Author: Kollel of Greater Boston

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By Rabbi Nafoly Bier

In our daily תפילות, prayers, we entreat Hashem,  “ויחד לבבינו לאהבה וליראה את שמך”, “and unify our hearts to love and fear Your Name.” (דוד המלך entreats the same in singular Psalms 86:11). Aren’t these two, to love and fear, diametrically opposite emotions? Many explain the attribute that משה רבינו gave to Hashem, designated as נורא (awesome) is the trait of רחמים, mercy. How do mercy and fear synthesize?

In the Amidah, it states, זוכר חסדי אבות… באהבה, “And He remembers the kind deeds of the patriarchs and therefore will bring the ultimate redemption with love.” Though we won’t be meritorious to merit the ultimate redemption, Hashem in His infinite mercy and compassion will redeem His people with unmitigated love. This idea corresponds to our Patriarch, Yaakov who represents the idea of mercy and truth.

In this week’s פרשה, Ch. 28:12-15, the Torah relates the dream that יעקב, our Patriarch Jacob, experienced. “And he dreamt and there was a ladder set earthward, and its top reached heavenward; and behold angels of G-d were ascending and descending on it.” At first glance, one would ask, shouldn’t the reverse be correct, that angels descend from Heaven and subsequently return there? (see Rashi, Ramban) The חזקוני (see Rav Hirsch) and similarly, דעת זקנים explain as follows:

The angels would first go to Hashem to get instructions and then would reside in this world; analogous to one who goes to an attic and then returns to the lower level, the true place of residence in a home. Yaakov Avinu exclaimed, “How awesome is this place, how fearing I must be, for this physical world is also the residence of Hashem Himself.” Yaakov Avinu, upon realizing that Hashem is directly involved with His “lowly creation”, expressed in awe; “His love, His dedication to us is so awesome that He actually ‘lowers’ Himself to be with us.”

His love is so infinite. An expression of His infinite love is His constant mercy, His connection to us is constant, eternal, inspiring, and invigorating. It’s awesome!

מה נורא , Yaakov Avinu realizing this relentless benefaction from Hashem, experienced fear and trepidation. Due to my unequivocal appreciation of His infinite dedication, I must continually selflessly follow His dictates, His Torah, with perfection and integrity!

“לאהבה וליראה , to love and fear” is the level that Yaakov Avinu inculcated in us. If we truly appreciate all that Hashem bestows upon us, we will naturally come to love Him and in turn always ask, “Am I doing His will?” Due to His “mercy” an affirmation of his boundless love, we dedicate ourselves to Him in awe.

Hashem benefacted us a gift, a vehicle through which we constantly experience His boundless love and in turn our obligations – עבודה, תפילה, prayer. He lets us speak to Him. He lets us know we’re important to Him. He actually brings Himself to us so we can speak to Him! But one can ask, why the expression תפילה, which the root explanation is to judge? Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch enlightens us with the following: (Genesis p. 454)

“התפלל means: to infuse every aspect of one’s being and existence with God’s truth, and thus attain for oneself harmonious integrity of all of life by the light of God’s Countenance. Jewish תפילה, then, is antithetical to the common conception of “prayer.” תפילה is not an outpouring from within, an expression of what the heart already feels. Rather, תפילה means infusing the heart with truths that come from outside oneself.

תפילה is עבודה שבלב; מתפלל means to work on refining one’s inner self, to elevate one’s mind and heart to the lofty heights of recognition of truth and desire for serving G-d. If this were not the case, if תפילה were but an outpouring of our emotions, it would make no sense to have fixed times and fixed texts for our prayers. How could we assume that all the members of the community would be imbued with the same thoughts and the same emotions at certain predetermined times?

Moreover, prayer that is merely an expression of feeling is superfluous. Thoughts and emotions that are already alive within us do not require expression, least of all expression in set phrases formulated by others than ourselves. It follows, then, that the whole purpose of our fixed prayers is to awaken the heart and to revive within it those timeless values that still require reinforcement and special care. One can truly say that the less we feel in the mood for prayer, the greater is our need to pray, and the greater is the redeeming power and sublime value of the work upon ourselves that we perform through תפילה.”

When we constantly, three times daily, in a timely way, truly inculcate in ourselves His Omnipresence, giving, love, graciousness, and mercy; we in turn will selflessly dedicate ourselves to His greatest gift to us, His Torah.

