Questions & Answers

1. Question: What benefits did G-d promise Avraham if he would leave his home?
   Answer: 12:1 - He would become a great nation, his excellence would become known to the world, and he would be blessed with wealth.


2. Question: "And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you." What does this mean?
   Answer: 12:3 - A person will say to his child, "You should be like Avraham."


3. Question: Who were the souls that Avraham and Sarah "made?"
   Answer:12:5 - People they converted to the worship of G-d.


4. Question: What were the Canaanites doing in the Land of Canaan when Avraham arrived?
   Answer:12:6 - They were in the process of conquering the land from the descendants of Shem.


5. Question: Why did Avraham build an altar at Ai?
   Answer: He foresaw the Jewish People's defeat there in the days of Yehoshua due to Achan's sin. He built an altar to pray for them.


6. Question: What two results did Avraham hope to achieve by saying that Sarah was his sister?
   Answer:12:13 - That the Egyptians would not kill him, and would give him presents.


7. Question: Why did Avraham's shepherds rebuke Lot's shepherds?
   Answer: 13:7 Lot's shepherds grazed their flocks in privately owned fields.


8. Question: Who was Amrafel and why was he called that?
   Answer: Amrafel was Nimrod. He said (amar ) to Avraham to fall (fel ) into the fiery furnace.


9. Question: Verse 14:7 states that the four kings "smote all the country of the Amalekites". How is this possible, since Amalek had not yet been born?
   Answer: 14:7 - The Torah uses the name that the place would bear in the future.


10. Question: Why did the "palit " tell Avraham of Lot's capture?
    Answer:14:13- He wanted Avraham to die trying to save Lot so that he himself could marry Sarah.


11. Question: Who accompanied Avraham in battle against the four kings?
    Answer: 14:14 - His servant, Eliezer.


12. Question: Why couldn't Avraham chase the four kings past Dan?
    Answer: 4:14 - He saw prophetically that his descendants would make a golden calf there, and as a result his strength failed.


13. Question: Why did Avraham give "ma'aser " specifically to Malki-Tzedek?
    Answer: 14:20 - Because Malki-Tzedek was a kohen.


14. Question: Why didn't Avraham accept any money from Sodom's king?
    Answer:14:23 - G-d had promised Avraham wealth, and Avraham didn't want Sodom's King to say, "I made Avraham wealthy."


15. Question: When did the decree of 400 years of exile begin?
    Answer: With the birth of Yitzchak.


16. Question: What did G-d indicate with His promise that Avraham would "come to his ancestors in peace"?
    Answer:15:15 - That his father, Terach, would repent and become righteous.


17. Question: How did G-d fulfill His promise that Avraham would be buried in "a good old age"?
    Answer: 15:15 - Avraham lived to see his son Yishmael repent and become righteous, and he died before his grandson Esav became wicked.


18. Question: Why did the Jewish People need to wait until the fourth generation until they returned to Eretz Canaan?
    Answer: 15:16 - They needed to wait until the Amorites had sinned sufficiently to deserve expulsion.


19. Question: Who was Hagar's father?
    Answer: 16:1 - Pharaoh.


20. Question: Why did Avraham fall on his face when G-d appeared to him?
    Answer: 17:3 - Because he was as yet uncircumcised.

All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated.

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