1) Ch. 17, v. 13: "Chayoh o ofe asher yei'ocheil v'shofach es domo v'chisohu be'ofor" An undomesticated animal or a bird that may be eaten and he spilled its blood and he shall cover it with earth Why does this law apply only to "chayoh" and "ofe," but not to "b'heimoh," a domesticated animal?
2) Ch. 18, v. 18: "V'ishoh el achosoh lo sikoch" And a woman to her sister shall you not take Why doesn't the verse straightforwardly state, "V'achos ish't'cho lo sikach," and the sister of your wife you shall not take?
3) Ch. 19, v. 10: "Le'oni v'la'geir taazove osom" For the poor man and the convert shall you leave them The next verse begins with "Lo signovu." What is the connection?
4) Ch. 19, v. 17: "Lo sisno es ochicho bilvo'vecho" Do not hate your brother in your heart When dealing with your brother all the Torah requires of you is to not hate him in your heart. Yet, the next verse demands more of you when dealing with your friend, "v'ohavto l'rei'acho komocho." You are required to actually love him. Regarding your relationship with a judge or tribal leader, the Torah seems to require the least, "Elohim lo s'ka'leil v'nosi v'amcho lo so'ore," do not denigrate a judge and a tribal leader you shall not curse. Why does the Torah give us four distinct levels of behaviour towards these four different of people?
5) Ch. 19, v. 17: "Ho'chei'ach tochiach es ami'secho" You shall surely rebuke your friend What is the intention of the double expression?
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1) Ch. 12, v. 2: "V'yoldoh zochor" And she will give birth to a male The T.K. says that if you guard, "m'sha'meir," the laws of "nidoh," then I will give you a son who will be circumcised on the eighth day. The word commonly used to mean "guard" is "shomer." Why does the T.K. say "m'sha'meir," a word connoting vigorous guarding?
2) Ch. 12, v. 2: "V'tomoh shivas yomim" And she will be defiled for seven days The Moshav Z'keinim asks, "According to the opinion in the gemara Krisus 10a that 'Ee efshar lifsichas m'kore b'lo dam,' it is impossible for the cervix of the uterus to open without expelling blood, any woman who gives birth has expelled blood, why when giving birth to a male does the Torah give us the ruling that the woman is defiled for 7 days? She is defiled for the same 7 days irrespective of the birth by virtue of becoming a "nidoh," since she expelled blood." The Moshav Zkeinim gives three answers:
3) Ch. 12, v. 7: "Zose toras ha'yole'des" This is the law of the one who gives birth These words seem to be in the wrong place. We have not yet dealt with the poor woman (verse 8). Shouldn't our verse have come after those details?
4) Ch. 13, v. 49: "Y'rakrak o adamdom" Deep green or deep red Rashi (Toras Kohanim 13:161/5:14:2) says that the doubling the last two letters of these words indicates that the "nega" is not a plain yellow or red, but rather, a deep yellow or deep red. The word "adamdom'es/adamdem'es/adamdom" appears earlier in verses 19, 24, 42, and 43. Why does Rashi wait to explain its meaning in our verse, the 5th time it appears, and not earlier? Saying that he waited until both "y'rakrak" and "adamdam" appear so that he could explain both at once seems to be a very feeble response.
5) Ch. 14, v. 21: "V'im dal hu v'ein yodo ma'se'ges" And if he is destitute and his hand does not attain By the "oleh v'yoreid," sliding scale offering, of the woman who gave birth, the Torah says "V'im lo simtzo yodoh" (Vayikra 12:8), and if her hand will not find. Why here is it described as "does not attain," and there "her hand will not find?"
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1) Ch. 6, v. 10: "Lo sei'o'feh chometz" It should not be baked as leavened bread Chometz is equated with the yeitzer hora, the evil inclination. This is why a meal offering may have no leavening. The one exception is the two breads of Shovuos. Why is this offering different?
2) Ch. 7, v. 11: "Zevach hashlomim asher yakriv" Slaughtering of a shlomim that he will offer This is the most positive expression of offering, "asher yakriv," seemingly "that he SHOULD offer," while by other types of offerings we just have "toras ha , v'heivi," or the like. Why is the bringing expressed differently here?
