Dvar Torah for Parshas Shemos

       This week, we begin the new sefer of Shemos. It is also called the Sefer Hageulah since in it we were redeemed from slavery and built the Mishkan for Hashem’s Shechinah to rest. According to the Ramban, though Eretz Yisrael is the only place where we can be called completely redeemed, if we have a set place for the Shechinah, then there is a certain amount of redemption in that as well.

       The story of Moshe’s growing up in the house of Paroh is well-known, maybe most for the irony of Paroh raising the one who would lead the charge against him! But after Moshe kills an Egyptian for beating a helpless Jew, Paroh turns against him and tries to have him killed. A pasuk later in the parsha, during Moshe’s famous conversation with Hashem by the burning bush, gives us the details.

       “וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלָ֗יו מִ֣י שָׂ֣ם פֶּה֘ לָֽאָדָם֒ א֚וֹ מִֽי־יָשׂ֣וּם אִלֵּ֔ם א֣וֹ חֵרֵ֔שׁ א֥וֹ פִקֵּ֖חַ א֣וֹ עִוֵּ֑ר הֲלֹ֥א אָֽנֹכִ֖י יְהֹוָֽה” “And Hashem said to him (Moshe), ‘Who gave man a mouth, or made him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Hashem!” (Shemos 4:11). Rashi brings a medrash that explains that this refers to when Paroh decided to have Moshe executed, he tried to shout out to the guards to grab him, but Hashem made him mute. Additionally, Hashem made the guards deaf so they couldn’t hear Paroh tell them to grab Moshe, and He made the executioner blind so he couldn’t see Moshe while he ran off the stage.

       I had a question on this medrash which I was happy to see is asked by the Sifsei Chachamim. Once, Hashem made Paroh mute, why did He have to do anything else? Once Paroh can’t say anything, there is no danger of anything happening to Moshe! He explains that Paroh became deaf long enough to allow Moshe to run away. Once Moshe escaped, Paroh tried to command his guards to chase after him, but Hashem made them deaf, and all they knew was that Paroh needed something done quickly. So they went and starting running around without any clue of what they were supposed to be doing. But Paroh didn’t realize that they hadn’t understood him, so he assumed that they had chased after Moshe without success.

       This still doesn’t answer why Hashem made the executioners blind; in fact, I believe it only strengthens the question! At this time, I don’t have an answer.

       The Sifsei Chachamim continues with his explanation of the Rashi. How come the pasuk needs to tell me that Hashem gives people sight? If the whole pasuk is representing what He did to Paroh and his servants, why does it include that Moshe retained all his senses? He explains that the word used here for sight, “פִקֵּ֖חַ”, is also used to mean someone who keeps his eyes open, someone who pays attention to his surroundings and to details. Specifically in this case, it means someone who was expecting something to happen, someone who was expecting Hashem to be there for him.

       Moshe did not know what was going to happen while he was being brought to the executioner’s stand, but he did know that he needed to be ready for any opportunity afforded to him. He was not walking with his head down in despair or held high with pride, he walked with purpose; observing the situation to see if Hashem would provide an opportunity for him. He noticed right away, even before anyone else, when the executioner went blind and couldn’t see him, so he was able to jump off the stage and into the desert before anyone had a chance to move. The pasuk tells us that this was a direct inspiration from Hashem, and Hashem was confirming to Moshe that He would always be looking out for him.

       And so begins Sefer Shemos.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Preview of "Reality Check" Available on Nation's Wisdom!

Dear Readers,

We promised you a preview of my upcoming book, Reality Check, and here it is! Available exclusively on the Nation's Wisdom blog, please click here to be taken directly to the post. 

And don't forget to pick up your copy of Reality Check from your local Jewish bookstore in January 2016!

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayechi

       Parshas Vayechi brings us to the end of Sefer Bereishis as well as the end of Yaakov’s life. Yaakov prepares his children for the future by giving them blessings and guidance for the long galus ahead. Interestingly, while this parsha is full of brachos given to many people, none of them are for the actual people to which they are given! Every single bracha is for their descendants; but not even close ones, ones that haven’t even been born yet!

