Parsha Q&A - Lech Lecha

Parshas Lech Lecha

For the week ending 13 Cheshvan 5757; 25 & 26 October 1996

Contents:

Parsha Questions

Bonus Question

I Did Not Know That!

Parsha Questions

Answers | Contents

What are three things diminished by travel?
"And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you." What does this mean?
Who were the souls that Avraham and Sarah 'made?'
Which one of Noach's three sons received the Land of Canaan as part of his inheritance?
What two results did Avraham hope to achieve by saying that Sarah was his sister?
Why did Avraham's shepherds rebuke Lot's shepherds?
Who was Amrafel and why was he called that?
What does 'hera' mean (verse 14:10).
Why did the 'palit' tell Avraham that Lot had been captured?
Who accompanied Avraham into battle against the four kings?
Why did Avraham give 'maaser' to Malki-Tzedek?
Why didn't Avraham accept any money from the king of S'dom?
Why was Avraham anxious after he defeated the four kings?
When did the decree of four hundred years of exile begin?
What did Hashem indicate with his promise to Avraham that he would "come to his ancestors in peace?"
How did Hashem fulfill his promise to Avraham that he would be buried in "a good old age?"
Why did Avraham die five years before his allotted time?
Why did the Jewish people need to wait until the fourth generation until they returned to Eretz Canaan?
Who was Hagar's father?
How old was Avraham when Yishmael was born?

Answer Contents	Avraham didn't accept any money from The King of S'dom, not wanting the king of S'dom to say "I made Avraham rich." Why then was he willing to take presents from Pharaoh, King of Mitzrayim?

The letter 'yud' taken away from Sarai's name has a numerical value of ten. It was divided into the two letters 'hey' - each of which has a numerical value of five. One was added to Sarah's name, the other to Avraham's. This teaches that an ideal marriage is based on sharing.

Based on Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 2:6

Answers to this Week's Questions

Questions | Contents

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

12:2 - Offspring, wealth and fame.
12:3 - A person will say to his son, "You should be like Avraham."
12:5 - People they converted to the worship of Hashem.
12:6 - Shem.
12:13 - That the Egyptians would let him live and give him presents.
13:7 - Lot's shepherds grazed their flocks in privately owned fields.
14:1 - Amrafel was Nimrod. He said (Amar) to Avraham to fall (fel) into the fiery furnace.
14:10 - To a mountain.
14:13- He hoped Avraham would die trying to save Lot, so that he might be able to marry Sarah.
14:14 - His servant, Eliezer.
14:20 - Because Malki-Tzedek was a kohen.
14:23 - Hashem had promised Avraham wealth, and Avraham didn't want the King of S'dom to be the one to take credit for it.
15:1 - He was afraid that his victory was Hashem's reward for all his good deeds.
15:13- With the birth of Yitzchak.
15:15 - That his father, Terach, repented and became righteous.
15:15 - Avraham lived to see his son, Yishmael, repent and become righteous, and he died before his grandson, Esau, became wicked.
15:15 - So as not to see Esau begin his pursuit of evil.
15:16 - They needed to wait until the Amorites had sinned sufficiently to deserve expulsion.
16:1 - Pharaoh.
16:16 - Eighty-six.

Question
Contents

Avraham suspected that the King of S'dom would publicize the fact that he enriched Avraham. Pharaoh, on the other hand, wouldn't brag about his gifts to Avraham. Since they were given under embarrassing circumstances, Pharoah would avoid mentioning them in order to avoid drawing attention to the incident.

Heard from Rabbi Michael Bachar

Or: If Avraham had refused the gifts offered for Sarah, he may have aroused Pharoah's suspicion that he was indeed her husband, and spoiled the charade.

Abarbanel

Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Lev Seltzer
HTML Design: Michael Treblow

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Parshas Lech Lecha

Parsha Questions

I Did Not Know That!

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