TTriddles "Report"

TTriddles - Parashat Vayigash

Last issue’s (Mikeitz-Chanuka) TTriddles:

[1] He’s #1; his father is 176
Parshat Naso, parts of which we read on each of the days of Chanuka, has 176 p’sukim. Specifically, we read 89 p’sukim - all of perek 7 in Bamidbar. Some congregations started the first day’s reading (Maftir of Shabbat one of Chanuka, this year) with 6 more p’sukim from the end of Bamidbar 6 - Birkat Kohanim. Among the p’sukim that we read during Chanuka, many were read twice.- This is done on regular weekdays of Chanuka. This year, there were four such days - Sunday through Wednesday - the days that were not Shabbat or Rosh Chodesh. This year, 24 p’sukim were duplicated. What all this means is that Chanuka has a claim to Parshat Naso (and to B’haalot’cha as well). Over the 8 days of Chanuka, we read part or all of Vayeishev, Mikeitz, Vayigash, Naso, B’haalot’cha, and Pinchas. But we digress. The SIMANIM, codes for the number of p’sukim, of Naso are AMOS and AMINADAV. (These SIMANIM are found in many Chumashim, right after each sedra - a number of p’sukim and one or two words or names with the same gimatriya as the number of p’sukim.) Let’s leave Amos out of this TTriddle, since he is unrelated to the sedra. But AMINADAV (numeric value: 176) is mentioned as the father of NACHSHON, the tribal leader of Yehuda, who was #1 to offer his gifts to the dedication of the Mishkan (Chanukat HaMizbei’ach), as well as being #1 into Yam Suf, triggering its splitting.
[2] Par’o, Achashveirosh, Haman, HaShem, Bnei Yisrael
VAYITAV HADAR B’EINEI… And the thing found favor in the eyes of… This phrase occurs 5 times in Tanach - once in Mikeitz with Par’o who approved of Yosef’s dream interpretation and practical suggestions for dealing with the upcoming situation. Achashveirosh follows the phrase twice - once for the suggestion of getting rid of Vashti and replacing her with someone more worthy. And once at the suggestion of gathering the local beauties to the palace for queen-selection. Interesting, that for each of these kings - Par’o and Achashveirosh, the suggestion that they favored includes the expression V’YAFKEID… P’KIDIM… appoint people in charge… and V’YIKB’TZU… gather (food, maidens repectively). Haman was thrown into this TTriddle, even though for him we find VAYITAV HADAVAR LIFNEI HAMAN, not in his eyes, but before him. He was included because the initial search for this TTriddle was for VAYITAV HADAVAR. G-d approved of Shlomo’s request for wisdom, of all the choices he was offered. And in Yehoshua22, B’nei Yisrael approves of the actions of the Pinchas and the leaders of Reuven and Gad, whom they now accept as having done their share in conquest on the west side of the Jordan. Had we included in the search VAYITAV B’EINAI HADAVAR, Moshe Rabeinu would have been included for admitting that he (originally) liked the idea of sending Meraglim.
[3] No’ach, Yaakov, Par’o, Par’o, and who?
The word VAYIKATZ (or VAYIKETZ in No’ach’s case) - and he awoke - occurs four times in the book of B’reishit and once more in the book of Shoftim. No’ach awoke from a drunken stupor, Yaakov awoke from his dream of the Ladder, Par’o awoke twice from the two parts of his dream. And who? Shimshon who awoke from a sleep during which Dalila had woven his hair in such a way that he said would weaken him - but it didn’t…
[4] Chukat , Chakarnuha, Chat’u, Chigru, and WHAT?
The word ZOT is followed by a word beginning with a CHET occurs 8 times in Tanach (not counting HAZOT). The phrase ZOT CHUKAT… occurs 3 times. The other occurrences are from Iyov, T’hilim, and Yirmiyahu respectively. And WHAT? Of couse, ZOT CHANUKAT HAMIZBEI’ACH, which occurs twice in the reading of the last day of Chanuka (Maftir of Shabbat Chanuka two, this year) and gives that day its name: ZOT CHANUKA.
[5] when we read 1 through 12
