הַפָּלִיט
A. Hafaleet
B. Hapaleet
C. Hapulum
D. Hapilim
וַיַּגֵּד
A. Ve’yagaed
B. Ve’yagehd
C. Va’yagaed
D. Va’yagehd
E. You’re
reading it backwards. It’s Degayava!
הָעִבְרִי
A. Hoavree
B. Heovri
C. Ha’eebri
D. Ha’eevri
E.
Hehahuhabiri
בְּאֵלֹנֵי
A. Be’aylonei
B. Be’ehlonei
C. Be’uyloonei
D. Va’eylonei
E. Baloney,
eh?
מַמְרֵא
A. Mumrah
B. Mamrow
C. Mamroo
D. Mamrey
E. Mama Rey
אֶשְׁכֹּל
A. Eshkal
B. Eshkol
C. Esskal
D. Esskol
E. Easy, Cole.
חֲנִיכָיו
F. Hanichayo
G. Chanichayo
H. Chanichav
Hanichav
J. Backwards
again. It’s Vayachinicha!
לַיְלָה
A. Lilah
B. Lilah
C. Lilah
D. Lilah
E. Lilah
מִשְּׂמֹאל
A. Mi’se’mol
B. Mi’se’mal
C. Mi’she’mal
D. Miss’mol
E. Miss Small
(my Hebrew school teacher in 1987).
לְדַמָּשֶׂק
A. Ledemesek
B. Ladamasek
C. Lodomosek
D. Ledamesek
E. For the
last time, that’s backwards, it’s Kashe’madil!
1. What is the lowest rank in the United States Armed Forces?
a. Corporal
b. Major
c. Private
d. Lieutenant
e. Violinist
2.
What is the highest rank in
the USAF?
a. Colonel
b. Master Seargent
c. Field Marshall
d. General
e. Zombie Overlord
3.
Which of these is a real
rank in the USAF?
a. Gunnery Seargent
b. Rear Admiral, lower half
c. Chief Warrant Officer
d. Private First Class
e. Walrus Gumboot
4.
What was the achievement of
Commodore Uriah P. Levy?
a. Banned the use of fermented pork Army rations (1939)
b. Banned the rule prohibiting t-shirts in the Air Force (2002)
c. First commandant of the space force academy (2024)
d. Ended the use of flogging as a punishment in the navy (1815)
e. Banned Marines from dancing polkas (1946).
5.
Why was Uriah P. Levy
kicked out of the navy so many times?
a. For stealing guns from naval bases
b. For failing to salute the president
c. For punching anti-Semites in the face
d. For harassing sailors from Boston (he hated everything from Boston)
e. For not learning how to swim
6.
What is the highest award
in the USAF?
a. The Bronze Star
b. The Silver Star
c. The Golden Star of Valor
d. The Medal of Honor
e. The Platinum Taco of Glory
7.
Who is the highest ranking
woman in the United States Armed Forces?
a. Admiral Linda Fagan: Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and a
member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
b. Admiral Lisa Franchetti: Chief of Naval Operations
c. Gen. Laura Richardson: Commander of the U.S. Southern Command
(SOUTHCOM).
d. Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost: Commander of the U.S. Transportation
Command
e.
Each of these women are of
the highest rank there is, all are four star generals or admirals.
8.
What percent of Americans
currently serve in the USAF? And What percentage of Israelis currently serve in
the IDF?
a. 0.04% of Americans and
0.2% of Israelis
b. 0.4% of Americans and 2%
of Israelis
c. 4% of Americans and 20%
of Israelis
d. 40% of Americans and 200%
of Israelis
e. 400% of Americans and
2000% of Israelis
9.
What is the smallest branch
of the Israeli Defense Forces?
a. Army
b. Air Force
c. Navy
d. Marines
10. What was the original dress uniform of the Israeli Defense
Forces?
a. A dark green uniform, like the US Army.
b. White shirts and black slacks or skirts- a soldier’s Shabbat clothes.
c. Red jackets and black trousers, like the British Army.
d. Tan and brown desert camouflage.
e. A red beret with black trim,
Yellow blazer with matching cravat over a olive shirt, a grey and green aiguilette (woven cord) with
brass tassels, brown pants with a teal stripe, and white oxford shoes each with
a silver shekel tucked into the shoe’s tongue.
1.
Do you have any military veterans
in your family? If so, can you share who they are and where they
served?
2.
Can you easily imagine your grandfather going into battle right now?
3. Until this point, Avram (he’s not named Avraham yet) has always dealt with conflict by non-violent means. What could make him change enough to use violence?
The situation in our parsha: Five kings from Assyria, led by King Kedar'la'omer, come south to attack four kings in Avram's area who failed to give sufficient tribute to the Assyrians.
[The invading kings coming south] seized
all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went their
way. They also took Loht, the son of Avram’s brother, and his
possessions, and departed; for he had settled in Sodom.
A fugitive brought the news to Avram
the Ivri, (who was dwelling among the terebinth trees of Mamre the
Amorite, kinsman of Eshkol and Aner, these being Avram’s allies). When Avram
heard that his relative had been taken captive, he mustered his chanichim*,
born into his household, numbering three hundred and eighteen, and went in
pursuit as far as Dan.
*”retainers,” members of his
camp, employees or servants capable of bearing arms.
------Question: If Avram
can pull 318 chanicnhim (retainers or soldiers) from his
camp, just how many people does he and Sarai have working
for them?
He and his servants split up at night, and
defeated them; and he pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of
Damascus. He brought back all the possessions; he also brought back
his relative Loht and his possessions, and the female captives and everyone
else.
------Question: Why does
the Torah specifically mention Avram brought back the female captives?
------Question: Why does
Avram, who lives south in Mamre, east of the Salt Sea, peruse his enemies past
where he finds them at Dan, to the other (northern) side of Damascus (see map)?
------Question: Where did
Avram learn military tactics like a night attack? Make a mini
midrash- tell us your two sentence theory or story, or possibility.
------Question: How
difficult was this trip on foot? How long would it take?
When he [Avram] returned from
defeating Khadar’la-omer and the kings with him, the king of
Sodom came out to meet Avram in the Valley of Shaveh, which is the Valley of
the King. And [at the same time] King Melchi-Zedek of
Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of El Elyon/God
Most High. He blessed him [Avram], saying, “Blessed be Avram
of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God
Most High, Who has delivered your foes into your hand.” And [Avram]
gave him a tenth of everything [he had captured].
Then the king of Sodom said to Avram, “Give
me the people, and you take the stuff for yourself.” But Avram said
to the king of Sodom, “I swear to Adonai, El Elyon/God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth: I will not take so much as a
shoelace or a sandal strap of what is yours; you will never get to say, ‘It is
I who made Avram rich.’ For me, nothing but what my servants have used up; as
for the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre—let them take
their share.”
------Question: Why does Avram
(soon to be Abraham) want to make sure nobody will say the King of Sodom made
Avram rich? Is it something the king says, believes or does? Or is it something
else? (Hint: what happens to the city of Sodom?)
------Question: Give an
explanation for Avram’s donations to the King of Shalem, because a tenth of
what you capture in battle is a good sized chunk.
------Question: Are any
elements of the story in this parsha still an issue today, such as
kidnapping, war, or political alliances? If so, which ones? Or is
this story too old to have any connection to our lives today?
