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: , , ,

Hindsight Is 20/20

 Devarim  No Responses »
Jul 142010
 

In this week’s parsha, Moshe recounts the events of the Jewish People’s travels through the desert. As part of this description, Moshe describes how Hashem gave us the land on the eastern side of the Jordan river, owned previously by Og and Sichon and their nations. It says:

כד קוּמוּ סְּעוּ, וְעִבְרוּ אֶת-נַחַל אַרְנֹן–רְאֵה נָתַתִּי בְיָדְךָ אֶת-סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ-חֶשְׁבּוֹן הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֶת-אַרְצוֹ, הָחֵל רָשׁ; וְהִתְגָּר בּוֹ, מִלְחָמָה. כה הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, אָחֵל תֵּת פַּחְדְּךָ וְיִרְאָתְךָ, עַל-פְּנֵי הָעַמִּים, תַּחַת כָּל-הַשָּׁמָיִם–אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁמְעוּן שִׁמְעֲךָ, וְרָגְזוּ וְחָלוּ מִפָּנֶיךָ. כו וָאֶשְׁלַח מַלְאָכִים מִמִּדְבַּר קְדֵמוֹת, אֶל-סִיחוֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן, דִּבְרֵי שָׁלוֹם, לֵאמֹר. … ל וְלֹא אָבָה, סִיחֹן מֶלֶךְ חֶשְׁבּוֹן, הַעֲבִרֵנוּ, בּוֹ: כִּי-הִקְשָׁה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת-רוּחוֹ, וְאִמֵּץ אֶת-לְבָבוֹ, לְמַעַן תִּתּוֹ בְיָדְךָ, כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה.

24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of Arnon; behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. 25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the peoples that are under the whole heaven, who, when they hear the report of thee, shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.’ 26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying: … 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. {S}

The verses seem to be contradictory. After receiving a promise from Hashem that He had given us the land of Sichon, how could Moshe even consider sending “words of peace”? Hashem obviously had no desire to make peace with Sichon and his people! Additionally, if the Jewish People were commanded to go to war, why would they first give Sichon the opportunity to make peace?

The Ramban says that these pesukim are actually out of order chronologically. Moshe wasn’t told “behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle” until after Sichon rejected the words of peace sent by Moshe. Initially Moshe thought that this peace attempt would be similar to his attempts with the Moabites and war would not be on the agenda.

After sending words of peace to Sichon, things suddenly did not look good for the Jews. Receiving Sichon’s battle-cry as a response to their peace overtures, they thought they had awakened a sleeping giant. The Amonites were an extremely powerful people, and after the sin of the spies, the Jewish People had not fared well in the battles they had attempted. Only at this point, once war was guaranteed, did Hashem promise that the Jews would be victorious over Sichon and conquer his lands.

With this understanding of how the story played out, we must ask why the pesukim weren’t presented in chronological order to begin with?

The Ramban answers that the Torah put the promise of success before any part of the story is recounted to let us know that no matter how things look, we must realize that He is pulling the strings and is fully in control. Even when things look like they are going badly, we must realize that Hashem has a plan thought out from the beginning.

As we contemplate the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash during the 9 days leading up to Tisha B’Av, it is hard to understand how Hashem could have allowed the destruction to happen. It is hard to understand what is the point of all the hardships we have faced over the last millenia of exile.

Yet as we say in Lecha Dodi every Shabbat, “Sof Maaseh, b’Machshava T’Chila — In the end, action; with an initial intention.” Everything Hashem does is premeditated and for a positive reason. It may be hard sometimes to see the reason, but we must recognize that He always does what is best for us. May we merit to see the ultimate good that this exile has prepared us for Bimheira B’Yameinu.

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

Forbidden Relationships

 Acharei Mot, Kedoshim  1 Response »
Apr 232010
 

This Shabbat is the 25th day of the Omer. We are exactly half way from Pesach to Shavuot.

Acharei Mot, the first part of today’s double feature, is a “bloody” Parsha. It instructs Aaron on the use of blood in the sacrificial rituals, as a pathway to purity and atonement. At the same time it places an absolute prohibition on eating blood (Lev 17:10): “I (G-d) will direct my anger against the person who eats blood and cut him off from among his people.” The Torah considers eating nonkosher meat to be bloodshed, and in fact the provision of kosher meat does serve to connect people to the Jewish community – it is the one part of a kosher diet we simply cannot grow on our own.

