Parashat Shelah: Scavenger Hunt
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Devash: Scavenger Hunt

Parashah Scavenger Hunt שְׁאֵלוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ

Welcome to Devash's Parashah Scavenger Hunt for Parashat Shelah!

Aliyah 1 (Bemidbar 13:1-20)
  • What fruits were just ripe when the מְרַגְּלִים (meraglim, spies) went to check out the land?
  • Who changes whose name?
  • What were the names of the three famous giants?
  • Who is most enthusiastic about Benei Yisrael’s ability to inherit the land?
Aliyah 3 (Bemidbar 14:8-25)
  • Who had רוּחַ אַחֶרֶת (ru’ah aheret, a different spirit)?
  • Which of the Ten Plagues from מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt) does God threaten to send against Benei Yisrael?
  • Why do Benei Yisrael have to wander specifically for 40 years?
  • Who will die during the years that Benei Yisrael wander in the wilderness?
Aliyah 5 (Bemidbar 15:8-16)
  • How much oil is brought with a sacrifice of בָּקָר (bakar, large cattle)?
  • If a גֵּר (ger, stranger) lives among Benei Yisrael, what rules should they follow when bringing a קָרְבָּן (korban, sacrifice)?
  • What root appears in three words in a row in this aliyah?
  • When must Benei Yisrael begin offering תְּרוּמָה (terumah)?
  • Where are צִיצִת (tzitzit) placed on a garment?
  • What does a person do in violation of Shabbat?
Look anywhere in the parashah to find the answer to these questions!
  • Which former enemy returns to attack Benei Yisrael in this parashah?
  • What two similar words appear at the very beginning and the very end of our parashah, tying it all together?
  • The root ק.שׁ.שׁ appears in just one other story in the Torah. Can you find it? (Hint: Think back to slavery!)
  • Who is described as being like grasshoppers?
  • How many times was God tested by Benei Yisrael?
From the Haftarah (Yehoshua 2:1-24)
  • When they eventually enter the land, how will Benei Yisrael know where to find Rahav?
Scroll down to see the answers!
Answers: 
Aliyah 1
  • Grapes (13:20)
  • Moshe changes the name Hoshea to Yehoshua (13:16)
Aliyah 2
  • Ahiman, Sheishai, and Talmai (13:21)
  • Calev (13:30)
Aliyah 3
  • Calev (14:24)
  • דֶּבֶר (dever, disease) (14:12)
Aliyah 4
  • The meraglim spent 40 days in the land, and Benei Yisrael are punished one year for each day (14:34)
  • Everyone who is over the age of 20 at the time of the מְרַגְּלִים (meraglim, spies), with the exception of Calev and Yehoshua (14:29-30)
Aliyah 5
  • Half a הִין (hin, a measurement that’s approximately three quarts) (15:9)
  • The exact same rules that Benei Yisrael have to follow (15:15-16)
Aliyah 6
  • The shoresh ר.ו.ם in תָּרִימוּ תְרוּמָה כִּתְרוּמַת (tarimu terumah k’terumat, you shall set aside a gift as a gift like a gift of…) (15:20)
  • Once they enter the land where God is bringing them (15:18)
Aliyah 7
From Anywhere in the parashah
  • Amalek (14:43,45)
  • וְיָתֻרוּ (ve-yaturu, let them scout; 13:2) and תָתוּרוּ (taturu, go astray; 15:39)—both words mean to check something out, but the second one suggests that maybe the mission to check out the land was problematic from the beginning
  • It’s in Shemot chapter 5, which talks about how Pharaoh ordered the people לְקֹשֵׁשׁ קַשׁ לַתֶּבֶן (lekosheish kash lateven, to gather straw to make mortar). Now you can see one reason why it was so upsetting that the man in our parashah was a מְקֹשֵׁשׁ (mekosheish, gatherer)—what he did must have reminded the people of slavery!
  • The meraglim, when they imagine how they looked in the eyes of the giants (13:33)
  • Ten times (14:22)
Haftarah