3) Ch. 7, v. 17: "V'hanosar mi'menoh" And that which is left over from it The Torah expresses this in a fait accompli manner, as if it will likely happen, in contra distinction with Shmos 29:34, "V'im yivo'seir," IF there will be left over. Why the difference?
4) Ch. 7, v. 37: "Zose hatorah l'oloh l'minchoh ulchatos" This is the law for an oloh for a minchoh and for a chatos The Medrash Plioh, a wondrous puzzling collection of statements, says that this is the fulfillment of the verse, "Bidvar Hashem shomayim naasu" (T'hilim 33:6). What is the medrash telling us?
5) Ch. 8, v. 14: "Va'yismoch Aharon uvonov es y'dei'hem" And Aharon leaned his hands and his sons their hands Compare this with verse 18 and 22, where the verses say, "Va'yis'm'chu Aharon uvonov es y'dei'hem." Why is Aharon's "smichoh" mentioned singly in our verse and together with his sons in verses 18 and 22? For the answers, click here
1) Ch. 1, v. 3: "Im oloh korbono" If an oloh offering is his sacrifice Why, of all the types of offerings, is "oloh" discussed first?
2) Ch. 1, v. 3: "Tomim yakri'venu yakriv oso lirtzono" Complete he should offer it he should offer it to his satisfaction Who is the antecedent of "lirtzonO?"
3) Ch. 1, v. 9: "V'kirbo uchro'ov yirchatz" And its innards and its legs you shall wash We do not find this command by chatos, oshom, or shlomim. Why?
4) Ch. 1, v. 16: "V'heisir es muroso b'notzosoh" And he shall remove its crop with its intestines Rashi (M.R. 3:4) explains why the bird's intestines are removed and not offered, while an animals intestines are emptied of their waste, and the intestines are offered. Says Rabbi Tanchum ben Chaniloy, "This is because an animal eats food provided by its owner, food that is not gotten through theft. Birds, however, eat from fields that have owners. They thus are sustained through theft. Let this not be an offering."
This leaves us with an obvious question. All of the bird should be totally excluded from being an offering, since all of its body is sustained from theft.
5) Ch. 5, v. 7: "V'im lo sagia yodo dei seh echod l'chatos v'echod l'oloh" And if he cannot afford a sheep one for a chatos and one for an oloh Why do we introduce an additional totally different type of sacrifice, an oloh, for the poor man (see Ibn Ezra)?
1) Ch. 35, v. 2: "Sheishes yomim" Six days Rashi says that Moshe gave the mitzvoh of Shabbos BEFORE the mitzvoh of erecting the Mishkon, to teach that the building of the Mishkon does not push aside Shabbos. Rashi on Shmos 31:13 d.h. "ach" says that from that verse we derive this ruling, and there Shabbos is mentioned AFTER the building of the Mishkon. We see that we derive this point from Shabbos being mentioned AFTER the Mishkon. Likewise, we find the verse "Ish imo v'oviv tiro'u v'es Shabsosai tishmoru" (Vayikra 19:3), from which we similarly derive that although there is a mitzvoh to fear one's parents, nevertheless, if a parent commands his child to do an act that involves desecration of Shabbos, the child may not comply, and there too, Shabbos is mentioned after fearing one's parents. (Placing Shabbos afterwards to bring out this point of information seems to be the logical order. Do this or that mitzvoh, BUT keep the laws of Shabbos.)
2) Ch. 39, v. 30: "Va'yich't'vu olov" And they wrote upon it If just one person etched the two words "kodesh laShem" into the golden forehead plate, why does the verse say "va'yich't'vu," in the plural form?
3) Ch. 39, v. 32: "Vatheichel kol avodas haMishkon" And all the work of the Mishkon was complete The work was completed near the end of the month Kislev. However, the assembly took place on the 1st day of Nison. Why the 3 month wait?
4) Ch. 39, v. 40: "Es meisorOV vi'seidoseHOH" And HIS cables and HER pegs Why the change in gender?
5) Ch. 40, v. 20: "Va'yikach va'yi'tein es ho'eidus" And he took and he placed the testimonial tablets Every item was taken and placed, yet this is the only time we have "va'yikach."
