Kuntrus Ramach Avarim is a unique publication on the Parsha based on the notes of one of the members of the community. It is an attempt to understand the simple meaning of Chumash and Rashi. It is a great resource for open discussion at the Shabbos table.
In this weeks Parsha, Yaakov leaves Be'er Sheva and travels to Charon. He came to a place and rested there for the night. He had a dream about a ladder with Malachim going up and down. בראשית כח: י-יב
Rashi teaches us the place refers to Har Hamoria. The Malachim that were going up were the Malachim that escorted Yaakov in Eretz Yisroel and the ones coming down were the ones that escorted Yaakov in Chutz Learetz. The Malachim from Eretz Yisroel didn't leave Eretz Yisroel and the Malachim of Chutz Learetz had to take their place.
Q: We know Har Hamoria is located in Yerushalayim. We don't find anywhere in Tanach that Yerushalayim is referred to as being close to the border of Eretz Yisroel. There is still a long way to go that Yaakov could have been escorted by the Malachim of Eretz Yisroel. Why did the Malachim of Eretz Yisroel leave while Yaakov was still at Har Hamoria?
A: While Yaakov slept, Rashi brings down that the entire land of Eretz Yisroel was folded up and under Yaakov. Yaakov needed just one step to exit Eretz Yisroel!
ויהי כאשר הקריב לבא מצרימה ויאמר אל שרי אשתו הנה נא ידעתי כי אשה יפת מארה את. בראשית יב:יא
And it occurred, as he was about to come to Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Behold, now that I have known that you are a woman of handsome appearance." Baraishis 12:11
The Torah describes four people as being handsome of appearance (יפת מארה) and/or (יפת תאר) handsome of form:
- Sarai (in the above verse) - Rochel (Bereishis 29:17) - Yosef (Bereishis 39:6) - The woman who is handsome of form (Devarim 21:11).
1) Why do Rachel and Joseph have both attributes but Sarai has only one attribute, handsome of appearance?
2) Why does the woman who is handsome of form have only one attribute?
3) Why are Rachel and Joseph described as being handsome of form first and then handsome of appearance? Why do we not start with the head, the most important organ of the body?
Have an answer to any of these questions? Post your answers in the comment section below and you may qualify to receive a free copy of Kuntrus Ramach Avarim, Bareishis Chalek 1 and 2!