Author: Kollel of Greater Boston

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

In פ’ תולדות, כה, כז, Genesis 25. 27, it states, “When the boys grew up, it came to pass that Essau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, and Yaakov, Jacob, an honest person, dwelling in tents.”

The Torah does not state, ‘dwelling in a tent’, but rather ‘tents’. It would seem to indicate that Yaakov spent his time in two different locations.

Rashi explains that he occupied his time by studying in the ‘tent of Shem’, and the ‘tent of עבר’, Eber, two distinct ‘Yeshivos’ wherein to study Torah.

Some explain it to mean on a kabbalistic level, that he pursued both the legacy of אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Abraham, who established a paradigm of chessed, true compassionate kindness, and the legacy of, יצחק אבינו Isaac, who established the idea of complete negation to Hashem. He then over his lifetime synthesized these two ideas into one of harmony, a manifestation of arriving at the absolute truth in all particular circumstances.

The Sforno has a unique approach: These were two distinct tents that he was associated with. One was a tent dedicated to his profession, that being a shepherd, and one where he contemplated the Creator with meditation and desired to become sanctified in His Glory.

In contrast Essau was a person who had no specific vocation, but rather disdained systematic responsibility and an orderly manner of living, but was skilled in ‘working the earth’, taking what he needed from what was naturally available.  One can also understand the Sforno, that he was an excellent farmer.

According to the Sforno, the Torah is contrasting the opposite lifestyles. Essau was a person who involved himself with taking care of his own needs, whereas Yaakov Avinu took the role of a shepherd, a vocation where one has the opportunity to care about the needs of each individual animal; if they are tired thirsty, hungry, weak, or sick. In פ’ ויצא, 30, 29, the Sforno teaches that Yaakov Avinu “bound the broken bones and healed the sick, as befits and expert shepherd”; his sense of caring to the sheep and responsibility to Lavan. He actually became a veterinarian!

The Torah is contrasting the sense of obligation that each one had. If we understand איש שדה to mean that he distanced himself from all and become a hunter; we are categorizing Essau as a person who doesn’t execute with a plan and a purpose, but rather on a daily basis secures his need. Even if he was a farmer, he is totally self-absorbed, never focusing on the challenge of developing one’s compassion, sensitivity, and dedication to another. חז”ל teach us that all the Patriarchs, Moshe Rabbenu and Dovid HaMelech were shepherds, in order to facilitate their development as caring leaders.

At the end of the פרשה, we learn of Yitzchak Avinu instructing Yaakov not to marry any בנות כנען, but rather to go on a ‘long’ trip to פדן ארם and take a wife from the same home he did. In Verse 28, 6 it states: “And Essau saw that Yitzchak blessed Yaakov and sent him to פדן ארם and commanded him; do not take a Canaanite woman for a wife. In verse 7, 8, it reads, “and Yaakov obeyed his father and mother and went to פדן ארם. Verse 8 reads, “Essau perceived that Canaanite woman displeased his father, Isaac. So, he went and married the daughter of Ishmael.”

What is puzzling is that in both verse 6 and 8 it states: וירא עשו, and he saw, perceived… why the redundance?

The Sforno explains that at first, he understood that Yaakov was instructed to travel to Lavan and marry into his family, which implied that one should not take a Canaanite wife. But it didn’t touch him! When he perceived the anguish and pain in the ‘eyes of his father’ and the reason must be due to his wives from בנות חת, Canaanite women, only then did he go and take a wife from Ishmael.

Though intellectually he understood what is correct, nevertheless, he didn’t act accordingly. There was a disconnect from what was intellectually understood and processing it into action. Living in ones ‘ד אמות’, curtails a true vision of what is required. Essau, whose profession is detached from all, has no sense of obligation, until he recognizes the pain and suffering of his father, though the Torah tells us that this pain was already for twenty-three years! (Verse 26, 35 “And they ‘cut short’ the spirit of Yitzchak and Rivka”)

This week was the Yahrzeit of מו”ר הרב הגאון נתן מאיר ואכטפגל זצוק”ל, HaRav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel, the Mashgiach in Lakewood Yeshiva for more than fifty years.

A question that is raised is, how was it possible that Essau grew up in a house of spiritual greatness to the highest degree, who was a paragon of honoring one’s father, can reject his responsibilities as a firstborn, and reject his parent’s lifestyle? Moreso, he has מידת הוראה, a sense of awe and fear, as he stated, “I am going to die”, due to his misbehavior?!

HaRav Nosson זצ”ל, explained that one can’t only live in awe and fear, but rather one has to have שמחה, enthusiasm. If one truly understands that they are created by Hashem and stands in awe of all He does; this will lead to joy and enthusiasm.  In נחמי’ ח’, י’, the Jewish people were told on Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgement, to ‘eat choice foods, and drink sweet drinks… for the day is holy to Hashem, do not be sad, for your rejoicing in Hashem is your source of strength”. When one unequivocally feels the presence of Hashem, one should feel a great sense of pride, joy, enthusiasm due to Hashem’s closeness and love.