“When God preserves and blesses a person in the struggle for existence, He reveals Himself as ‘ה, in His מדת הרחמים, mercy and kindness, and there is no one who would not wish for such treatment from God. But only the Jew says: והיה ה‘ לי לאלוקים meaning: God, Who showered upon me the bounty of His love and goodness, will be to me a God Who not only gives and bestows but also demands that His Will be done with all that bounty. To accept upon yourself the yoke of the Lawgiver’s kingship, and not just thank Him for His munificent blessings; to direct all the inclinations of your heart, and to use every penny that you own, only in accordance with God’s Will – that is the meaning of והיה ה‘ לי לאלוקים . May Hashem enable us to use the gift of תפילה!

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

ויתרצצו הבנים בקרבה (פרק כה פסוק כב)

When Rivkah was expecting Yaakov and Eisav the Torah tells us that there was a lot of movement inside of her. Rashi, in one explanation, says that every time she passed by a בית מדרש Yaakov ran towards it and whenever she passed by a house of עבודה זרה Eisav tried to run out. R’ Berel Povarsky asks, how did Yaakov know that there was a בית מדרש there? R’ Berel says that the entire question assumes that a בית מדרש is nothing more than a house devoted to service of Hashem. If we understand that קדושה, holiness is a reality, רוחניות, spirituality, can be sensed and felt, then the question does not begin. Just as a compass always points north, Yaakov naturally gravitated to קדושה. Even inside the womb he was pulled to the בית מדרש through the reality of קדושה that emanated from there.

ויתן לך האלקים (פרק כז פסוק כח)

Yitzchak finally gives his coveted ברכות, blessings, to Yaakov. The ברכה begins that “Hashem will give to you” etc. Rashi explains that the future tense of the word “give” is to hint to a ברכה that Hashem should continuously give to you again and again. Many ask, Hashem can give as much as He wants in one shot, why should it be considered a ברכה to have many “givings” from Him? R’ Shmuel Rozovsky explained that normally the purpose of a gift is just for the recipient to have it. However, when we receive anything from Hashem, the more significant part is that we are building a relationship with Him. We look for Him to give us anew, even if the item received is not necessary, just for the bond that it gives us with Him. If He would just give us tremendous ברכה in one shot, we would be missing the main point, our connection with Hashem.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

The Torah, chapter 27:15-20, relates the happenings concerning wells which Avrohom Avinu dug that were subsequently filled with earth by the Philistines and then redug by Yitzchok Avinu. “As a simple story,” the Ramban states, “it has no meaningful lesson and honor to Yitzchok and therefore must contain profound, hidden meaning.”

Rabbeinu Bachya 27:15 quotes an opinion that the wells are a metaphor for the myriads of people that had accepted a monotheistic G-d due to the influence of Avrohom Avinu – just as a well easily becomes a receptacle for water, so too people due to Avrohom readily accepted the recognition of Hashem. The Philistines, after his death, belittled him and convinced all his “converts” to return to their original beliefs, “filling their minds with dirt.” Yitzchok Avinu had to exert exceptional efforts to persuade them to passionately accept his father’s teachings.

In the שמונה עשרה, Amidah, we articulate three traits of הקב“ה , הגדול, הגבור, והנורא which many translate as three traits of Hashem, חסד, kindness, גבורה, judgement דין and רחמים, mercy. These three correspond to our patriarchs – Avrohom – kindness; Yitzchok – exact judgement and Yaakov – mercy, each one the embodiment of their respective traits.

The גמרא יומא סט:י says that דניאל , Daniel proposed that we shouldn’t give the title גבור (strong) to Hashem since the Holy Temple had been destroyed by His enemies; a reflection of His passivity at that juncture. The אנשי כנסת הגדולה reinstituted it, for on the contrary, this is His strength, that He wills that we suffer in order to awaken us to our true mission in life. Specifically, due to thousands of years of persecution we have managed to retain our identity, thereby increasing our merit, for despite adversity we cling to Hashem and His Torah.

At times Hashem personifies the idea of איזהו גיבור הכובש את יצרו, “True strength is when one can overcome natural desires and logical reactions.” Hashem supersedes the normative reaction of retribution for a negative action by allowing His trait of חסד, kindness, empathy, sensitivity, and tolerance to dominate.

