Welcoming Guests

Shavua Tov. One of the important lessons taught in פרשת וירא is the importance of הכנסת אורחים, welcoming guests. It is a remarkable story that the narrative of the Parsha tells us that Hashem is visiting Avraham the third day after his Brit, and is setting the example of ביקור חולים, visiting the sick.

In the middle of his conversation with G-d, Avraham notices three visitors. He asks Hashem if He wouldn’t mind postponing their conversation until he takes care of his guests. We do not see any protest on Hashem’s part. From here we learn, גדול הכנסת אורחים מקבלת פני השכינה, that welcoming guests is even greater than receiving Hashem’s countenance.

Rabbi Soloveitchik explains that this type of Chesed is unique. Giving Tzedaka shows sympathy. הכנסת אורחים shows equality. It is not an easy Mitzva to observe, but from our Parsha we learn that it is a very high level of Chesed.

Avraham’s Faith

Rabbi Soloveitchik describes עקידת יצחק a little differently from other commentators. First, he points out that  the section regarding the binding of Yitzchak, begins with the words והאלוקים ניסה את אברהם. The name אלוקים means strict justice. Hashem made Avraham believe that he was actually going to offer his son as a קרבן.

The remarkable part of this whole story is the manner in which Avraham accepted Hashem’s command to sacrifice his son. He did it with joy.

We know this because Avraham was told to go to, “one of the mountains that he would be shown.” Avraham knew which mountain by way of prophecy. The fact that he still had prophecy was because he still had joy. (One is not given prophecy unless he was in a state of joy.)

The Rav further says that Avraham’s faith was so strong that he no longer saw Yitzchak as a son, but viewed him as a קרבן. His faith in Hashem and not questioning Hashem in any way at all, is what made Avraham’s faith in the Akeida, stand out above all other acts of faith and martyrdom throughout our history. Shabbat Shalom

Sdom and Lot’s Daughters

Rabbi Soloveitchik has a little different take on the Sodom incident and the daughters of Lot, mentioned in פרשת וירא.

In terms of the people of Sodom, the Rav wrote that generally, there is always room for Teshuva. The hope is that the sinner will come to his senses and repent. However, there are instances where people can deteriorate to such a point that they become pure evil.

Such was the case with the people of Sodom. They were beyond the level where they could ever return. In cases of evil of this sort, the only solution was to destroy evil. This is what Hashem was forced to do.

In the case of Lot’s daughters, the Rav views them as righteous women. They had lived long enough in Avraham Avinu’s house to learn to care about the world. The act they did with their father was necessary in order to save mankind. As distasteful such an act was, it was done for noble reasons.

The daughters were rewarded as the mother of Moab, was the ancestor of Ruth, the mother of the Davidic and Messianic dynasty. The other daughter was the mother of Amon, who Naama descended from her. She was the mother of Rechavam, King of Yehuda, son of Shlomo.

סומך גאולה לתפילה

The Talmud in מסכת ברכות emphasizes the importance of being סומך גאולה לתפילה. This means that we are to say the Bracha of גאל ישראל before we say Shmone Esrei both at Shacharit and Maariv.

The idea of גאל ישראל is that we acknowledge Hashem’s kindness in redeeming us from Egypt. It is a kind of praise that we give Hashem before we make our thirteen requests in the Shmone Esrei.

This acknowledgement of our redemption from Egypt serves two purposes according to Rabbeinu Yona. The first is that our freedom from bondage was to drive home the message that as free men, we are only meant to be עבדי ה׳, servants of G-d, and not servants to anything else. The Rabbis say that one who is truly free is עוסק בתורה, involves himself in Torah study.

The second point in remembering the Redemption is that we enforce the idea that it is good to put our trust in Hashem. Just as we were redeemed from Egypt, we will also be redeemed at the time of Mashiach.

We should now think about this when we say the blessings of גאל ישראל in the morning and evening.

Investigate G-d’s Uniqueness

There is another interesting point emphasized by the Ramchal in דעת תבונות. He says that Hashem’s ultimate greatness is unfathomable by man. The more one gets a glimpse of G-d, the more he realizes that his real knowledge of Him is like a drop in the sea. This should cause the seeker to become exceedingly humble.

The real pursuit in man’s quest to know G-d, should be to focus on His Oneness. He should reinforce to himself that Hashem’s uniqueness is far different than anything that exists in the universe. Such study is productive and bears fruit.

