Lech Lecha- Showing Off or Showing Up?

 Lech Lecha, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 

“This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” (17:10)

We are taught that Avraham kept every mitzva in the Torah before he (or anyone else for that matter) was even commended to, with one exception: the commandment to become circumcised. Bris Mila is the only Mitzva he did once he was commanded to do it. [Prophetically, Avraham divined the mitzvos that would only be commanded later – like eating matza and blowing shaofar, for example. ) The question, asked Rav Nissan Alpert, is why not? Why specifically by the mitzva of mila did Avraham wait until God actually commanded him to do so?

Furthermore, the Medrash in next week’s Parsha reveals that actually even after Avraham was commanded to circumcize himself he still was not totally sure. The Medrash recounts that Avraham visited some friends and asked for their advice regarding the circumcision; he wanted to know if it was a good idea. The question is obvious! By the story of the Akeda, Avraham had no qualms about sacrificing his son Yitzchak. There he did not consult with colleagues- he needed no convincing that it was the right thing to do. But here by Mila, Avraham needs to ask his friends for advice-!?

Rav Nissan Alpert offers one approach. The Mitzva of Mila, he says, is categorically different than all the other Mitzvos Avrhaam did up until that point. Circumcision displays a radical physical difference between a Jew and a non-Jew. (Let us put aside one who unfortunately cannot or did not have a circumcision.) It is a sign that the Jewish people are an elevated group. Avraham knew this fact and was concerned that undergoing this radical change would perhaps sabotage his attempts at influencing the pagan worshipers of his time. Once he got the Mila everyone would view him as a Religious Fanatic, or a person with sacrifice for God too great to be mimicked by the mere mortal. People might be intimidated, overwhelmed, or turned off when encountering a person who took his service to God to such an extent as to make an abrasion in his body.

Therefore Avraham did not voluntarily circumcise himself and he even was hesitant when God told him to do so. “Perhaps, Avraham relayed to his friends, Hashem’s message will go unheard if I perform this mitzva. Maybe it is better I do not do it!! Only when his friend Mamre advised Avraham to listen to God did Avraham acquiesce.

Why now, at the age of 99, was God advising Avraham to get a Mila? If Avraham avoided having it done up until this point, why did God feel that now it was the time to get it done? Rav Alpert adds that now God knew that Avraham would become a father soon. Before Avraham could be a proper father and teacher to his child, Avraham need to ‘perfect’ himself through getting the mila.

There are a number of lessons to be derived here. Sometimes we feel that to influence others to more closely follow the ways of Hashem we cannot appear to extreme in our religious behavior. We might turn them off. Indeed, as evidenced by Avraham’s hesitance, this might be a valid approach. We have to be careful not to be overbearing or patronizing when trying to influence others. But Mamre (and God of course) disagree with Avraham and say that no, he should still get the mila. This approach seems to imply that sometimes we should not worry so much about our appearances. We should be ourselves, be proud of our ideals and what we look like. This will create a positive sentiment and impact when displayed properly to others.

 Posted by jlasson at 10:47 am  Tagged with: , ,

Life Lessons

 Chayei Sarah  No Responses »
Oct 282010
 

Parashat Hayye Sarah is, at large, a chronicle of Avraham Avinu’s last living actions.  Beginning with the death of Sarah Imeinu and ending with the death of Avraham himself (with an aside tracking the generations of Yishmael and his death), we are invited to see how the forefather of the Jewish people chose to spend his last.

A cursory read of the parasha yields 3 major elements.  Avraham

  • buys a plot (chapter 23),
  • arranges for his son to marry (chapter 24), and
  • wills all his possessions to Yitzhak and sends his other sons away (chapter 25).

However, if we rephrase the description of these events, we find that Avraham

  • begins buying Eretz Yisrael (a burial plot is the most meaningful, symbolic, and lasting land purchase possible),
  • ensures his progeny, and
  • guarantees Yitzhak’s status as successor.

