Friday, November 25, 2016

Dvar Torah for Parshas Chayei Sarah

       Parshas Chayei Sarah ushers in a new generation as Yitzchak meets his wife, Rivka, and they are married. But before that, the Torah details Sarah’s death and Avraham’s purchase of the Mearas Hamachpela as a burial site. There is much discussion as to why these two stories are placed next to each other. Let’s examine the pasuk that connects them together.
       “וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑יםAnd Avraham was old, advanced in days…” (Bereishis 24:1). The fact that the pasuk begins the story of searching for Yitzchak’s wife with this phrase is puzzling. In Parshas Vayeira, when Hashem promised Avraham and Sarah that they would have a child, the pasuk uses this same phrase to tell us that they were old. (“וְאַבְרָהָ֤ם וְשָׂרָה֙ זְקֵנִ֔ים בָּאִ֖ים בַּיָּמִ֑ים” [18:14].) The pasuk there is explaining how great a miracle this was that even though they were both elderly, they were still able to have a child. But this is now almost 40 years later, and Avraham is definitely considered old at this point. So why does the pasuk need to mention it again?
       The Kli Yakar explains that this is an example of the phrase “טובים השניים מן האחד והחוט המשולש לא במהרה ינתק“Two are better than one, and the triple thread will not snap easily” (Adapted from Koheles 4:9, 12, and quoted throughout Chazal). Chazal explain that a family can provide a tremendous amount of life energy for its members. In fact, when the people involved in your relationships are righteous (and also treat you well, of course), they can add on another layer of living, of life, onto a person. Throughout his life, Avraham enjoyed this extra layer of living from his relationships. While married to Sarah, Avraham gained a tremendous amount of life from her. And when Yitzchak was born, the triple-corded thread was complete. In fact, he gained so much from them that he didn’t fall prey to the common effects of old age. Not that he didn’t get old, but he didn’t act old. He was still vibrant and full of life, thanks to the nachas support provided to him by his family.
       But you can’t compare the time before Yitzchak and after Sarah to when both of them were living. Therefore, by both time periods, the pasuk has to tell me that Avraham was old, to contrast to the period in between, when they were both living, that he didn’t seem to age at all. Avraham missed this family support so much that he immediately sought to replace it, not with a wife of his own necessarily, but that at least Yitzchak should be married. And while Yitzchak would obviously benefit from it, hopefully Avraham would benefit as well. Therefore, the story of Sarah’s death is juxtaposed to the search for Yitzchak’s wife.
       How about the phrasing “בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים?” This literally translates as “coming in days”, but at Avraham’s age, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say that he was “leaving”? The Kli Yakar explains that tzaddikim always look towards the future. In their younger days, they knew less torah, had less merit, had gained less wisdom. While nothing compares with the energy and potential of youth, compared to the light of wisdom they face as they grow older, their younger days are considered dark. So for Avraham, as he grew older, he actually was “coming” into his days, not leaving. He was not entering the prime of his physical life, but it was the prime of his existence. He was finally able to utilize all he had gained throughout his life.

Shabbat Shalom!