The Talmud in מסכת חגיגה alludes to this idea by cautioning people not to delve into מעשה בראשית, the act of creation. We are also warned not to try to understand מעשה מרכבה, the incident of the chariot in the Book of Yechezkel. Such studies need special care and guidelines.

However, delving into how Hashem is unique and One, does not require such preparation and care. It is more of a direct means towards getting closer to our Creator.

Incomplete Man

The דעת תבונות or The Knowing Heart of the Ramchal is an excellent book on Jewish philosophy. In it, he explores some basic questions regarding our faith in G-d.

He emphasizes the importance of remembering Hashem’s inherent goodness. One who is good, has a need to share his good with others. The Ramchal writes that it would not have been difficult for Hashem to create perfect human beings. But because of His goodness, we were created imperfect with the potential of acquiring perfection.

For the same reason, G-d Himself created good and evil. By giving us challenges to make the right choices, and the spiritual work, we are charged to do, there is the greatest potential of reward. In this way, He is able to share His goodness on a much higher level.

Interesting thoughts from the Ramchal in דעת ותבונות.

שמא יגרום החטא

Shavua Tov. The Talmud in Masechet Brachot mentions that both King David and Yakov Avinu worried that their own personal sins may have canceled the blessings already given by Hashem. The term used in Hebrew is, שמא יגרום החטא, that the sin caused the loss of the blessing.

The Rambam asks how it was possible for these two great Tzaddikim to ever feel that Hashem could possibly renege on a promise. After all, we identify a false prophet by seeing that his prophecy of “good” never came true.

The Rambam makes an interesting distinction between a blessing given by G-d on behalf of עם ישראל by way of a prophet, and a personal blessing given by G-d directly to a Tzaddik. In the first case, the positive prophecy given by way of a prophet, will, indeed, come true. But blessings given directly to people like King David and Yakov Avinu could be diminished because of sin.

We must never feel there are any guarantees in life and we must always strive to go higher and higher in our Avodat Hashem.

Special Role of Jewish Mother

We are introduced in פרשת לך לך and the special relationship between Avraham Avinunand Sara Imeinu. Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that all of the Avot were very attached to their spouses and without them, they did not function on the same level.

Avraham lived thirty eight years longer than Sara but his career was over when she died. The same applied to the Yitzchak-Rivka relationship and Yakov and Rachel.

Rav Soloveitchik goes on to explain the very different roles that the father and mother have in educating their children. The father’s teaching is mostly intellectual in passing on lessons of Torah and morality.

The teachings of the Jewish mother are multi faceted. The following is a direct quote from the Rav: “The warmth and tenderness of Judaism is taught by the mother. The mother creates the mood. She is the artist responsible for the magnificence, solemnity, and beauty. She tells the child of the great romance of Judaism. She somehow communicates to him the tremor, the heartbeat of Judaism, while playing, singing, laughing, and crying.” Shabbat Shalom

Avraham Avinu

Parshat לך לך introduces us to Avraham Avinu and how he found G-d and ultimately changed the world. The Talmud tells us that the first 2000 years after creation, were תהו ובהו, nothingness, the second 2000, Torah, and the third 2000, Mashiach.

Avraham was born 1948 years after creation which means that the 2000 years of Torah began when he was fifty two years old.

His search for truth was a long journey that required him to leave his home and family, and begin his new life in the Land of Canaan with his new mission of teaching monotheism to the world.

The Rambam said that he knew that Hashem existed at a young age but he was forty when he recognized the creator. Hashem first revealed Himself to Avraham when he was seventy five years old. He never gave up being a man of faith.

Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that his relationship with Hashem intensified over the years. By the time Avraham did Brit Milah, this relationship went from father to brother to friend. Very few in history were able to reach such a level of closeness to G-d.

Control Freaks

In connection with the notion that man without laws will either be a pleasure or power seeker, we came across a special Halacha in connection with the Hebrew slave, עבד עברי.

The עבד עברי either sold himself into slavery because of intense poverty or was sold by the court because he was a thief. The Rambam explains that the law is that the Jewish master must not give the Hebrew slave menial, unnecessary tasks to do.

It seems that the motivation of the master to order such tasks is to make him feel empowered in that the slave has to do anything he is asked to do, even if it is a ridiculous request. The Torah is trying to steer a person away from seeking power and belittling another person.

