1) At the beginning of ספר דברים who is משה addressing? (דברים א:א)
2) Why did משה gather this entire group? (רש"י דברים א:א)
3) On what date did משה begin this message to the Jewish people? (דברים א:ג)
4) What promise did משה reiterate from Hashem? (דברים א:ח)
5) Many Shuls have the custom of rereading the last פסוק(א:יא) of the first עליה. Why?
6) Who did משה blame for sending the spies? (דברים א:כג)
7) If the spies came back with awesome fruit from ארץ ישראל, how did the Jewish people see this as bad? (Hint: Attitude)
8) Why did Hashem tell משה not to be afraid of עוג מלך הבשן, but did not say not to fear when סיחון came to wage war? (רש"י דברים ג:ב)
9) What lesson can we learn from here?
10) Why should the Jewish people not be afraid to go into battle of Israel? (דברים ג:כב)
Bonus Questions:
1) What special name does this שבת have?
2) What other שבתות have names for the same reason as this week?
3) Who's birthday isט' אב (Midrashically speaking)?
4) If ט' אב is such a sad day, why do we not say תחנון at all?
On Tisha B'Av there are some things we are not allowed to do, and one of them is learning Torah because learning Torah brings us so much joy. We are allowed to learn some parts of the Torah; special parts that help us understand the story of Tisha B'av. One of the stories is from the Gemara and it's the story of Kamtza and Bar-Kamtza (also in the video link above). Attached is the story from the Gemara that with the help of a grown-up, you really can understand the story and the special message that it has for us. (There is also a video linked below.)
There are some very important messages here about not embarrassing a friend, inviting people with kindness, and also about not telling stories about your friends, even if your feelings are hurt.
This is a video about Tisha B'av for our 4-5th graders. It addresses the question "what does it mean to mourn before the Almighty". In this video, Rabbi Fohrman tells the story of Rachel Imeinu who cried for her children (all of us). What was it about Rachel's tears that we are able to sway G-d in Heaven? What can we learn about this day from our matriarch?
Click here for a downloadable coloring sheet about the things that we cannot do on Tisha B'Av.
Shabbat Shalom and may this be the last time that we have a sad Tisha B'Av.
A Tisha B'Av Story:
A Story of Two Coins
This story is from Yom Yerushalayim, but a good lesson for Tisha B'Av as well.
1) What did שבט ראובן and שבט גד have too much of? (במדבר לב:א)
2) What land did שבט ראובן and שבט גד want to inherit? (במדבר לב:א-ה)
3) Who did the Jewish people capture this land from? (רש"י במדבר לב:ג)
4) Under what conditions would the שבט ראובן and שבט גד be granted their request? (במדבר לב:כ-כד)
5) What other שבט joined on the other side of the Jordan River? (במדבר לב:לט-מב)
6) According to רש"י, why does the תורה need to remind us of all of the places that the בני ישראל camped out during the 40 years in the desert? (במדבר רש"י לג:א)
7) How many places in total did the בני ישראל camp out during the 40 years in the desert?
8) How would the land be divided once entering Israel? (במדבר לג:נד)
9) What is an ער מקלט? When is it used? (במדבר לה:יא-יב)
10) How many ערי מקלט were there? (במדבר לה:יג-יד)
Bonus Questions:
1) At the beginning of the Parsha, Moshe tells the Jewish people that all spoils of war are to be split almost the Jewish people. Who else in Tanach had to establish a Halacha about spoils of war? (2 answers)
2) Based on your knowledge of Chumash, why were שבט ראובן and שבט גד concerned about their animals living in the land of Israel? (Hint: think Avraham and Lot - See מדרש הגדה)
3) Besides for accidental murderers, who lived in a ער מקלט regularly?
1) Who was the king of מואב at this time? (במדבר כב:ד)
2) Who were the people of מואב afraid of? Why? (במדבר כב:ב-ד)
3) Who did the king send messengers to for help? (במדבר כב:ה)
4) Why did בלעם ask the זקני מואב and the זקני מדין to stay overnight? (במדבר רש"י כב:ח)
5) Hashem told בלעם not to join the זקני מואב and the זקני מדין. What reason did Hashem give? (כב:יב במדבר)
6) After בלעם chose not to follow the exact words of Hashem, the donkey בלעם was riding gave him a hard time. What happened? (במדבר כב:כא-כז)
7) What was blocking the donkey from continuing on the road? (במדבר כב:כא-כז)
8) Each time that the donkey went off the path בלעם hit her. After the third time, the donkey did something unusual for an animal to do. What did the donkey do? (במדבר כב:כח-ל)
9) What did the donkey say to בלעם at that point? (במדבר כב:כח-ל)
10) Ultimately, what blessing did בלעם deliver to and about the Jewish people? (במדבר כד:ה)
Bonus Questions:
1) As a נביא, who was בלעם compared to?
2) What other animals in תנ"ך spoke (or sang)?
3) What changed that caused the nations of the world to want to try and curse the Jewish people NOW?
What is the 17th of Tamuz?
From Matmidim
1) The walls of Jerusalem were breached leading to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
2) Moshe broke the 1st set of Luchot.
3) In the First Bet Hamikdash, the Korbanot were stopped before the destruction.
4) The Roman general burned a Torah scroll in the streets.
5) An idol was placed in the Kodesh Hakodashim.
17 Tamuz
(Observed on Sunday 7/17/22)
For adults, the fast begins: 4:44 am
For adults, the fast ends: 9:10 pm
1) Why do we fast on 17 Tamuz, what events took place on or around this date?
2) What are some activities that we minimize during the 3 weeks?