Yet we find that all three things have already been promised to Avraham by God in previous parshiyot!  Does this render Avraham’s last efforts futile?  Not at all.  Avraham perceived the following foundational principle: even when Hashem promises you something, you are yet part of the fulfillment of that promise.  It was not enough for Avraham to sit idly by while his destiny unfolded; he played an active role in the consummation of his divine decree.  This goes a leap beyond hishtadlut:1  Avraham is an instrument in God’s promise to him!

But that is only one of the elemental truths Avraham teaches us through his actions.  Of the many curious events in our parashah, one that escapes overlooking is the conversation between Avraham and Eliezer2.  Avraham, ever laconic, has an unusually long conversation with Eliezer, that goes something like this:

(Note: this is far from an exact translation.  Really far.)

Avraham: Swear you will not get my son a wife from Canaan, but get one from my birthplace.
Eliezer: What if she doesn’t want to come back, should I take Yitzhak over there?
Avraham: No way.  The God who promised me the Land will send an angel to guide you.  If she doesn’t want to come, you are cleared of your oath, but whatever you do, do not take Yitzhak back.
Eliezer: I swear

(Bereishit 24:1-9)

Avraham has two major criteria in his judgement: a) he wants Yitzhak to marry someone from back home and b) he does not want Yitzhak to ever leave the Land of Canaan.3  Eliezer is trying to flesh out which of the two criteria is more essential.  Avraham will not have it.  If Eliezer can’t do his job, says Avraham, then leave my son alone.  But note!    He says “you are absolved of your oath,” and, “whatever you do, do not take him there.”  He does not say, “make sure he stays Israel.”  He makes no decision as to which criteria is more essential.  He merely instructs Eliezer to remove himself from the divine process by advising <em>in</em>action.4

Avraham is positive that humans can play a role in fulfilling the divine promise.  But in the event that  they cannot, or choose not, Avraham also has perfect faith that the decree will be fulfilled either way, so he tells Eliezer to forget about it.

And this is the second axiom.  Avraham knows that the same God Who has made him every promise will also fulfill each and every one.  And if Avraham cannot play his role the way he imagined it, it is of no consequence: the promise will be fulfilled.

We must have faith that in the darkest of times, in the loneliest of times, on the border between improbable and impossible, that God is still there, and He hears all of our prayers.

And He makes good on His promises.

L’ilui nishmat Shayndel Gittle bat ha-Rav Eliezer Chaim, whose life was a model of this lesson

[cross-posted on divreidavid]

  1. effort or endeavor, the common phrase for man “doing his part,” otherwise known as, “God helps those who help themselves.” ↩

  2. although he is called “ha-eved” and “ha-ish” throughout the entire parashah without one mention of a name, the standard Rabbinic approach is to assume that the nameless personality is in fact Eliezer. ↩

  3. we mentioned that Avraham bought land in order to be part of the promise of the Land.  The second best way to take over a country is to marry your kids in to the local aristocratic families.  However, this is not an option for Avraham.  Instead, he opts for the idol worshipers back home, the very home from which he was instructed to cut himself off.  See Derashot ha-Ran, fifth derashah, for an explanation as to why. ↩

  4. The addition of “do not take Yitzhak back there,” must be read in context.  It is a response to Eliezer’s question, “Can I take him to hutz l’aretz?”  If Eliezer has instead asked, “What if I find a nice Canaanite girl hereabouts?” Avraham’s addendum may have been, “whatever you do, do not marry Yitzhak off to one of the local.” ↩

 Posted by David Pardo at 3:17 pm  Tagged with: , ,

With Much Alacrity

 Vayeira  No Responses »
Oct 252010
 

One part of learning the parasha that is both fascinating and instructive is learning more about the characters and their qualities because, as we know, our forefathers aren’t merely our progenitors, but also our role models. The things they did and how they did them can illuminate and impact how we live our own lives.

In Vayera, Avraham is faced with the greatest test God ever gave Man. After a century of waiting for a child who would inherit his covenant with God, Avraham is asked to offer Yitzhak as a sacrifice to God. The very same Avraham who stood up and protested God’s actions against Sodom and ‘Amora, now complies without blinking an eye. What is it about Avraham that enables him to make the right decisions?