In other words, included in this prohibition (my personal input) would be to refrain from being a “control freak.” These control freak relationships can be so damaging. Most likely such individuals get some kind of feeling of importance by dominating another person. This applies in family settings, in the workplace, and even in religion.

We learn from this case of עבד עברי that every person must be treated with dignity and respect regardless of the gaps in social standing. The control freaks must be stopped!

Watch Your Mouth

An important lesson learned from פרשת נח is the importance of using clean speech. We are to be careful about what comes out of our mouths just as we are to be careful about what goes in our mouths.

This idea is learned from the description of the animals that went into the ark. The animals that were fit for sacrifices were called בהמה טהורה, pure animals of which seven were taken. Those not fit for sacrifices were called בהמה אשר איננה טהורה, the animals that were not pure. Because the Torah did not use the word טמא, unclean, that has a derogatory connotation, we learn that we should always use clean language.

The Rabbis further say, לעולם אל יוציא דבר מגונה מפיו, that one should never let something inappropriate come out of his mouth. In short, watch your mouth!

Waiting Seven Days for the Flood

There is a Pasuk from פרשת נח that needs explanation. ויהי לשבעת הימים ומי המבול היו על הארץ, that at the end of seven days, the flood was upon the land.

The Yerushalmi explains that there was a seven day mourning period for מתושלח, who had passed away. This is a רמז, a hint, that the mourning for a loved one is seven days. This would be called an אסמכתא, or something we rely on that there is a source for Shiva from the Torah.

The תורה תמימה says that the nature of Hashem is different from man. Hashem mourns for the tragedy seven days before it happens. Man, on the other hand, begins to mourn after the death of a loved one. Hashem knows the future so he mourns before. Man is left uncertain of the future.

All of this is learned from the strange Pasuk telling us the flood took place after seven days.

Noach and Avraham

Shavua Tov. Every year when reading Parshat Noach, we make comparisons between the righteousness of Noach as compared to Avraham Avinu. Emphasis is placed on the word בדורותיו, “in his generation”. This implies that had נח lived in a different generation, like Avraham’s, he would not be seen as such a great צדיק.

The common view of most commentators is that the main point that separated Avraham from Noach, was his concern for the masses. We do not find Noach pleading with Hashem to save the world in the manner that Avraham tried to save the cities of Sdom.

A true leader is meant to feel the pain of other human beings, even if it does not affect him directly. This is particularly taught in Pirkei Avot when it says, אל תפרוש מן הציבור, that one should not separate himself from the community. The pain of one Jew, is the pain of every Jew.

In addition to all of this, the Torah says that נח entered the Ark מפני מי המבול, because of the waters of the flood. The Rabbis explain that Noach was weak in his Emuna. He himself didn’t even believe there would be a flood until the rains came. Avraham was a man of faith. Hence, Avraham was considered far greater than Noach.

כבוד האדם

In פרשת נח, we are introduced to the seven Noachide laws. These were the minimum rules needed for a society to function on a reasonable level. Such a society would enact basic laws to allow people to function without fear.

Rabbi Soloveitchik points out that the law related to murder ( which includes abortion even for Gentiles ), was meant to teach the principle of כבוד האדם, having respect and honor for other human beings.

The Torah says that one must not spill the blood of another human being. That particular Pasuk ends with the words כי בצלם אלוקים נברא האדם, that man was created in the image of G-d.

The lesson here is that we must have כבוד האדם so that we cannot randomly murder anyone we don’t like or agree with. If the world valued this Divine lesson, there would be so much more peace and harmony in the world. Shabbat Shalom.

Failure of Man

Rabbi Soloveitchik’s perception of the flood in Parshat Noach, was that Hashem wished to create a new society after starting over with Noach. The punishment that generation received did not really change man’s nature. He was still very easily drawn into sinning.

Therefore, Hashem had to change the world order. There would be a different relationship between man and beast. The Torah says, ומוראכם וחתכם יהיה על כל חית הארץ, your fear and dread shall be upon all the beasts of the earth. The Pasuk goes on to say, בידכם נתנו, that they were into your hand.

The Rav wrote that we were not happy about this. The Torah was compelled to concede defeat to human nature corrupted by man.

The hope was that this new dominion would change man. Now animals were meant to serve man. They were to help him work and they could be eaten to provide nourishment.

The end result of all of this was that there was a need for man to have a spiritual leader to drive man to reach greater heights. These events set the stage for the emergence of Avraham Avinu to change the world in a positive way.

