* PARSHA Q&A * In-Depth Questions on the Parsha with Rashi Parshas Shmos For the week ending 18 Teves 5754 31 December 1993 & 1 January 1994 ========================================================================= Rashi Questions 1. Which indication of Moshe's greatness did his family see and which did Pharaoh's daughter see? 2. Explain the difference between "nogshim" and "shotrim" in 5:6. 3. Who were the elders in Egypt and who were the 70 elders later chosen for the Sanhedrin? 4. What is the common denominator of verses 4:13 and 6:1? 5. What is the difference between the first "yad chazokoh" in 6:1 and the second? General Questions 1. Why does the Torah identify the midwives? 2. Explain the roles of Shlomis bas Divri, Dathan and Avirom in Moshe's life. 3. Cite examples of Moshe's honesty, humility, passion for justice, and respect for royalty. 4. Which phrase and which incident was Moshe told to relay to his people to assure credibility? 5. Who were the "elders" of 3:16 and 4:29 and what happened to them? Bonus Question The first passage in Shmos is very similar to Bereishis 46:8. How does the difference between these psukim reflect the difference between Sefer Bereishis and Sefer Shmos? ========================================================================= Answers to Last Week's Questions - Parshas Vayechi Rashi Questions All references are to Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated. 1. Rashi 25:30, 47:29 - Avraham 175 years, Yitzchok 180 years, Yaakov 147 years. 2. Rashi 47:28, 49:1 - Yaakov wanted to reveal to his sons the date of the final redemption, but the Shechina left him, and Yaakov was unable to reveal it. 48:8-9 - Yaakov wished to bless Ephraim and Menashe. When Yaakov saw that evil kings would descend from them the Shechina departed from him. Yosef prayed and the Shechina returned so that Yaakov was able to bless them. 3. Rashi 48:8, 48:19 - Ephraim: Yerubom, Achav, Yehoshua; 48:8, 48:19 - Menashe: Yehu, Gideon; 49:27 - Benyomin: Shaul, Mordechai, Esther; 49:10 - Yehuda: David, Hillel; 49:6 - Shimon: Zimri; Levi: Korach; 49:16 - Dan: Shimshon. 4. Rashi 48:19 - Yehoshua was great in that he led the conquest and inheritance of the Land. He became famous when the sun stood still at Gibeon and the moon stood still in the valley of Ayalon. 5. Rashi 49:11 - Grapes: Yehuda; 49:20 - Olives: Asher; 49:15 - Fast- growing fruit: Yissachar; 49:12 - Milk: Yehuda; 49:13 - Commerce: Zevulun; 49:19 - Soldiers: Gad Bonus Question (Correction from last week's question: Rashi is from 47:4, not 57:4) It is clear that Rashi isn't referring to physical enslavement since when Yaakov died Yosef was still ruler over Egypt. Rashi is referring to a self-imposed subjugation. When the brothers met Pharaoh they told him that they had come "to sojourn in the land" (47:4). With the death of Yaakov their attitude changed: "And Yosef dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's house" (50:22). A sojourner is someone who is passing through; he doesn't belong. A dweller feels he belongs. After Yaakov died, the Jewish people soon forgot they were in galus and started thinking of themselves as Egyptian citizens. This is when their bondage began. Another interpretation of Rashi-submitted by Alex Lebovits and Avrom Morel, readers of Parsha Q&A in Canada-is that "the eyes of the Jewish People became closed _to_ the suffering of the subjugation" (instead of _due to_ the subjugation). When Yaakov was alive, he constantly reminded his family that they were in galus. Once Yaakov died, his family soon forgot they were in galus, and that this was in fact the beginning of suffering and enslavement that was to last 210 years in Egypt. (The readers base their answer on the Ba'alei Tosafos commentary on the Torah). General Questions See Rashi's commentary on these psukim 1. 47:28 2. 47:29 3. 47:31 4. 49:26 5. See Rabbi S. R. Hirsch's commentary on the Haftorah. ========================================================================= Ohr Somayach Institutions is happy to announce that its lists are now being archived on the Jerusalem One Gopher! This means that if you want to retrieve an old issue of ASK THE RABBI, TORAH WEEKLY or PARSHA-Q&A, you can easily download it to your site. There two basic ways in which you can access the J1 Gopher: 1. Type: gopher jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il at your prompt. To do this, your system must have a gopher server on it. Speak with your systems manager if you are not sure, or if this command doesn't work. 2. Access J1 through a gopher to which you already have access. Just look for a directory which says something like: "Gopher around the world" or "Other Gophers" and then go to the "Middle-East Gophers." Jerusalem One is on this list. Additionally, the J1 gopher and the Israel-Nysernet gophers are connected to each other. Once inside the J1 Gopher, you can find the Ohr Somayach publications under "List Archives" Note to CompuServe Users: We are sorry that the above does not apply to you. This is because you can only send and receive Internet mail, but cannot actually access the Net. However, all lists are currently posted in the Religion Forum - Judaism Library (#2). ========================================================================= Jewish L EEEEEEEE Prepared by Ohr Somayach Instutitions J L E 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 J L Exchange Jerusalem 91180, Israel J J L E Tel: 02-810315 Fax: 02-812890 JJJJ Learning EEEEEEEE Internet: ohr@jer1.co.il =========================================================================