Parshas Vayigash - Parsha Stumpers

~ Something to Think About ~

פרשת ויגש

Parsha Stumpers

By: Daniel Listhaus

1.     (44:18) In the first passuk of this week's parsha there are two times where it says that Yehuda was the one who approached Yosef. One is straight out (b'feirush) in the passuk and the other is a remez. Where is the remez?

2.    (44:18) Why wasn't Reuvain the one to approach Yosef and stand up for Binyamin? Regardless of the deal Yehuda made with Yaakov, still Reuvain was the eldest of the brothers so why not be the one to confront Yosef?

3.    (44:18) In one of the pshatim that Rashi says that Yehuda was telling Yosef when he said “You are like Pharaoh” is: Just like Pharoah makes decrees and doesn't keep them so too you”. The sifsei chochomim brings the mahar'shal who explains that Yehuda was saying the following, “You Yosef put all your reliance on Pharoah. However, Pharoah is a liar! Pharoah had a decree that no slave should ever rule over mitzrayim or wear royal clothing. Yet he appointed you...!” What type of argument is this, though? Yosef could easily respond that indeed Pharaoh is amazing! After all, he made an exception to the rule for his sake. So what message was Yehuda trying to convey to Yosef?

4.    Rashi (44:19) says that Yehuda challenged Yosef asking, “Why did you ask us so many questions? Were we looking to marry your daughter or were you looking to marry our sister?”

1.     What was wrong with Yosef asking questions? He thought they were spies?

2.    Why did Yehuda give the example of Yosef wanting to marry their daughter or sister? Being that the brothers were older it would make more sense for Yehuda to have asked “Were you looking to marry our daughter...”

5.    (44:29) What was different between the reason Yaakov said he didn't want to send Binyamin down to mitzrayim, and the reason that Yehuda told Yosef? Why the difference?

6.    (45:4) Yosef told his brothers “Come close to me, if you please”. Rashi explains that Yosef showed them his Bris Millah. What would this prove to the brothers, though? Rashi earlier explained in last week's parsha (41:55) that Pharaoh commanded everyone to listen to Yosef – who told them all to get bris millah. If so, EVERYONE in mitzrayim had a bris?

7.    (45;14) Yosef cried on Binyamin's neck. Rashi tells us that he was crying because of the betai mikdashim which would be destroyed on his land. What is significant about the neck that it should represent the beis ha'mikadash? Also, why was he crying about the beis ha'mikdash at this particular point?

8.    (45:22) How could Yosef favor Binyamin and give him a bigger present than the other brothers, when it was exactly that type of favoritism which had instigated the brothers teaming up against Yosef in the first place?

9.    Why did Hashem stop the famine when Yaakov came down to mitzrayim? Shouldn't there have been a concern that people would then call Yosef a liar since he said that the famine would last seven years?

10. (46:29) Chazal tell us that when Yosef reunited with Yaakov, Yaakov was saying kriyas shema…

a.    Why wasn't Yosef doing the same?

b.    How could Yosef lean on Yaakov’s neck while Yaakov was saying Shema if the gemara (berachos 27a) says that can’t disturb people while davening?

11.  (47:18) The famine lasted for two years. If the plan was fro Yaakov to come down to  Mitzrayim and that when he would come, the famine would stop, then why did Pharaoh dream 7 years of famine? It should have either been 2 or somehow express itself as undefined?

12. The brothers told Pharoah that they came to Mitzrayim because there was no grass for their flock in cana’an…If so, what did the people in cana’an do when they ran out of food and money? Also, what would be the point then of the brothers coming to Mitzrayim? – there was a famine there too! So there would still be no grass for their flock?

Parshas Miketz - Parsha Stumpers

~ Something to Think About ~

פרשת מקץ

Parsha Stumpers

By: Daniel Listhaus

1.      (41:1) Why was Pharaoh in his own dreams?

2.      Rashi (41:2,4) writes what the simanim in Pharoah's dreams meant. Why is Rashi telling us this here and not by Yosef's interpretations?

3.      Why does the passuk say that Pharaoh woke up – “And behold it was a dream!”?

4.      Rashi (41:8) differentiates between the dreams of Pharaoh and those of Nevuchadnetzer. Nevuchadnetzer not only did not understand the meaning of his dreams, but also did not even remember his dreams. Why the difference?

5.      (41:17) How could Pharaoh know the dream if Rashi 41:8 said earlier that Pharaoh did not remember his dreams?