1) Ch. 30, v. 13: "Kol ho'oveir" Everyone who passes Money was collected for three purposes, for the Mishkon components and priestly garments, for the base sockets, "adonim," and for the communal sacrifices. Did the L'viim donate for any or all of these needs? Detail your answer for each of the three types of needs.
2) Ch. 30, v. 13: "Kol ho'oveir" The verse says that the rich man shall not give more and the poor man shall not give less than half a shekel. This seems to be iron clad. Yet there is a way of explaining the verses so that each person is free to give as much as he wants. How do we explain this?
3) Ch. 31, v. 13: "Es Shabsosai tishmoru" My Sabbaths you shall safeguard Why is this repeated so shortly afterwards, in 35:2, "Uva'yom hashvi'i yi'h'yeh lochem kodesh Shabbos Shabbosone"?
4) Ch. 32, v. 16: "Choroos AL haluchos" Etched ONTO the tablets. This is problematic. Etching is INTO.
5) Ch. 32, v. 19: "Va'y'sha'beir osom" And he smashed them Rishonim are hard-pressed to find a reason for Moshe's smashing the tablets rather than just leaving them in the heavens, since Hashem told him that the bnei Yisroel sinned. Even if we say that the tablets were already given to Moshe, and Hashem would not ask them back, but why not hide them somewhere rather than destroy them?
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1) Ch. 28, v. 1: "V'atoh hakreiv ei'lecho es Aharon" And you bring close to you Aharon Hashem was addressing Moshe in the first verse of our parsha. What need is there to repeat "v'atoh" here? Hashem was already addressing Moshe.
2) Ch. 28, v. 1: "L'chahano li" To make him a Kohein for Me Two verses later we find "L'KADSHO l'chahano li." Why the addition of "l'kadsho?"
3) Ch. 28, v. 1: "Nodov v'Avihu Elozor v'Isomor" Why bother mentioning them by name since the verse has already told us that Aharons sons are to likewise be inducted into the priesthood?
4) Ch. 28, v. 4: "Choshen v'eifode' A breastplate and an apron In 25:7, 35:9, and 35:27 the "eifode" is mentioned before the "choshen." Why the switch in order here?
5) Ch. 28, v. 35: "V'nishma kolo b'vo'o el hakodesh" And its sound will be heard when he enters the Sanctury The Rashbam writes that the sound emanates from the bells when he walks. The Rashbam goes on to say that the need for a sound system to accompany the Kohein Godol when he performed the service was to alert others in the Sanctuary to leave when he was doing the service, as per the verse in Vayikra 16:17, "V'chol odom lo yi'h'yeh b'ohel mo'eid b'vo'o l'cha'peir ad tzeiso." This is most puzzling, as the verse is discussing the service of Yom Kippur. When the Kohein Godol enters to bring the bloods of the atonement ox and goat he does not wear the "m'il," which has the bells on its bottom, rather, only the four "white garments" of a regular Kohein.
1) Ch. 25, v. 4: "V'sheish" And flax We find the word bad used for flax as well. Which word is used when?
2) Ch. 25, v. 4,5: "V'izim, V'oros eilim m'odomim v'oros t'choshim" And goats, And hides of reddened rams and hides of tchoshim "Hides of" are mentioned by the rams and "t'choshim," but not by goats. Why?
3) Ch. 25, v. 12: "Arba tabose zohov" Four gold rings Similarly by the stave coverings of gold in the next verse we find "v'tzipiso osom zohov." By the creation of the gold Ark, the term "zohov TOHOR" is used, PURE gold. Why the difference between the actual ark and its staves covering?
4) Ch. 25, v. 20: "V'hoyu hakruvim" And the cherubs shall be We know that the faces of the cherubs were in the form of children, and the wings were obviously like bird wings. What form did the bodies from the neck down have, of humans or birds?
5) Ch. 25, v. 29: "K'orosov" Later on we have "k'sosov" and "m'nakiosov." What were these three items and what was their function?
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1) Ch. 21, v. 2: "Ki sikneh evved Ivri" When you will purchase a Hebrew slave Why doesn't the verse say "Ki sikach," as this is the more common Torah expression for acquiring? Why is the transaction here expressed as purchasing, while by the maidservant in verse 7 it is expressed as selling, "V'chi yimkore"?
