PARSHA-PIX Parshat Vayeishev
Parsha Pix
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, 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 a staff (close, it's a cane), seal (play on words), and hooded coat, which is close to the meaning of p’tilecha, that Yehuda gave to Tamar as security for payment of the goat
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 covered wagon is one of the 6 from the Maftir
The Menora is from the vision in the haftara.
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] Could be Robert E’s Biblical reference
The Robert E of this TTriddle is none other than Robert Edward Lee (1807-70), general in chief of the Confederate armies in the American Civil War... his Biblical reference would be ALUF TEIMAN. Teiman is Yemen, but the word also means 'south'. Aluf, at least in modern Hebrew, means 'general'.
[2] Or is it Nabeel Mazwed’s title?
Although this is its own TTriddle, it relates back to [1]. Nabeel Mazwed is a tennis champion from Yemen, making him an ALUF TEIMAN also. It you feel like combining them and challenging someone else, you can ask: What do Robert E. Lee and Nabeel Mazwed have in common?
[3] His namesake founded Telshe-Stone?
Telshe-Stone, 10km west of Jerusalem, just north of the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, is also known as KIRYAT Y'ARIM. The town of 3000 people is probably located near the Biblical town of the same name. It is mentioned 17 times in Tanach; twice in Divrei HaYamim, there is reference to Shoval Avi Kiryat Y'arim, indicating that Shoval, a descendant or Kalev, was the founder of the town. That Shoval has the same name as the Shoval in Vayishlach, who was a son of Sei'ir HaChori.
[4] Yaakov and Yeshayahu ask it of G-d once; David HaMelech asks it almost 20 times
Yaakov asks G-d to save him from his brother, from Eisav. HATZILEINI NA... A search in Tanach for the word HATZILEINI comes up with one other occur- rence of the word in the book of Yeshayahu, and 19 occurrences in T'hilim.
[5] an ellipsis, a url, & the animaniacs
The three dots in a row that are used to indicate the omission of letters of words, is called an ellipsis. A url is an internet webite address. (url, by the way, stands for Uniform Resource Locator.) For example, the url for Torah Tidbits is www.ou.org/torah/tt Notice that a url has two dots. With the ellipsis's three dots, that makes five. The Animaniacs are "off the wall" cartoon characters who have been around since 1993. There are three Animaniac siblings: The Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and their sister DOT. That makes 6 dots, like the ones above the word VAYISHAKEIHU, And he (Eisav) kissed him (Yaakov).
[6] All in Vayishlach: It's a specific animal and a general place, the specific place's father is the same animal
Among the animals that Yaakov sent to Eisav as a gift, are ATONOT ESRIM VAYARIM ASARA, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. An AYAR (AYIN-YUD-REISH) is a male donkey (as Rashi tells us). That's a specific animal and a general place - IR (also AYIN-YUD-REISH), meaning city. SH'CHEM is a specific place, and a specific person, whose father was CHAMOR, which also means donkey, the same animal as is AYAR. Got it? By the way, in English, the male donkey is known as a jack and the female is a jenny.
[7] The ambassador and the chipmunk in the mall on the “blessed” hill
B'reishit 36:23 says: And the children of Shoval were these: Alvan, and Manahat, and Eval, Shefo, and Onam. This TTriddle involves the first 4 names in this pasuk: Zalman Shoval has served as a member of Knesset and has held several government positions, including ambassador to the United States. Alvan is a sound-similar of Alvin, famous singing chipmunk, who, together with his brothers Simon and Theodore, is the the star of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Manahat - the neighborhood in Jerusalem, a.k.a. Malcha, is home of The Mall. And Eival is the name of the hilltop of Har G'rizim and Har Eival fame from Parshat R'ei and Sefer Yehoshua.
[8] Famous inventor who has something in common with 3640
3640 is B'reishit 36:40, which begins the listing of ALUFEI EISAV, among which we find ALUF ALVA. The famous inventor is Thomas Alva Edison. (1847- 1931). Among his most famous inventions are the first practical long-lasting light bulb and the phonograph... By the end of his life Edison had registered 1093 patents... nickname: "The Wizard of Menlo Park"... famous statement, "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration."
This week's TTriddles:
[1] sign of adamancy (this time)
[2] gently shaken popcorn with the king's eyelash
[3] This Shabbat, 1; Next Shabbat 10
[4] Negating Greek Hellenist Philosophy
[5] hero of the third is initially from all five
[The Parshat Vayeishev Homepage]
[The TORAH tidbits Homepage] [How to use TORAH tidbits]
[About The OU/NCSY Israel Center] [About TORAH tidbits]
[www.ou.org]
 |