Parshas Vayechi - Parsha Stumpers

~ Something to Think About ~

פרשת ויחי

Parsha Stumpers

By: Daniel Listhaus

1. (47:28-29) Why in the Torah is Yaakov sometimes referred to as Yaakov and sometimes as Yisroel?

2. (47:28) What purpose was there in Yaakov trying to tell the B’nei Yisroel when mashiach would arrive?

3. (47:29) Rashi lists a few reasons that Yaakov gave Yosef why he wanted to be buried in Eretz Yisroel. Why did he need these reasons? Why not just tell Yosef he wanted to be buried in ma’aras ha’machpeilah with his wife and ancestors?

4. (47:31) Why did Yaakov make Yosef swear that he would bury him in Eretz Yisroel?

5. (48:2) Why did Yaakov get up in bed when Yosef entered the room? Forget the fact that Yosef was King, still Yaakov was not feeling well and he should have stayed in bed sick so Yosef would realize and spread the word to have everyone daven for him?

6. (48:5) Why did Ephraim and Menashe receive special status to be lieke shevatim and get their own portions In Eretz Yisroel like shevatim?

7. (48:6) Rashi writes that Yaakov told Yosef that if Yosef would have more sons then they would be included in Ephraim and Menashe. Did Yosef have more sons? And if so whose portion would they be included in?

8. (48:7) Why was Yaakov concerned that Yosef would “take revenge” for his mother and not bury his father in Eretz Yisroel?

a.    Yosef loved Yaakov and would have wanted to bury him properly anyway?

b.   Yaakov loved Rachel and that was something that was clear to everyone, especially Yosef/ So what need was there for an explanation?

c.   Also, why did Yaakov say to Yosef not to rationalize and give his own reasons why Yaakov didn't bury Rachel in a better place (such as it being the rainy season or that there were a lot of pits in the road) ? If he thought Yosef would do that anyway and that it would make him happy, why not just let it play out?

9. (48:8) Why did the shechinah leave just because of their descendants? What about their own greatness? And what about their good descendents? Also, who said that they will in fact have evil descendents - what about bechira?

10. (48:9) When Yaakov asked Yosef regarded his children, “Who are these (unfit of receiving a beracha), Rashi writes that Yosef first showed Yaakov his sh’tar eirusin  and sh’tar kesubah. And then, afterwards, davened for Yaakov to get ruach hakodesh back.

a.    Why did Yosef have his wife's kesuba and shtar eirusin?

b.   Who were the eidim (witnesses) on these documemts?

c.   Why did he assume that Yaakov would think that he married illegally? He should have just started off by davening that Yaakov get his ruach hakodesh back?

d.   Why did it help if the real reason Yaakov lost his ruach ha'kodesh was because of the descendants of Ephraim and Menashe? The shechina already knew that they were not mamzeirim, so what did it do to get Yaakov's ruach ha'kodesh back?

11. (48:10) What was the reason Yaakov became blind? When Yitzchak became blind Rashi offered three explanations. What was the reason here?

12. (49:1) Why did the Shechina leave Yaakov when he wanted to tell the shevatim what would happen באחרית הימים?

13. (49:5) Yaakov refers to Shimon and levi as having “stolen tools” because murder was a 'gift' given to Eisav. If so, how did they get it? And if it was a different type of murder because all l'shem shamayim, then what did they do wrong?
14. (49:31) Why not mention Adam too?

                                                                     

15. (49:33) Why did Yosef kiss Yaakov after he died?

16. (50:1) Rashi mentions from the gemara (Taanis) that “Yaakov never died”  - what does this mean?

17. (50:6) Why did Pharaoh add in, “like you swore”? What if Yosef hadn’t swore? What difference was it to Pharaoh?

18. (50:10) Why did they sit shivah starting after the 40 days?