But that takes processing; to comprehend the idea of living in His world and dedicating oneself to ask, ‘what does Hashem want from me?’. A doctrine of relentless commitment and subjugation; and in turn responsibility. And orderliness! This is the gift of being descendants of our patriarch, Yaakov!

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

ויהיו חיי שרה וכו’ (פרק כג פסוק א)

The Parsha begins with the death of Sarah and Avraham’s subsequent search for a proper gravesite for
his late wife. Rabbeinu Yonah deems this to be the tenth and final test in which Hashem tested
Avraham. He explains that although Avraham was promised Eretz Yisroel for him and his children, when
he had to find one plot to bury Sarah it cost him a small fortune and a lot of bother. This tested Avraham
if he would question Hashem and demand an explanation, but he passed it with perfect faith in the One
Above. R’ Elya Svei asked that Rabbeinu Yonah also says that the Akeidah, offering Yitzchak as a
sacrifice, was the most challenging test of Avraham. If so, why did Hashem continue to test him with an
even smaller test after he had already passed an even greater one? R’ Elya answered that after Avraham
passed the incredible test of the Akeidah, he could have easily felt proud of himself and assured that he
was an established Tzaddik. It would have been very understandable for Avraham to lower his guard,
after all, he had been willing to sacrifice his son- that should have proved his loyalty forever! Therefore,
Hashem tested him again, to show that a person must always be careful with their actions and make
sure that they are always faithful to Hashem. Avraham of course succeeded as he continued to live his
life in careful service of Hashem, never letting his guard down.

אלי לא תלך האשה אחרי (פרק כד פסוק לט)

Avraham sends his servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Yitzchak. Eliezer asks Avraham, “perhaps the girl
will not want to come back with me, what should I do then”? The Medrash tells us that there was really
a deeper intent in Eliezer’s question. The word אולי (perhaps) is written without a “ו” which lends it to be
read as אלי (to me). Chazal explain that Eliezer had an eligible daughter and he was subtly hinting to his
master that perhaps she could have the honor of marrying Yitzchak. Avraham understood and
responded that my son is blessed (by Hashem) and you are cursed (he was descended from Canaan who
was cursed by Noach) so we are therefore incompatible. At the end, Lavan called to Eliezer ‘בוא ברוך ה;
from which Chazal learn that Eliezer switched from being cursed to being blessed. How did the switch
occur? The רוח אליהו suggests that even when Eliezer was informed that he is not befitting to join
Avraham’s family, he accepted his mission with total subservience and faithfulness to his master. This
was an incredible show of humility- recognizing the truth and totally lowering himself to his position.
The מדה of humility is so powerful that it can switch a man who is essentially cursed and recreate him to
be blessed. In our lives as well, when we wish to affect change in our connection to Hashem, a
fundamental step is to humble ourselves and recognize our roles.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

We learn in this week’s Parsha that אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Avrohom, acquired a burial place for his deceased wife from the בני חת, the children of Heth. It was מערת המכפלה, the cave of Machpelah (the double cave), (where couples were buried). Avrohom Avinu specifically desired this place due to that אדם וחוה, Adam and Eve were buried there.

Obviously, it was not known to everyone else. If so, it would have been at least a ‘tourist attraction’, or even more so, a place of worship and respect for the progenitors of the human race. They, having been created by G-d Himself. How then, did Avrohom know they were buried there?

On a ‘simple’ level, Harav Avrohom Wachtfogel זצ”ל explains that a person who has attained an exceedingly high level of קדושה, spirituality can be sensitive to holiness emanating from a distinct location. The family of חת, Heth, and their leader עפרון, Ephron, could walk by it and not sense any uniqueness.

The בעל הטורים (and some מדרשים) in פ’ וירא, Genesis: 18, 17, says that when the verse states “ואל הבקר רץ אברהם”, “and to the cattle ran Avrohom”, it can be read that he ran after the calf that had run away to מערת המכפלה, the aforementioned cave. In this manner, he discovered the burial place of אדם וחוה, thirty-eight years before the passing of שרה, Sarah.

What is the connection that due to his alacrity, zealousness to provide a tongue to his guests, he would merit a divine intervention, that the calf would run specifically to מערת המכפלה?

To be buried in the same place as אדם וחוה necessitated that one had to develop a level of spiritual greatness commensurate to them. What supreme-level attributes can be attributed to their ‘story’?

The Ramchal, in מסילת ישרים, the Paths of the Just, chapters 6-9 delineates that the trait of alacrity, zealousness and its grave importance in the manner it affects everyday life, and how it affects the true spiritual growth and essence.