The commentators offer a couple of clues. In 22:3, Avraham rises early in the morning and saddles his own donkey, and brings with him wood for the altar. The addition of the detail of the wood prompts the Ramban to ask: wouldn’t there be wood where Avraham was going?

ויבקע עצי עולה – זריזותו במצוה, אולי לא ימצא שם במקום ההוא עצים והוליכם שלשה ימים, או שהיה אברהם פוסל לקרבן עץ שנמצא בו תולעת כדין התורה (מדות ב ה), ולקח מביתו עצים טובים לעולה, וכן אמר ויבקע עצי עולה

And he chopped wood for the offering – his zrizut in the mitvah, for perhaps he wouldn’t find any wood in the place after they had traveled three days, or that Avraham would discover that the wood found there is unfit for offerings after finding maggots in the wood, so he brought from his house good wood.

This is strange. Zrizut is classically translated as zealousness. As per the talmudic dictum – זריזינן מקדימים למצוות (zrizin are first to mitzvot) – zrizut carries an image of celerity, of being the first guy to show up. But here, the Ramban’s use of zrizut has nothing to do with being fast. Avraham’s zrizut is here characterized by thinking ahead.

A fuller picture is given to us the very next verse, 22:4. The Torah reveals that Avraham traveled for three days to get to Mount Moriah. The obvious question is: why make Avraham travel for three whole days? Why not have Avraham do the deed where he stands?

Rashi explains:

ביום השלישי – למה איחר מלהראותו מיד, כדי שלא יאמרו הממו וערבבו פתאום וטרד דעתו, ואילו היה לו שהות להמלך אל לבו לא היה עושה

On the third day – Why did God draw it out and not reveal it immediately? In order that (they) might not say he was surprised and confused suddenly, and if he had time to think about it he would have changed his mind and not done it.

The benefit of making Avraham travel for so long was to give him time to think it out. He could have walked out if he wanted to, but he chose not to. The Ramban really drives this point home. By giving Avraham days to think about the act, Avraham’s action became not a hasty, thoughtless, and rash reaction, but one driven by counsel and forethought.

And that’s the core of zrizut. Zrizut is not about doing the mitzvah as fast as possible, but about doing it as thoughtfully as possible. When we acquire forethought and proper intention (or in the Ramban’s words, דעת ועצה), we can refocus our deeds. When we are first to minyan or first to lend a helping hand, it is not a thoughtless reaction, but a thoughtful action, a decision to be a better person.

On Mount Moriah, God showed us the heights of human capability. Let us take this lesson and be the best people we can be.

[cross-posted on divreidavid]

 Posted by David Pardo at 3:38 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

Calling out in the Name of God

 Lech Lecha  No Responses »
Oct 252010
 

Our parasha traces the very beginning of a new epoch in human history – the beginning of Avraham Avinu’s relationship with Hashem, his role in the world, and a brit binding Hashem and all of Avraham’s descendents. Our parsha sweeps us across many lands and through many of the situations Avraham faced, but one motif stands out:

וַיַּעְתֵּק מִשָּׁם הָהָרָה, מִקֶּדֶם לְבֵית-אֵל—וַיֵּט אָהֳלֹה; בֵּית-אֵל מִיָּם, וְהָעַי מִקֶּדֶם, וַיִּבֶן-שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַיהוָה, וַיִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה. בראשית יב:ח

“From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and he built there an altar to God and called out in the name of God.” (ּBereishit 12:8)

Avraham again calls out in the name of God in 13:4, and once more in 21:33. In his father’s footsteps, Yitzhak follows suit in 26:25.

What is the relationship between building an altar and calling out in God’s name? In order to understand that, we must understand what calling out in God’s name even means.

Onkelos on all four verses translates “calling” as “praying.” Therefore, calling out in God’s name means to pray to God. Many rishonim, including Rashi and the first opinion cited by the Ibn Ezra, agree with this explanation. Then, in this sense, there is no real connection between prayer and the construction of the altar, since we know that prayer can take place anywhere.