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Friday, November 18, 2016

Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeira

       Parshas Vayeira contains one of the most important events in our history, Akeidas Yitzchak. Hashem commanded Avraham to bring his son, Yitzchak, as a korban (but not kill him) in what remains the most far-reaching show of dedication to Hashem in the history of the Jewish People. Every year on Rosh Hashanah, Hashem takes into account the Akeidah and decides to continue to support the Jewish People.
       The Akeidah was the last of the ten nisyonos, loosely translated as ‘tests’, with which Hashem tested Avraham’s faith. As part of his explanation to the nisyonos, the Netziv in his commentary on Torah, Emek Davar, discusses the place of the Akeidah in Avraham’s life mission.
       The story begins, “וַיְהִ֗י אַחַר֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה וְהָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים נִסָּ֖ה אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו אַבְרָהָ֖ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי“And it happened after these things that God tested Avraham and said to him, ‘Avraham,’ and he replied, ‘Here I am.” (Bereishis 22:1). The Netziv asks, why does the pasuk mention that the Akeidah occurred “after these things;” it can’t be in reference to the event recorded right before the Akeidah, because all the recorded events preceding this story happened decades beforehand!
       A nisayon is not given to a person in order that they should pass or fail, it is an opportunity given to us by Hashem to take latent spirituality and turn it into an active part of our personality. Even if we can’t achieve the level presented to us at the time of the nisayon, we don’t lose any amount of spirituality; we simply don’t achieve that new level. Furthermore, Hashem will certainly give us an opportunity later on to achieve.
       The Akeidah was the last nisayon given to Avraham; it was the culmination of a lifetime of working on himself until he reached the pinnacle level presented to him. With each previous nisayon, Hashem promised Avraham more and more. First, He promised him Eretz Yisrael, then He promised him tremendous and numerous progeny, the He made him “אַבְרָהָם”, the “father of many nations”, among other things. And now, this is the final piece. With the Akeidah, Avraham achieved what he needed to as the ancestor of the Jewish People, and from then on, his job was done. In fact, after the story of the Akeidah, Hashem didn’t speak to Avraham again for the rest of his life! Therefore, the pasuk says, “אַחַר֙ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה”, in reference to the other nine nisyonos that Avraham achieved, to emphasize that the Akeidah was the apex of the entire process of the nisyonos.
       This explanation answers another question about the Akeidah. It can be argued that Yitzchak put in just as much dedication as Avraham. So how come the pasuk only considers this a nisayon for Avraham and not Yitzchak? According to how we’ve explained, it makes sense. Yitzchak was not responsible for the Jewish People the same way Avraham was, so this opportunity was not designed for him. Therefore, he was not given credit for it in the same manner Avraham was (though he was certainly received reward).
       This is not the first time we have discussed the Akeidah, and every time we uncover a new angle which illuminates the path of our forefathers. As we discussed last week, the stories found in Bereishis about our ancestors show us where we come from and what they did to insure that we would be placed in the best position for us to succeed.


Shabbat Shalom!        



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Friday, November 11, 2016

Dvar Torah for Parshas Lech Lecha

       Parshas Lech Lecha ushers in a new era of history as it marks the beginning of the Jewish People with our forefather, Avraham. The Parsha begins with Hashem promising Avraham, or Avram at that point, that He will always provide for him and make him into a great nation. The stories told throughout the parsha all illustrate this point. An example of one of these stories is Avram’s battle with the Four Kings.
       In Perek 14, we are told about a war that took place between the powerful Four Kings against the rebellious Five Kings. After thirteen years of conflict, the Four Kings finally defeated the Five Kings and their armies, and plundered their lands. Among the defeated countries was Sodom, where Lot, Avram’s nephew, resided. Whether because of his status as the nephew of the famous Avram, or simply because he was in the way, Lot was taken captive by the pillaging armies.
       Upon hearing of his nephew’s capture, Avram didn’t hesitate. “וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע אַבְרָ֔ם כִּ֥י נִשְׁבָּ֖ה אָחִ֑יו וַיָּ֨רֶק אֶת־חֲנִיכָ֜יו יְלִידֵ֣י בֵית֗וֹ שְׁמֹנָ֤ה עָשָׂר֙ וּשְׁל֣שׁ מֵא֔וֹת וַיִּרְדֹּ֖ף עַד־דָּֽן“And Avram heard that his brother was taken captive, and he armed his initiates who had been born in his house- three hundred and eighteen- and he gave them chase as far as Dan” (Bereishis 14:14). The simple explanation of the pasuk is that Avram and his army of 318 men defeated four mighty armies! A tremendous miracle! But the medrash makes it even more spectacular. According to the medrash, the 318 mentioned in the pasuk refers to Avram’s trusted manservant, Eliezer, whose Hebrew name has the numerical value of 318. He and Avram together by themselves were able to defeat four armies and save Lot.
       According to either explanation, this was an amazing miracle, but according to the explanation of the medrash, it’s unbelievable. The Kli Yakar asks how this medrash fits into the reading of the pasuk as we never see a pasuk use a number in reference to an individual. Furthermore, later on Avram rescues the king of Sodom, who offers him anything he wants as a reward. Avram refuses anything for himself, but he asks that the men who came with him should receive something. (See 14:24.) If he came only with Eliezer, who are these men that came with him who deserve a reward for fighting?
       He explains that even according to the medrash, Avram had 318 men with him when he went to fight; because even when you know you will receive a miracle, you are still obligated to make at the very least some sort of physical effort. The question is how come he took that specific amount? Because the corresponding word to that value holds special significance.
        Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. Some are very obviously supernatural occurrences (like the Splitting of the Sea), some fade into the background as seemingly typical events in everyday life (like the miracle of Purim), and many fall somewhere in between where they appear to be miracles but you can still come up with a natural explanation to more or less of a degree. When Avram fought against the Four Kings with his small army, in order for him to be successful, he needed a miracle a lot closer on the scale to an obvious supernatural event. In order to show his trust in Hashem to keep him safe, he brought with him 318 men, corresponding to the name Eliezer, which literally translates into “אלי-עזר”, “God is my Help”. But ultimately, it didn’t matter how many men he brought with him; even if he had just brought Eliezer, they would have been successful together since no one and nothing could have helped him except for Hashem.
       You may wonder that if the Torah is a book of laws or a book of ethics, why are we told all these stories in Sefer Bereishis that seemingly teach us neither? The answer is that these stories of our ancestors show us who we are and who we come from. We are a special People to have descended from such incredible individuals. I look forward to sharing these stories throughout Sefer Bereishis and the rest of the Torah with you.

