1) In this week’s parsha, Moshe was told “Go to Pharaoh early in the morning, when he goes out to the waters” (7:15). Rashi explains, Pharoah would go out to the waters every morning to excuse himself, as he made out as if he was a God, and God’s don’t need to be excused. To cover this up, he would go out and excuse himself early in the morning and then hold himself back the rest of the day. The question is, if this was the purpose, surely he could have arranged something in his palace - perhaps a private swimming pool, why did Pharaoh have to go out to the river, surely it would be easier to hide it by excusing himself in private at home? Is there an answer to the above, and is there perhaps an alternative explanation?
2) In regard to the plague of dam, blood, the pasuk says “The fish in the river died and the river began to smell” (Shemos 7:21). The question is, in Parshas Noach when we learn about the mabul, the big flood, we find that even though everyone was punished, since the fish never sinned they were saved, if so, why did they get punished during the plague of dam, what sin did they commit?
3) What critical role did the octopus play in the plagues in Egypt?
4) The Gemara in Pesochim (53b) says that Chananya, Mishoel and Azariyah learnt to be moser nefesh and give up their lives by jumping into a fire from the frogs. If the frogs who weren’t commanded to jump in the fire were willing to do so, how much more so us (Chananya, Mishoel and Azariyah) who are commanded to do so, must do so.
There is a machlokes Rishonim if apart from the three cardinal sins, one is allowed to give up his life in order not to sin, and to die al pi kiddush Hashem. Some maintain that it’s forbidden to do so, yet others maintain, even though one isn’t obligated to do so, if he wants to, he may.
The question is, according to the Rishonim that allow one to do so, why is there no problem of lifnei iver [placing a stumbling block] on the person who is making one give up his life, a non-Jew is forbidden to kill a Yid, if a Yid is machmir and allows the non-Jew to kill him, surely he transgresses on lifnei iver?
5) If one is forced to give up his life in order to avoid transgressing one of the three cardinal sins, there is special halachos if he does it in front of ten people. What happens if there are nine Jews and the one who is giving up his life, does he count towards the ten?
6) Which seven parts of the body are mentioned in Parshas Vaeira?