Other rishonim (the Ramban and the second opinion in the Ibn Ezra) play around with the syntax of our verses to yield the following read: “and he called upon others to pray to God.” Calling out to God means being His representative in this world and invite others to pray to God. In this sense, the altar was constructed as a central place from where to preach and spread awareness of the Creator. Calling out in God’s name is not merely a single act but a lifelong mission.

Rav Yehudah Rock notes that in Dvarim, the makom hamikdash is referred to as the place where God will rest His name, or specifically, “l’shaken sh’mo sham.” (12:11) L’shaken, here translated as “to rest,” is the verb form of the word “shekhina,” the Divine presence. Shekhina, however, is never used in the noun form in Tanakh, only later by the Rabbis. In Tanakh, it appears exclusively as a verb. The noun form used instead is “shem.” So in fact, we have been mistranslating the word shem. Shem not only means name, as well as fame, but can mean the glory of the Divine presence. 1

This completely transforms our understanding of our forefathers’ actions. They traveled from place to place building altars, not just as a means of prayer or sacrificial worship, but as a focal point where God’s presence and glory could be revealed and realized to the local inhabitants. They called upon people not just to pray or to worship in a narrow sense; they transformed people’s perception and awareness of Hashem. It’s like they went to Nowheresville and built shuls, and JCCs, and schools, and youth groups, and they made Hashem a living reality for their congregants. When they “called out in the name of God,” they made God present in a time and place where He was not.

Our sages teach us: maaseh avot, siman l’banim, the actions of our forefathers are a sign for us, their sons. We, too, must build altars today in 2010. We must create a makom Shekhina, a “resting place” for the Divine presence,” in places devoid, and transform people’s relationship with and perception of the Almighty. And, with help of Hashem, we must successfully call out in His name.

[cross-posted on divreidavid]

  1. i.e. shem=shekhina. This informed understanding of the word shem might explain the enigmatic sin of Bavel. The psukim read that the inhabitants said, “Let us make a shem for ourselves,” and God responds decisively, which is strange if all they wanted was a nice big tower and for people to know about it…who could judge them? Certainly not I. But they didn’t just want to make for themselves “a name,” they wanted to make their own Divine presence, to replace God. This textual clue is the impetus for the midrashic understanding of Bavel’s sin being avodah zarah.
 Posted by David Pardo at 3:30 pm  Tagged with: ,