A person is born, created with two drives, רוחניות, which means to soar (רוח – spirit, wind) above the normal self-involved tendency of a person, which is גשמיות; the overriding propensity to desire comfort and disdain any form of hardship, toil, or effort.

In Chapter 6, he writes: You can observe that man’s nature weighs very heavily upon him. For the earthiness of the physical is overwhelming. Therefore, a man does not want to exert himself and labor. But he who wants to merit to the service of the Creator must strengthen himself against his own nature, mustering strength and zeal…If you ask the ‘lazy’ person [to explain his behavior], he will confront you with numerous quotations of the sages, verses from scripture, and logical arguments all of which instruct him, according to his distorted mind, to be lenient with himself, and to leave himself in the tranquility of his laziness… (Chapter 7) For the trait of Zeal is a very high spiritual level of Shelemut (perfection) which a person’s nature impedes him from attaining at the current time. But he who strengthens himself and takes hold of it as much as he can, will, in the future world, merit to truly attain it. The Creator, may His Name be blessed, will bestow it to him as a reward for his striving for it during the time of his service.

The Ramchal teaches that perfection means that one is constantly, relentlessly with unbridled enthusiasm yearning every moment to subjugate one’s total being to Hashem. This is the path to eternal embracement by Hashem in the world to come, for this is the manifestation of negation, of one’s physicality.

How does one attain such a level? The Ramchal continues: But for a man in whom this longing does not burn as it should, a good advice for him is to act with zeal by force of will in order that this will bring an inner awakening of this longing in his inner nature. For the external movement rouses the inner ones and certainly the external movement is more in his power than the inner ones. Thus, if he exercises what is in his power to do, this will lead him to also attain what is not in his power. For an inner joy will awaken within him and a desire and longing through the power of acting fiery, externally, by the force of will. This is what the prophet said- “let us know, let us run to know the L-rd” (Hoshea 6:3) and “After G-d they will go, who shall roar like a lion”(Hoshea 11:10)… (Chapter 8) However, that which may intensify this rousing is looking into the many benefits that the Holy One blessed be He does with a man at all moments and times and the great wonders G-d performs for him from the time of his birth until his final day. For the more one looks into and contemplates these things, the more he will recognize his enormous debt to G-d Who bestows good to him. This looking into will cause him to not grow lazy or lax in His service. For since it is impossible for him to repay G-d, blessed be His Name, for His goodness, he will feel that at least he can thank His Name and fulfill His commandments.

The גמרה teaches is “אגרא דפירקא רהיטה” the reward for attending a Torah Lecture is one’s enthusiasm to go there. When one doesn’t not only ‘delay’, but ‘runs’ with alacrity and purpose, one is negating his self-centeredness. ‘He doesn’t come late to daven due to being tired, other interests, cold, heat, etc., but knows that one has to attend punctually all that revolves regarding his dedicated service to Hashem.” That was exemplified by Avrohom ‘Hurrying’ to take care of his guests, and Rivka hurrying to give Eliezer water and then his camels.

Avrohom Avinu was the world’s paragon of Chessed. The Ramchal in Chapter 19 instructs that the level of Chessed that one attains is always thinking of others no matter if it is a respectable person or not, or even an animal is what defines a truly righteous person.

Due to Avrohom’s personifying these two traits of complete subservience to Hashem and His world, alacrity and chessed, he was blessed to join Adam and Eve.

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

לושי ועשי עוגות…ויקח חמאה וחלב ובן הבקר (פרק יח פסוק ו-ח)

When the מלאכים came to visit אברהם he hastily prepared a lavish meal in their honor. While he
prepared the meat, he instructed שרה to ready the bread. Strangely, though, when he served the food,
the bread is omitted. The גמרא (ב”מ פז.) quotes from ר’ מאיר that they had planned on serving the
bread but שרה miraculously returned to her נדה cycle, rendering the bread impure, and so they
couldn’t. The פנים יפות explains that specifically ר’ מאיר said this because of a different opinion of his.
Rashi later in the פרשה says that the next day, when the מלאכים went to סדום, they were served מצה by
לוט because it was the first night of פסח. Based on this, the מלאכים must have visited אברהם on ערב
פסח. They arrived at his tent at “חום היום” – the heat of the day, which is at the fourth hour of the
Halachic day. The opinion of ר’ יהודה is that one may eat חמץ only until the fourth hour, but once it is
the fifth hour only other benefits are permitted, such as giving it to non-Jews. Therefore, it would make
sense that אברהם, thinking that his guests weren’t Jewish, served them חמץ, as this benefit was
permissible for him, but they didn’t eat it, keeping to the Torah laws. That would be a possible
explanation as to why the bread is not mentioned at the time of eating. The opinion of ר, מאיר, however,
is that חמץ may be eaten even in the fifth hour, if so he must give us a new reason as to why the bread is
not mentioned by the meal.

