[Avodah] A few notes on Parshas Vayetzei

[SBA Gmail]

A few points to ponder and questions on the parsha.

Comments very welcome



28:12 - Baal Haturim has very fascinating (chassidish?) pshat dh: Sulam

(the 2nd and 3rd). Ayin shom a few interesting ladder ideas.



-



28:19 – Luz.

The Midrash 69:8 says that the Malach Hamoves had no power in the city of
Luz. So what happened to the senior citizens who were well past their use-by
dates?



Simple.  They were placed outside the walls of the city – where they died.

(Sounds a bit like the Eskimo solution..)



Would this be the first published example of institutionalized euthanasia?



--



28:20 Baal HaTurim quotes a Yalkut Shimoni that the malach that battled
Yaakov (next week's parsha) was Michoel!



The YS adds that the RBSO - kaveyochol - said to him - sarcastically - "You
REALLY did nice - making my Kohen Gadol (i.e Yaakov) a baal mum..."

Even stranger is the continuation of that Midrash saying that Michoel's
punishment was that he had to become the Kohen Gadol in heaven !



This is all pretty puzzling stuff as for what reason would Michoel have
battled with Yaakov Avinu?

(Although if it was Michoel - it makes sense why Yaakov Avinu demanded a
brocho from the malach before letting him go, which is harder to understand
when learning that story according to Rashi that the usual of that malach
was the Samech Mem - saroy shel Esav.)



-



29:11 - Vayishak Yaakov leRochel.  2 pesukim later re Lavan kissing Yaakov
"Veynashek Lo".



Is there any difference between 'vayishak' and 'vaynashek'?



---



29:32 - Rashi dh Vatikra shemo Reuven - 'Omro re'u ma bein beni leben
chami...'



The first obvious question is, the Torah gives a clear reason why Leah
called him Reuven - 'ki ro'o Hashem be'onyi', so why is Rashi giving a
different reason - which is also difficult to understand as Yosef, who is a
main feature of this - was yet to be born...



Also, reading Rashi, one could ask was the matter of the bechoreh the ONLY
or most important difference between Reuven and the rasha Esav!?



To those of you for whom these questions may cause sleeplessness, may I
suggest that they look up the source of this Rashi - Brochos 7b.

There the gemoro elaborates on the explanation of the bechoreh.



Re the second question, see the Maharsho (chidushei Agados) and the peirush
'Hakosev' on Ein Yaakov - a beautiful piece talking about 'shmo goram' and
which IMHO inadvertently brings a raya from the Torah itself on what is
commonly mentioned that a father has a cetain Ruach hakodesh when naming his
child.

(And as he also explains the name of Ruth, it may seem that even her father
the Moabite - also may have had some degree of nevuah when naming her !



--



30-8 Naftulei Elokim Niftalti - Rashi mention sthat Unkelos teitches it
miloshon Tefila.



I see that the Ikkar Sifsei Chachomim explains that we swap around the
letters and place the tav before the pei - as in the word tefila.



But what I learned from this (by trying to check up what the
'full-flavoured' Sifsie Chachomim has to say about this - and finding noth
at all) is that the ISCh is lav davka a kitzur form of the SCh and is in
fact a separate sefer.



Does anyone know who the mechaber of this work was?



---



30:27 Rashi dh Nichashti says that the proof that Lavan had no sons until
Yaakov arrived was the fact that he sent Rochel to the well with his sheep,

Something he would not have done had he any sons.



But we see that his father Besuel who did have a son - Lavan - still sent
his sister Rivka to do the same thing...?



---

31:33 - The Baal haTurim has a vort from his father - the Rosh.



---



31:34 - Am I understanding it correctly that Rochel was sitting on her
cvamel INSIDE the tent? And if so, was/is this the done thing - having
camels in the tent that you live?


SBA
sba at sba2.com
sbasba at gmail.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20071116/b6713c11/attachment-0001.htm>