Torah Trivia for Parshah 9: Vayeishev

Torah Trivia for Parshah 9. Vayeishev

1.) How old is Yosef at the beginning of Parshah Veyeishev, and against whom does he “snitch” to his father?

Answer: Yosef is 17 years old, and he presumably tells against Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher (only the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah are specifically described); Bereshit 37:2.

2.) What are the respective principle elements involved in Yosef’s 2 dreams: a.) sheaves of grain and the Stars, Moon, and Sun; b.) Israel’s sons and Israel and Rachel; c.) the shape of a circle and the number, 11; and/or d.) a harvesting field and the expansive Sky?

Answer: It is all the above; Yosef’s 1^st and 2^nd dreams are actually, respectively of a.) sheaves of grain and the Stars, Moon, and Sun; however, these dreams are respectively interpreted as respectively representing b.) Israel’s sons bowing to Yosef and Israel and Rachel, along with Israel’s additional sons, bowing to Yosef; and within the 1^st dream, the sheaves representing Israel’s sons are gathered as c.) a circle around the sheaf representing Yosef, and within the 2^nd dream, the number of Stars, representing Israel’s additional sons is also c.) 11; and within the 1^st dream, the sheaves are located within d.) a field of harvest, and within the 2^nd dream, the Sun, Moon, and Stars are presumably located also within d.) the Sky; Bereshit 37:6 – 10.

3.) Where does Israel settle, to what location does Israel send Yosef to join Yosef’s brothers in the field, and where does Yosef actually find his brothers?

Answer: It is previously described that Israel settles where Yitzak previously dwells, Mamre, also known as Hebron, wherefrom Esau subsequently departs (Bereshit 35:27 – 28; 36:6 - 7); and there is an absence of any specific description of Israel moving from this location before Israel tells Yoseph to join with Yosef’s brothers, further North, in Shechem (Bereshit 37:12 – 13); and this is explicitly described in Bereshit 37:14; and Yosef finds his brothers in Dothan; Bereshit 37:17.

4.) Which of Yosef’s brothers specifically initially intercedes to save Yosef’s life amidst the plot of the additional brothers to kill Yosef, and which of Yosef’s brothers suggests to sell Yosef to a travelling caravan: a.) Reuven, b.) Simeon, c.) Levi, d.) Yudah, e.) Dan, f.) Naphtali, g.) Gad, h.) Asher, i.) Issachar, j.) Zebulun, and/or k.) Benyamin?

Answer: b.) Reuven initially intercedes to save Yosef’s life (Bereshit 37:21 – 22); and d.) Yudah suggests to sell Yosef to the travelling caravan of merchants (Bereshit 37:26 – 27).

5.) From where does the travelling caravan of merchants originate, and towards what direction is the caravan moving?

Answer: The caravan is actually travelling from further East, Gilead (Bereshit 37:25), however, the merchants are described as hereditarily from further South (and also East of Dothan), in Midian (Bereshit 37:28), and the merchants are travelling further South (from Dothan) to Egypt (Bereshit 37:28).

6.) What do Yosef’s brothers do with his colourful coat?

Answer: Yosef’s brothers dip the coat in the blood of a goat and give it to Israel, asking him to confirm it belonging to Yosef, and implying he is devoured by a wild animal; Bereshit 37:31 – 34.

7.) To whom do the Midianites sell Yosef?

Answer: It is initially described that the Midianites sell Yosef to Potiphar, one of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s officers (Bereshit 37:36; 39:1).

8.) What relation is Tamar to Yudah, and in what location is this relationship established?

Answer: Yudah departs from his brothers and becomes friends with Hirah, who is from Adullam, which is further Southwest from Dothan (Bereshit 38:1); wherein he marries a daughter of the Canaanite, Shua, and she gives birth to Yudah’s son, Shelah, in Cheziv, which is further West of Adullam (Bereshit 38:5); Yudah arranges for Tamar to marry his first-born son, Er, and she subsequently marries Yudah’s 2^nd son, Onan, after Er passes, and is designated to marry Yudah’s 3^rd son, Shelah, after Onan passes, making Tamar the twice widowed daughter-in-law of Yudah (Bereshit 38:6 – 11); and later, further North in Enayim near Timna, Tamar deceives Yudah and he conceives a child with Tamar, making her also the mother of his sons, Peretz and Zerach (Bereshit 38:12 – 30).