ענין העקידה

Our פרשה represents the famous נסיון of עקידת יצחק as a tremendous test of אברהם אבינו and his
dedication to Hashem and His מצוות. However, when we ask Hashem to remember us in the זכות of the
עקידה we attribute it to the זכות of יצחק. Who was the main protagonist of this awesome test? The בית
הלוי says that אברהם had the more difficult challenge by the עקידה. He explains that there are many
people who will push aside תורה and מצוות for the sake of business or the love of their family. Yet, those
same people would certainly be willing to give up their lives for Hashem’s sake. Clearly, it is easier for a
person to make a one-time decision of dying ‘על קידוש ה than to live a life of ‘קידוש ה by constantly
battling his יצר הרע every day. Therefore, אברהם, who had to sacrifice his son and live with that loss
every day, was more challenged than יצחק. The reason why we call upon the merit of יצחק when we
daven is because to access the זכות of the אבות we must emulate them on some level. Although the
merit of אברהם is greater, we can claim to emulate יצחק, through our willingness to sacrifice our lives
for Hashem, more than we emulate אברהם by living lives every day of ‘קידוש ה.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

In פרק יח:יז, Chapter 18:17, the Torah states “וה’ אמר המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה” “And Hashem said ‘Shall I conceal from Avraham what I intend to do?’” Rashi explains, is it possible that I will destroy Sodom without his knowledge? I (Hashem) gave him this land, and he also was titled (by Me) as the ‘father of the people’. Can it be possible to destroy Sodom and not notify him that his ‘children’ will die? The חתם סופר adds that Avraham Avinu was not able to receive a prophecy due to his constant interaction with people, which precludes attaining a level of prophecy. Hashem therefore is teaching why he did receive this prophecy- for he selflessly dedicated his life to enable others to advance spiritually; if so, I- Hashem- must inform him of what I plan to do to Sodom.

In verse 23, it states: “And Avrohom came forward and said, 1) “Will You stamp out the righteous along with the wicked?”, 2) “Will You not spare the cities if there are ten righteous men in the midst of the cities?”, 3) “It would be sacrilege to do such a thing- to bring death to all. Shall You not do justice?”

Rashi explains that Avraham Avinu came to beseech Hashem with three different ‘arguments’: ‘demanding justice, asking for mercy, and to beseech Hashem for kindness.’

The Maharal explains that this corresponds to three ‘names’ of Hashem: אלוקים, the name that denotes judgment, קל, the name that connotes infinite kindness, and יקוק, which represents mercy.

How is it possible that Avraham Avinu could ‘fight’ with Hashem? It would seem to be a blatant desecration to argue with Hashem! Also, what are the three different ‘styles’ of prayer that he employed? What is also perplexing is, why would he put himself at odds with Hashem’s desire; wasn’t Avraham’s lifetime mission of selflessly benefitting others detested, vilified, and prohibited by Sodom, to the extent that one was punishable by death if they performed a Chessed?

The three categories of תפילה, prayer are the following as explained by HaRav Dessler זצ”ל:

• A person requests that Hashem provide one’s needs, or another’s, for one unequivocally recognizes that Hashem can fulfill all of one’s entreaties and supplications. Due to this, Hashem will comply, for it will be an impetus to increase one’s awareness of Hashem’s care, and in turn, engender a greater respect for Him. This is categorized as תפילה, רחמים.
• One beseeches Hashem for forgiveness of one’s sins and mistakes. One who truly senses that his relationship with Hashem is diminished due to his style of living being at odds with what Hashem desires. When, due to this feeling, one begs Hashem to extend His loving benefactions once again in order to serve Hashem properly, then He will ‘comply’ due to His enabling one to be spiritually successful. This was Avraham’s request; if there are fifty righteous people, they will influence the inhabitants of Sodom to change their behavior. חסד.

It is important to note the language “בתוך העיר” “fifty righteous in the midst of the city”. It would seem superfluous to say ‘in the midst’, where else are they? Rav Shamshon Rephael Hirsch teaches that only if these צדיקים are involved with the wicked people, totally dedicating themselves to their spiritual metamorphosis, can they ‘save’ the city. On the contrary, if they argue that these people are depraved and decadent, and therefore hopeless, they will be punished for their attitude!

• One with complete integrity and sincerity feels that their perspicuous crystal-clear recognition of Hashem’s boundless kindness is compromised by a specific action. That in turn can cause a slight loss of complete trust and honor of Him and a feeling that one’s absolute dedication to Him is slightly compromised. For a person who is truly an exemplar of dedication to Hashem, it is possible that Hashem will remove any stumbling block to one’s unambiguous devotion and piety. The idea of דין, judgment is that one can effect a change in Hashem’s plan due to one’s indefectible emulation and adherence to Hashem’s instructions. Avraham Avinu had the consummate negation of self regarding Hashem’s actions, but he entreated and begged Hashem that he shouldn’t be tested by Sodom being destroyed.

