PARSHA-PIX - Parshat Shmot

Parha Pix
Let’s start in the upper-left. Pyramids, of course, represent our descent into Egypt.

The head of lettuce is MAROR from the Seder table. It relates to the pasuk in the beginning of the sedra which describes the Egyptian’s embittering the lives of Bnei Yisrael.

That pasuk continues to specify the work with bricks (see the trowel and bricks) and the field work (see the planting of the seedling). 
The ball and chain represents enslavement in Egypt.

Now drop down from the first row to the second, but stay on the right. There you find the Davka Graphics of baby Moshe floating on the Nile with sister Miriam watching over him.

To the left of that is another Davka Graphics of Moshe at the Bush. Point the sheep out to your children, if you are using this Pix to go over the sedra, and ask them if they know any of the stories about sheep. Don’t restrict the discussion to Moshe; extend it back to the Avot.

Along the left side of the Pix is the MATEH, Moshe’s staff.
Now along the bottom, from the left. You find the three signs that G-d gave Moshe to catch Paro’s attention. The snake, the hand that turned leprous like snow (that’s a snowflake on the back of the hand), and the turning of water into blood (symbol- ized by the 4 common bloodtypes: A, B, AB, and O).

At that very first prophecy to Moshe at the Bush, G-d tells him that the People of Israel will be taken out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey (hence the cow and bee with the outline map of Israel).

Also part of the prophecy, was the promise that the People would return to the spot of the Burning bush (Har Sinai) and serve G-d there (receive the Torah, etc.). Hence, the Torah (and not just the Luchot) on the mountain.
Which brings us to the Davka Graphic of a Brit Mila, symbolizing - but not accurately - the circumcision by Tzipora of her son.

TTRIDDLES...
are Torah Tidbits-style riddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on the calendar). They are found in the hard-copy of TT scattered throughout, usually at the bottom of different columns. In the electronic versions of TT, they are found all together at the end of the ParshaPix-TTriddles section. Some TTriddles are also presented for call-in solution on Torah Tidbits Audio (Arutz-7, Thursday night). The best solution set submitted each week (there isn't always a best) wins a double prize a CD from Noam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle, book, etc.) from Big Deal 

Last week’s (Vaychi) TTriddles:
[1] He sees on Shabbat what He saw most of the week
[2] Numeric connection between King David andhis great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother
[3] The son given the hint of Aramaic wealth
[4] The stamutire response
[5] Because of who was coming or because of the sedra's curtain call?

And the envelope please...
[1] Some solvers got close on this one, but missed one of the finer points. In Yaakov’s bracha to Yissachar, the pasuk says VAYAR M’NUCHA KI TOV. If we take that as Yissachar seeing that MENUCHA (a.k.a. Shabbat) is KI TOV, then we have the solution of the TTriddle. He, meaning Yissachar, sees about Shabbat what He (with a capital H, i.e. G-d) saw most of the week. This refers to the account of Creation in the first perek of B’reishit, where we find G-d “seeing” siomething as KI TOV, on all days of the Six Days of Creation except for Monday (twice on Tues- day and Friday). 
[2] King David’s great(9)-grandmother was Leah. Start with Leah and go to Yehuda, Peretz, Chetzron, Ram, Aminadav, Nachshon, Salma, Boaz, Oveid, Yishai, to David. Now start with David, his father, grandfather, and start counting greats until you reach Leah at 9 greats. Numerical connection is 33. Haftara of Vaychi tells us that David reigned in Jerusalem for 33 years (of his 40 years as king). Leah is named as the “mother” of 33 of the 70 souls that went down into Egypt.
[3] Aramaic tell you to look into Targum Onkeles. Again, we’re dealing with Yissachar. The pasuk tells us that Yissachar is a strong donkey. Onkeles renders that as ATIR B’NICHSIN, wealthy in property.
[4] STAMUTIRE. ask anyone fluent in Italian, and he’ll tell you that there is no such word in Italian. Or in any other language, for that matter. The only result a web search came up with was the Torah Tidbits on the OU website. The word was supposed to mean SNEEZE, but after checking again with ATOMICA, the Italian for sneeze is starnutire. The R and N (in lowercase) were misread as an M. Sorry. Anyway, the sneeze response is the 3-word pasuk (as written about last week) LISHU’ATCHA KIVITI HASHEM. That is what one is supposed to say after sneezing.
[5] The answer for this one is the beginning of a question: Why was Yaakov strengthened? Was it because of who was coming to visit him, namely Yosef? VAYITCHAZEIK YISRAEL... or was he strengthened by the curtain call of all books of the Chumash - CHAZAK, CHAZAK, V’NITCHAZAK?

This week's TTriddles:
[1] Five times with Moshe; once with whom?
[2] Who's door and candles in common with Yosef's?
[3] Twice in the sedra, 9 other times in the Torah, 3 more times in the rest of Tanach.
[4] He grew up and there was no what where and they gathered for what purpose

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