PARSHA-PIX Parshat Vayeishev
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ParshaPix
Lower-left is the Davka Graphic of Yosef’s dreams.
The snake and the scorpion are what was in the pit into which Yosef was
thrown.
The animals at the bottom-right are the sheep, as in the sheep that were
being tended by Yosef’s brothers when he was sent by Yaakov to inquire about
their well-being. The camel represents the passing caravans, and the goat
is, of course, for the goat that the brothers slaughtered to cover-up their
terrible deed. It also represents the goat that Yehuda sent to Tamar.
Speaking of whom, we have the staff (close, it's a cane), the seal (play on
words), and the hooded coat, which is close to the meaning of p’tilecha,
that Yehuda gave to Tamar as security for the payment of the goat.
See the wine and bread, representing the Wine Steward and the Baker, whose
dreams were similar, but their interpretations and results were so
different.
The snow flake in the upper-left corner: Twice, once after the brothers saw
that Yaakov loved Yosef the most, and once after he told them his dream, the
Torah tells us, VAYOSIFU OD SNOW OTO, and they further hated him. (These
happen to be the only SNOWs in Tanach. Shoftim 15:2 is close.)
The birthday cake is for Par'o (end of the sedra).
The insignia below the cake is that of the Israel Prison Service. The one
who wears this insignia can represent SAR BEIT HASOHAR.
That's a butcher in the upper-right. He stands for the SAR HATABACHIM.
Below the seal is the symbol for Gemini, the Twins. They represent Peretz
and Zerach.
The Shofar at the top and the roaring lion (between the seal and the
butcher) are from the haftara: If a shofar blows in a city... A lion roars,
who wouldn't be frightened...
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.
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 (VAYISHLACH) TTriddles:
[1] Vayishlach, B'shalach, Vayak-heil and even more so, D'varim
[2] proof the middle door is also called a back door
[3] Here it's both; in Divrei HaYamim it's a KRI-KTIV
[4] (early Chanuka TTriddle) What Bracha do you say on a confused dreidel?
NEW! Nachman K's Jewish Trivia Question: What letter appears only once in
the regular weekday Amida?
And the envelope, please...
[1] There are four sedras (of 54) in the Torah that have a mitzva or two,
none of which are positive commands - only prohibitions. Vayishlach is the
first like that, with only the prohibition of Gid HaNasheh. B'shalach has
only the prohibition of going outside T'chum Shabbat. Vayak-heil has only
the prohibition of Sanhedrin's carrying out punishments on Shabbat. D'varim
is more so with two prohibitions and no Mitzvot Asei. That's it. The
remaining 361 prohibitions are in sedras that also have positive commands.
To be specific, those 361 prohibitions are found in 27 different sedras.
That means 31 sedras all together contain the 365 prohibitions. Which also
means that 23 sedras have no prohibitions. This includes 17 sedras with no
mitzvot at all and six sedras with only positive commands. ANYK (And now you
know!)
[2] Reference is to attenuated buses (long buses) with a front door, middle
door, and back door. The basis on which to call the middle door a back door
too comes from the pasuk that describes the presentation of Yaakov's family
to Eisav. He (Yaakov) put the S'fachot (Bilha and Zilpa)_ and their children
first (RISHONA),and Leah and her children last (ACHARONIM), and Rachel and
Yosef last (ACHARONIM). This does not mean that if you are at the middle
door of a long bus and you get to your stop and the driver has not opened
your door, that you should call out "DELET ACHORIT NEHAG". It might not
work, even though the pasuk indicates that it should get the door open for
you. REGA, REGA might work better.
[3] P'NU'EL & P'NI'EL. A search of Tanach for each, PEI-NUN-VAV-ALEF-LAMED
and PEI-NUN-YUD-ALEF- LAMED results in the following: P'NU'EL occurs 8
times, once in Vayishlach, 4 times in Shoftim, once in Melachim Alef, and
twice in Divrei HaYamim Alef. P'ni'el shows up only twice. Once here (Vayishlach)
and once in Divrei HaYamim. Here it is another name, or another
pronunciation of the name of the same place. In Divrei HaYamim it is the way
the name of the place is written, but the word is to be read P'NU'EL.
[4] Confuse the letters of a dreidel, meaning - mix them up, and you can
spell HAGAFEN, that being the bracha said on a confused dreidel.
That's it for the TTriddles per se. We also had the first Nachman K Jewish
Trivia Question.
The correct answer is FEI-SOFIT, which appears in the ELOKAI, NITZOR passage
at the end of the Amida. The word TIRDOF. (There happens to be another
FEI-SOFIT in Modin D'rabanan and one in the Al HaNisim for Purim. But the
wording of the question would leave both of those out, with only on
FEI-SOFIT found in the regular weekday Amida.)
A"C t not only submitted the correct answer, but also attached a Dvar Torah
"explaining" the lack of FEI-SOFIT in general, and the presence of the one
specifically. Words like AF, SHETZEF, KETZEF all have a connotation of G-d's
anger, and give the FEI-SOFIT a bad reputation, so to speak. Its singular
appearance in the AMIDA is in the phrase, "Let my soul pursue Your mitzvot",
UVMITZVOTECHA TIRDOF NAFSHI. A word like that is an appropriate setting for
the Amida's sole FEI-SOFIT.
Ed. note: Let's not take this connotation-of-a-letter thing too far. Lots of
nice words end in FEI-SOFIT: Yosef HaTzadik, for one. The FEI-SOFIT in Musaf
appears in the Shabbat and Yom Tov davening, etc.
All TTriddles and the Trivia Question were answered, most by more than one
person. No one, as yet, has gotten them all.
This week's TTriddles:
[1] Yaakov (2), Yosef, Edom, Shaul, Asa'el, Amnon, Ish (2)
[2] Eliezer, Yaakov, Yosef, Par'o, Moshe, Haman & ?
[3] He's probably the thou
[4] The T-shirt TTriddle is the Mazal TTriddle and it's deeper than it looks
Nachman K's Jewish Trivia Question:
3 married couples in Tanach,all names starting with an ALEF
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