       The first bracha given by Yaakov in the parsha is to Yosef’s two sons, Menashe and Efraim. Everyone knows the story of how Yaakov switched his hands, placing his right hand on Efraim and his left on Menashe, even though the former was the younger son. When Yosef sees this, he immediately tries to switch them back, when Yaakov informs him that this was intentional. Yaakov intended to recognize Efraim as the “first-born” son over Menashe, similar to what he did with Yosef among his own brothers. Yosef, obviously afraid of a repeat performance of what happened to him, disapproved; but Yaakov persisted.

       Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetzky is his sefer, Emes L’Yaakov, asks an interesting question. This was not the first time that Yaakov had placed Efraim before Menashe. Earlier in the parsha, Yaakov tells Yosef, “וְעַתָּ֡ה שְׁנֵֽי־בָנֶ֩יךָ֩ הַנּֽוֹלָדִ֨ים לְךָ֜ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם עַד־בֹּאִ֥י אֵלֶ֛יךָ מִצְרַ֖יְמָה לִי־הֵ֑ם אֶפְרַ֨יִם֙ וּמְנַשֶּׁ֔ה כִּרְאוּבֵ֥ן וְשִׁמְע֖וֹן יִֽהְיוּ־לִֽי” “And now, your two sons that were born to you in the land of Egypt, before I came to Egypt, are mine. Efraim and Menashe are to me like Reuven and Shimon” (Bereishis 48:5). Yaakov said this before he gave them their bracha. How come Yosef didn’t get upset at Yaakov then for placing Efraim first?

       The commonly given answer to this question is that Yosef didn’t see anything wrong with Yaakov saying Efraim before Menashe during a regular conversation. It was only when Yaakov was blessing them, with the same exact blessing to each one, that Yosef saw clearly what Yaakov was doing. Therefore, he immediately stepped in and asked Yaakov what was up.

       R’ Yaakov says his own answer by first asking a question. This is the only recorded instance of Yaakov blessing his grandchildren. Why did Yaakov feel a need to bless Efraim and Menashe more than the rest of his descendants who were also about to spend centuries in exile? He explains that out of all the descendants of Yaakov, Efraim and Menashe were the only ones who had not lived in Eretz Yisrael and in the completely holy environment of Yaakov’s house. They had been born and bred in Mitzrayim, and while they had become tremendous tzaddikim, they still lacked the experience of residing in a completely holy atmosphere. Therefore, they needed the most chizuk in terms of their descendants surviving the exile in Mitzrayim; this is also why Yaakov says that he considers them like Reuven and Shimon, he needed to give them brachos as if they were his own sons in order to protect them from the galus. So Yaakov gave them a bracha by themselves, and relied on the brachos he gave the brothers to give chizuk to their children.

       So why was Efraim placed before Menashe? If you look at the pesukim dealing with the naming of Efraim and Menashe, when Menashe was named, Yosef mentions the contrast between that time and when he was living at his father’s house. However, when Efraim was born, Yosef just mentions the success he had enjoyed in Egypt. Says R’ Yaakov, this shows that by the time Efraim was born, Yosef already had a stronger connection to Egyptian lifestyle and culture, and therefore, Efraim needed more protection from the galus. So Yaakov blessed him before Menashe.

       Throughout these blessings as well as the conversations Yaakov has with Yosef and then with the rest of the brothers, there is a strong theme of Yaakov impressing upon them that this time in Mitzrayim will be galus. While also giving them hope that they will eventually leave there, even more so, he impresses upon them that they are not where they belong. Their proper place is in Eretz Yisrael.

       Even with all the terrible things the Egyptians did to Bnei Yisrael and even with all the miracles Hashem performed for them, there were still many people who didn’t want to leave Mitzrayim. Chazal tell us that these people did not make it back to Eretz Yisrael and the true geulah, one way or another. B’ezrat Hashem, we will be redeemed soon; in the meantime, let us remember the lessons of this week’s parsha, and Yaakov Avinu’s warning to us (remember, the blessings he gave his sons for not for them, but for their descendants, us!) to remember our roots, where we truly belong, and where we can experience holiness of the highest level.