On the second Shabbat Chanuka (when there are two, that is) we read Parshat Mikeitz - Aliyot one through seven (as usual for Parshat HaShavua) and then we read for maftir, the gifts of the tribal leaders of days 8 through 12 of the dedication of the Mishkan. Other than then (which is the answer to this TTriddle), we also read 1 through 12 on Shabbat Parshat Naso.
[6] And you thought he was a harmless, friendly alien!
ET, the extraterrestrial, made it into the PashaPix - see further - and into this TTriddle, as well. When Yosef instructs his people that the brothers will eat with him, the words are KI ITI YOCHLU HAANASHIM, which translates in TTriddlese as, for ET will eat the people (using the plural for ET).
[7] First 3 nights: 1,10,11 - how many on the 8th night?
On the first night of Chanuka, we light 1 candle. On the second night, we light 2, which in binary notation is 10. The three of the third night is 11 in binary, and eight is 1000 - which is the answer to this TTriddle. That’s not one thousand, but rather a group of two groups of two groups of two units - which is 8.
[8] The 5th of the 2nd and the 3rd of the 10th
The fifth day of the second month, Iyar, is Yom HaAtzma’ut. The observance of Yom Haatzma’ut is often preponed a day or two, and occasionally postponed a day, in order to avoid Shabbat desceration in preparations for its national observances. The result is that Hallel is sometimes said on HEI IYAR and sometimes not. The third of the tenth month is GIMEL TEVET, which can be the last day of Chanuka (when there is only one day of Rosh Chodesh Tevet, meaning that Kislev only has 29 days, which occurs aboubt 25% of the time, in years designated as CHASEIR), or it can be the day after Chanuka, as it was this year - and about 75% of all years, the K’SEDER ones and the SHALEIM years. Therefore, 3 Tevet has Hallel sometimes, but sometimes not.
[8] ParshaPix Unexplaineds
We’ll start with the key with a picture of ET, to which we;ve already referred in TTriddle [6] above. The pasuk says: KI ITI or KEY E.T.
There is the Davka graphic of the Golden Menora as the numerator of a fraction, the denominator of which is .1 - dividing by .1 is the same as multiplying by 10, so the graphic element is a reference to the 10 Menoras built by Shlomo HaMelech, as mentioned in the haftara of the second Shabbat Chanuka. By the way, Shlomo is also the main subject of the regular haftara of Mikeitz (the story of the two babies) which is only read about 10% of the time. Mikeitz has three possible haftarot, the ne we didn’t mention yet is the 72% of the time Shabbat Chanuka haftara from Zecharia.
The pomegranate over the letter TAV, whose numeric value is 400, represents the 400 decorative pomegranates mentioned in the haftara for Shabbat Chanuka two. They were made by CHIRAM, along with many other furnishings for the first Beit HaMikdash.
Here’s a riddle that should have been in last week’s TT, but wasn’t…
Specific to this year:
Yossi got married on Sunday night of Chanuka. On Friday at 2:00pm he was Sandak for a close friend’s son. Another friend lost his father during Chanuka and Yossi went to daven Mincha in the shiva house at 12:15pm on Friday.
What is special about that mincha?
Had we actually asked this question last week, we would not have included the answer. That would have been in this week’s TT - and here it is:
There are 6 reasons not to say Tachanun at this Mincha: Chanuka, Rosh Chodesh, Erev Shabbat, Chatan, Sandak, and in a mourner’s house.

This week’s TTriddles:

[1] The pillars of Vayigash & Ruth
[2] round pre-heifer wagons
[3] A comune (township) with 1234 inhabitants in the province of Verona.
[4] City on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi… population approx. 270,000
[5] So different! The other things that are tied
[6] First, half a small group; then all of a large group

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