This applies to יצחק אבינו who was completely willing to sacrifice his life on the Akeidah, that being Hashem’s will. The Tractate Shabbos 89: teaches that on the “future day of reckoning,” the patriarchs will be asked by Hashem as to what should be the fate of Klal Yisroel. Both Avrohom Avinu and Yaakov will say, “They deserve consequences commensurate to their actions to ensure the sanctification of Your name.” Yitzchok will argue that Hashem arouse His mercy; just as he superseded natural behavior allowing himself to be sacrificed, so too Hashem with strength should only see their positive accomplishments and forgive them. !גבורה

Tractate Taanis, begins with the question: When do we start to express in the second blessing of the Amidah, ,גבורות that Hashem provides rain? The word גבורות, strength is used to teach that despite that Hashem has created a system of nature, relevant to rain, He is directly involved at all times. The second blessing describes Hashem’s constant intervention to elevate one’s life experience.

The Ritva delineates the twofold idea of גבורה; one, that Hashem personally controls the rain due to its grave importance and thereby communicates His pleasure or displeasure to us; two, that all the benevolence mentioned in the blessing, necessitates a circumvention, neutralization of the מערכת הכוכבים, the natural laws of the universe. Though Hashem created the system, He “allows” Himself to subordinate His natural order!

From all these we realize that all actions of Hashem that are defined by גבורה are a manifestation of his desire to benefit all. If so, why is it that the trait of גבורה, strength, is the manifestation of דין, of absolute, impartial judgement? We are taught, initially, Hashem desired to create the world with the attribute of דין, pure judgement – culpability for every action – but Hashem decided that this type of interaction with humanity would only be possible for the greatest צדיקים.

As was mentioned, the ריטב“א explains that despite the fact that Hashem placed in motion a system of nature, he transcends it… this being גבורה , strength. Despite the obvious, that Hashem is immutable, inalterable, and eternal, we still ascribe the idea of intervention in what He created, though change is only the perception of we human beings, enabling us to try to fathom His greatness.

One can argue that the motivation of Hashem to create the world was due to His essence – to give and give, with “no strings attached”. But if so, the recipients – we – would feel robotic, having no sense of creativity.

Hashem therefore created a dynamic of culpability; He empowered us with choice; to follow His dictates or not, thereby gifting us with a sense of creativity. דין, judgement is truly a manifestation of Hashem’s benevolence, for by limiting His relentless desire to only give; He ennobled us by giving us a task of edifying oneself.

ואהבת את ה’… בכל לבבך- רש”י מפרש בשני יצרך

We express our love, due to our appreciation that He gifted us with creativity, just as He is defined as the Creator, due to the inherent inner tension endemic to every person.

גבורה – a manifestation of His boundless kindness, even when it seems to be illogical, since one doesn’t necessarily deserve it, a manifestation of His desire to let one validate oneself by positive actions, thereby curtailing His relentless benevolence. יצחק אבינו represented the idea of total self-negation by the Akeidah and selfless, supreme dedication to overcome the prevailing dominant philosophy of idolatry, true inner strength, גבורה!

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

ואחרי כן קבר אברהם את שרה אשתו (פרק כג פסוק יט)

The Torah describes in detail Avraham’s acquisition of a burial plot for Sarah. He approaches the people of Ches, who show him tremendous respect and insist that it would be an honor for Sarah to be buried amongst them. Then he meets with Efron, who wants to give him the requested plot for free. Avraham refuses and agrees only to buy the plot at full price. Finally, he pays a hefty sum for the land and buries Sarah. What is the significance of this story? Why did the Torah have to recount it in full detail? The Ibn Ezra says that it is to show us how precious the land of Israel is, how much effort and expense Avraham was willing to expend just to bury his wife in the holy land. The Ramban says that this whole story was a test of Avraham’s faith. Even though he was promised the land, he still had to spend so much time and money to get a simple burial plot. He retained his rock-solid faith and trust in Hashem. R’ Yaakov Kamenetsky offers another explanation. He says that the Torah wants us to know that Avraham had a very generous and giving spirit. Even though the people of Ches would have felt privileged for Sarah to be buried in their land, Avraham insisted on paying for it and not receiving free gifts. This was because of how generous and giving he was.