Chazak Chazak V’Nischazeik!

Shabbat Shalom! 

Click here for last year's Dar Torah for Parshas Vayechi

Stay tuned on Motzaei Shabbos for a sneak peek of my upcoming book, "Reality Check: A Handbook of Hashkafa"!

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No Dvar Torah This Week

Due to a scheduling conflict, there is no new Dvar Torah this week. Please click here to enjoy last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayigash. We will return, B'ezrat Hashem, next week with a brand new Dvar Torah.
Shabbat Shalom!

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Announcing "Reality Check!"

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed over the past few weeks I have been promising a big announcement. 

I am very happy to announce that in the next few weeks, I will be releasing my first book entitled, "Reality Check: A Handbook of Hashkafa!" 

The idea behind "Reality Check" started around two years ago. I was working on another project at the time, dealing with more advanced Hashkafic issues, when I realized that I was asking the wrong questions and seeking the wrong answers. So many people I spoke to seemed to pause when discussing the reason and logic behind so many of the mitzvos that we do; even the more basic ideas. 

Furthermore, upon doing more research, I realized that there was no simple guide to finding the answers to this question. If I wanted an answer, I had to go through huge seforim and read many words until finally reaching the full explanation. I felt that these two issues were causing major problems. First, the lack of knowledge behind the “what and why” of Torah and mitzvos prevents us from developing a true and strong connection with Hashem. Secondly, the lack of easy access to these truths made it difficult to overcome this first issue!

I decided to attack these issues head on. “Reality Check” is the result.

This book presents the explanations to many of the basic ideas of Judaism, from why we keep Shabbos, to how we are supposed to view davening, the truth of the Torah, what is the meaning behind Olam Haba, and much more. Each chapter is written in a way that the topic can be read and understood in only a few minutes, making it easy to understand and absorb these important ideas.

It is my hope that this book will lead us to be inspired through a greater understanding of Hashem, our world, and the Torah.   

Please visit my website, hashkafahandbook.com, which launches today, to learn more. 

Also, like my Facebook Page to get all the latest updates for the book.  

Stay tuned for exclusive previews, purchasing options, and of course, the official book release date!

Happy Chanuka!
Yosef

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No New Dvar Torah this Week

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there is no new Dvar Torah this week, Parshas Vayeishev. Please click here for last year's Dvar Torah. We will return, B'ezrat Hashem, next week with a brand new Dvar Torah.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayishlach

       Parshas Vayishlach brings about the long awaited showdown between Yaakov and Esav. After waiting years to confront Yaakov for stealing the brachos, Esav finally got his chance at revenge. When he heard Yaakov was returning to Eretz Yisrael from Charan, he immediately gathered 400 men and began marching towards him. When Yaakov heard that Esav was coming, he began to prepare for the inevitable confrontation. He prepared his camp for battle, he davened to Hashem to protect him, and he arranged a lavish, three-part gift to be sent to Esav.

       Together with the gift, he gave his messengers very specific instructions. “וַיְצַו אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹן לֵאמֹר כִּי יִפְגָּשְׁךָ עֵשָׂו אָחִי וִשְׁאֵלְךָ לֵאמֹר לְמִי אַתָּה וְאָנָה תֵלֵךְ וּלְמִי אֵלֶּה לְפָנֶיךָ. וְאָמַרְתָּ לְעַבְדְּךָ לְיַעֲקֹב מִנְחָה הִוא שְׁלוּחָה לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו וְהִנֵּה גַם הוּא אַחֲרֵינוּ. וַאֲמַרְתֶּם גַּם הִנֵּה עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב אַחֲרֵינוּ כִּי אָמַר אֲכַפְּרָה פָנָיו בַּמִּנְחָה הַהֹלֶכֶת לְפָנָי וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן אֶרְאֶה פָנָיו אוּלַי יִשָּׂא פָנָי.”“And he commanded the first group saying, ‘When you meet Esav, my brother, and he will ask you, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and for whom are these before you?’ And you will say, ‘(We belong) to your servant, Yaakov, it is a gift to my master, Esav. And, behold, he (Yaakov) is (coming) behind us.’… (And Yaakov commanded the other two groups) And you will say, ‘Behold! Also your servant, Yaakov is behind us…” (Bereishis 32: 18-19, 21).