Finally, the Parsha prohibits incestuous marriages and relationships between certain blood relatives. Vayikra (Leviticus) chapter 18 lists many forbidden matings, and the Oral Torah supplies an additional secondary list as a fence around the Torah.

One of the prohibited relationships is with a woman who is married (to someone else!). However, even a woman who is single, divorced or widowed may be a forbidden relative. If she is married, then the man who has an affair with her is guilty on both counts. Further, this Parsha forbids homosexual relationships, and then specifies an additional offense if one has this relationship with one’s own father or uncle.

Among others, a man may not marry or even make a sexual advance to his mother or stepmother (even after his father’s death), his daughter or daughter-in-law, his sister, half-sister or sister-in-law (even after his brother’s death – except in the special case where his brother died childless, in which case he may have to marry her or perform the ceremony of chalitza to release her). A man may not marry a sister of his ex-wife while his first wife is still alive, and he may not ever marry the daughter or mother of his first wife

Verse 6 of chapter 18 begins with a repeated word, Ish ish (literally, a man, a man – or, any man), followed by a plural verb, tikrevu. The plural teaches us that women and men are equally obligated to observe these prohibitions. The repetition of Ish indicates that the mitzvah is commanded to all humans, and is included among the mitzvahs of Noah. Bereishit (Genesis) chapter 5, with all its “begats,” shows that the early generations knew who the father of a child was. This marital morality later broke down, provoking G-d to bring the Flood.

In today’s reading, the Torah describes itself as a way of life (Lev 18:5): “Observe my statutes and judgments by which a person who observes them may live.” On Yom Kippur, when we “reset” our spiritual compass, the service includes both the sacrifices (during Musaf) and the forbidden unions (during the Mincha Torah reading). This highlights the importance of both types of mitzvot in a Jewish lifestyle: “bein Adam laMakom” (between man and the Omnipresent) and “bein Adam lechavero” (between man and his fellow) – or perhaps this week, “bein Adam lechaverato” (between a man and his girl-friend)!

Why are unions between close relatives off-limits? Some may believe it is to prevent genetic disorders caused by inbreeding. However, a study of the details shows this is clearly not the reason. Genetic risks are not increased when marrying a stepmother, a sister-in-law, or the wife of one’s uncle, whom the Torah defines as an aunt (dodah). Also, the Torah prohibits a marriage of an aunt and nephew but not an uncle and niece, although these are genetically equivalent.

Ramban suggests that the forbidden relatives are so close in kinship that they will probably often be present in the family home. We are instructed to conduct ourselves in a way that contains our impulses, protects the family and preserves boundaries. The honor a man shows to his aunt or stepmother should be that of an elder, not that of a wife.

Besides avoiding a kinship relationship between a man and woman in a couple, the Torah apparently also wants to avoid kinship connections between two people who will share one partner. The rivalry of two sisters who have had the same husband may interfere with their sisterly love. A woman who has been married to two brothers or a father and son, and a man who has married both a mother and a daughter, may be tempted to compare them because of their resemblance to each other.

One reason the Torah states for observing these mitzvahs is simply, “I am G-d.” As G-d’s chosen people (chosen to receive the Torah), we are under contract to strive for kedusha (holiness).

The text itself advises us not to imitate the Egyptians and Canaanites who commonly indulged in all the forbidden practices listed, but Rashi explains that being different is not the purpose of the mitzvah. We are expected to avoid specifically those of their practices considered by G-d to be an abomination.

While on the subject of abominations, the Torah interrupts the list of forbidden matings to warn us against child sacrifice as practiced by followers of the idol Molech. This abomination combines two of the three cardinal sins – murder and idolatry; sexual transgressions are the third cardinal sin. Idolatry is also seen as a metaphor for marital infidelity – like “having an affair” with a false god.

Another reason the Torah states for these mitzvahs, appropriate for us to remember in this week of Yom Ha’atzmaut, is that the forbidden acts of perversion defile the Land of Israel, and interfere with our duty to the Land. We are taught that the Promised Land itself has kedusha, and will vomit us out if we commit these sins, as it vomited out the Canaanites before us because of their immorality.

