1. How can one rationally explain that a mighty king like Par’o gives away all his power and authority to a foreign one-time slave just because that young foreigner is able to interpret his dreams? The question is even stronger because Par’o more or less abdicated almost all his powers even before Yosef’s interpretation of the dreams of Par’o had come to pass. Why should he do such a thing?
2. How does it come about that Egypt becomes wealthy because of the famine that came to that part of the world?
3. What clever strategies does Yosef employ to make sure that the ministers of Par’o should accept Yosef’s plans?
4. Why do all the brothers have to go down to Egypt to buy grain? Why couldn’t one or two go down to buy grain on behalf of the others?
5. Why does Yosef accuse his brothers of being spies rather than of any other crime?
6. Why indeed does Yosef “HaTsaddik” cause so much grief and trouble for his brothers with his false accusations and his strange behavior towards them? Is it then his business to punish his brothers for what they did to him? Surely his behavior towards them is not vengeance for what they had done to him? So why does he act like this?
7. Why does Yosef demand that Binyomin should be brought down to him in Egypt? How would Binyomin’s appearing before Yosef prove that the brothers are not spies?
8. What is the difference between Reuven’s guarantee of Binyomin’s safety (which Yaakov rejects) and the guarantee given by Yehudah (which is accepted by Yaakov)?
9. What points of connexion are there between the Sidra and the Haftorah?
10. What difference is there in the type of dream of Par’o and the dream of Shlomo?
11. On what pretext does Shlomo even suggest that the baby should be cut in half?
12. Is the compassion of the one woman a proof positive that the baby is hers? Maybe she is simply compassionate but still a liar and the baby does belongs to the other woman? By what right does Shlomo give her the baby rather than the other woman?
