PARSHA-PIX Parshat Vayeira

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Parsha Pix
On the right is the thermometer with kipa, glasses, and stethoscope, wishing someone who is sick a REFU’A SH’LEIMA. This is one of the lessons we learn from G-d, Who visited the ailing Avraham.

Upper-right are the UGOT that Sarah LUSHIed - if they look like matza, that’s because the angels’ visit was on Pesach.

Middle-top is one of the three BEN BAKAR that Avraham ran to, in order to prepare the most sumptuous dish for the visitors, tongue in mustard sauce.
Next to the bull is a PPP.

Over on the top-left is a Braille message that was a PPP from the past. It reminds us of what the angels did to the people of S’dom who demanded of Lot that he send his visitors out to them. The Braille message is probably something the blinded S’domites wanted to do to Lot. It says, “Kill Lot”.
The skull is the symbol of acid-rain, a good description of that which destroyed S'dom and the other cities.
Wine? Lot was given wine to make him drunk...
In the Pix there is an alarm clock set for very early in the morning, to remind us of the many times the Torah tells us that Avraham got up early, to enthusiastically do G-d’s bidding. (Avimelech too.)
The baby in the cradle represents the birth of Yitzchak.
Drawing of a metal shield is used by many mohalim in their set up for Mila.
Two other PPPs join the dugong and whiskey.

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 alsopresentedfor 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 issue’s (Lech L'cha) TTriddles:
[1] menagerie à trois
[2] After comfort comes the grandson
[3] Avraham and Yehoshua are (sort of) the ony two mentioned in the Tanach
[4] Stars, ladder, soot, sun-moon-stars, The Mitzva
[5] Tent, shoulder, hand, staff
[6] Situations (8), person/people (4), things (3), animals (3)
[7] A 4 vs. 5 battle site, this Emori city is a present-day resort - what & what?