In the haftarah, Ezekiel 22:1-19, the prophet chastises us for the same sins mentioned in the Torah portion, warning that our days in the Land will be numbered if we continue to sin. Just four years later, the prophecy came true, the Temple was destroyed and we were exiled to Babylon. The haftorah ends on a hopeful note, assuring us that eventually, “I (G-d) will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.” The haftarah blessings ask G-d to help us give joy or nachas to the Land, m’sameach Zion b’vaneha.

Footnote: Some “Points of Pronunciation” from this week’s reading (Ref: The Ohs and Ahs of Torah Reading, by Rivka Sherman-Gold, www.yodanco.com).

Vayikra 16:1, be-kor-va-tam and yo-o-mad-chai. 16:12, chof-nav. 17:4, kor-ban. 17:14, kol-och-lav. 18:20 and 18:23, she-chov-te-cha and le-tom-ah-va (mispronouncing this word changes the meaning). 19:6, oo-mi-mo-cho-rat. 19:20, ve-hof-dei. 19:23, or-la-to. 19:31, le-tom-ah. 20:3, kod-shi. 20:1, she-chov-to.

Ezekiel 22:4, le-tom-ah. 22:6 and 9 and 12, she-foch-dam. 22:8, ko-da-shai (opinions vary for this word).

Prepared in 2004 for the EDOS parsha project in Denver.

 Posted by sarina.kopinsky at 9:51 am  Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Thinking of Sacrifice

 Terumah, Tzav  No Responses »
Mar 252010
 

In this week’s Parsha we come across the interesting halacha of Piggul. This halacha basically says that when bringing a Korban, if the Kohen or person bringing the sacrifice had a thought about eating the Korban at an invalid time or in an invalid place, the entire sacrifice must be discarded and if someone proceeds to eat from that sacrifice, they are punished with Karet (spiritual excommunication).

After having gone to such a trouble to buy an unblemished animal, bring it to Jerusalem, walk it up the Temple Mount and carried through with the sacrificial process, why would a simple thought invalidate the entire sacrifice? Isn’t there a value to all the effort that was taken so far?

The Sefer HaChinnuch on Parshat Terumah writes about the purpose of the sacrifices. He first quotes the Ramban (Nachmanides) who says that the purpose of the sacrifices is to remind us that having sinned, we actually deserve to be on the altar ouselves. We specifically sacrifice the liver and kidneys, which represent desire, as well as the legs, which symbolize action, to remind ourselves that through these elements we allowed ourselves to sin and impress upon ourselves the importance of not sinning again.

The Sefer HaChinnuch then says that another way to understand the Korbanot, is to realize that when created by Hashem, we were nothing more than animals with intellect. By sinning, we have effectively destroyed the distinction between ourselves and the animals. Therefore, the sacrifice of the animal serves as a moral lesson that we need to hold ourselves to the standard demanded of us, and by realizing this, hopefully we won’t sin again.

Either way, he writes that the importance of sacrifices is not in the act of doing the sacrifice, but rather in the effect it has is those people bringing it. God doesn’t need our cows and goats; rather, He created the sacrificial process as an opportunity for us to improve ourselves.

This is why, then, that an inappropriate thought would invalidate the entire sacrifice. Since the sacrifices are only there as an opportunity for us to purify our thoughts (and through that purification avoid sin in the future,) tainting that sacrifice by thinking that the purpose of the sacrifice is for you to be able to eat it in a place or at a time of your choosing defeats the entire purpose of the sacrifice!

Today, as we have no Beit HaMikdash (may it be built speedily in our days), prayer has replaced the sacrificial services. As such we must see Tefillah as the same transformative experience that the sacrifices were, and must try to pray with the holiest of intentions – to purify our thoughts and bring us closer to Hashem.

Have a great Shabbat!

Follow-on question: Is this the purpose of cleaning for Pesach?

 Posted by Liron Kopinsky at 9:18 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

The Meaning of Lice

 Vaeira  1 Response »
Jan 142010
 

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell God that modern mankind was done with Him.

The scientist went to God and said, “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you. We’ve gotten to the point were we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t you just go on and get lost?”

God listened patiently to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about we have a man-making contest.” To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!”

“Now, we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam,” He stipulated.

The scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down to grab a handful of dirt.

God looked at him and said, “Hey there! You go get your own dirt.”