9.) What items does Tamar take from Yudah, as a promise of eventual payment, to sleep with Yudah?

Answer: Tamar solicits the ring, jacket, and walking staff of Yudah; Bereshit 38:18.

10.) What does Potiphar’s wife have in common with Yosef’s brothers: a.) both take his coat, b.) both have him confined in a small space, c.) both invent false narratives about him, and/or d.) both actually love him.

Answer: All the above, arguably; a.) both take his coat (Bereshit 37:23 and 39:12); both have him confined in a small space (Bereshit 37:24 and 39:16 – 20); c.) both invent false narratives about him (Bereshit 37:31 – 32 and 39:13 – 18); and arguably, in some manner, d.) both communicate some form of affection towards Yosef: Potiphar’s wife is infatuated with Yosef (Bereshit 39:7), and Yosef’s brothers are eventually reconciled with him (Bereshit 45:14 – 15).

11.) What occupation do the 2 fellow prisoners have, what are the elements of dreams that each respectively has, and which dream has the favourable interpretation and subsequent outcome?

Answer: The 2 prisoners respectively maintain the occupations of the king’s cup bearer and the king’s chief baker (Bereshit 40:1); the cup-bearer dreams of grapevines and providing the pharaoh with wine (Bereshit 40:9 – 11), and the baker dreams of a basket of bread, atop his head, being eaten by birds (Bereshit 40:16 – 17); Yosef interprets the dream of the cup-bearer as indicating his eventual return to the pharaoh (Bereshit 40:12 – 13), and interprets the dream of the baker as indicating his eventual decapitation (Bereshit 40:18 – 19); and both interpretations are revealed as accurate (Bereshit 40:20 – 22).

12.) What does the cup bearer do after he is released from prison and reinstated in Pharaoh’s house?

Answer: The cup bearer forgets to mention the plight of Yosef to Pharaoh after Yosef interprets the dream of the cup bearer and specifically asks the cup bearer to mention the plight of Yosef to Pharaoh; chronologically, Bereshit 40:14 – 15, 23.

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Discussion Questions:

Why does Yosef dream of sheaves in the field when he and the family of Avraham are traditionally herders of cattle? Bereshit 36:6 – 8.

There is an interesting, implicit description of the economic, social and cultural practises during the contemporary life of Israel. There is the established, general description of Avraham and many of his descendants being nomadic shepherds of animals; there is the specific description (previously referenced) of Yosef’s agrarian dream (and the presumed interaction between harvesters of grain and shepherds); and there is the description of the travelling caravan of merchants that purchase Yosef. What is the nature of the interaction between these groups; what are the cycles of travel and interaction amongst these different groups? What makes Yosef’s brothers initially perceive, from a distance that the merchants are Ishmaelites, rather than Midianites and/or other types of merchants? Bereshit 37:25 – 28.

What is the nature of the relationship between Yudah and Hirah? Hirah is described as Yudah’s “friend,” however, Hirah is also described as almost a servant of Yudah (performing the favour of delivering the goat to Yudah’s prostitute). Is Hirah intrinsically a liaison between Yudah and the local people of Adullam? Bereshit 38:1, 20 – 23.

What is the metaphysical, esoteric connexion amidst the simultaneous progression of Yudah, amongst the Adullamites, and Yosef, amongst the Egyptians? What may be some perceived contemporary implications specifically regarding Israel’s blessing of Yosef’s sons and the Jewish state of Israel? Within Parshah Vayeishev, specifically, and Bereshit 38 – 50, generally and additionally.

Dreams are a prominent theme within this Parshah, and previously within Vayeishlach (and Yaakov), and additionally. What are some considerations regarding the meaning and significance of dreams, the relevance of dreams within the actual experience of this temporal realm, and the esoteric and Divine connectivity that seems to exist through the dream experience? Bereshit 37:5 – 11, 40:1 – 23.

There is the consideration of Yosef’s imprisonment actually becoming (being) a “power move,” from being a servant to Potiphar (the Pharaoh’s officer), to becoming a servant to Pharaoh, directly and becoming the #2 man in Egypt; Bereshit 39:1 and Parshah Miketz, generally.