2) Ch. 21, v. 3: "V'yotzoh ishto imo" And his wife should leave with him His wife was not a slave, so why does the Torah say that she too is emancipated?
3) Ch. 21, v. 12: "Ma'kei ish vo'meis mose yumos" The one who smites a man and he dies he should surely be put to death Although Rashi comments that there are numerous verses discussing a murderer and surely each tells us new information, we find a very unusual sequence. Our verse tells of an intentional murderer, the next an accidental killer, and the next, again an intentional one. This deserves clarification. Shouldnt the Torah stick with intentional before it goes off to unintentional?
4) Ch. 23, v. 10: "V'sheish shonim tizra es artzecho" And six years you may sow your land The parsha of "shmitoh" here and in B'har is expressed in the singular (25:3,4,5), while the parsha of "yoveil" is expressed in the plural, "Lo siz'ro'u v'lo sik'tz'ru v'lo siv'tz'ru" (Vayikra 25:11).
5) Ch. 23, v. 25: "VaavadTEM eis Hashem ElokeiCHEM uveirach es lach'm'CHO v'es mei'meCHO" And you shall serve Hashem your G-d and He will bless your bread and your water The verse begins in the plural form and ends in the singular.
1) Ch. 18, v. 1: "Va'yishma Yisro" And Yisro heard Rashi comments that he heard of the splitting of Yam Suf and the war with Amo'leik. He obviously heard much more, but these two events prompted him to come (verse 5). Why specifically these two events?
2) Ch. 18, v. 7: "Va'yeitzei Moshe likras chose'no" And Moshe went out towards his father-in-law How could Moshe, the leader of a nation, lower his esteem and go out to greet Yisro?
3) Ch. 18, v. 7: "Va'yishtachu lo" And he bowed down to him Is bowing down to a person have any tinge of sin connected to it, perhaps as a service of deifying the person?
4) Ch. 18, v. 16: "Ki yi'h'yeh lo'hem dovor ba eilai" When THEY will have a matter HE comes to me This phrase begins in the plural form and changes to singular.
5) Ch. 20, v. 9: "Taavode v'osiso kol m'lachtecho" You shall labour and do all your work What is the difference between "avodoh" and "mlochoh?"
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1) Ch. 14, v. 29: "Uvnei Yisroel holchu va'yaboshoh b'soch ha'yom" And the bnei Yisroel walked on the dry land in the middle of the sea Did any bnei Yisroel drown in Yam Suf?
2) Ch. 15, v. 2: "Zeh Keili v'anveihu" This is my G-d and I will glorify Him The gemara Shabbos 133b derives from these words that one should not do mitzvos "on the cheap," but rather, should beautify them. The halacha is that one should upgrade the quality of a mitzvoh up to a third more than the basic/available cost. Why is this concept placed in these words?
3) Ch. 15, v. 4: "Tubu" They were sunk Rashi says that the term "tvioh" is only applicable when discussing sinking into mud. Why do we say in our daily prayer, 'v'zeidim tibato vididim he'evarto,' since first the bnei Yisroel were guided through the Yam Suf and only afterwards were the Egyptians drowned?
4) Ch. 15, v. 25: "Shom som lo chok umishpot" There He placed for him a statute and a law Rashi says that some of the laws of Shabbos were given. If so, the words in the Pesach Hagodoh 'Ilu he'echilonu es hamon v'lo nosan lonu es haShabbos' are out of order, since we first received the laws of Shabbos.
5) Ch. 16, v. 25: "Ki Shabbos ha'yom" Because it is Shabbos today Rashi explains that they received no manna Shabbos morning and came back again in the evening, asking if they should look for manna. This is most puzzling. They never received manna at night, so why should they inquire about evening manna?
1) Why are the ten plagues not all in one parsha? Once they are divided, why specifically seven and three?
2) Ch. 10, v. 2: "Ulmaan t'sa'peir b'oznei vincho u'ven bincho" And so that you shall relate into the ears of your son and your sons son The word "ulmaan" appears in the Torah in only one other place, in Dvorim 11:9, "ulmaan taarichu yomim." How do we connect these two phrases?
3) Ch. 10, v. 2: "Hisalalti" How shall we translate this word and from where is/are your answer/s sourced?