This week’s parsha details the first seven plagues sent to afflict the Egyptians. For the first two plagues, Blood and Frogs, Pharaoh’s court magicians were able to replicate the plagues and helped convince Pharaoh that Moshe and Aharon were nothing special. For the 3rd plague, however, the magicians were forced to admit that Moshe and Aharon were no mere conjurers of tricks.

וַיַּעֲשׂוּ-כֵן הַחַרְטֻמִּים בְּלָטֵיהֶם לְהוֹצִיא אֶת-הַכִּנִּים, וְלֹא יָכֹלוּ; וַתְּהִי, הַכִּנָּם, בָּאָדָם, וּבַבְּהֵמָה. וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַחַרְטֻמִּם אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים הִוא

And the magicians did so with their wands to bring out the lice and they were not able to, and there were lice on the people and the cattle.  And the magicians said to Pharaoh “This is the finger of God”…

What exactly was it about lice that the magicians were unable to replicate?

The Ramban (along with most other Meforshim) says that the Egyptian magicians tried to copy Moshe and Aharon for this third plague the same way they had tried to copy the first two plagues. He states that the way the Egyptians did their magic is by controlling the Shedim (demons) and getting them to do their bidding. In the plague of Blood, the “magic” was to change one object into another. This is something that the demons could do. In the second plague, the “magic” was to summon the frogs from the river. This too, was something within their power.

The plague of Lice, however, was very different. In this plague, Hashem created lice as an entirely new creation. This is an act that only the Creator of the world can do. Pharaoh’s magicians finally realized that they were dealing with an entirely different kind of power than any they had encountered before.

The Malbim, however, says that “לְהוֹצִיא” (to bring out) really means “to get rid of.” The magicians weren’t trying to create new lice, they were just trying to prevent the plague from spreading across the land of Egypt. Even though the magicians were usually able to prevent such infestations from harming the country, none of their usual cures worked.  This is what prompted them to declare the “finger of God” being present.

According to the Ramban, the lesson Hashem was teaching the magicians was that they cannot do everything. Hashem wanted them to know that there is a supreme power able to do things they cannot even dream of.

I think the Malbim’s lesson is much more relevant to us today. In this explanation, Hashem was telling the Egyptians that even those methods that they know will work are still subject to the will of Hashem. Just because something has worked 100 times before doesn’t mean that it will continue to work if Hashem doesn’t want it to.

Living in the luxury of the 21st century it is often easy to lose sight of where our money and our food come from. It is easy to think that things get done through our own hard work. The truth is that even though Hashem insists that we exert effort in everything that we do, at the end of the day we must realize that everything we accomplish we owe to Him.

Have a great Shabbat!

 Posted by Liron Kopinsky at 10:28 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

“…the remaining camp shall survive”

 VaYishlach  No Responses »
Dec 032009
 

VaYishlach 5770

“Jacob became very frightened, and it distressed him. So he divided the people with him, and the flocks, cattle, and camels, into two camps. For he said, ‘If Eisav comes to the one camp and strikes it down, then the remaining camp shall survive’” (Bereishis 32:8-9).

The Ramban explains based on a Midrash, that this episode is a herald of similar events that will occur to the Jewish people throughout the generations; a concept known as ma’aseih avos siman l’banim. He says that descendants of Eisav in single locations will place upon us harsh decrees – sometimes on our property and sometimes on our lives – but the evil decrees will never directly affect the entirety of the Jewish people. One king will act brutally in his own land, nevertheless in another land a king will act with mercy and save the remnant.

We pray to the King of Kings that all of the Jewish people in all of their dwelling places be blessed with peace.

Good Shabbos!

 Posted by Aaron Abramson at 9:49 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Anger Management

 Chayei Sarah  1 Response »
Nov 122009
 

This week’s parsha has the interesting story of Avraham sending his servant Eliezer to find a wife for Yitzchak. At the beginning of the story, Avraham makes Eliezer swear that he will not take a wife for Yitzchak from the Canaanim, but rather that he will go find Yitzchak a wife from Avraham’s birth place in Aram Naharaim.

This is a very interesting request because we know that the Torah was unimpressed by Betuel and Lavan, Rivka’s father and brother, and described them unflatteringly. We say in the Haggadah:

צֵא וּלְמַד, מַה בִּקַּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ–שֶׁפַּרְעֹה הָרָשָׁע, לֹא גָזַר אֵלָא עַל הַזְּכָרִים; וְלָבָן בִּקַּשׁ לַעְקֹר אֶת הַכֹּל

Come and learn, what did Lavan the Aramean try to do to Yaakov our father – That the evil Pharoah only decreed against the males, but Lavan tried to uproot it all.