Shabbat Shalom!



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Friday, November 4, 2016

Dvar Torah for Parshas Noach

       The most well-known event in Parshas Noach is of course, the Flood which lasted for forty days and nights and destroyed all life. At its conclusion, Noach, his family, and the animals that he brought into the ark, were left to repopulate the world. But that isn’t the only major historical event found in this week’s parsha.
       At the end of the parsha, we learn about the famous Tower of Bavel. At that time, everyone in the world lived in the same area and spoke the same language. However, as the population grew, they began to spread out and away from each other. In order to prevent themselves from being spread too far away, they came up with a plan. “וַיֹּֽאמְר֞וּ הָ֣בָה | נִבְנֶה־לָּ֣נוּ עִ֗יר וּמִגְדָּל֙ וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם פֶּן־נָפ֖וּץ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כָל־הָאָֽרֶץ“And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered on the face of the land” (Bereishis 11:3). Hashem observed this construction, became upset with the people, and caused them all suddenly to speak different languages, thereby causing them to spread apart anyway. A few questions arise from this story. Why did they want to build a tower to the sky? Why were they afraid of being spread out across the land? And what exactly were they doing that Hashem punished them?
       The basic explanation of this story is found in Rashi. The people didn’t consider the Flood to have been caused by sins, but rather by a reaction of God which would occur every 1700 years regardless of circumstances. In order to stop God from destroying the World again, they decided to build a tower and fight Him. Hashem was upset that the amazing gift He had given them, clear communication leading to total cooperation, was being put to such wicked purposes. So He took that gift away, which resulted in the Tower construction being discontinued and everyone moving to their own areas depending on their language.
       The Kli Yakar adds in a number of details which change what the issue was. Like we explained, originally everyone spoke the same language and lived in the same basic area, and was at peace with each other. Once the population expanded and they had to begin moving to other areas, they were afraid that this would lead to war and general strife between each other. They felt once they had different countries, they would have different agendas and values, leading to disagreements and fights. Therefore, they decided to build a huge tower in one location so there would continue to be enough space for everyone to live together without having to move away.
       They built the Tower to keep the peace, why were they punished for that? The Kli Yakar explains that it has to do with the phrase “וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם”. Even though it was what they told themselves, the real purpose of this tower was not to keep everyone together, it was a chance for them to make a name for themselves. If the population stayed together, then any greatness a person would gain would be witnessed by the entire world. But if they kept expanding and moving outwards, the ability to show themselves off in front of others would be limited as well.
       If they had really intended to build the tower for the sake of peace, they would have been successful. But based on their true intentions, if they had been successful, the exact opposite would have happened. Keeping everyone together when the purpose was to allow some to be better than everyone else would have led to even more strife than if everyone was spread out and different. Hashem came and saw their true intentions and immediately broke them apart. So in fact, causing everyone to speak different languages and spreading everyone all over the world didn’t cause the cooperation to cease, it increased it!


Shabbat Shalom!



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