[Avodah] Vayigash

cantorwolberg at cox.net cantorwolberg at cox.net
Fri Dec 30 06:29:35 PST 2011


46:7 Banav uv'nei vanav eeto B'NOSAV uv'nos banav v'chol zar'o...
Yaakov had only one daughter, Dinah. Apart from her, we do not know
of any other daughters in Leah's family. The Torah's use of the plural for
"his daughters" cannot be justified unless there was at least one additional
daughter who arrived in Egypt. This conceivably could be Yocheves but the 
Torah did not include Yocheves in the names of the people who journeyed to
Mitzrayim with Yaakov. So what is meant by "his daughers?"

45:23 "To his father he sent the following...mi'tuv Mitzrayim..." Mituv Mitzrayim,"
"the best of Egypt" which was a rather nebulous term, something which the Torah
had not identified but rather referred to the quality of the various other items listed.
In Megillah 16, "mi'tuv Mitzrayim" is described as referring to wine which had been
aged for a long time. Bershis Rabbah 94:2 identified "mi'tuv Mitzrayim" as some kind
of special white beans, a medication with anti-depressant properties. As a person who
suffers from serious depression, I am going to purchase white beans and see if it indeed
works. If so, perhaps a new medicinal cure from white beans can be developed. Stranger
things have happened. (Perhaps, this is why cholent is so successful as a Shabbos meal.
Its properties take away depression and hence, makes Shabbos so much better. Some of
you may think I'm joking; but I'm NOT).
 


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