       The Kli Yakar asks: In pesukim 18-19, we are told exactly what Yaakov told his messengers, including the fact that they should tell Esav that he is following behind them. In pasuk 21, we see Yaakov talking to the second and third groups of messengers, but there he only mentions to them to tell Esav that he is following behind them. Without the pasuk saying anything, we would assume that Yaakov told the exact same thing to each group; now that the pasuk does tell us something he told to the later groups, it appears to be the exact same thing he told the first group! Why does the pasuk repeat this command?

       Yaakov figured that Esav would ask his messengers three questions: who do you belong to, where are you going, and who is the present for. Therefore, he gave them three answers: we belong to Yaakov, we are going to Esav, and the present is for him. However, Esav was not necessarily going to ask where Yaakov was at the moment, maybe because he figured Yaakov wouldn’t be anywhere near him. Therefore, Yaakov told his messengers to tell Esav that he himself was coming to meet Esav, in order to honor him.

       The second and third groups would know that they would need to know the answers to the three questions, otherwise, how would Esav know who this stuff was for! So those answers they would make sure they paid attention to while hearing the instructions given to the first group. However, maybe they would not have to tell him that Yaakov was coming too since it had nothing to do with Esav’s receiving the gift. Therefore, Yaakov had to specifically mention to them to tell Esav that he was coming, more than having to repeat to them the answers to the three questions. So the pasuk is not simply repeating one piece of Yaakov’s message, it’s actually repeating exactly what Yaakov told the last groups (it’s the only thing he actually told them)!

       Why was it so important to make sure each group repeated the message? Wouldn’t it be enough if the first group alone gave it over? The answer is Yaakov was afraid that Esav would expect him to be there immediately after the first group. Upon seeing the second group, Esav would question them as to where Yaakov was and they wouldn’t be able to answer because they wouldn’t know Yaakov was heading that way! He would assume Yaakov was lying about the whole thing and wouldn’t accept any of the present, putting Yaakov in a dangerous position. In order to avoid this potentially tragic circumstance, Yaakov impressed this message upon the messengers.

Shabbat Shalom!  

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayishlach

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeitzei

       This week's Dvar Torah is in memory of Ezra Schwartz, HY"D. May it be a blessing for his memory.

       This week’s parsha is Parshas Vayeitzei, where the birth of the Jewish People takes place. Yaakov worked for Lavan for fourteen years in order to marry Rachel and Leah, and through them, as well as Bilhah and Zilpa, the twelve shevatim are born. After an additional six years of working for Lavan, Yaakov gets a message from Hashem that it’s time to leave.

       Yaakov was afraid that Lavan would try to stop him from leaving; so while Lavan was away, Yaakov packed up his family and his possessions, and left. When Lavan found out, he and his sons chased down Yaakov and confronted him. A heated argument ensued where we see Yaakov confront Lavan for all the times he tried to cheat him. At the end, Lavan decides to set up a treaty with Yaakov as a truce.

       “וְעַתָּ֗ה לְכָ֛ה נִכְרְתָ֥ה בְרִ֖ית אֲנִ֣י וָאָ֑תָּה וְהָיָ֥ה לְעֵ֖ד בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֶֽךָ... אֱלֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם וֵֽאלֹהֵ֤י נָחוֹר֙ יִשְׁפְּט֣וּ בֵינֵ֔ינוּ אֱלֹהֵ֖י אֲבִיהֶ֑ם וַיִּשָּׁבַ֣ע יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב בְּפַ֖חַד אָבִ֥יו יִצְחָֽק” “And now, come, let us form a covenant, you and I, and may He be a witness between you and me…May the God of Avraham and the god of Nachor judge between us, the god of their father. And Yaakov swore by the Fear of his father, Yitzchak.” (Bereishis 31:44, 53). Lavan offers Yaakov to affirm the treaty through either Avraham’s God (the True One), or through Nachor’s (a false god), whichever he is more comfortable with. But Yaakov takes the third route and swears in the name of “the Fear of Yitzchak.” Rashi explains that this refers to Hashem. What does this mean and why did Yaakov do this?

       Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetzky, in his sefer, Emes L’Yaakov, offers an interesting explanation. During the Seder on Pesach, we read in the Haggada that Lavan was worse than Paroh since Paroh only tried to kill the Jewish boys while Lavan wanted to eradicate the entire Jewish Nation. The commentaries ask that we do not see Lavan ever trying to harm a single one of Yaakov’s children. In fact, he states multiple times that he loved his daughters and grandchildren very much! They explain that while Lavan did not try to physically eradicate Bnei Yisrael, rather, he attempted to spiritually dilute them until they merged with the general society. Where do we see this?

       R’ Yaakov explained that we find it in this story. When Lavan offers to make a treaty, he actually offered Yaakov like this: “Let’s take the God you serve, the God of Avraham, and the god that I serve, the god of Nachor, and join them to truly bond us together!” He proposed a treaty where the two deities being worshipped, the True One and the false one, would be merged to create one new “religion” that would bond him and Yaakov together for generations; a very practical idea for a treaty. This is what the pasuk means when it refers to “the god of their fathers”. In this way, the service to Hashem would eventually be worn down until there was no actual real Judaism left. In this way, Lavan attempted to completely eradicate the Jewish People, even before they had really started.

       As a counter response to this proposal, Yaakov gave a calculated answer. First, he swore not in the name of Avraham, whose connection to his brother Nachor, Lavan’s grandfather, provided a platform where the two systems of belief could potentially merge. Rather, he chose to swear in the name of Yitzchak, someone who, though he was still related, never had any connection with his idol-worshipping relatives. Secondly, he used the phrase, “the Fear of” to refer to Hashem instead of using the normal Hebrew word for god, “אלוהים”. Both Hashem and false gods are referred to with this name. Therefore, in order to completely detach himself from Lavan’s proposal, he used a “nickname” that referred only to Hashem, the True God, thereby showing that he would only commit to Him and not to an avoda zara.

       In today’s day and age, we come across different situations in society where we feel a need to show our support and encouragement towards these circumstances. While it is always nice and important to show caring and compassion, in each of these instances we must make sure that we go in from a perspective based on Torah. Every instance may be supported, but it must be done with the proper outlook, one based on Hashem and His Torah.

Shabbat Shalom! 

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeitzei

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Toldos

       Parshas Toldos begins by reintroducing us to Yitzchak. However, the introduction seems a little repetitive. “וְאֵ֛לֶּה תּֽוֹלְדֹ֥ת יִצְחָ֖ק בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אַבְרָהָ֖ם הוֹלִ֥יד אֶת־יִצְחָֽק” “And these are the generations of Yitzchak the son of Avraham; Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak” (Bereishis 25:19). The commentaries all ask why the pasuk has to repeat itself; after saying that Yitzchak is the son of Avraham, why does the pasuk turn around and say that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak? Isn’t that the same thing?

       There are several answers given, ranging from simple to more complicated. I would like to focus on the answer of the Kli Yakar.

        At the end of last week’s parsha, the pasuk told us “וְאֵ֛לֶּה תֹּֽלְדֹ֥ת יִשְׁמָעֵ֖אל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָֽלְדָ֜ה הָגָ֧ר הַמִּצְרִ֛ית” “These are the generations of Yishmael the son of Avraham; who was born to Hagar the Egyptian” (25:12). There is a distinct difference between the way the pasuk describes Yitzchak and Yishmael’s lineage; by Yitzchak, the pasuk calls him the son of Avraham and that Avraham gave birth to him. By Yishmael, he is called the son of Avraham, but the pasuk says he was born to Hagar.

