[Avodah] Parshas Parah

[Michael Makovi]

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 2:25 AM, Cantor Wolberg <cantorwolberg at cox.net> wrote:
> There is a machlokes amongst the Poskim whether the reading of Parshas Parah
> is a Torah obligation today.
> ri

What I'm curious about: It says of Parshat Parah "zocher", and the
Gemara says that zocher means read it from a Sefer Torah.

But if so, we have five other zochers in the Torah (see your Artscroll
siddur after Shacharit - page 176f in the Nusach Ashkenaz), but in
only two of the six zochers do we read anything from a Sefer Torah.

1) L'ma'an tizcor et yom tzeitecha mei-eretz mitzrayim col yemei
chayeicha - Dev 16:3
We say this in Shema, but we do not read it from a scroll.

2) Rak hishamer lecha ushmor nafshecha me'od pen tishkach et hadevarim
asher ra'u einecha... (i.e. the revelation at Sinai) - Dev 4:9-10
We do nothing.

3) Zachor et asher asa lecha amalek... - Dev 25:17
We DO read this from a scroll

4) Zachor, al tishkach, et asher hiktzafta et hashem elokecha bamidbar
(i.e. cheit ha-egel) - Dev 9:7
We have parshat parah from a scroll

5) Zachor et asher asa hashem elokecha l'miryam baderech b'tzeitechem
mimitzrayim - Dev 24:9
We do nothing.

6) Zachor et yom shabbat l'kadsho - Shemot 20:8
We do nothing.

Now, we can argue that numbers one (Exodus) and two (Sinai) do not use
the lashon of "zachor", and so they are different. But three (Amalek),
four (cheit ha-egel), five (Miriam), and six (Shabbat) all say
"zachor", but only for three and four do we read from a scroll - why
don't we read Miriam and Shabbat from a scroll? And why does one get
put davka in Shema for daily recitation (I know this is in Mishna
Berachot, but as far as I remember, the machloket is between col yemei
chayecha being a night too or after moshiach - I don't recall learning
why a daily recitation is needed in the first place)? And why does two
get nothing at all?

Mikha'el Makovi