The Otiyyot Menuqqadot of Parashat Vayeshev

And his brothers went to tend the flock of their father in Shekhem.²

(1) לרעות את צאן TO FEED THE FLOCK — The word את has dots above it, to denote that they went only to feed themselves (Genesis Rabbah 84:13 [below]).

(13) And his brothers went to pasture sheep (Gen. 37:12) - there are dots on the [direct object marker] ET. This teaches you that they did not go to pasture sheep, rather, it is to pasture themselves. "And Israel said to Yosef: 'aren't your brothers pasturing in Shechem?'" (Gen. 37:13) Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of Rabbi Berachia: he behaved towards [his father] with the appropriate respect: "And he answered him: 'here I am'. Rabbi Chama bar Chanina: Yaakov remembered these words and his internal organs would feel like they were being chopped up: you knew that your brothers hated you, and still you said to me 'here I am.' ""And he said to him, “Go and see how your brothers are and how the flocks are faring" (Gen. 37:14) - it would have been sufficient 'how your brothers are faring', what does 'and the sheep' add? One explanation is that a person should always ask one's fellow about the things that bring sustenance. "And bring me back word.' So he sent him from the valley of Hebron." (Gen. 37:14) Isn't Hebron in the valley? R. Acha said, " He went to fulfill that deep counsel that the Holy One of Blessing gave between Himself and the fine colleague who is buried in Hebron [Abraham] : ' and they shall be enslaved and oppressed' (Genesis 15:13).

Ten [letters or groups of letters] in the Torah are marked by dots: In the Lord judge between me and thee there is a dot on the beth of ubeneka (and between thee). In and they said unto him, there are dots on alef-yod-waw of ’elaw (unto him). In and he knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose, the [second] waw in ubekumah (nor when she arose) is marked with a dot. In and kissed him, the entire word wayyishshaḳehu is marked by dots. In and his brethren went to feed their father’s flock, the letters of ’eth (the mark of the defined accusative) are dotted. In whom Moses and Aaron numbered the word Aaron is marked with dots. In or be in a journey afar off, the he in reḥoḳah (afar off) has a dot. In and we have laid waste even unto Nopha, which the resh in ’asher (which) has a dot. In and a several tenth part, in the section dealing with the first day of the festival of Tabernacles, the second waw in we’issaron (and a tenth part) has a dot. In the secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, the ‘ayin in ‘ad (for) has a dot.

Ten words in the Torah are marked with dots. They are as follows: 1. “The Eternal will judge between me and you” (Genesis 16:5). There is a dot above the letter yod in the term, “and you.” This teaches that Sarah did not say this to Abraham, but to Hagar. Some say that it means she was speaking about those who caused the fighting “between me and you.” 2. “They said to him, Where is Sarah?” (Genesis 18:9). There are dots above the letters aleph, yod, and vav in the term, “to him,” to indicate that they already knew where she was, but they nevertheless inquired about her. 3. (There is a dot on the verse,) “When she lay down and when she arose” (Genesis 19:33). There is a dot above the letter vav in the term, “When she arose” the first time it is used [with regard to Lot’s older daughter]. This teaches that he was not aware of what happened until the (younger daughter) arose. 4. “And Esau ran to greet him, and he hugged him, fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Genesis 33:4). The term for, “and kissed him,” has dots above every letter, to teach that he did not kiss him sincerely. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: It means that this kiss was sincere, but every other one he gave Jacob was not. 5. “His brothers went to shepherd their father’s flocks in Shechem” (Genesis 37:12). There are dots on the word just before “flocks.” This teaches that they did not actually go to shepherd the flocks, but to eat and drink (and indulge their temptations). 6. “All the Levites who were recorded, whom Moses and Aaron recorded” (Numbers 3:39). There are dots above Aaron’s name. Why? To teach that Aaron himself was not counted in this record. 7. “On a long journey” (Numbers 9:10). There is a dot above the letter hei in the word “long.” This teaches that this does not really mean a long journey, but any exiting the boundaries of the outer court of the Temple. 8. “We caused destruction all the way up to Nophach, which reaches into Medeba” (Numbers 21:30). There is a dot above the letter reish in the word “which.” Why? To teach that they destroyed the idolaters but not the countries themselves (whereas the practice of idolaters was to destroy entire countries). 9. “A tenth, a tenth for each” (Numbers 29:15). [This verse delineates the meal offering that accompanies the burnt offering] on the first day of the Sukkot festival. There is a dot above the letter vav in the [first occurrence of the] word “tenth.” Why? To teach that there is only one-tenth [measure] for each. 10. “The hidden things are for the Eternal our God, and the revealed things are for us and our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:30). There are dots above the words “for us and our children,” and above the letter ayin in the word “forever.” Why? For this is what Ezra said: If Elijah comes and says to me: Why did you write it this way? I will say to him: I have already put dots above these words [to indicate I was not certain it was correct]. But if he says to me: You wrote it correctly, then I will remove the dots.