Parshas Vayechi - Parsha Stumpers

פרשת ויחי

Parsha Stumper / Something to Think About

1. Why in the Torah, and specifically in this week's parsha is Yaakov sometimes referred to as Yaakov and sometimes as Yisroel?
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?

3. Why did Yaakov make Yosef swear that he would bury him in Eretz Yisroel?

4. Yaakov told Yosef that Ephraim and Menashe would get portions In Eretz Yisroel like shevatim. However, Yaakov said 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?

5. When Yaakov asked Yosef regarded his children, “Who are these (unfit of receiving a beracha), Rashi writes that Yosef first showed Yaakov his shtar eirusin and shtar kesubah. And then, afterwards, davened for Yaakov to get ruach hakodesh back.
   1. Why did Yosef have his wife's kesuba and shtar eirusin?
   2. 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?
   3. 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?

6. Why did the Shechina leave Yaakov when he wanted to tell the shevatim what would happen באחרית הימים?

7. 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?

8. 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 to get the mussar from Yaakov?
9. Why was Yaakov concerned that Yosef would “take revenge” for his mother and not bury his father inb Eretz Yisroel?
   1. Yosef loved Yaakov and would have wanted to bury him properly anyway?
   2. Yaakov loved Rachel and that was something that was clear to everyone, especially Yosef/ So what need was there for an explanation?
   3. 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?

10. 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?
11. The passuk (50:15) and Rashi write that the brothers sensed that Yosef stopped acting nice to them after Yaakov died, yet Yosef claimed that nothing changed. What did he stop doing that made him seem not as nice? And why did he stop inviting them over to his palace for meals?
12. At the end of the Parsha, Yosef told his brothers “HaTachas Elokim Ani?” (Am I in place of Hashem?) -
    1. Who else in the Torah used this expression? When?
    2. Is there a connection in how to understand the passuk in both places?

13. 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?

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