והיה הנערה אשר אמר אליה…אתה הכחת לעבדך (פרק כד פסוק יד)

Avraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a suitable wife for Yitzchak. Eliezer asks Hashem for a sign when he finds the right girl, that he will ask the girl for water and the girl will insist on giving him and his camels water until everyone has enough. This was clearly a sign that this girl excels in חסד, giving to others, and מידות טובות, good character. R’ Eliyahu Lopian asks, shouldn’t he have determined that the girl truly believes in and fears Hashem? Fear of Heaven, יראת שמים, was a tremendous foundation in Avraham’s life, certainly the girl who will marry Yitzchak must excel in that as well? In fact, Eliezer in the end found Rivkah, whose brother and father served idols, shouldn’t he have ascertained that she is of different belief? R’ Elya answers that if a person has proper character and is gentle and kind, then as long as they are aware of a need to fear Hashem, they will easily attain that level. Even if Rivkah did not yet fear Hashem, Eliezer saw from her מידות that as soon as she recognizes the truth of Hashem and our relationship with Him, she will be able to become a ירא שמים. Good character and behavior is the foundation for one to build themselves in their relationship with Hashem.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

In this week’s Parsha (פרק כ”ד:ס”ג) it states: “ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה” “And our patriarch Isaac went…”. There are two explanations given. Rabbeinu Bachye teaches that the ‘simple’ meaning is that Yitzchok went to the field to enjoy the beauty of nature,  “שיח בשדה”, the trees, flowers, etc. The other interpretation is that he went to speak, ‘שיחה’; he instituted תפילת מנחה, the “afternoon service” (of prayers). Three questions: What is the Torah’s relative to Yitzchok enjoying nature? Why is the מנחה the shortest of the three services?  Is there a common theme to both explanations?

Each of the three daily prayers was originally instituted by one of the Patriarchs. This arrangement is explained by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi as follows (Kuzari III, V): “The hour of prayer is the climax, the flowering and the goal, of the day; all other hours are merely preliminary to it. The blessing of one prayer lasts until the next, just as the strength gained from one meal lasts till the one after. The longer the interval between one prayer and the next, the more man’s soul occupies itself with worldly pursuits – the more it is dulled by them. During the time of prayer, however, man purges his soul from all that has contaminated it. He prepares his soul for the future.”

However, the fact that the prayers are each tied to certain hours of the day requires explanation. As יעב”ץ explains: “No other hours are better fitted to turn men towards G-d, than the hours of sunrise and sunset. At sunrise, Nature springs to life in rejuvenated splendor. Man, refreshed by new strength, enthusiasm, and vigor, takes up his appointed task once more. At sundown, when the veil of darkness is spread over man, all that breathes entrusts its fate in the Omnipotent Creator.” Thus, the hours of morning and evening arouse differing moods in the heart of man.

“Human life then moves along the two different sectors; the day-sector, its events being the product of the free creative activity of man; and the night sector, where man appears as the passive object of cosmic influences. There man is the power and the world his material; here he is the material, and the universe is the power that masters and molds him.” (Rav S.R. Hirsch)

The morning and evening services correspond to these two contrasting themes. The morning prayer bears the imprint of gratitude for liberation from the grasp of the night. In its first part we offer the blessings for the rejuvenation of body and soul (ברכות השחר); then glorifying the splendor of nature (פסוקי דזמרה); finally, in the שמע and its ברכות culminating in the historical reflections of the thankfulness for the redemptions of Israel.

The paragraph אמת ויציב recited in the morning, has reference only to the mercy shown by G-d to our fathers in the past. The evening section אמת ואמונה points to future events, to the faith “that He will sustain our lives and let us overcome our enemies etc.” Thus, חסד the Divine mercy is the main idea underlying the morning prayer. On the other hand, אמונה, the faithfulness shown to us by G-d during all the “nights” of our lives, is the motif of the evening prayer.

We are taught, Abraham inaugurated the morning prayer, Isaac the Mincha, Jacob the evening prayer. Abraham’s life was like the rising sun, that waxes ever brighter. Blessed with abundant success in all his undertakings, he stood alone facing the entire world and summoning it to embrace monotheism. He was highly revered as נשיא אלוקים a prince of G-d.

