Parashat Vayigash: A Moment of Hebrew

רֶגַע שֶׁל עִבְרִית A Moment of Hebrew

(כ) וַנֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֔י יֶשׁ־לָ֙נוּ֙ אָ֣ב זָקֵ֔ן וְיֶ֥לֶד זְקֻנִ֖ים קָטָ֑ן וְאָחִ֣יו מֵ֔ת וַיִּוָּתֵ֨ר ה֧וּא לְבַדּ֛וֹ לְאִמּ֖וֹ וְאָבִ֥יו אֲהֵבֽוֹ׃
“We told my lord, ‘We have an old father, and there is a child of his old age, the youngest; his full brother is dead, so that he alone is left of his mother, and his father dotes on him.’”
זָקֵן (שֹׁרֶשׁ ז.ק.נ)
  • Someone who has lived many years
זָקָן = Beard
בֶּן זְקוּנִים =The youngest child in the family
A child born to elderly parents
בְּדִיחָה עִם זָקָן = .Literally: a joke with a beard. A well known, unoriginal joke
זְקֵנִים = elders, leaders, scholars
Find the Word!
Look at Vayikra 19:32. What is the mitzvah that involves elderly people? How can you fulfill that mitzvah?
Challenge: What is another word the pasuk in Vayikra uses as a synonym for zakein?