Avraham Avinu, with his keen, selfless understanding of the world’s population at that time, was terribly agitated that if Sodom were destroyed, it would cause a desecration of Hashem, חילול השם. Due to his unceasing, genuine, and persistent love and appreciation of Hashem’s boundless gifts, he couldn’t tolerate a degradation of respect for Hashem. Regarding the עקדה, Hashem’s wish that he bring his son יצחק, Isaac as a sacrifice; he never argued; for if it was relevant to him personally, he was worried that bias would play a role in any arguments

Avraham Avinu established for Klal Yisrael, the paradigm of חסד, chessed, for eternity. Despite being ninety-nine years old and infirm due to his ברית מילה, circumcision, he anxiously awaits a wayfarer, to lavish him with food and drink, even an idol worshipper. He prayed for the survival of Sodom. Every kind deed he did became part and parcel of our genetic makeup.

In these trying, turbulent times, we feel drawn to our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisroel and worldwide. This is a result of our נשמה being ingrained with the chessed of Avraham. It is imperative that everyone, to one’s capacity, dedicate time to learn Torah, pray, and give tzedakah- to actualize our feelings, by selflessly dedicating ourselves to absorbing their pain, and our days and nights to lovingly plead with Hashem to enable us to visualize and be the recipients of his adoration of Klal Yisrael.

The Torah teaches in chapter 18: 6, “Avraham hastened to… Sarah and said, ‘Hurry… knead the dough and make cakes.’” In the end, he never brings it out, why? Chazal teach us that Sarah had become a נידה, Niddah (had her menstrual cycle), and therefore they wouldn’t eat it due to their strict rule of only eating חולין בטהרה. But what does that have to do with their guests who were idol worshippers? Rabbeinu Bachaye offers a novel approach. Since they would not eat it, they did not want to offer it to their guests. Again, why not? We are being taught a profound principle. If one offers someone something that they wouldn’t eat, invariably it will detract from fully respecting them, for they will view the other as being ‘less spiritual’ than them. To truly, fully care for another, necessitates that one view everyone as important and valuable as another. Avraham Avinu and Sarah our matriarch teach us that respect for all is the fundamental underpinning of true chessed, kindness to all. When one interacts with others in this manner, Hashem bestows his Chessed on that person.

In the merit of emulating Avraham, may we merit Hashem’s true love and mercy.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

On ליל שבת, Friday evening parents and grandparents bless their dear children and grandchildren. For a male the prefix used is ישמך אלוקים כאפרים וכמנשה. May Hashem make you like Ephraim and Menashe, whereas for a female the prefix used is the ד’ אמהות, may Hashem make you like the four matriarchs. Then the person is blessed with the blessing that the כהנים, priests blessed the Jewish people.

How does a blessing by one impact on another’s life? Why is it necessary to invoke the abovementioned prefix?

In this week’s פרשה, portion, Hashem tells אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Abraham (Genesis 12,2) (“And I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great), and you shall be a blessing.”

Rashi explains that the meaning of the last phrase is that Hashem empowered Avraham Avinu with the ability to bless whomever he wished. “Until now” Hashem says, “it was My jurisdiction to bless, I blessed Adam and Noach and you; now you can bless who you so desire.”

From this it is apparent that the idea of blessing another person is a profound concept, a dynamic that has great influence and potency.

In משלי כב,ט, Proverbs 22, 9, שלמה המלך, King Solomon taught: טוב עין הוא יבורך””, “One with a good eye will be blessed – or – One with a good eye should be the one to bless.” A person with a ‘good eye’ is one that is endowed by Hashem the power that one’s blessing be effective.

Harav Shlomo Wolbe זצ”ל explains that the more selfless one is the more one truly, relentlessly, emotionally, and magnanimously desires only the supreme level of love, compassion and largesse for another, the more effective is their blessing.

The Talmud, תעניתת כד ב, Tractate Taanis 24b states: Every single day a heavenly voice declares, “The whole world is granted sustenance due to my son חנינה, Chanina, whereas my son Chanina is satisfied with the barest, a mere portion of carobs from Friday to Friday.”

Harav Yerucham Levovitz זצ”ל explains that since Rav Chanina was totally selfless, only desiring that everyone should be blessed by Hashem, he therefore was the conduit that blessing to the world would pass through. In the same manner, our patriarch Avraham whose life was totally dedicated to helping and gifting to others, was naturally given the power of enabling others to be blessed by Hashem.

The concept, that Hashem blesses the world only through the ‘partnership’ of humans is contained in the Talmud, ברכות לה●, “Whoever has satisfaction from this world and doesn’t thank Hashem (with a ברכה) is stealing from Him and Klal Yisrael.” If one truly and sincerely appreciates Hashem’s benefactions, then Hashem continues to grant His world blessings; if not, He withholds it.