4) Ch. 10, v. 7: "Va'yomru avdei Pharoh eilov shalach es ho'anoshim v'yaavdu es Hashem Elokeihem ha'terem teida ki ovdoh Mitzroyim" And Paroh's servants said to him send the men and they will serve Hashem their G-d do you not yet know that Mitzrayim is lost Paroh was so impressed with their advice that he had Moshe and Aharon brought back and he asked them who would go on the three-day hiatus to serve Hashem (verse 8). When they responded that absolutely everyone would go and that they planned to take all their livestock as well (verse 9), Paroh countered that only the adult men may go, and had them driven out of his presence (verse 11).
From this point onwards we no longer find Paroh's advisors suggesting that the bnei Yisroel be sent to serve Hashem. What changed? Actually things got even worse as they experienced the devastation of the locusts and the total darkness, yet not a word from them any more.
5) Ch. 10, v. 11: "Lo chein l'chu noh hagvorim v'ivdu es Hashem ki osoh a'tem m'vakshim" - Not so only the men will now go and you shall serve Hashem because that is what you request Paroh seems to be contradicting himself in the same breath. He first says no to sending the children, whom Moshe just included in the previous verse, so how does Paroh say that this is your request? For the answers, click here
1) Ch. 6, v. 3: "Vo'eiro" And I have appeared Rashi has a two-word comment on this, "El ho'ovos," to the patriarchs. Commentators are hard-pressed to explain what light Rashi is shedding on the understanding of our verse. What do you have to offer?
2) Ch. 6, v. 14,15,16: "Bnei Reuvein, Uvnei Shimon, V'eileh shmos bnei Levi" The children of Reuvein, And the children of Shimon, And these are the names of the children of Levi Why by Reuvein and Shimon does the Torah just say "the children of," while by Levi "these are the NAMES" is added?
3) Ch. 6, v. 20: "Va'yikach Amrom es Yocheved va'tei'led lo es Aharon v'es Moshe" And Amrom took Yocheved and she gave birth to him Aharon and Moshe In Shmos 2:1 the marriage of a couple and the subsequent birth of Moshe is recorded, but the parents' names are not mentioned until this verse. Why?
4) Ch. 9, v. 2: "Ki im mo'ein atoh l'sha'lei'ach v'odcho machazik bom" If you refuse to send and still hold onto them What is added by "v'odcho machazik bom"? Why is this term not used by the warnings of any of the other plagues?
5) Ch. 9, v. 26: "Rak b'eretz Goshen asher shom bnei Yisroel lo hoyoh borod" Only in Goshen where the bnei Yisroel were present there was no hail If a ben Yisroel was outside Goshen would it hail upon him? For the answers, click here!
1) Ch. 1, v. 15: "Va'yomer melech Mitzrayim" And the king of Egypt said Why until now were the harsh edicts expressed in the plural form, "va'yosimu, v'chaasher y'anu, va'yaavidu, va'y'mor'ru," and now in the singular?
2) Ch. 1, v. 22: "Va'y'tzav Paroh l'chol amo leimore KOL ha'bein hayilod ha'y'oroh tashlichuhu" And Paroh commanded even regarding his own nation that every son who is born into the river you shall throw him How many bnei Yisroel were actually thrown into the river?
3) Ch. 2, v. 1: "Va'yeilech ish" And a man went Why doesn't the verse simply say "Va'yikach ish mi'beis Levi"?
4) Ch. 2, v. 2: "Vatitz'p'neihu" And she hid him In parshas v'Zose Habrochoh we have the words "usfu'nei t'mu'nei chole" (Dvorim 33:19). Rashi explains this to mean "and it is covered that which is hidden in the sand." Two verses later we have "chelkas m'chokeik sofun." Rashi explains this to mean the same, "the burial plot of the statute giver (Moshe) is covered and hidden." We thus find three words, two of which are phonetically the same, and the third, very similar in sound, "sofun" with the letter Sin, "sofun" with the letter Samach, and Tzofun, with the letter Tzadi (The Syrian pronunciation of a Tzadi is virtually the same as a Sin or Samach in Ashkenazic pronunciation). What are the nuances of difference among these three words?
5) Ch. 4, v. 8: "V'he'eminu l'kole ho'ose ho'acharone" And they will believe the calling of the last sign The next verse goes on to offer a third sign if the first two are not sufficiently convincing. If so, why does our verse call the penultimate sign "ho'acharone?"