6.      (41:25) If Pharaoh’s dreams were one and the same, why did they feature different characters (wheat and cows)?

7.      (41:26) Both Yosef and Pharaoh had double dreams. Why? Also the mefarshim explain that Yosef knew that the years of plenty and famine would happen very soon because Pharaoh dreamed them one right after another. But what about Yosef's own dreams? He also had two dreams (seemingly one right after another) but his dreams did not come to reality until many years later?

8.      (41:44) Why does Pharaoh say, “I am Pharaoh”?

9.      (41:49) The passuk uses the expression, “like the sand of the sea”. Why does the Torah feel the need to use this terminology and why specifically this example which is also used to describe the beracha of children that Hashem gave to B’nei Yisroel?

10.  Rashi (41:55) comments that Yosef made everyone in Mitzrayim get bris millah and move from their houses in order for the brothers to feel comfortable when they came down to Mitzrayim – a land where everyone had bris millah and everyone felt like a stranger after recently moving. Why would Yosef want to do this? As nice as it is to feel comfortable, is there not also a benefit to keeping distance when it comes to mingling among goyim? Additionally, the Torah is clear that the Egyptians knew that the brothers were Jewish. It was no secret, so what was Yosef trying to accomplish?

11.  Rashi (41:55) – Why was Pharaoh comfortable with all this power that Yosef had?

12.  (42:2) Why does the passuk record Yaakov as saying, “…so that we may live and not die…”? Why the redundancy?

13.  Rashi (42:8) writes that the brothers did not recognize Yosef because he had grown a beard. However, Rashi in Vayeishev writes that Yosef looked exactly like Yaakov. So certainly Yosef in a beard would have looked just like Yaakov, why didn’t the brothers realize?

14.  (42:13) – Why did the brothers tell Yosef this? T.M.I.!

15.  Rashi (42:23) – why was it important that the brothers no know Yosef understood Hebrew? If the interpreter was a mitzri and yet knew Hebrew, so why couldn’t Yosef have known it too without blowing his cover of being their brother?

16.  (42:25) and (44:2) – How could Yosef return the money to his brothers? Wasn’t it all owned by Pharaoh?

17.  The brothers exclaimed out of frustration, “What is this that Hashem is doing to us?” when they found that their money had been returned to them. Yet, we do not find such an expression when Shimon was taken to jail or when Yosef demanded them bring Binyamin to them, etc. Why only by this event?

18.  (42:29-35) – Why does the torah repeat the whole story and not just write, “and the brothers told their father, Yaakov, all that had occurred”?

19.  When the brothers returned from Mitzrayim and realized that they were given back their money, they told Yaakov. However, Yaakov never seems to have reacted or responded with what they should do. Why?

20.  (42:38) When the brothers were trying to convince Yaakov to send Binyamin down with them, Reuvain spoke up and said that he could be trusted with Binyamin and if he does not take good care of him, then Yaakov could kill his two sons. What in the world was Reuvain thinking? Did he really believe that such talk would make Yaakov feel safe sending Binyamin with him?

21.  (43:2) Why does the passuk say “….that they brought from Mitzrayim…”?

22.  Rashi (43:9) – Why was Yehuda’s idea much better?

23.  (2^nd half of Rashi 43:14) – Why was Yaakov saying this?

24.  Rashi (43:30) – It is evident from the names of Binyamin’s sons that he knew Yosef was still alive. How did he know?

25.  (44:2) This was a very risky move for Yosef to do because he had already pulled this trick on his brothers. They could have easily put two and two together and realized that Yosef was conspiring against them the whole time. So why did Yosef do this? Also, especially given their previous experience, why didn’t the shevatim think to check their bags before leaving mitzrayim?

26.  The passuk (44:8) records that after Yosef accused the brothers of stealing his magic goblet, the brothers responded that if they were even willing to return the money that was given back to them “accidentally” when they could have gotten away with it, then certainly they would not actively steal something from Yosef. Rashi comments that this is actually one of ten kal v'chomeir's found in the Torah. What exactly is the kal v'chomeir though? Perhaps a magic goblet is something that would be worth taking since it seemingly gave Yosef power to know things about the shevatim that perhaps they would not want him to know. For example, we know that despite Yaakov avinu and his family not stealing anything from Lavan's house, Rachel stole his teraphim because she knew that Lavan would be able to use them to see where they ran to if she left them there (according to one explanation in Rashi there). So, what is the kal v'chomeir here?