And the envelope please...
[1] There were a few ways to word this TTriddle, but this one was chosen because of how close it is to another and well-known (by those who know it) phrase. In fact, one solver tried Avraham-Sara-Hagar as the answer. Wrong phrase. Not intended. Probably should have stayed away from this sound-alike. Correct solution, gotten by several solvers is the animals of BRIT BEIN HAB'TARIM. They are described as M'SHULASH or M'SHULESHET, hence the à trois part of the TTriddle. A menagerie, of course, is a collection of animals, which sort of fits the calf, goat, and ram of the BRIT.
[2] The haftara of Lech L'cha comes from Yeshayahu and the text immediately follows the haftara of Shabbat Nachamu. After comfort comes the grandson, Yaakov (see the first words of the haftara.
[3] One attempted solution for this one was that Avraham and Yehoshua both had their names changed by the addition of a letter - AVRAM to AVRAHAM and HOSHEI-A to YEHOSHUA. In contrast with SARAI-SARA and YAAKOV-YISRAEL, whose name changes were of a different kind. By the way, can anyone give us other examples of name changes, besides the ones mentioned so far. I don't think we'll count people in the Torah known by two different names, like EISAV-EDOM or AMRAFEL-NIMROD, but maybe we should. And I'm not sure how to treat ELIYA-ELIYAHU or YOSEF-YEHOSEF, but try those too. The original throught was to look at those who actually had their names changed.
But that wasn't the intended answer. Avraham and Yehoshua are the two MOHALIM, circumcisers. At least they are the only two to be the subjects when the verb VAYAMAL (and he circumcised) is found. The sort of in the TTriddle was to acknowledge Tzipora, although it is not clear exactly what she did to her son, in order to save Moshe's life. Was it full MILA, only part of the procedure, or supervision of the MILA.
[4] Several solvers got this one too. HASHAMAIMA is the answer. It means HEAVENWARD. In Lech L'cha, God told Avra(ha)m to lift his eyes to the sky and observe the countlessness of the stars. The ladder in Yaakov's dream was standing on the ground, but the top of the ladder reached to the heavens. The word appears twice in the description of the sixth plague in Eqypt, when Moshe and Aharon threw handfuls of soot into the sky to bring about the plague of SH'CHIN (boils). In Va'etchanan, Moshe warns the people about lifting their eyes heavenward and seeing the sun, moon, and stars and turning to idolatrous worship of them. The Mitzva refers either to the whole Torah or to the mitzva of T'shuva. In Parshat Nitzavim, the Torah tells us that The Mitzva is not inaccessible, and we should never have to ask, Who will go up to heaven to get it for us... It is very close to us... The word also appears five more times in Tanach - in Yehoshua, Shoftim, Iyov, and Divrei HaYamim - but those occurrences aare not part of this TTriddle.
[5] This one is similar to the previous one in that it takes a prominent word from the sedra and then sees where else the word appears in Torah (and sometime the rest of Tanach). VAYEIT has a few different meanings. In Parshat Lech L'cha, it is used for Avra(ha)m setting up his tent. In To-l'dot, it is Yitzchak who sets up his tent. Same word. And in Vayishlach, it is Yaakov (as Yisrael) who sets up his tent. The word seems to mean not just to set up a tent, but to take it from one place and to reset it in another place. In Vayeishev, it is Yehuda who sets himself up from one place to another, when he left his brothers (after the sale of Yosef) and ended up in Chira's place. Because there was only a subject (Yehuda) and the verb VAYEIT, but no object, this occurrence was left out of the TTriddle. So too for the next two occurrences - another for Yehuda and one for Yosef. Neither has an object. We next find the word in Yaakov's bracha to Yissachar, and the object of VAYEIT is "his shoulder". covers 7 occurrences in B'reishit. In Sh'mot we find the word seven more times, with Aharon and Moshe with hand and staff as the objects. And there is one more VAYEIT in the Torah in Bamidbar. The People of Israel are the subject, but no object.
[6] Here's another one like the previous two. Many times, a word sticks out from the sedra and it is interesting to track it though the rest of the Torah and even into Tanach (especially if there are very few occurrences in the Torah itself). Here, we are dealing with many occurrences of the word KAVEID, heavy. Words spelled KAF-BET-DALET appear 41 times in Tanach, 24 of which are in the Torah. Some of those are not KAVEID, but KABEID or some other pronunciation and not part of this TTriddle. We are focusing on the adjective KAVEID. We start with Lech L'cha. The famine and Avraham are both described as KAVEID, Avraham is ladened with wealth. One situation and one person, so far. The next for times, the word describes the famine during the time of Yaakov, Yosef and his brothers. Then we have the people that went in the funeral procession of Yaakov. And the mourning for Yaakov is also described as KAVEID. That's another 5 for situations and one more for person/people. Among the plagues, we findwild animals, DEVER, hail, and locust described as KAVEID. That's two for animals, one thing, and another situation. In leaving Mitzrayim, the animals were called KAVEID. The situation described by Yitro, of people lined up from morning to night to speak with Moshe Rabeinu is KAVEID. Then the Cloud at Har Sina. Thing. And the people of Israel as a burden to Moshe. And again people, this time the people of Edom that went to confront Israel on its borders. Something like that. EB had a slightly different count, but definitely the right idea.
[7] This turned out to be the most-solved of the TTriddles. The Emori battle site during the war of the Four Kings against the Five Kings was CHATZATZON TAMAR. Commentaries identify it as EIN GEDI, the present day resort, oasis, spa, nature reserve, and venue of an upcoming tiyul - see TIYULIM pages in this very issue of Torah Tidbits.

This week's TTriddles:
[1] Sort of the only couple in the Torah eligible for Egged's green ones
[2] Michaihu said it similarly, but from the other end
[3] Preview for 25/9-2/10
[4] Yitzchak, his haftara parallel, and who?
[5] Solve for x: x, x, 700+x, 300+x, 200+x, 800+xwho? what? who? who? what? who?
[6] Rosh Yeshiva for nearly 40 years until it was closed by theRussian government in 1892. What's his connection to Irit/Idit?
[7] (really a Lech L'cha TTriddle) There was no [8]! True. But there could have been. I forgot to put it in. So this is really a TTriddle for this week (Vayeira), but the answer is in Lech L'cha. What is the most appropriate Zmira for this (last) Shabbat? Remember: this is a Vayeira TTriddle that belongs to Lech L'cha.
[8] plus 3 elements from the Parsha Pix (not counting the dugong or whiskey).

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