19. (50:13) The Gemara in Sotah relates that an interesting episode with Eisav occurred when the shevatim tried to bury Yaakov in ma'aras hamachpeilah. Chushim ben Dan was the one who ultimately beheaded Eisav to allow Yaakov to be buried. Why didn't any of the shevatim or other spectators have the sense to remove the obstacle (Eisav) which was stopping them from burying the tzaddik Yaakov?

20. (50:15) The brothers noticed that Yosef had started acting differently towards them once Yaakov had died, so they called him out on it. Yosef however denied having any animosity or wanting for revenge. If that was true, then why indeed did Yosef behave differently towards them once Yaakov had died?

21. (50:19) At the end of the Parsha, Yosef told his brothers “HaTachas Elokim Ani?” (Am I in place of Hashem?) -

a.    Who else in the Torah used this expression? When?

b.   Is there a connection in how to understand the passuk in both places?

22. (50:21) What argument did Yosef say to finally convince the brothers that he would not kill them? What argument did he try to originally use and why didn't it work?

23. What is the connection between this week's parsha and its haftorah?

24. Where do you see in this week's parsha that, sometimes, having in mind to have done something is considered as if you did it?

Have Answers? Have other questions on the parsha? Email them to thoughtsonparsha@gmail.com

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 for 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 Vayeishev - Parsha Stumpers

~ Something to Think About ~

פרשת וישב

Parsha Stumpers

By: Daniel Listhaus

1. (37:2) The Torah and Rashi describe that Yosef would to tell Yaakov about things he saw the shevatim do. He claimed to have eye-witnessed his brothers eating eiver min ha'chai, degrading the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, and doing gilui arayos. If these claims were true, how could we understand that the shevatim did such things and why was Yosef punished? And if not true, then how could Yosef say such things about them?

2. (37:2) Yaakov grew up in a house of brother rivalry between him and Eisav. So, why did he anyway do so many things to single out Yosef over his brothers?

3. (37:3) Why didn’t Yaakov make a kesones passim for Binyamin?

4. (37:10) As we know, the Torah is written on many levels. When Yosef is telling Yaakov his dreams, Yaakov responds, “What is this dream that you dreamt? Are we to come – I and your mother and your brothers – and bow down to the ground to you?” Rashi explains that Yaakov was essentially saying that Rachel was dead and was not coming back to bow down to Yosef. Where is this hinted to in the passuk itself in what Yaakov said?

5. If the brothers decided as a beis din that Yosef was subject to death penalty, how could they not give it to him and sell him instead?

6. (37:25) Who cares that the caravan was selling nice smelling spices? Yosef was just thrown into a pit and is now being sold as a slave. Does he really care what it smells like in the caravan? Why is this so significant?

7. (37:27-28) Who sold Yosef? (Read the passukim carefully).

8. (37:33) If the brothers thought they were doing the right thing, why didn’t they tell Yaakov?

9. (38:35) We learn from Tamar that better for one to give up his or her life than to publicly embarrass someone. This is not so obvious for many reasons. First, as bad as embarrassment is death is unquestionably worse. Second, in this case Tamar was being publicly humiliated and being killed. Third, the embarrassing here was not a petty fight; it was standing up for innocence and go against the mistaken judgment. So how did Tamar know to do what she did?

10. The meforshim explain that Yosef was “taken away” from Yaakov for 22 years just as Yaakov was away from his house. Why should Yaakov be punished this way? His parents told him to leave home?

11. (Rashi 40:5) If the baker and the cupbearer each dreamt the interpretation of the other one, why didn’t they just tell each other?

12. (40:8) Yosef told the Sar HaMashkim and Sar HaOfim that, “Do not interpretations belong to Hashem?” Doesn't the Gemara in Brachos (56a) say that “Dreams go after the mouth (i.e-the interpreter)”?

13. (40:20) Who was the first one in the Torah recorded to have celebrated a birthday party?

14. (Rashi 40:23) The last few passukim and Rashi describe that Yosef was punished for asking the sar hamashkim to “remember him to Pharaoh”. What was wrong with Yosef’s hishtadlus?