The more a person is completely selfless and implacable in one’s determination to help others, their blessings engender a ‘response’ from Hashem. Rav Shlomo Wolbe says, “On the other hand, a person who is self-centered and blesses others is a dishonest person who falsely robs others.”

The idea that people are conduits for Hashem to bestow His largesse is further seen in the total making of this world. The Rambam explains in Exodus 25, 24, that after the creation of the world, nothing is created anew from ‘nothing’, but all of blessing needs an existing entity that serves as a channel through which it can become a reality. This is the reason why one leaves bread on the table while saying ברכת המזון, Grace after meals, in order that the blessing of food should have an existing blessing, that will be the transformative power for continued blessing.

Another very important stipulation needed for a ברכה, a blessing to be effective is unequivocal אמונה. The idea that has to be inculcated as a part of one’s essence; is that everything is governed by Hashem and one’s life is dedicated to Hashem’s World.

אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Avraham, was on a lower level of prophecy than his wife, Sarah. To be a prophet necessitates that one separate himself from interaction with others in order to receive a prophecy.

Avrohom Avinu selflessly dedicated his life journey to selflessly enrich the lives of others by teaching them the idea of Hashem, a Creator, Sustainer, and Supervisor of all, who loves every person, who loves every person. For this, he was granted the merit, and privilege of blessing others.

The פסוק continues, “ונברכו בך כל משפחות האדמה”, “And all the families of the earth shall bless themselves through you.” Rashi explains: “A person will say to a child, be like Avraham”, or as it says in Genesis 48,20, “By you shall Israel bless saying, May Hashem make you like Ephraim and Menashe.”.

Why is it necessary to invoke other people, just bless one that they should be an upright, honest and good person?

When one just blesses a child to be a good person, the child is left to define what is the definition of an upright person. To aspire for human accomplishment, one needs to articulate an example that impresses the recipient of one’s blessing. Ephraim and Menashe, despite growing up in Egypt, a land devoid of all spiritual value, became great people who were versed in all of Torah. The lesson: if one enthusiastically, with conviction, embarks on attaining a goal, despite all negativity, one will be successful; gaining Hashem’s partnership to facilitate its actualization.

This is the lesson that “שימוש תלמידי חכמים גדול מלימודה”, the spending of time in the company of a Torah Scholar, is greater (more educational) than the Torah itself; for one is not only ‘intellectually stimulated’ by Torah, but visualizes the truth of Torah. A true תלמיד חכם is one that leads a life based on the principles of Torah- integrity, selflessness, compassion, love of every single person, and of course their unbridled dedication to use every moment to study Torah and perform Mitzvahs- all while being an embodiment of true, unadulterated אמונה- living with Hashem every moment.

A תלמיד חכם is one who bleeds for Klal Yisrael, who lavishes love onto every single Jew, for we are all creations of Hashem, a loving Father to all.

The אבות, our patriarchs, were designated with this supreme title, for they altruistically dedicated every moment of their lives to create a nation, Klal Yisrael, thereby gaining the gift of blessing all.

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

וישמע אברהם כי נשבה אחיו וירק את חניכיו וכו’ (פרק יד פסוק יד)

Our פרשה details the events of a tremendous war between five nations who rebelled against the four nations that until then had ruled them. One of the rebelling nations was סדם, Sodom, where לוט, Lot, the nephew of אברהם, lived. As the rebellion was being crushed, one of the captives in the war was לוט. Although it seemed that the rebels were clearly losing, אברהם bravely set out to save his nephew. He waged war against the powerful four kings with just 318 men on his side. Not only that but the גמרא relates how their ammunition was sand which miraculously functioned as arrows against their enemies. This turned the tide and אברהם won the war on behalf of the five kings. There were many unbelievable miracles that occurred at this time and anyone watching was inspired to trust in Hashem. The מדרש relates how אברהם utilized this astounding victory to prove to everyone the existence of Hashem and that we are obligated to serve Him. The odd thing is that although סדם was very involved in the war and owed its existence to Hashem’s miracles, a short time later סדם was found to be guilty of terrible sins. Not only that, but upon further inspection they had no merit at all to save them and they were summarily destroyed. R’ Eliyahu Lopian asks, how is it possible that a nation that was so inspired can still stoop so low so quickly? How can it be that all the open miracles had no effect on them at all? R’ Lopian answers that when a person is accustomed to following their animalistic desires and cravings, with no self-control, they will continue to do so against all reasoning. That is, unless a person proactively pushes against their תאוות and base drives, they will naturally continue to follow the pull of their יצר הרע. Even when they are acting totally illogically, until they decide to work on their תאוה they will continue to go along with it. The first step must be to stop and think about why they live as they do and then to make a conscious decision to change their ways. Without a true effort to work against their natural desires, a person will not change. This idea from R’ Lopian can remind us throughout our lives to take stock of our actions and make sure we aren’t acting merely out of instinct and desire.

