PARSHA-PIX Parshat Vayishlach

Parsha Pix
Silhouettes of the animals Yaakov sent as gifts to Eisav. Each animal has the number of males and females sent. The second 30 on the camel is not mentioned in the text, but is based on Rashi, that there were an equal number of males that accompanied the "nursing camels".
The ribbon bow among the silhouettes represents the fact that the animals were a gift.
The two ancient-looking jugs are the small vessels that Yaakov went back for after he brought his family across the YABOK river.
Notice between the SOLD sign and the tree is the emblem of the WWF. We do not know if Yaakov and/or the Sar shel Eisav were members, but...
The SOLD sign over the FOR SALE sign is for the purchase of the land in the Sh'chem area by Yaakov Avinu for 100 K'sita.
D'vora (the bee) was buried under the crying tree.
The baby carriage is for Binyamin.
Kever Rachel is Kever Rachel.
The sword was used by Shimon and Levi to avenge what happened to Dina.
The die with six dots, for the six dots over VAYISHAKEINU. You know the answer, but show it to your children and guests and see if they can figure it out.
That leaves a soda can with a straw and a knife with a blade. Forget the can. It's the STRAW we're after. And the blade of the knife. KASH and LEHAVA. As in the pasuk from the haftara that compares Beit Eisav to straw and Beit Yosef to the flame of the fire that is Beit Yaakov.

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 (VAYEITZEI) TTriddles:
[1] his name’s meaning accompanies not just his birth
On the word BA-GAD, which is written as one word but pronounced as if it were two words - BA GAD, GAD HAS COME, Rashi explains - based on Targum Yonatan b. Uziel) that BA GAD means BA MAZAL TOV. Which means that the meaning of the name GAD is MAZAL TOV, a greeting that accompanies not just his birth, but many, many other births.
[2] Alternate ending of 2810: And you get 392
B'reishit 28:10 is the first pasuk in the sedra: And Yaakov went out from Be'er Sheva and he went to Charan. The TTriddle suggests an alternate ending to the pasuk: VAYEITZEI YAAKOV MIBE'ER SHEVA, AND YOU GET 392. This makes sense only in a G'matriya context. We will say that the pasuk talks about the numerical value of Yaakov coming out of the numerical value of Be'er Sheva. Be'er Sheva is 2+1 200 + 300+2+70 = 575. Yaakov is 10+70+100 +2 = 182. Take Yaakov from Be'er Sheva is like subtracting 182 from 575, which gives you 393. So how come the TTriddle says 392? Good question - two answers. First answer (not true): Baal HaTurim g'matriyas (and those of others, as well) are often one off, and that seems not to matter. There is an accepted idea in G'matriya which adds 1 for the word itself, to the G'matriya of a word. So the inclusive g'matriya of Yaakov would be 183, rather than 182, and subtracting that from 575 would give 392, as stated in the TTriddle. Second answer (true): Some- one goofed in the original calculation when the TTriddle was made up.
[3] You never saw a purple cow. What about pinque sheep?
Frank Gelett Burgess (1866-1951), American humorist, author, and illustrator, wrote and illustrated a number of popular books... educated as an engineer and worked briefly for a railroad... taught topographical drawing at the University of California... founding editor of Lark, a humor magazine... One of his best-known works was a humorous poem: I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one; But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one.
In describing the sheep (maybe goats) of the Yaakov and Lavan deal, the Torah uses the terms: AKUDIM, N'KUDIM, and V'RUDIM - meaning, striped, spotted and speckled. V'RUDIM is a sound alike for the color pink. Which, in the statement of the TTriddle is misspelled as PINQUE, to match the incorrect spelling of V'RUDIM with a BET rather than a VAV, or vice versa.
That's it for this week's TTriddles. Slim pickins'...

This week's TTriddles:
[1] Could be Robert E’s Biblical reference
[2] Or is it Nabeel Mazwed’s title?
[3] His namesake founded Telshe-Stone?
[4] Yaakov and Yeshayahu ask it of G-d once; David HaMelech asks it almost 20 times
[5] an ellipsis, a url, & the animaniacs
[6] All in Vayishlach: It's a specific animal and a general place, the specific place's father is the same animal
[7] The ambassador and the chipmunk in the mall on the “blessed” hill
[8] Famous inventor who has something in common with 3640

[The Parshat Vayishlach Homepage]
[The TORAH tidbits Homepage] [How to use TORAH tidbits]
[About The OU/NCSY Israel Center] [About TORAH tidbits]
 [www.ou.org]