       In Hebrew language, there is a big difference between being called someone’s son and someone’s descendent. There are times when a person can be called someone’s son without being a true descendent of theirs. For example, students of a specific teacher are called his children if they accept him as their rebbi, their spiritual guide. A community can be called the children of their leader if they truly accept his authority over them.

       On the other hand, no matter what, there are certain natural tendencies, including behavioral, spiritual, physical, and mental, that all children inherit from their parents. They are a person’s natural tendencies that make up their character before they make any changes.

       This is the difference between a parent and a teacher. The tendencies you inherit from your parents make up your natural state of mind, and are extremely difficult to change out of. However, that which you learn from your teacher does not come naturally, and is gained with difficulty but lost easily.

       This, explains the Kli Yakar, is the true difference between Yitzchak and Yishmael. Yishmael is known as Avraham’s son because he did pick up some good traits by living in Avraham’s house. However, his natural tendencies leaned towards his mother, Hagar; as we see in the pasuk, as soon as he left Avraham’s house, he became a bandit (See 21:20). Therefore, the pasuk tells us that he was truly descended from Hagar.

       By Yitzchak, Avraham was both his father and his rebbi. While he too learned many things from living in his father’s house, even more so, he naturally imbibed his father’s (and mother’s) sterling traits, proving him to be the true heir to Avraham. Therefore, the pasuk tells us that he was both Avraham’s son and that he was descended from him.

       From this parsha, we see how important it is to make the most of the opportunities provided to us. Yishmael had a 50/50 chance of ending up like Avraham or like Hagar; but instead of going towards his Avraham tendencies, he went in the opposite direction. When we are placed in a situation where we can go one way or another, or where we have the opportunity to connect to someone who can lead us in the right direction, let’s make sure we don’t act like Yishmael, and take the proper path.

Shabbat Shalom! 

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Toldos

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Chayei Sarah

In this week’s parsha, Parshas Chayei Sarah, Eliezer travels to Charan to find a wife for Yitzchak, the son of his master, Avraham. The Torah describes in great detail the tremendous siyata dishmaya that led Eliezer to finding Rivka and bringing her back to Eretz Yisrael.

       While on his trip, Eliezer meets the rest of Rivka’s family, including her brother, Lavan. Lavan takes a more prominent role in later parshiyos when Yaakov goes to live with him; however, one aspect of Lavan’s character is shown immediately, starting from our parsha. Lavan was known as a liar and cheat; different examples show this to be overwhelmingly true, including most famously, his switching Rachel for Leah under Yaakov’s chuppah, as well as examples in this week’s parsha and other encounters with Yaakov. However, there is one pasuk in this week’s parsha that paints a slightly different picture.

       “וּלְרִבְקָ֥ה אָ֖ח וּשְׁמ֣וֹ לָבָ֑ן” “Rivka had a brother whose name was Lavan.” (Bereishis 24:29). The Ohr HaChaim brings a medrash that explains that when a pasuk in the Torah introduces a tzaddik, it will write, “and his name was…”, but when talking about a rasha, the pasuk will write, “and…was his name.” So according to how our pasuk is written, Lavan was actually a tzaddik!

       The Ohr HaChaim explains that by looking at the whole pasuk, we can understand what was actually happening here.

       Immediately after he is introduced, the pasuk says that Lavan ran down to the well to meet Eliezer, and the beginning of the next pasuk says he saw the jewelry that Eliezer had given Rivka. Chazal explain that he ran down to see if Eliezer was going to hand out any more money; consistent behavior with our overall impression of him. However, if this was the case, shouldn’t the pasuk say that he first saw the jewelry and then ran down to meet Eliezer?

       Explains the Ohr HaChaim, after coming home from the well, Rivka told Lavan all about this stranger who she was very excited about, but who Lavan saw was clearly making advances on his sister. This immediately brought up protective feelings in Lavan and he immediately raced down to the well to defend his sister from whomever this man may be, without even listening to a proper explanation! But after seeing the expensive jewelry that Eliezer had given Rivka, and listening to him speak, he understood that Eliezer had only the best intentions in mind and was actually paying his sister a huge honor by bringing her into the family of Avraham. At this point, all of Lavan’s suspicions were gone, and he began to plan to separate Eliezer from his money, once again slipping back into his natural state.