1) Ch. 47, v. 28: "Sheva shonim v'arboim u'm'as shonoh" Seven years and forty and one-hundred years Rashi comments on the years of Soroh's life (Breishis 23:1) that her one-hundred years are compared to her twenty years, and her twenty years are compared to her seven years. This is because the word "years" is mentioned three times. Here we have the word "years" only twice. Taamo Dikro offers that it is left out once because there is no comparison of years to years for beauty for a man, as per the gemara Kesubos 59. However, this seems problematic, as we find "years" by Avrohom three times, and a comparison of his being sinless by all three. If so, we are left with the question, "Why is the term 'years' only mentioned two times by Yaakov?"
2) Ch. 47, v. 28: "Va'yichi Yaakov" And Yaakov lived Rabbeinu Bachyei notes that "va'yichi" has the numeric value of 34. Yaakov had a pleasant life for 34 years, the 17 years from the birth of Yoseif until Yoseif was sold, and the final 17 years of his life. Why werent the years before Yoseif's birth just as pleasant?
3) Ch. 48, v. 5: "Efrayim Um'nasheh KiReuvein v'Shimon" Efrayim and Menasheh like Reuvein and Shimon If Yaakov's only intention was to give these two grandsons the status of sons, i.e. as tribes, why did he single out Reuvein and Shimon as examples?
4) Ch. 48, v. 14: "Si'keil es yodov" He placed his hands with intention When Yaakov crisscrossed his hands, which was the upper, the right or the left?
5) Ch. 48, v. 15: "HoElokim asher his'halchu avosai l'fonov" Elokim Whom my forefathers have brought themselves to walk in front of Him Why is this prelude used to express the blessing he was bestowing upon Efrayim and Menasheh?
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1) Ch. 44, v. 18: "Va'yigaSH eiloV YehudoH" And Yehudoh drew close to him Baal Haturim notes that the final letters of these three words form the word "ShoVoH," equal. Yehudoh advised Yoseif that he was his equal, also a king. If this is so, is the statement of Rashi that Yehudoh warned Yoseif that he was about to speak to him in a harsh manner agreed upon by the Baal Haturim? Since Yehudoh was of equal stature his words are not to be considered something that might incite another king.
2) Ch. 44, v. 20: "Va'yivo'seir" And he was left over Compare this with the synonymous word "v'hu l'vado NISHOR' (42:38).
3) Ch. 44, v. 32,34: "Ki av'd'cho orav es hanaar, Eich e'eleh el ovi v'hanaar einenu iti" Because your servant has is responsible for the youth, How will I be able to ascend to my father without the youth Why was it necessary for Yehudoh to add the second reason since the first in its own right is very compelling?
4) Ch. 46, v. 21: "Uvnei Vinyomin Bella voVecher" And the sons of Binyomin were Bella and Becher Rashi on 43:30 explains that Bella alludes to Yoseifs being swallowed into the society of the gentiles, while Becher alludes to his being the first-born to his mother Rochel. Since Yoseif was a first-born upon birth and only later was swallowed into the gentiles, why didnt Binyomin name his first son Becher and his second son Bella?
5) Ch. 47, v. 6: "B'meitav ho'oretz hosheiv es ovicho v'es achecho yeishvu b'eretz Goshen" In the prime of the land place your father and your brothers they shall reside in the land of Goshen Did Paroh offer that Yoseif's father and brothers reside in one land or in two? For the answers, click here
1) Ch. 41, v. 4: "Vatochalnoh haporos ro'ose hamar'eh v'dakose habosor eis sheva haporos" And the poor looking and emaciated cows ate the seven cows Verses 2 and 3 inform us that Paroh dreamt of 7 robust and 7 emaciated cows. Our verse begins by telling us that the poor looking and emaciated cows swallowed , without repeating their number, assuming that we would understand that it was 7 of the previous verse. Yet the verse goes on to say that they swallowed the SEVEN healthy looking and robust cows. Why is the number 7 repeated by the healthy ones and not by the emaciated ones?
2) Ch. 41, v. 33: "Ish novone v'chochom" A person who is understanding and wise What need is there for these traits? An organized person is all that is needed.
