דבר תורה - פרשת שמות

Dvar Torah - Parshat Shmot

Moshe was at the סְּנֶה when Hashem spoke to him for the first time פנים אל פנים.  Hashem spoke to Moshe and he said, “רָאִיתִי אֶת עֳנִי עַמִּי אֲשֶׁר בְּמִצְרָיִם וְאֶת צַעֲקָתָם שָׁמַעְתִּי” - I have seen the suffering of my nation in Mitzrayim, and I have heard their cries. When Hashem asks Moshe to lead Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim, Moshe says, “מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֵלֵךְ אֶל פַּרְעֹה."  - Who am I? How can I go to Pharaoh? He continued by saying, “הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָא אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתִּי לָהֶם אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם וְאָמְרוּ לִי מַה שְּׁמוֹ מָה אֹמַר אֲלֵהֶם." - And even if I go to Bnei Yisrael and tell them that I will take them out of Mitzrayim, they won't know who I am - they won’t follow me.

To help him out, Hashem gave Moshe two signs to show Pharaoh.  The first sign was when Moshe threw his staff to the ground, it became a snake. When Moshe picked it up by the tail, it became his staff again. Moshe was able to control the snake, one of Pharaoh's symbols. This shows us that Hashem is greater and has more power than Pharaoh.  We learn that Hashem is the true leader and the most powerful. Even if Moshe was nervous about Bnei Yisrael following him, Hashem will help him out every step of the way.

The second sign was when Moshe stuck his hand into his shirt and his hand came out with tzara’at. When he put it in with tzara’at, it then came out without tzara’at. Moshe spoke lashon hara and said that Bnei Yisrael would not listen to him. The punishment for lashon hara is tzara’at.  This teaches us that even if the person or people that you are speaking lashon hara about cannot hear you, you should not say lashon hara or anything else not nice about them.

Shabbat Shalom,

Daniel Sarasohn

שאלות - פרשת שמות

Questions - K - 2

1. What was Pharaoh afraid the Jewish people might do as their population grew? (1:9-10)

2. What happened to the Jewish people’s population when Pharaoh made them slaves? (1:12)

3. What did Moshe’s mother and sister do to save his life? (2:3-4)

4. Moshe grew up in the palace. When he was older he went out of the palace to see how the Jewish people were doing. What did he see? What did he do? (2:11-12)

5. Where did G-d speak to Moshe for the first time? (3:2-4)

6. What 3 miracles did G-d give Moshe to prove to the Jewish people that he was God’s messenger? (4:3-9) 

Questions 3 - 5

1. What was Pharaoh's plan to slow down the population growth of the Jewish people? (1:11– 14)

2. What did Pharaoh tell the midwives in Egypt to do to the Jewish people? (1:15-16)

Did they listen to Pharaoh? (1:17)

3. Moshe grew up in the palace. When he was older he went out of the palace to see how the Jewish people were doing. What did he see? What did he do? (2:11-12)

4.  Pharaoh was chasing Moshe. To where did Moshe flee? Who was in charge of this land? (2:15-18)   

5. Why did Moshe claim that he was not the right man to deliver the message? (4:10)

6. In the first meeting between Moshe and Aharon with Pharaoh, what did they ask of Pharaoh? (5:3)

7. What was the result? (5:2-8)

Dvar Torah Parshat Vayechi

It is widely known that Yaakov Avinu switched his hands when giving a bracha to Efraim and Menashe. In Judaism, the right hand generally comes first, but in this case, Yaakov placed his right hand on Efraim and left on Menashe even though Menashe was older. This is not the only switch from younger to older in this week's Parsha. Yaakov also switches the order of the brachot that he gives his sons. In Bereishit 49:13-15 he gives Zevulun a bracha before Yissachar even though Yissachar is older. Why does he make this switch? The Chizkuni provides an explanation. According to him, Yaakov blesses Zevulun, who was involved in business matters, first because he supported Yissachar, who learned Torah all day. Zevulun’s hard work allowed his brother, Yissachar, to study Torah. Chazal teaches us that “Greater is the enabler than the doer” (Bava Basra 9a), meaning that one who enables another to do a mitzvah is greater than the one who actually performs the mitzvah. By facilitating the learning of Torah, one not only displays great honor for Torah, but also merits tremendous Zechut. Zevulun deserved to go before Yissachar in the brachot because he made it possible for Yissachar to live his life the way that he wanted, engrossed in Torah study. Yaakov Avinu, in changing the order of the Brachot, is teaching us the importance of facilitating Torah study in Jewish life. The enabling of performing mitzvot is an essential Jewish value that gets rewarded just as much, if not more, than the actual completion of the mitzvah.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Steven Penn