       The Ohr HaChaim says that it was from this small act of running to defend his sister that Lavan merited having the Bnei Yisrael come from him. From his two daughters, Rachel and Leah (as well as Bilha and Zilpa according to one opinion) came the twelve tribes of Yisrael, meaning Lavan was the grandfather of the Jewish People!

       While we hopefully will do more mitzvos and kind acts in our lifetime than Lavan did, it’s important to realize the power of a single act. It’s not as if Lavan did something crazy, he was simply following his instinct to protect his sister, and yet, Hashem rewarded him magnificently. You never know which act you do will be the one that affects you, your family, and the whole world for generations to come. Don’t waste the opportunity, this may be it.

Shabbat Shalom!

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for PArshas Chayei Sarah

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeira

       Parshas Vayeira begins with Avraham Avinu welcoming guests into his tent. While Avraham’s propensity for chessed and Hachnasas Orchim is well-documented in Chazal, this is the only occurrence in the Torah where his kindness is extensively detailed. The situation at the time, Avraham was recovering from surgery and it was an extremely hot day, make it the best example to demonstrate this great middah of his.

       The three “guests”, actually angels in disguise, were ערביים, Arabs. When Avraham goes to greet them and invite them inside, he makes a strange request. “יֻקַּח־נָ֣א מְעַט־מַ֔יִם וְרַֽחֲצ֖וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֑ם” “Please take a little bit of water and wash your feet” (Bereishis 18:4). Rashi explains that Arabs would worship the dust, so in order to make sure no Avoda Zara was brought into his house, Avraham made them wash the dust off their feet.

       It is difficult for us to understand the draw of Avoda Zara today, but some are easier to understand than others. To worship the sun or the moon might make sense; they ‘rule’ the sky and they might be the symbols that most represent day to day life. An argument could be made for certain majestic animals or scenery. But why dust? What is so amazing about it that would lead someone to worship it as a god?

       I heard an explanation in the name of the Maharal that provides us with an explanation as well as an important lesson.

       The ancient Arabs (and their modern-day descendants) were extremely dedicated to ‘god’, so much so that they wanted to make everything they did a holy experience. However, they wouldn’t try to find out what god wanted from them, they simply decided that whatever they were doing at the time, regardless of what it was, was what he wanted from them. Therefore, they were always doing exactly what god wanted from them! And they would do it 110%.

       Therefore, even the dust under their feet was holy; since the journey they were on was a ‘mission’ from god, the dust on their feet was a part of this holy mission and connected them to their gods. So Avraham made them wash off even the dust to remove any potential connection to their worship.

       It is this idea of complete dedication that has made them such a dangerous enemy throughout time. They are completely dedicated to their idea of god, and they are in complete harmony with ‘him’. Their fight is with man, and specifically, us. The only way to counteract this mindset is to counter it with complete dedication of our own.

       In this week’s parsha, we see Avraham recovering from his bris milah, we see him desperately looking for guests, we see him praying to Hashem to save the city of Sedom and the surrounding area- a place where there was not even one righteous individual, and finally, we see Avraham willing to sacrifice his only and beloved son, Yitzchak. All this in the name of serving Hashem. This is complete dedication; this is what it takes to be 100% committed to being a true servant of Hashem.

       If we hope to defeat our enemies, we must look to Avraham Avinu and commit ourselves 100% to serving Hashem, and even better for us, we know how He should be served! With this, we should all have a tremendous zchus to see true bracha and yeshua!

Shabbat Shalom!

Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeira

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No Dvar Torah this Week

Due to unforeseen circumstances, there is no new Dvar Torah this week. Please click here for last year's Dvar Torah for Parshas Lech Lecha. We will, b'ezrat Hashem, return next week with a new Dvar Torah.
Shabbat Shalom!

For any questions, comments, or to subscribe to our email list, please email is at AIMeMtorah@gmail.com.

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