[Avodah] Parshas Parah

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 02:37:05PM +0200, Michael Makovi wrote:
: 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.

As RMM notes, neither of the first two are necessarily a problem:
: 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.

This isn't a chiyuv, it's the ta'am hamitzvah for a chiyuv. "Lema'an".

: 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.

This is a lav, so the lack of chiyuv is no shocker.

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

This is incorrect. We have a chiyuv; to prepare all week for Shabbos.

Which raises the question:
Why ask the question from parashas Zakhor to the others? Why not ask
from "zakhor es Yom haShabbos"? So why not learn that we have a chiyuv
to prepare for milkhemes Amaleiq from its "zachor"?

Or perhaps that's what parashas Zakhor and maybe Parah are? The only way
we can prepare for those mitzvos at this time is to study them. After
all, women are me'iqar hadin not mechuyavos to hear parashas Zakhor
because they aren't obligated to go to war.

Which then leaves only Miriam and parah adumah according to the rov who
do not consider Parashas Parah to be de'oraisa, to be the questions.

Perhaps there is something simple -- "zakhor" alone doesn't imply a
chiyuv. It's a TSBP thing.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "'When Adar enters, we increase our joy'
micha at aishdas.org         'Joy is nothing but Torah.'
http://www.aishdas.org    'And whoever does more, he is praiseworthy.'"
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