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו (פרק ו פסוק ט)

The Torah introduces us to Noach by saying that he was a righteous man and perfect in his generation. Rashi says that the פסוק stresses that he was righteous in his generation either to praise Noach or to point out a flaw of his. That is, either he was even a צדיק in a generation as evil as his, or he was only a צדיק relative to his wicked surroundings, but in a better environment he would not have been considered special. Many ask, if we can explain the words “righteous man” in a positive way, why would we come up with a way to explain it negatively? R’ Shimon Shwab answers that חז”ל knew that everything in this world that comes from a source must have its root in the source. When we look at Noach’s descendants, we see many great צדיקים and at the same time many terrible רשעים. Clearly, even within Noach there was a seed and potential for evil and simultaneously for good and righteousness. Therefore, even a clearly positive פסוק about Noach’s essence is understood to have a hint to evil within it as well.

ויאמר אלקים לנח…והנני משחיתם את הארץ (פרק ו פסוק יג)

Hashem tells Noach that He is going to destroy the world. He then commands Noach to build a תיבה, an ark, and details the construction. Only following that does Hashem explain that he will bring a flood to the world and Noach will be saved through the תיבה. It seems to be out of order, shouldn’t Hashem first explain how He will destroy the world, i.e., with a flood, and then command Noach about the תיבה, the escape route? R’ Moshe Feinstein answers that Hashem was conveying to Noach the way in which he should build the תיבה, and this relates to us in our performance of מצוות. Hashem had many ways in which He could have saved Noach, the purpose of building the תיבה wasn’t necessary for Noach’s salvation, rather there were other purposes in its construction. Hashem was telling Noach to build the תיבה just because He told him to- with no personal reasons attached. In fact, when commanded to build it, Noach did not even know why it would be needed. This is an instruction for how we are to perform מצוות, only for the sake of fulfilling Hashem’s command, with no ulterior motives.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

From the onset of the creation of אדם וחוה, Adam and Eve, the human race was prohibited from eating an animal (שטת רש”י ורמב”ן) (or killing an animal שטתת תוס’ סנהדרין נו). Immediately after the מבול, ‘Noah’s Flood’, all the animals were permitted to be eaten. The רמב”ן, Nachmanides, the ספורנו, Sforno and others offer different reasons. Rav Yosef Albo, in his classic ספר העקרים: מאמר ג’ פרק ט”ו, has a profound unique approach that resonates in these times of chaos and tragedy.

Let us pose a few questions.

• If הבל, Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by Hashem, why is it that Hashem allowed him to be murdered by קין, Cain; isn’t he a righteous person who should be protected?
• If קין, Cain is the one who initiated the idea of showing appreciation to Hashem for his beneficence, why is he humiliated by Hashem?
• The Torah states Ch. 5, 3 that שת, ‘Seth’, was born “בדמותו, כצלמו” in his likeness and in his image, a reference to Ch. 1, 26, where Hashem, says, “Let us make man in our ןmage and our likeness”. It only mentions this by שת, why not קין והבל?

Rav Albo explains that both קין והבל, Cain and Abel though they believed that G-d created them, their understanding of life was to survive, all while eating the necessary foods enabling them to be healthy. Just as an animal has no spiritual “agenda”, so too, the human being, though it has the gift of articulation, is no different than an animal. But though in unison with this ideology, it led to divergent applications.

קין, Cain, chose to till, farm the land for he had witnessed how his father אדם, Adam had eaten produce as a result of his labor. He felt he had no right to make animals subservient to him. He did want to thank hashem for allowing the human to eat the fruit of land and tree, though animals were only ‘allowed’ to eat grass. (This is also the opinion of the רמב”ן, not like רש”י). Though he initiated the idea to thank hashem by sacrificing some of his G-d given produce, he didn’t bring the elegant fruit of a tree, but rather vegetables or grain, that being secondary in taste and beauty to fruit of a tree. Additionally, he only offered the remainder of his crop, which was the least value. Hashem created humanity with two ideas that are intuitive to every person, for without them there would be no civility and human development. They are appreciation and honesty. Appreciation is the segue to enthusiasm, accomplishment, and dignity. He therefore was humiliated by Hashem for not exhibiting the proper respect, his appreciation being but perfunctory.

הבל, Abel, was of the opinion that despite the fact that humans and animals are of the same caliber, nevertheless, one can dominate and sacrifice an animal to Hashem, for He is ‘above’ all living beings. He also promulgated that a human could dominate an animal, utilizing it to accomplish one’s goal. – to plow, thresh, carry, to ride on it, etc. though he brought a beautiful first-class gift to Hashem, and was shown hashem’s appreciation, nevertheless, it was decreed that he would die- childless!