Questions - Parshat Vayechi

Questions for grades K - 2

1. What did Yaakov ask from Yosef before he died? (47:29-30)

2. What strange thing did Yaakov do before blessing Yosef’s two sons? (48:14)

3. What were the words of the blessing that Yaakov used to bless Ephraim and Menashe? (48:20)

4. Where is Yaakov buried? (50:13)

5. What words do we say in shul after we complete reading an entire sefer from the Torah?

 Questions for grades 3 - 5

1. Name seven animals mentioned in Yaakov’s blessing to his children. To whom are these animals compared? (49:6-27)

2. What strange thing did Yaakov do before blessing Ephraim and Menashe? (48:14) Why? (Rashi)

3. Find proof in the Parsha that we must mourn for seven days for a family member after s/he dies? (50:10)

4. After Yaakov’s was buried the sons were afraid of Yosef. Why? (50:15)

Dvar Torah - Parshat Vayigash

Dvar Torah - Parshat Vayigash

In this week's Parsha, Parshat Vayigash, we learn that people can grow and change. A couple of Parshiyot back, Yosef's brothers are jealous of him, so they attempt to get rid of him. Parshat Vayigash shows that they have spent their time trying to become better and make up for their mistake. In the beginning of the Parsha, Yehuda stands up on behalf of Binyamin which shows that he has become someone who will protect his brother. Also, when the sons of Yaakov realize that they are talking to Yosef, they start crying. This shows that they are in front of Yosef with a pure heart. We all make mistakes, we all have things that we wish we had not done. The brother's had been seeing their father so distraught over the loss of his favorite son. They wanted to rectify the situation, and they saw that the only way to do that was to change themselves. They became more protective of each other and more connected. If they could change and become better after such a huge mistake, we can try to grow and develop in our own lives.

Shabbat Shalom,

Dahlia Kaye

Questions - Parshat Vayigash

Questions for grades K - 2

1. Which one of the brothers showed great leadership by meeting with Yosef to discuss keeping Binyamin as a slave? (44:18) 

2. What was the first question Yosef asked after telling his brothers who he was? (45:3)

3. According to Yosef, who was responsible for sending him to Mizrayim? (45:4)

4. How many people in total went down to Mizrayim? (46:27)

5. What did Yaakov do when he saw Yosef? (46:29) 

6. What was the name of the land where Yosef wanted his brothers to live? (46:34)

 Questions for grades 3 - 5

1.  What did Yehuda’s request from Yosef?  (44:33) 

2. Why did Yosef cry? (45:2-3) 

3. How did the brothers react when Yosef told them he was their brother? (45:3)

4. What did Yosef say to the brothers that made them feel better about the situation? (45:5) 

5. What was the name of the land in which Yosef’s family was to live? (46:34)

6. Why did Pharaoh allow Yaakov’s family to live there? (46:34) 

Parshat Mikeitz - Questions

Questions K - 2

1. What did the weak cows do to the healthy cows? (41:4) 

2. What did the 7 healthy cows and the full ears of corn represent? (41:25-31) 

3. What was Yosef’s  suggestion to help Mizrayim through the famine? (41:34– 38) 

4. What  name did Yosef give his first born son?  What name did he give his second son?(41:50-52)

5. Yaakov sent ten brothers to Mizrayim to buy food, which brother stayed back? Why? 42:4)

Questions 3 - 5 

1. Describe Pharoh’s two dreams.(41:2– 7)

2. To whom did Yosef attribute his ability to interpet dreams? ( 41:16) 

3. Bonus: Pharoh appointed Yosef to a high position, gave him an official ring, dressed him in royal clothing, and had him ride around on a chariot before all of Mizrayim.  Who else in Jewish History was appointed to a high position, dressed in royal clothing, and rode around on a chariot before all of the people? (Can you think of a connection) 

4. Did the famine only effect Mizrayim? (41:57)

5. What did Yaakov tell his children to do about the famine? (42:2)

6. Did Yosef recognize his brothers? Did the brothers recognize  Yosef? (42:8)

7. What did the brothers find in their bags while returning home from their first trip to Mizrayim? What did Yaakov do about it? (42:27-28) & (43:12) 

שאלות - פרשת וישב

שאלות - פרשת וישב

Questions for grades K - 2

      1.  Describe the two dreams that Yosef dreamt? 

          (37:6-7 & 9)

2. Yosef was sent by Yaakov to visit his brothers.  What did the brothers do to Yosef when he found them?  (37:23-24)

3. Which brother convinced the brothers not to kill Yosef? (37:22)

4. What did Yaakov do when he saw Yosef’s bloody coat? (3 things) (37:34)

5. Which two people told their dreams to Yosef? (40:9 and 16)

6. How did Yosef interpret their dreams? (40:13 and 40:19)

 Questions for grades 3 - 5

1. Two of Yosef’s brothers saved him from the other brothers. They are _____________ and ____________. What did each one do? (37:22 and 37:26-27)

2.  Why was Yosef so successful as the slave in Potiphar’s house? (39:5)

3.  Pharaoh’s butler and winemaker were imprisoned.  Write the dream of each one of them. (40:9-11 and 40:16-17)

4.  How did Yosef interpret each dream? (40:12-13) (40:18-19)