Torah Study Questions
Vayechi - And he lived
B'reshit 47:28 - 50:26
Mark R. Ensign, Adot Adonai, Amarillo, Texas
Introductory questions -- Brief answers, not for extended discussion:
1. At what point in history does this parsha unfold?
2. Where does this parsha take place geographically? What are the setting
and environment?
3. Who are the primary actors in the parsha and what role or roles does each
play? What is the significance of each role? Who are the secondary
actors and what roles do they play? What is the significance of their
roles?
4. What is the overall theme of this parsha? What are the subdivisions,
if any?
Parsha Specific Questions -- for extended discussion:
In this final parsha of B'reshit we will continue to interview Yosef to gain
his perspective on the Torah. Please answer each question as though you
were Yosef.
Chapter 47
How long did your father live in Egypt and how old was he when he died?
What did he ask you to do? What was the significance of that
gesture? What did he ask you not to do? Why? Where did he
want to be? What was your response? What gesture did your father
make and why? Did this bring to mind any event in your life and if so,
what? What one word seems to sum up the life of your father and why do you
choose that word? How would you describe your father's character and how
it impacted your life? What would you like the readers of this interview
to learn from your father's life and yours?
Chapter 48
Who did you take to visit to your father? What experience did he recount
and what covenant did he describe to you? Why were these significant and
what purpose did his statement have? What significant statement did he
make about his grandsons, your two sons? In what position did his
statement place your sons in relationship to your brothers? Why did your
father describe the death of your mother at this time? How did your
father receive your two sons? How did you position your sons before your
father for the blessing? What did your father do with his hands?
What did you do with your father's hands and what did you say to him? How
did he respond? What blessing did he pronounce over your sons? Who
was really being blessed by what your father said and why? What was the
significance of that blessing in relationship to the birthright? How has
this blessing been preserved and repeated and why? And how did he bless
you?
Chapter 49
What did your father say to his sons as he assembled them and began his
blessings? What time period did he particularly mention in this preface
and why is that significant? How would you generally characterize and
describe his statements, taken as a whole, to your brothers? What did
Reuven do that cost him his birthright, position of leadership, and blessing?
What did your father say about Shimon and Levi and what prompted his statement
about them?
Who received the longest blessing from your father? What was significant
about this statement and its future fulfillment? Which portion of his
statement pointed to the future Messiah? What portion of your father's
statement to your brother, Y'hudah, did a later prophet refer to which has not
yet been fulfilled? What does this tell us about the time frame mentioned
in your father's preface to his blessings?
What other statements made by your father did you find significant at the time
they were spoken? What statements do you believe the readers of this
interview will find significant 3000 or 4000 years from now? And what did
you think about the statements your father made regarding you, Yosef? How
do they make you feel? What final instruction did your father leave with
you and your brothers? How did your father's statements to you and your
brothers impact all of you, individually and as a whole?
Chapter 50
After your father expired, what was the first thing that you did? And
then what did you do and why? Who else mourned the death of your father
and for how long? Who did you ask for permission and what permission did
you seek? What was his response? Describe the procession of people
who accompanied you. Where did you take your father to eulogize him
and how long did you all mourn over your father there? What
tradition arising from this event would the descendants of your father observe
following the death of a loved one? What was the response of the
inhabitants? And then where did you go and what did you do with your
father's remains?
After you all returned to Egypt, what concerns were expressed by your brothers
about their relationship with you? What message did they send to
you? What did it seem to you they were doing that was incorrect,
inappropriate? What was your immediate response and how were you received
by your brothers? What did you say to comfort and assure them? How
old were you when you last spoke to your brothers? What declaration did
you leave your brethren with about the future? And what final instruction
did you give to them regarding your burial? In this last instruction,
what implied message did you give to your brothers and their descendants for
generations to come? How was this confirmed some 1500 years later by the
writer of the letter to the Messianic Jews (Hebrews)?
Closing Questions: For Personal Introspection
Why do you believe our loving Father provided us with this particular portion
of his words? What was his purpose and objective in preserving this
portion of the Scriptures to this day? What benefit do they have for
Torah observant believers today?
What other insights has the Ruach HaKodesh given you in your study of this
portion that you would like to share with the group?
What questions from this portion have you had that have not been answered by
the study?
What impact do you think the study of the words from your Father in this
portion will have on your life? How do you plan to implement his
instructions in this parsha in your life?
Silently pray for the Ruach HaKodesh to implant his words like seeds, to
nurture their growth in your heart, and to enable you to respond fully as they
do.