The reason for this is that his ideology invariably would result in chaos in the world- if one allows the idea of domination to prevail, it will be a segue to dominating other people, for in the absence of a system where G-d is supreme in everyday ;living, humas will unfailingly seek domination and power over others, for there is no other system or ideology to aspire for other than that. Therefor Hashem did not protect הבל. Rav Yosef Albo writes concerning certain rulers of the Roman Empire who personified this idea; domination is perfection of oneself and therefore one should risk their lives to attain power. Our example of this is Hitler ימח שמו וזכרו, who detested the Jews for being people of morality, ethics, and selflessness, for man is only successful when they are on ‘top of the world’, either by power, domination, or control.

שת, Seth was the only son of Adam and Eve who had an internal understanding that one’s drive and purpose is to validate oneself by emulating Hashem.

We were instructed after that Flood that we can- and should- eat meat to recognize that we are not animals! Nevertheless, today we live in a world where equating humans and animals is paramount. We suffer from the legacy of Hitler and Stalin, ימח שמם, from the total lack of dignity of ישמעאל. Their influence is that one’s existence is defined by competition, who has more wealth, who has more value to society and who is more intelligent. The lesson of קין, is that if one doesn’t appreciate correctly but only in a perfunctory manner, or even worse is selfishly absorbed in their status in society, one can’t possibly truly validate themselves and have true enthusiasm for relentless growth. קין killed הבל due to the feeling of competition as an outgrowth of his lack of true appreciation.

The world is on fire against the Jews, the true fight being against G-d Himself. As it states in Psalms 83, 5 “for when they convene together with a unanimous heart, then it is against You, Hashem that they make a covenant” “…We will conquer the pleasant habitations of G-d” (verse 13). Antisemitism is a war against Hashem and His Torah. It is a declaration that there is no modicum of dignity, unity, or morality. Witness the despicable antisemitism of the NY Times! It’s frightening! In the absence of the real G-d, there is no respect for one another, for if there’s is no Creator, then there is no community of people. Without community there’s in turn no sense of individuality and leads to a lack of dignity and nobility.

Our task, our obligation is to unify ourselves as one family, to selflessly ask, am I truly acting in a manner which personifies and is the embodiment of a unified, selfless nation of Hashem? Do we gather together at the same time, do we always think how our actions affect one another and do we think how we can be of service to another? Do we study Torah to elevate the combined נשמה, soul of our people?

Let us arouse Hashem’s infinite mercy by acting in an antithetical manner to those who blatantly despise the idea of spirituality-selflessness- as the definition of life.

 

 

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By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield

בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ (פרק א’, פסוק א)
In the beginning of Hashem’s creating the heavens and the earth…
The מִשנְׁהָ in פ רְִּקיֵ אָבוֹת states, “The world was created by ten utterances of Hashem. What does that teach
us? Could it not have been created with one utterance? It is to exact punishment from the wicked, who
destroy a world created by ten utterances, and to give reward to the righteous, who uphold a world created
by ten utterances.” Simply understood, the מִשנְׁהָ is saying that Hashem chose to create the world in ten
steps in order to increase both the punishment of רְשָׁעִים and the reward of צַדִיקִים . Reb Elya Lopian, ,זצ”ל
asks, why would Hashem want to increase the punishment of רְשָׁעִים ? It makes sense that Hashem, in His
infinite kindness, wanted to create as much opportunity to reward צַדִיקִים as possible. Increasing
punishment of the רְשָׁעִים , however, would seem to be counter to Hashem’s usual practice. Why not let the
רְשָׁעִים receive their just punishment for destroying a world created by one utterance, even if it means a
smaller punishment? Reb Elya answers with the following מָשלָׁ . A watch can be a very complex machine,
with many different parts. Each of these parts must be in working order for the watch to function, and if
even one small piece breaks, the entire machine won’t work. However, it is also fairly easy to repair. All it
takes is replacing one small part to get everything running smoothly again. But imagine if all of the
different mechanisms in a watch were attached, molded as one piece. Any minor damage would ruin the
watch, but now it would need to be completely remolded to repair it! Reb Elya explains that, when a person
sins, he damages his נשְמָָׁה , and also damages Hashem’s world. Therefore, the punishment for an עבֲרֵָה
must repair both the damage to one’s soul, as well as the damage done to the world. Had the world been
created with only one utterance, any damage created by an עבֲרֵָה would affect the entire world, and would
require an enormous punishment to repair the damage. However, since the world was created in ten
utterances, an עבֲרֵָה affects only a part of the world, and a smaller punishment is suffcient to repair the
damage. Accordingly, the מִשנְׁהָ is teaching us that Hashem wanted to decrease the punishment of רְשָׁעִים by
exacting punishment for the destruction of a world created in ten utterances rather than one.