Marriage to G-d

 Pesach  1 Response »
Apr 022010
 

In the Hagadah, we quote the Pasuk in Shemos 12:12– “Viavarti beeretz Mitrayim balaylah hazeh, vihakisi kol bachor beeretz Mitrayim, maadam viad behama, vechol Elok-ay Mitzrayim eeseh shephatim ani Hashem.” “And I passed over Egypt and killed every firstborn in Egypt, from animal to person and to all of the Egyptian G-d’s I did justice, I am Hashem.” The Hagada explains this passage with G-d killing the Egyptians without an angel or a messenger. The obvious question is what do we learn from G-d doing it by himself. The common answer is to explain how G-d himself had to carry the deed to either show power or out of respect to the Egyptians. But I would like to focus on an approach looking at this deed from the Jews perspective. I think this act of doing it by oneself as opposed to a shliach is part in parcel to the sugyah in Kiddushin of it is better to marry a woman by ones self than with a messenger. So now what is the comparison to here? G-d taking us out of Egypt is part of the covenant He made with Avraham Avinu–part of our marriage. The Hagada mentions early on the Bris Bayn Betarim–the Beraishis 15: 13-14, of “Vayomer LeAvram, yadoa tadah ki geir yihyeh zarecha laeretz asher lo lahem, vaavadum viinu osam arbah maos shana. Vigam es hagoy asher yaavodu osam dan anochi, ani Hashem.” “And He sais to Avram, You should know that your seeds will be strangers in a land not of theirs and they shall work, and they will oppress them for 400 years. And the nation that will work them I will judge, I am Hashem.” This here is the beginning of a contract. the taking us out of Egypt is the end of the contract as the Hagadah says Blessed be who keeps his deal to Israel. This here is a marriage between us and G-d. This is the Kesubah that we recieved in the first pasuk of Bamidbar–”Viyadaber Hashem el Moshe bimidbar sinai biohel moed biechad lachodesh hasheini bashanah hasheinis letzaisam meeretz mitrayim lamor.” “G-d said to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai on the first of the second month in the second year from the departure from Egypt.” The Midrash Tanchuma explains that this verse includes a place, time and description. And until here G-d was free to all nations, now he restricted himself to Jews. In fact, the Kesubah needs what is mentioned above, a place, date, and description. This explains why Egypt is mentioned in the verse, and to why Hashem must date it and offer a description. The beginning of our contract was with Abram then we did our part and then G-d liberated us and finished the Kesuba in the Midbar. The Satmer therefore even make a 7 blessings with G-d on Shavuos. But where do we see this marriage in the Seder? The Yerushalmi brings down 3 explanations for the 4 cups we drink. One is a sad story in Yechezkel 24. G-d had 3 daughters whom he married. the first 2 became the worst of prostitutes to Egypt, Assyria, and Iraq. (the second one was worse than the first.) Then G-d gave them 4 cups of poison to drink. The Yerushalmi quotes that as one of the sources of the 4 cups. So this goes to our relationship to G-d is described by marriage as the Hagadah itself quotes “Rav kitzemach hasadeh nasatich, Vatirbi vatgdili, vatovoiii biadi adayim, shadayim nachochu, usaraych tzimach, viat erom vieryah.” “I caused you to thrive like plants in the field and you increased and grew and became very frightful, with perfect breasts and your hair came long, but you became naked and bare.” This here is a paralell story found earlier in Ezeiel (16:6) which describes a girl whom G-d found, raised and clothed. Then she became a prostitute, paid people for sex, her partners turned against her. G-d remembered a contract he gave her and allowed her to return to His protection. We see in the seder and the Hagada G-d’s marriage to us and willing to always take us back. as Shir Hashirim illustrates the challenge for us to take G-d back. Let us all return to him though we have cheated on him. Let us do complete teshuva as we are banished for sinas chinam also expressed by the 4 cups corresponding to to the Sar Hamashkim and Joseph’s exile. Let us have G-d redeem us as Chad Gad Yah concludes–see the Aruch Hashulchan there. And Leshana Habaah Biyrushalayim. Next year let us eat the Pesach offering.

Jesse

 Posted by Jesse at 9:55 am  Tagged with: , , , , ,

The Power of Names

 VaYechei  1 Response »
Jan 012010
 

This week’s Dvar Torah is dedicated for a Refuah Sheleima for Sarah Freida bat Shoshana.

הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי מִכָּל-רָע, יְבָרֵךְ אֶת-הַנְּעָרִים, וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי, וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק; וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב, בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ.

The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’

Everyone knows the famous Bracha (above) that Yaakov gives to Yosef’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe, but what does it really mean?

The Kli Yakar explains וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי, וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק (let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac) in an interesting way. He says the blessing means that Ephraim and Menashe should be blessed with all the characteristics epitomized by the names “Avraham”, “Yitzchak”, “Yaakov” and “Yisrael”.

  • Avraham means אַב-הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם- the father of a multitude of nations (17:5 בְּרֵאשִׁית). This Bracha means that they should be at the head of all other nations.
  • Yitzchak means laughter, blessing them that they should always be filled with happiness.
  • Yisrael comes from כִּי-שָׂרִיתָ עִם-אֱלֹהִים וְעִם-אֲנָשִׁים, וַתּוּכָל – for you have fought with angels and with men, and have prevailed. (32:29 בְּרֵאשִׁית) This Bracha means that they should always be able to overcome their internal obstacles.
  • Finally Yaakov comes from the saying עקב רב טוב הצפון לצדיקים – because of all the good reserved for Tzaddikim in the future. This Bracha tells them that even though sometimes life seems hard, they should draw strength from knowing that ultimately they will be rewarded for all the good that they do in their lives.

