1) Ch. 21, v. 1: "L'nefesh lo yitamo" To a soul he shall not defile himself This verse tells the adult Kohanim to be vigilant in seeing to it that the young Kohanim likewise not defile themselves. Why is there a stress on the special supervision for this prohibition more than for any other sin?
2) Ch. 21, v. 7: "Ishoh zonoh vachaloloh lo yikochu v'ishoh grushoh mei'ishoh" A woman who is either a zonoh or a desecrated woman and a woman who is divorced from her husband When the Torah lists the women who are prohibited to a Kohein Godol the order of these three women is reversed, "ugrushoh vachaloloh zonoh." Why?
3) Ch. 23, v. 33: "V'ini'sem es nafshoseichem b'sishoh lachodesh" And you shall afflict your souls on the ninth of the month Although the straight-forward translation of these words seems to be saying that we should fast on the ninth day of the seventh month, the gemara Yoma tells us that the exact opposite is true, that it is a mitzvoh to eat on the ninth day. This extreme departure from the simple meaning of these words can be explained from the cantillation. How?
4) Ch. 23, v. 43: "Ki vasukos hoshavti es bnei Yisroel" Because in huts I have placed the bnei Yisroel The "mesoroh" lists three verses that have the common word "ki." They are our verse, "Ki vorchove nolin" (Breishis 19:2), and "Ki ner mitzvoh v'Toroh ohr" (Mishlei 6:23). What is the thread of commonality that runs through these three expressions?
5) Ch. 24, v. 22: "Mishpat echod yi'h'yeh lochem ka'geir ko'ezroch" One law there shall be for you the same for the convert the same for the citizen Verse 10 begins the tale of the blasphemer. It ends with verse 23, where the Torah relates that he was put to death. It is most unusual for the Torah to interrupt this with the laws of injuring and killing of people and animals. Although commentators explain this, for example: Hashem told Moshe that he who blasphemes Hashem is put to death, and hand-in-hand with this was told that Hashem likewise respects the bnei Yisroel and if they are either injured or killed retribution is likewise extracted, be it the death penalty or monetary payment, but it would seem that it would suffice to state this in a separate parsha, immediately following ours, to show the connection. Why is killing and injuring plunked down right here, without even a dividing parsha space, and a mere one verse before the completion of the blasphemer story?
Important Numbers