This question is made even stronger by the fact that Avraham was living at the time near Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, his three friends who had helped him win the war of the four kings versus the five kings.

The Abarbanel asks this question, and first answers it with a pragmatic answer. Hashem had promised Israel to Avraham and his descendants, not to the Canaanim. If Yitzchak married a Canaanite woman, the Jewish people would forever be tied to the cursed Canaanim (see the story of Noach) and the Canaanim would end up inheriting the land they otherwise were not due.

This answer however, does not deal with what was different about Avraham’s far-away, idol-worshiping family that made them worthy to marry their daughter/sister to Yitzchak. To answer this question, the Abarbanel cites an amazing answer given by the Ran.

The Ran writes that there are two types of mitzvot and aveirot. There are those that leave an impression on both the soul and the body — like those of actions or character traits, and those that leave an imprint only on the soul — like those of belief.

The sins that leave an impression on both the soul and body also leave a lasting impression on future generations. The Ran brings as examples the attributes of hatred, anger and jealousy.  Indeed, we often hear how abused children are more likely to become abusive parents themselves.

The sins of belief, however, are not passed on to the next generation in the same way. It is instead possible for children to reject the beliefs of their parents (as we saw happen with Avraham breaking the idols of his father Terach) and take on a new, more upright path in life.

The Ran says that the failings of the Canaanim were in the first category. They had bad character traits and while they may have been able at times to determine right from wrong, they more often let their emotions reign supreme.

Lavan and his family were evil in that they worshiped idols.  They did not, however, evidence weakness in controlling their emotions and actions.

The lesson here is that while it is obviously preferable to avoid all types of sins, working on and having a good character is of paramount importance and functions as the prerequisite to true spiritual growth.

The Ramban, in the opening to his famous letter to his son, echoes this idea beautifully.

שְׁמַע בְּנִי מוּסַר אָבִיךָ, וְאַל תִּטֹּשׁ תּוֹרַת אִמֶּךָ (משלי א ח)
תִּתְנַהֵג תָּמִיד לְדַבֵּר כָּל דְּבָרֶיךָ בְּנַחַת, לְכָל אָדָם וּבְכָל עֵת, וּבַזֶּה תִּנָּצֵל מִן הַכַּעַס, שֶׁהִיא מִדָּה רָעָה לְהַחְטִיא בְּנֵי אָדָם. וְכֵן אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ ז”ל (נדרים כב ע”א): כָּל הַכּוֹעֵס – כָּל מִינֵי גֵיהִנּוֹם שׁוֹלְטִים בּוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (קהלת יא י): “וְהָסֵר כַּעַס מִלִּבֶּךָ, וְהַעֲבֵר רָעָה מִבְּשָׂרֶךָ”. וְאֵין “רָעָה” אֶלָּא גֵיהִנּוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי טז ד): “וְגַם רָשָׁע לְיוֹם רָעָה”.
וְכַאֲשֶׁר תִּנָּצֵל מִן הַכַּעַס, תַּעֲלֶה עַל לִבְּךָ מִדַּת הָעֲנָוָה, שֶׁהִיא מִדָּה טוֹבָה מִכָּל מִדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי כב ד): “עֵקֶב עֲנָוָה, יִרְאַת ה’”.

Hear, my son, the instruction of your father and don’t forsake the teaching of your mother (Mishlei 1:8). Get into the habit of always speaking calmly to everyone. This will prevent you from anger, a serious character flaw which causes people to sin. As our Rabbis said (Nedarim 22a):Whoever flares up in anger is subject to the discipline of Gehinnom as it is says in (Koheles 12:10), “Cast out anger from your heart, and [by doing this] remove evil from your flesh.” “Evil” here means Gehinnom, as we read (Mishlei 16:4): “…and the wicked are destined for the day of evil.” Once you have distanced yourself from anger, the quality of humility will enter your heart.This radiant quality is the finest of all admirable traits (see Avodah Zarah 20b), (Mishlei 22:4), “Following humility comes the fear of Hashem.”

 Posted by Liron Kopinsky at 6:43 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Planning Ahead

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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: , , , , ,
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