Pleasure Seekers and Power Seekers

At the end of פרשת בראשית, the Torah describes Hashem’s disappointment with the creation of man. The Torah says, כי יצר לב האדם רק רע מנעוריו, that man’s nature is only evil from his youth.

Rav Soloveitchik’s assessment of this Pasuk is that man without laws is led in one of two directions. Either he is a pleasure seeker or a power seeker. Both of these tendencies were seen in the early generations of mankind.

The generation of the flood fit into that category of pleasure seekers. Their main purpose of existence was to do whatever felt good. If it meant taking the wives of someone else, this was justified in the name of pleasure. The Rav wrote that this is very much like today’s Western society where “feeling good”, becomes the definition of right.

The second group of power seekers was depicted by the generation of the Tower of Bavel, known as the דור הפלגה. The idea of might and power, and ruling over others, was the primary motivation of existence. Ultimately, that generation wanted to make a war with Hashem and rule instead of Him.

It became obvious that there was a need for a system of laws and an individual who could teach the world that man had a more noble reason for existence. Avraham Avinu proved worthy of such a task, as were his descendants after him. They were to teach the world morality and how to find meaning in acting in a kind and decent manner.

We Jews continue in this task of being “a light unto the nations.” Unfortunately, human nature has not changed which makes our role today as important as it was in the days of Avraham Avinu.

זיהום הנחש

Another term that is often used beginning with בראשית is the זיהום הנחש, or the pollution of the serpent. The Kabbalists believe that the evil serpent actually had relations with Eve, and this polluted her seed.

This pollution carried on for many generations. Every family was affected by this pollution. When the Torah gives the chronology of each generation, it only lists the one child that was not affected by that pollution.

Therefore, we see why Cain, Yishmael, Eisav, and others were problematic individuals. The Kuzari mentions that it was not until Yakov Avinu that all twelve of his sons were not affected by this זיהום. Because of this, Hashem decided to turn these twelve holy sons of Yakov into the nation of Israel. This is what is known as the זיהום הנחש.

צמצום

A term that is used to explain how Hashem created the world is צמצום, or constriction. The idea here is that Hashem’s greatness and true essence cannot be comprehended by man. This is because Hashem is on a completely different plane than man. Truly great people understand this and they remain humble for in comparison to G-d, they realize how small they are.

The inability to truly perceive G-d, forced Hashem to constrict Himself so that humans could get some kind of a glimpse of this holiness. What we are able to see is צמצום, or a fraction of what Hashem really is.

As we start the Torah over again with בראשית, it is necessary to restate basic principles connected with creation. We must never fall into a situation where we make assumptions where we claim that we can second guess how Hashem runs the world. צמצום helps drive home this point.

יש מאין

Shavua Tov. Continuing with the subject of יש מאין, Rabbi Soloveitchik points out that we emphasize this point every day when we say the אדון עולם prayer.

The words, בטרם כל יציר נברא, are translated as “Who reigned before any form was created.” The idea here is that we are to be reminded that Hashem created the world from nothing.

Many have difficulties with this concept. Human beings are capable of taking raw materials and turning such materials into something creative. A carpenter can turn wood into furniture. An artist can take paper and turn it

Into a beautiful painting. The same would be true of other craftsmen. In every case, it is turning something into something else.

This is not true with Hashem. He is capable of creating something where there was no raw material there before. Only Hashem can do this. This is יש מאין that is meant for us to be much more in awe of Hashem because of this.

שבת בראשית

This Shabbat is called שבת בראשית, as we begin the Torah once again. This year I will be using מסורת הרב as my primary commentary to the Torah. It is a new commentary compiled by Dr. Arnold Lustiger of the teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, זצ״ל, also known as “The Rav”.

The Rav views the first chapter dealing with creation, as essential that the term יש מאין, something from nothing, be properly understood.

Unlike Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, who believed that G-d fashioned the world from some raw materials, the Torah taught יש מאין, that Hashem willed that there be creation, and so it was.

The Rav goes on to explain that the acceptance of יש מאין helps proclaim G-d’s dominion over the entire world. Our essence and very existence happens, because Hashem willed that it happen. This absolute dependence on Hashem is what helps give us prospective of who we are and what really matters in this world.

Perhaps this is why the Targum translated the word בראשית to mean בחוכמה, that with wisdom Hashem created the world.