What is most interesting to me is that from this we see the true power of names. Names are not just a way to get a particular person’s attention but contain meaning about who that person is.

I heard from a podcast by Rabbi Berel Wein recently that this is why HaShem called Moshe “Moshe” when tasking him with saving the Jewish people. The Midrash tells us that Moshe was given another name at his birth and the name Moshe was only given by the daughter of Pharaoh. Why would HaShem choose to call Moshe by his Egyptian name?

Rabbi Wein explains the answer simply. When Moshe resisted and said to HaShem that he couldn’t speak well and couldn’t possibly be the man best suited for saving the enslaved Jewish people, HaShem responded by saying “your name is Moshe, which means drawn out [of the water]. It is for this purpose that you were saved from the Nile.”

This, said Rabbi Wein, is the value of reading the names of all the people who perished in the Holocaust. We are reminding ourselves that just as those people and their names had power, so do we. Just like Moshe, we should remember that we have all been saved and placed here for a reason.

We all have our own unique name with our own unique purpose. But we should remember that we are not alone; we have been blessed with all the powers of our ancestors as well.

Shabbat Shalom

 Posted by Liron Kopinsky at 11:10 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Famine

 Lech Lecha  No Responses »
Oct 302009
 

This week’s portion brings us to the life of Avram. Avram obeys G-d’s command to leave his place of dwelling, and eventually arrives at Canaan. After Canaan, we are told that Avram pitches his tent with Beth El on the west and the Ai on the east. And then Avram goes down to Egypt.

ויסע אברם הלוך וננסוע הנגבה: ויהי רעב בארץ וירד אברם מצרימה לגור שם כי כבד הרעב בארץ

(בראשית יב, ט-י)

Then Avram traveled on, journeying steadily toward the south. There was a famine in the land, and Avram descended to Egypt to travel there, for the famine was severe in the land. (Genesis 12, 9-10)

The Midrash explains that there are ten different famines that are to plague the world. One was during the days of Adam, the second was in the days of Lemech, and the third one was in the days of Avram. The last famine that will come to the world will be at the end of days, before the arrival of Mashiach. As the Prophet says,

הנה ימים באים… והשלחתי רעב בארץ לא רעב ללחם ולא צמא למים כי אם לשמוע את דברי ה

(עמוס ח, יא)

Behold, days are coming… and I shall send out a hunger onto the land. Not a hunger for bread, and not a thirst for water, but rather [a hunger] to hear the words of G-d. (Amos 8, 11)

In Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, it is said that the last famine will be the most difficult of them all. This seems to be odd- isn’t a famine for the words of G-d a good thing? People hungry for religion, for guidance in life, returning to their roots; isn’t this exactly what G-d wants of us?

To answer this question, we must look deeper into the very definition and effects of a famine. What is the benefit that emerges from the years of famine? People learn to be satisfied with the little resources available. In a famine, even a few bread crumbs are seen as an elaborate and nutritious meal. In a drought, every precious drop of water is conserved. For example, the people of Africa who live in drought conditions don’t care whether or not their water is clean and bacteria-free. When there is a drought, one takes what there is, or dies. Even a few drops of water are seen as satisfying substance.

Explains the Ponovizer Rov, a very similar case will emerge when the hunger for G-d’s word begins. People will be satisfied with even the very little amount of spiritual guidance they find in life. They won’t check to see whether or not their religions is pure, whether what they are returning to is true Judaism. People will be content with gimmicks. We should take a message from this week’s portion, to always make sure that what we believe in is pure and correct- we cannot settle for anything less than the truth.

 Posted by Harel at 6:54 am  Tagged with: , , , ,

Planning Ahead

 Lech Lecha  No Responses »
Oct 292009
 

The Trip Down to Egypt 

[1]This week’s parsha tells the story of our first forefather, Avraham. Among many other stories, we learn how Hashem commanded him to leave his home, travel to Israel and how a famine forces Avraham and Sarah to leave Israel for Egypt.