During Isaac’s life the light began to dim. He was greeted only with envy by his contemporaries for the Divine blessings he received. Finally, with Jacob the shadows of night close in. His entire life was a concatenation of trials and tribulations. They left as their heritage the means of elevating ourselves to G-d from the most divergent times of life: when the rays of morning rouse all to life, when the waning of the sun turns us to earnest self-contemplation, and when the night summons us to rally our thoughts towards G-d. Isaac’s life was subjected to greater severity than Jacob. For, to have to descend from the heights we have climbed, is a harder blow to bear, than to begin life in suffering and struggle with the possibility of ultimately reaching the summit.

This too, is reflected in the composition of the Minchah service. All the exultant hymns of praise uttered in the morning are omitted. The worshipper stands silent before G-d engrossed in earnest self-examination.

The Talmud lays great stress on the importance of the מנחה, for this prayer consists only of spiritual self-appraisal before G-d, the Judge. The night, however, the hour when Jacob approached G-d, already points to the morning. It bears assurance of the existence of a merciful G-d, who in faithful solicitude, watches over sleeping mankind.

As the day closes, during which one is occupied with their focus on their productivity- be it Torah Study, teaching, earning a living- medicine, science, computer, plumbing, carpentry, etc., one needs to honestly reflect and constantly imbue oneself with the critical understanding that it is Hashem who gifts us with the talent and acumen to accomplish. In short, unmitigated, relentless, pure appreciation that everything is a present from Him. This is the idea of Mincha, selflessly ascribing today’s success to Him. This is the eternal challenge of life, it’s His world, not mine! When יצחק אבינו came back from גן עדן (ע’במדרש) the first task he took upon himself was to acknowledge that Hashem creates a beautiful world, a world of nature where its obvious that only He can create. This הכרת הטוב is the segue to all success in life, always appreciating that all is a gift from Hashem.

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

ויאמר כי את שבע כבשות תקח מידי בעבור תהיה לי לעדה כי חפרתי את הבאר הזאת (פרק כא פסוק ל)

Our Parsha records a discussion between Avraham and Avimelech regarding the well of water that Avraham had dug which was subsequently seized by Avimelech’s servants. After they arrive at a peaceful conclusion and Avimelech admits to Avr ham’s ownership, Avraham gives him seven sheep. He explains that these seven sheep will serve as a testimony to his ownership of the well. What is the meaning of this? How will these sheep be a proof of Avraham’s ownership? R’ Yaakov Kamenetsky answers based on a גמרא in חולין (דף ז) which tells us about the donkey of רבי פנחס בן יאיר that refused to eat טבל (untithed food). We see that the animals of צדיקים are sensitive towards forbidden foods. Therefore, by Avraham giving Avimelech the sheep they would cease drinking from Avraham’s well because that would be גזל . This would clearly indicate that Avraham owns the well. This was Avraham’s intention in creating a testimony through his gift of sheep.

ויאמר קח נא את בנך…את יצחק ולך לך אל ארץ המוריה והעלהו שם לעלה… (פרק כב פסוק ב)

The Parsha concludes with the monumental story of the עקידה . This was the tenth and final test that Hashem ave to Avraham. This allowed Avraham to declare to the world with finality his absolute devotion to Hashem nd His Will even to the point of sacrificing his son. Rashi, based on the Gemara, points out that Hashem told vraham to do this with an expression of “ נא ” which normally indicates a request. He explains that Hashem as eseeching Avraham to pass this test lest the nations of the world say that even the first tests “ אין בהם ממש ”- hey ere not substantial. This seems very surprising. After all, time and again, Avraham put himself through various ardships and difficulties because of his strong belief in Hashem. How could anyone claim that all of those ests, the work of Avraham’s lifetime, were insignificant merely because he didn’t pass Number Ten? R’ himon Schwab explains that of course the first nine tests would prove to the world Avraham’s tremendous evel of righteousness. However, he says, there was a much bigger idea that Hashem was trying to display hrough the tests. Hashem was showing that Avraham’s devotion and self-sacrifice weren’t traits that merely levated himself, rather Avraham was imbuing his progeny with these traits. This was the true goal of the ten ests. That is what Rashi means when he says that people will say about the first tests that “ אין בהם ממש ”- they o not have any lasting value. It is only by the עקידה that we find “ וילכו שניהם יחדיו ”- Avraham and his son itzchak went together i.e. with the same mindset and determination to do Hashem’s will. Now we see that this ncredible level of self-sacrifice that is found by Avraham was passed on to the next generation. This was the est that proved to the world that when Avraham passed all of the tests he wasn’t just developing and evolving is own growth, he was creating a legacy for Klal Yisroel forever.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

