below the oven and breads is another part of the promise, peace in the Land. Peace is promised on two levels – peace from our enemies and neighbors and internal peace. Just read the newspaper or listen to the radio and you will see and hear reminders of our desperate need for both kinds of peace.

The non-mathematical statement that 5 is greater than 100 and that 100 is greater than 10,000, is yet another part of the promise for our following Torah and Mitzvot. Namely, that if our enemy were to attack us, five of us would repel 100 and 100 would chase away a myriad (10,000, that is).

Beneath that is a former TTriddle. Zodiac symbol for Taurus, the Bull, represents newborn calves, which are tithed separately from the other two kinds of kosher animals. The sign for Aries represents lambs and that of Capricorn is for goats. The newborns of goats and sheep can be combined for the purpose of MAASEIR B’HEIMA, because both kinds of animals are called by the collective term TZON.

Speaking of tithing one’s newborn animals, along the right side of the ParshaPix is a lineup of ten lambs, counted from top to bottom. The 10th one to pass under the shepherd’s crook is designated as holy, hence the star-burst around it.

In the lower left is a family, with each member marked with their ERECH (value) in original shekels. 50 for a male between 20-60, 30 for a female in the same age range. 20 for a boy between 5-20 and 10 for a girl that age. The baby is marked 5?3 because we cannot tell if it is a boy or a girl. Boys from one month to five years are valued at 5 shekels and girls that age are 3 shekels. Not shown are seniors with a value of 15 and 10, male and female respectively.

125% is the total amount one pays to redeem that which carries with it an addition of chomesh. (See Sedra Summary for further details.)

The fellow lifting the barbell with ease must be very strong, as in CHAZAK, CHAZAK…

That leaves the UZI, as in the opening words of the haftara.

At the bottom of the PP is the point of a fountain pen. It’s called a nib. In Hebrew, the term is TZIPOREN (which also means fingernail and clove (the spice). The haftara speaks of the sins of Yehuda being inscribed with an iron pen and a nib of diamond (?).

The picture of a past US presidential contender is to refer you to Rabbi Shmuel Goldin’s column on an usual word that occurs seven times in the Tochacha… and nowhere else in the Torah.

The tree in the upper-left of the PP is the Juniper, a member of the cypress family. There are 50-60 species of Juniper. Juniper is the translation of the word in this week’s haftara ARAR, as in like an ARAR in the ARAVA…

ARAR is spelled AYIN-REISH- AYIN-REISH. When a native English speaker tries to pronounce ARAR, it comes out like the nmae of the letter R doubled. As in the logo of Rolls Royce. Unfortunately, there is a bus stop on Rechov Arar in Modiin, from where one can get a bus or mini-van to Jerusalem. Why unfortunately? Because if one ever takes a taxi to that stop, he must ask the driver for Arar and get laughed at because of his American accent.

The carnation is TZIPOREN in Hebrew. As is a fingernail, talon of a bird, the spice cloves, and a pen nib, as mentioned in the haftara and earlier in these PP explanations

That leaves the cuff-link made from an old Israeli stamp Unexplained.