Parashat Vayeishev: Scavenger Hunt

Parashah Scavenger Hunt שְׁאֵלוֹת הַשָּׁבוּעַ

Welcome to Devash's Parashah Scavenger Hunt for Parashat Vayeishev!

Aliyah 1 (Bereishit 37:1-11)
  • About whom did Yosef tattletale?
  • In Yosef’s second dream, who bowed down to him?
  • Where did Yosef finally meet up with his brothers?
  • What did the brothers call Yosef when they saw him approaching?
  • What items for sale were the Yishmaelites carrying in their caravan?
  • What was in the pit with Yosef?
Aliyah 4 (Bereishit 38:1-30)
  • What was the name of Tamar’s second son?
  • How were Er and Onan related?
Aliyah 5 (Bereishit 39:1-6)
  • What was Potiphar’s job?
  • From whom did Potiphar purchase Yosef?
  • When Yosef got in trouble, where was he put?
Aliyah 7 (Bereishit 40:1-23)
  • In his dream, what was the cupbearer holding in his hand?
  • Who forgot to uphold their end of a deal?
Look anywhere in the parashah to find the answer to these questions!
  • What word in our parashah has the special שַׁלְשֶׁלֶת (shalshelet) note on it?
  • What word in our parashah is written with dots on top of it?
  • What word is used twice in our parashah to describe two different places where Yosef found himself?
  • Which two people tear their clothes in the parashah?
  • Two people in the parashah refuse something, with the word וַיְמָאֵן (vayema’ein). Who are they?
From the Haftarah (Amos 2:6-3:81)
  • Amos says that God is willing to forgive some of the sins of the people of Yisrael, but not others. Which are unforgivable?
Scroll down to see the answers!
Answers: 
Aliyah 1
  • The children of Bilhah and Zilpah
  • The sun, moon, and 11 stars (37:9)
Aliyah 2
  • Dotan
  • בַּעַל הַחֲלֹמוֹת (ba’al ha-halomot, the dreamer) (37:19)
Aliyah 3
  • נְכֹאת וּצְרִי וָלֹט (spices, balm, labdanum)
  • Nothing, not even water (37:24) — Rashi quotes the Gemara (Shabbat 22a) that says that the pit actually had scorpions and snakes in it; otherwise why would the Torah tell us it was “empty” and also that “it had no water”?!
Aliyah 4
  • Zerah (It is true that in 38:30 he is called Zarah, but that is because the name appears at the end of a verse, and so the vowels change).
  • They were brothers (38:3-4)
Aliyah 5
  • שַׂר הַטַּבָּחִים (sar ha-tabahim)—it’s not fully clear what this means!
  • From the Yishmaelites who brought Yosef to Egypt (39:1)
Aliyah 6
Aliyah 7
  • The royal wine cup
  • The cupbearer (40:23)
From anywhere in the parashah
  • וַיְמָאֵן (va-yema’ein, and he refused)
  • אֶת (et, 37:12)
  • בּוֹר (bor): describing the pit where his brothers threw him, and the dungeon where he was imprisoned
  • Reuven (37:29) and Yaakov (37:34)
  • Yaakov (37:35) and Yosef (39:8)
Haftarah
  • Selling a righteous person for money, selling a poor person for shoes (Amos 2:6)