In 18:23 בראשית, after being informed by G-d that the depraved, wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed, Avrohom Avinu intercedes and prays to Hashem.
It seems at first glance that his argument is; Should the righteous suffer? Then abruptly his argument is that all of the people have merit to be saved due to the righteous.
Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsh זצ“ל offers a novel approach. Avrohom Avinu represents what true righteousness is. If he had lived in Sodom, he would have unceasingly tried to better his fellow citizens who had deviated from the true path of life and would have suffered over the loss of every person he had hoped to save.
Avrohom pondered, shouldn’t this deep pain the righteous of Sodom would have to endure be taken into consideration? Wouldn’t this entail punishing the righteous through the punishment of the wicked? Isn’t it then a strong enough argument to spare them the anguish – to pardon the whole condemned community? He uses the expression of בתוך העיר as comparable to this week’s הפטרה, that the אשה השונמית says “ בתוך עמי אני יושבת ”. When asked by אלישע הנביא (Kings II 4:13) if he can intercede with the king or officers to help her (the זוהר says it means the Almighty or the angels), she replies, “I don’t want to separate from my nation.” Life, true living, is only possible if one comes to Hashem, not as a separate entity, but rather as a part of a mass of people. Otherwise, all endowments from Hashem are worthless!
So too, Avrohom uses the terminology, בתוך העיר people who do not in haughtiness and arrogance look askance at the masses and abandon them, but rather understand the grave responsibility incumbent on one to exert herculean efforts to save all from a decadent lifestyle and a subsequent harsh judgement. He never ceases cajoling, rectifying, saving, trying, even if the success is minimal. Avrohom pleads; Hashem, how can these righteous bear the destruction of those they nurtured. (The opposite was in Yerushalayim at the time of the destruction of the First Temple, when the גמרא שבת נה teaches us that many righteous did not endeavor to bring the sinners back to the correct path; they therefore died first.)
Avrohom is arguing; if You, Hashem, feel their pain, then it’s only logical that everyone has to live! Hashem answers, if there are truly these righteous people; then on the contrary, it is sufficient proof that the measure of Sodom’s guilt is not full, for the majority is allowing them to exist among them. (For further, different explanations of these verses, please see מלבים and the .כתב והקבלה)
It’s incredible! Our patriarch, Avraham, who in the beginning of the portion is 99 years old, sick, weak, in pain after circumcising himself, is stationed at the opening of his tent on one of the hottest days of history, in case a traveler is in need. Why doesn’t he relax for one day? For he has taught and lives with the credo, “Living is Giving and Giving is Living.” Hashem is constantly giving (המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד); a human is a צלם אלוקים, here to emulate Him. Therefore, my mission is to always give! The greatest gift is to inculcate another with the idea that one has to constantly live with plan and purpose; how is that possible? Only when one is aware of the Creator, who has instructed us with this gift. It is part and parcel of human nature, the plan is embedded in our subconscious, it’s called the Torah! Chesed – be there for everyone; and inspire them with the ultimate gift – a meaningful, purposeful existence! Avrohom teaches us, it’s not an act of valor to selflessly think of others; it’s our essential, premier life task. Without the primary focus of life that there is a Supreme Being that bestows upon us every moment the many gifts of life, that He validates that I am important to Him; then invariably one will define oneself in an egotistical manner, as a sacred principle. Every person not only has to survive, but it’s mandatory to judiciously utilize their potential, if not they are an abject failure and don’t deserve assistance from anyone.
On the contrary due to this philosophy of egoism, it would be abhorrent and illogical to assist another, henceforth the Sodomite ideology.
But if one knows and lives with the fact that we are all Hashem’s family, then everyone is one’s brother and sister; we are all connected and helping another is helping oneself. It’s no different than a parent who pays tuition or buys food for a child – it’s an act of taking responsibility for oneself, for my child is my extension. So too, Avrohom Avinu taught that every person is part of one unit, and therefore one must constantly enhance another’s well-being.