3) Ch. 42, v. 1: "Lomoh tisro'u" Why should you show yourselves off Rashi says, Why should you show yourselves off in front of Yishmo'eil and Eisov as if you are well fed. There were many people of other backgrounds as well, so why does Rashi single out Yishmo'eil and Eisov?
4) Ch. 42, v. 19: "Achichem echod yei'o'seir b'veis mishmarchem" One of your brothers will be locked in your jailhouse Since they were released, why is it THEIR jailhouse?
5) Ch. 43, v. 12: "V'chesef mishneh k'chu v'yedchem" And double the money take in your hands Why point out that it be taken in their hands? Is anything wrong with taking it in a money-belt or the like?
1) Ch. 37, v. 7: "V'hi'nei s'su'benoh alumoseichem vatishtacha'venoh laalumosi" And behold your sheaves surrounded and bowed down to my sheaf Commentators say that the brothers being represented by sheaves of grain alludes to what the future held in store, that they would come to Yoseif in pursuit of grain. However, what is the message conveyed by the sheaves encircling his sheaf?
2) Ch. 37, v. 9: "V'ha'yo'rei'ach" And the moon The moon represents Bilhoh, Rochel's handmaid, who brought him up after the death of his mother (see Rashi on verse 10 d.h. "havo"). Why is Bilhoh specifically represented by the moon?
3) Ch. 37, v. 15: "Leimore mah t'va'keish" Saying what do you seek The word "leimore" seems superfluous.
4) Ch. 37, v. 20: "V'nahargeihu" And we shall kill him There is an astounding medrash that adds, "And we will shorten grace after meals." How can we explain this medrash?
5) Ch. 39, v. 2: "Va'y'hi ish matzliach" And he was a successful man Why is the word "matzliach used, which connotes the causative, causing others to be successful? Why not say "ish mutzloch"?
1) Ch. 32, v. 19: "L'av'd'cho l'Yaakov minchoh hee shluchoh ladoni l'Eisov" To your servant TO Yaakov it is a present to my master to Eisov Shouldnt the verse have said "MEI'av'd'cho miYaakov"?
2) Ch. 32, v. 32: "V'hu tzo'lei'a al y'reicho" And he is limping on his thigh Wasnt Yaakov already limping during the night, immediately after he was hit on his thigh?
3) Ch. 34, v. 3: "B'Dinoh bas Yaakov" In Dinoh the daughter of Yaakov In verse 1 she is called bas Leah.
4) Ch. 34, v. 25: "Va'y'hi va'yom hashlishi bi'h'yosom ko'avim" And it was on the third day when they were aching Why did Shimon and Levi carry out their plan specifically on the third day?
5) Ch. 34, v. 25: "Va'yovo'u al ho'ir betach va'yahargu kol zochor" And they came upon the city assured How could two youngsters, aged 14 and 13 years respectively feel so assured that they could kill all the males of the city and not be stopped? Even if they felt that the weakened males would offer no resistance, would the women of the community not offer resistance
1) Ch. 28, v. 18: "Va'yitzoke shemen al roshoh" And he poured oil upon its top Since Elifaz relieved Yaakov of all his possessions how did he have oil?
2) Ch. 29, v. 20: "Va'yi'h'yu v'einov k'yomim achodim b'ahavoso ossoh" Shouldnt Yaakovs yearning for Rochel make days seem like years rather than years like days?
3) Ch. 29, v. 26: "Lo yei'o'seh chein bimkomeinu lo'seis es ha'tz'iroh lifnei habchiroh" It is not done like this in our locality to give the younger ahead of the older Perhaps Yaakov had a precedent for taking a younger daughter in marriage ahead of an older one. What is it?
4) Ch. 29, v. 27: "V'nitnoh l'cho gam es zose" And WE will give you also this one Why did Lovon express himself in the plural form, since he was the only one giving his daughter in marriage?
5) Ch. 30, v. 23: "Osaf Elokim es cherposi" Elokim has collected my shame Rashi (M.R.) explains that by having given birth to a son Rochel could now blame her son for a broken dish or for some missing figs. Notwithstanding that the issue at hand is rather minor, nevertheless, is she allowed to lie under such circumstances?
Important Numbers