A quick summary of the trip to Egypt is as follows: Before getting to Egypt Avraham and Sarah realize that the Egyptians are not very moral people and since Sarah is so beautiful, they might kill Avram in order to take Sarah. To avoid this possibility, the two decide to tell the Egyptians that they are siblings.  This will hopefully save Avraham from murder and Sarah from rape. Upon entry into Egypt, the officers of Pharaoh see Sarah and take her to the king, while Avraham is paid richly. Hashem, however, afflicts the Egyptians on account of having taken Sarah.  Upon realizing Sarah’s true identity, Pharaoh rebukes Avraham and asks him and Sarah to leave the country.

The Ramban notices an amazing parallel between this episode in Egypt and the story of the Jew’s slavery in Egypt. In that story, there was again a famine, so Yaakov and his sons’ again descend to Egypt. The Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians and they took the Jewish women (only throwing the baby boys into the Nile.) Hashem afflicted the Egyptians with the Ten Plagues, and finally the Jews were chased out of the land with huge amounts of wealth.

In his analysis of the story of Avraham and Sarah, the Ramban criticizes Avraham for putting Sarah into such a horrible situation. He goes so far as to say that the reason the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt was because of Avraham’s actions endangering Sarah.

The Abarbanel, however, sees the story completely differently. He doesn’t think that Avraham Avinu did anything wrong when making his plan with Sarah. If this is so, then what is the unavoidable connection between Avraham’s trip to Egypt and our later slavery there?

There is an idea in Judaism known as “maaseh avot, siman l’banim,” which loosely translates to mean that the actions of ancestors are signs of what will eventually happen to descendants. By causing Avraham to live through the experience of going down to Egypt, having his wife taken from him, seeing the Egyptians afflicted by Hashem and finally by leaving with vast amounts of wealth, Hashem hinted towards the similar cycle of oppression and ultimate salvation that the future Jewish people would experience.

We see from this story that our actions don’t just affect us, but rather affect generations to come. While the actions and experiences of someone with the stature of Avraham Avinu have huge, global implications, that does not detract from the lesson that our actions too have ramifications reaching far beyond our immediate surroundings.

Why Avraham?

[2]The second issue I want to focus on is the question of what it was about Avraham Avinu that made him the one Hashem chose to found the Jewish people?

Most people would immediately answer this question by saying “Avraham was the first monotheist,” but this is not entirely true.  We know that many people preceding him (e.g. Adam, Hanoch, Noach) believed in and had personal relationships with Hashem. There must then be something about Avraham that distinguishes him from everyone who preceded him.

When thinking about characteristics that would make someone a successful founder of a religion, a staunch devotion to a belief system and a desire for truth are two characteristics that seem necessary. These characteristics, however, are not used to describe Avraham. Rather, our sages use these terms describe Yitzchak, known for the trait of Din (Justice), and Yaakov, known for the trait of Emet(honesty). Avraham’s main character trait is rather understood to be Chesed (kindness).

This kindness – this ability to make his own needs secondary to the needs of others – was what made Avraham so special. Avraham didn’t just realize there was a Creator, he asked “What does Hashem want of me?” Avraham was fully prepared to give everything of himself in the service of others and in the service of Hashem.

This is why Avraham, with his qualities of kindness and selflessness, had to be the first of our forefathers. He had to set the framework for all of morality to follow. Without the basis of kindness, it is very easy to see how a drive for truth can end up in the repression of others and how a staunch religious devotion can end up alienating others.

May we all learn from the messages and the foundations of Avraham Avinu and realize that all of our actions have lasting effects and that doing everything selflessly truly sets a framework able to last the ages.


[1]: This idea is based on idea I heard from the Keshet (english KMTT) Podcast on the weekly Parsha by Rabbi Yonatan Grossman.] 

[2]: This second idea is based on a talk that I heard from a Podcast by Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovitz.

 Posted by Liron Kopinsky at 11:00 pm  Tagged with: , , , , ,
© 2012 myDvar.com Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha

Switch to our mobile site