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

בט נא השמימה וספר הכוכבים אם תוכל לספור…כה יהיה זרעך (פרק טו פסוק ה)

Hashem tells Avraham to look up at the stars and attempt to count them. He then tells him, just as you cannot count the stars, so will be your children, unable to be counted. R’ Chaim Kanievsky asks that from the Gemara in Sanhedrin (39a) it is clear that the stars can technically be counted, but because they are constantly moving, one cannot practically count them. If so, how is it a blessing that Avraham’s children will be the same? The inability to count the stars has nothing to do with their abundance? R’ Chaim answers that just as the stars are not fixed in one place, and because they are moving, they look more numerous than they are, so too the Jewish people are constantly “moving”. We are always doing good deeds, especially acts of kindness and giving to other people. When we do for others and live for more than ourselves we count as more than one person. Someone who lives with an attitude of doing for the public good cannot merely be counted as one person- they count as many people, all those people that they enabled to grow. This is the promise that Hashem made to Avraham, his children will be like the stars, they will be constantly moving, growing in good deeds and acts of kindness, which will make them count as many more than their census numbers.

אני קל שקי התהלך לפני והיה תמים (פרק יז פסוק א)

When presenting Avraham with the mitzvah of מילה, circumcision, Hashem introduces Himself with the name ש-ד-י, which the Medrash explains as “the One Who said “enough” to the world”. What is the meaning of this and what does it have to do with the mitzvah of מילה? The Beis Halevi explains that when Hashem created the world, He gave it an ability to develop by itself- to an extent. For example, He allows a wheat kernel to grow, first as straw, then to develop into new kernels with flour. As time goes on, the kernel develops more and more into something usable. But He placed a limit on this, the kernel will never continue developing into a loaf of bread. That was the attribute of Hashem saying “enough”. He placed a limit on natural development and required a point at which there must be human effort and intervention to develop further. This was the introduction to the mitzvah of מילה, Hashem created the human body, but specifically stopped its development early, before the מילה, to allow and require human intervention to attain perfection.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

In this week’s פרשה, we learn of two monumental, eternal בריתות, covenants that are formalized between Hashem and Avraham Avinu, our patriarch Avrohom.

The first time we are introduced to the idea of a ברית, covenant, is in פ‘ נח , Genesis 9:11-12, where the Almighty declares that he will never destroy living beings or the earth. He then designated the rainbow as an everlasting reminder to us of His decision. We are constantly made aware of the momentous truths on which the welfare of humanity depends; i.e. Shabbos, Bris Milah, Tefillin… It is not merely enough for us to intellectually comprehend, but we need continuous reminders.

ברית can be translated as a covenant, an oath, a bond, and as an agreement between two parties; where an act is demonstrated to eternalize the idea or to make it enduring, irrevocable, and an innate, immutable facet of Hashem’s world.

We are introduced this week to the first covenant between Hashem and Avrohom Avinu, Genesis 15:18-21. This type of ברית is stated in Yirmiyahu 34:18. From this we learn that it was an acceptable manner in which covenants were established. The “two parties” would take a live animal, split its body in half and would walk through between the dismembered parts. Initially it seems to be a very strange ritual!

Rav Yosef Albo, ספר העיקרים שער ד, פרק כ“ד enlightens us with a profound explanation. The concept was based on the means of demonstrating that to truly engender an everlasting bond of mutual, irreversible, and relentless love, care, responsibility, and dedication to one another, to attain a level of unity where each party obligates to experience the other’s joy, concern, pain, suffering as if it’s their own, necessitates a bonding of two people merging into one body, one entity. This isn’t easily attained by thought.

When a person or any living creature has pain in one part of their body, the whole body suffers; it’s a law of nature. If for example a limb is disconnected from the body, then the rest of the body doesn’t feel it.

To demonstrate this idea, Hashem commanded Avrohom Avinu to take animals and dismember them in the middle, placing each half corresponding to the other half. He then walked between the pieces to demonstrate that just as these pieces were one entity – one body – and each part felt the pain of the other, and only death caused a separation, so too the two parties are inaugurating immutable, irreversible unity that can’t be terminated. The practical, logical, and honest application is that when one feels, senses, or perceives the affliction, detriment, or injury to the other, one immediately is there to assist. Simultaneously, one always shares their inner thoughts, passions, and sensibilities.

The גמטריא, numerical value of אהבה, love, is 13, the same as אחד, one; for true love is when an unequivocal sense of oneness is achieved. This explains why immediately Hashem revealed to Avraham Avinu the 400 years of hardship; doesn’t a covenant of love dictate caring and benevolence?

At that moment, Hashem was inculcating in Avrahom Avinu that true love had been consummated! “I feel the pain your descendants are going to experience; their pain is Mine, I empathize with you for עמו אנוכי בצרה, I will endure your sorrow as if it’s mine!

But in case, Avrohom Avinu’s descendants, Klal Yisroel, are not worthy that Hashem bestow His infinite kindness and mercy on them, Hashem proclaimed a second covenant, which is ברית מילה, the covenant of circumcision (17:7-13). The fact that the covenant is indelibly etched on the male’s body is a mystical connection that can never be relinquished, for it is a perpetual sign of allegiance to Hashem for an individual’s lifetime and eternally for the Jewish people.

Rav Yosef Albo lived in Spain during one of the most difficult eras of Jewish history – from 1380 to 1444. It was the time of relentless religious persecution on the part of the Catholic Church and Christian society in general. The first Spanish Inquisition took place in 1391. The Bubonic Plague’s impact was still felt, the Hundred Years War between France and England started in 1337, and the pope took residence in France from 1309-1377. All this strife and insecurity was blamed on the Jews.

Rav Yosef poignantly writes, “Even in these terrible times when we are mired constantly in pain and persecution, we shouldn’t lose hope; for though today we are akin to a person on his deathbed, we should never lose hope. For when we see the אות הברית, the sign of Hashem’s covenant of love inscribed on us, we know without doubt that due to this closeness we will return to our original state of strength, glory, and spirituality.” The message is eternal, invigorating, and inspirational for us in these difficult times.

After the עקדה, Akeida, Genesis 22:16, “Hashem swears… because you have done this and not withheld from me your only son, I will bless you…” The רמב“ן , Nachmanides explains that though this was promised already (13:27) it now became a covenant not dependent on our actions, that despite everything, we would one day witness the complete redemption and rectification of all, with the coming of Moshiach. This idea is repeated by the רמב“ן in .דברים לג:מ May we merit to see כבוד שמים speedily restored.

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By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum

וירא אלקים את הארץ והנה נשחתה כי השחית כל בשר את דרכו על הארץ (פרק ו פסוק יב)

The Torah explains the reason that Hashem had to bring a מבול, flood, and destroy the world, in a seemingly repetitive way. It says, “Hashem saw the land and behold it was corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the land.” What is the difference in the two halves of the verse? The כתב סופר explains based on an idea of the רמב”ם in שמנה פרקים. The רמב”ם says that there are two types of mitzvos, those that are sensible and are necessary for society and personal development, and those that we listen to without understanding, just because Hashem told us to. The רמב”ם says that there is a difference in how we are meant to approach the two. The understandable mitzvos are supposed to inculcate within us a mindset and set of values. When the Torah says not to steal, it also wants us to have a moral aversion to theft. The mitzvos that we follow out of pure listening, without understanding, are not providing us with a value system. We can desire to eat non-kosher food, and yet still listen to Hashem’s command of pushing it away. In fact, in a way it is better when we desire it and yet still listen to Hashem, because that means that we are following Hashem’s Will totally for His sake. The generation of the מבול was not only punished for stealing and being corrupt, but also for their values and desires being corrupt. They developed a society where corruption was an ideal and people had a natural leaning in their hearts, not only their actions, towards theft and corruption. The כתב סופר explains that this is the two halves of the verse, Hashem saw that their actions were corrupted, and everyone had corrupted “their way”, that is, their values and ideals. A society such as that could not last.

וישת מן היין וישכר (פרק ט פסוק כא)

After Noach left the תיבה, the ark, he planted grapes, made wine, and became heavily drunk. Why did he become so drunk from this drinking? Surely Noach would not do such a thing intentionally? It is said in the name of the שפת אמת that the world became a weaker place after the מבול, and although Noach could have easily held that amount of wine before the מבול, he didn’t realize that the world, along with the resilience of people, was diminished. R’ Berel Soloveitchik offered an alternative approach. The Medrash says that the same day the Noach planted the seeds, they grew and already made wine. Even though Noach saw the miracle of the seeds growing and producing grapes that very same day, perhaps he thought the miracle ended there. Once he squeezed the grapes he assumed that he would get grape juice, he didn’t realize that part of the miracle was that it was immediately wine!