נחלה בלי מצרים

Shavua Tov-

Yakov Avinu was promised many things in his dream of the ladder.

One such promise was that the Land of Israel would be given to his seed, and the land would burst forth in all directions, as if there were no borders. This is referred to as a נחלה בלי מצרים, an inheritance with no borders.

This same phrase, נחלה בלי מצרים, is attributed to one who spends money to make his Shabbat עונג, an adornment. Even though it is said that one’s פרנסה, livelihood, is determined from one Rosh Hashana to the next, there is a promise that expenses spent on Shabbat, will be reimbursed.

This guarantee only takes effect if the emphasis on Shabbat is its spirituality. Buying expensive delicious food alone, is not enough. It must be accompanied with Torah and holiness. Only then will the guarantee of נחלה בלי מתרים, take effect.

Rachel’s Chessed

The stories in פרשת ויצא are filled with drama. We have the love story between Yakov and Rachel, the role that poor Leah played, and the difficulty of dealing with the deceitful Lavan.

It is probable that Rachel’s act of faithfulness to her sister, Leah, is one of the most admirable positive behaviors in all of Tanach.

Rachel was not prepared to see her sister humiliated, had she exposed Lavan’s deceitful plan. She allowed her own personal feelings of love for Yakov, to be put on hold, so that her sister would be able to become one of the matriarchs, and not be forced to marry Eisav.

For this reason, Rachel had eternal merit. Her prayers after the destruction of the Temple, and the subsequent exile, were heard over those of the patriarchs. She was able to remind Hashem of her mercy towards Leah. This allowed Hashem to be merciful to the Jewish people.

Rachel is to be remembered and emulated for her tremendous act of Chesed, and we should learn to follow her example.

התוכחה מביא שלום

Yitzchak Avinu had a confrontation with אבימלך regarding the wells that he dug, that Avimelech sealed. The Torah tells us that Yitzchak rebuked him about his jealous behavior. Eventually, they made peace and parted on good terms.

Based on this story, the Rabbis said that this teaches that התוכחה מביא לידי שלום, that rebukes lead to peace.

Often we avoid confrontations with individuals that we believe may have wronged us. But it is recommended that we give rebuke to such people. Aside from the good feeling we have about “getting things off our chest,” such sincere rebuke may have surprisingly positive results. Perhaps there will be sincere remorse on the part of the other party, and indifferences could be mended.

If Yitzchak Avinu was able to make peace with Avimelech by way of rebuke, we, too, can create peaceful results by not being afraid to rebuke.

Avraham and Eiruv

Yitzchak is told that he will have great merits because of his father’s steadfast faith. And because he kept all of the Mitzvot.

The Rabbis made a strange statement by saying that Avraham Avinu observed the entire Torah down to its last detail. He even observed the Mitzva of Eiruv. The Torah Temima says that it is understandable that Avraham was on such a high level that he knew what was in the Torah intuitively. But the עירוב תבשילין, being able to cook when Yom Tov preceded Shabbat, was a purely rabbinical decree. Could Avraham have known even that?

He answers that the Eiruv referred to, was עירוב תחומין. This type of Eiruv has its basis in the Torah. One is not allowed to leave the city limits on Shabbat, at a distance of 2000 Amot, unless he makes an Eiruv. This would consist of a small meal that would await the individual at this distance. Once the meal was eaten, he could walk another 2000 Amot.

It was this Eiruv, that Avraham Avinu was aware of.

Anti-Semitism

Rabbi Munk chose the birth of Eisav as an opportunity to speak about anti-semitism. It is known that עשו שונא את יעקב, that Eisav hated Yakov. But the question is “why”?

The reality is that it has never been possible to discover and identify the true motives of anti-semitism.

Eisav represents Rome and Christianity. There was always antagonism between Rome and Jerusalem. There is no logical reason for this antagonism. Countless studies have tried to explain this, but without success.

It has been within the nature of the Gentile, to have a disdain for the Jew. It might be a symptom of Galut, the Exile, that Jews were destined to suffer at Eisav’s hands.

Jews rejoiced alone, while their suffering was met with joy by the Gentile. It was important that Jews accepted this reality. If they didn’t, they were often disappointed.

The comfort in accepting this harsh reality, was that this was not meant to be a permanent condition. When it became time for the Galut to end, this hatred would also end.

The resentment of the Jew, would turn into the admiration of the Jew. As we see our beloved State of Israel grow stronger, we see a far greater respect of the Jewish people.

Anti-semitism will continue until all Jews wake up and realize that they do not belong in the Galut. Thankfully, that day is drawing closer and closer each day.

חנוך נער לפי דרכו

Rabbi Elie Munk in his קול התורה, analyzes Yakov and Eisav, from the aspect of education and proper parenting. It might be that each twin demonstrated certain character traits from a young age, but was it really unavoidable that Eisav was destined to be a רשע, evil person.

Rabbi Munk quotes a verse in Mishlei that says, חנוך נער לפי דרכו, educate a young lad according to his path. Two children of the same parents are not necessarily going to come out the same way. Parents need to adjust according to the nature of that child.

It takes infinite patience to make the adjustment and realization that expectations cannot be the same with our children.

One child might be an instant book worm, who excels in school and never needs to be reminded to do his homework. His sibling might be totally disinterested in his studies, and needs to be encouraged and motivated.

This is the challenge of parenting. Parents must objectively recognize their child’s strengths and weaknesses and adapt accordingly.

On the one hand, there was a Divine destiny in terms of the role Eisav was to play. But perhaps had he been handled differently, he would have been a different person.

Torah in the Womb

Shavua Tov- Rav Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל, asked two questions related to the Parsha. The questions relate to the twins, Yakov and Eisav in the womb. Firstly, if a baby is being taught the whole Torah while in the womb, why did Yakov try to get out when Rivka passed a house of study. And secondly, if we are commanded to stand when a תלמיד חכם passes, why don’t we stand for a pregnant woman, who is carrying a child who knows the entire Torah? The first answer is that Yakov was unable to learn Torah peacefully when he was in the company of his wicked brother, Eisav. It is difficult to be immersed in Torah study when one is surrounded by a negative environment. One must always choose to live among righteous people, so that his spirituality and Torah study can flourish. And the reason we don’t stand for a pregnant woman (unless riding on a bus and giving her your seat), is because the fetus is being spoon fed the Torah by an Angel. He is not struggling to wake up early and stay up late at night to acquire Torah. He is not running to classes and learned rabbis, so that his knowledge can grow. We, therefore, stand for the Talmid Chacham, not only out of respect for his scholarship, but also for his diligence in acquiring the Torah.

Eisav’s Teshuva

We are introduced in this week’s Parsha, תולדות, to the evil son, Eisav. The prevalent opinion among the Rabbis is that Eisav represents Rome, or Christianty, and Yishmael represents Islam. It is difficult to be certain of the ultimate role that Yishmael and Eisav are destined to play in the “end of days.” The בעל הטורים, at the end of the Parsha expresses that it is Yishmael, or Islam, that must be subdued, before the Mashiach is able to come. Eisav, despite his evil, is meant to do Teshuva during that same time. Rome will no longer wish to harm us, but will even help us get to Messianic times. The Pasuk, ורב יעבוד צעיר, “the great one, (Eisav) will serve the younger one (Yakov), has not yet been fulfilled. It does, however, hint that a time will come when Eisav will want to make things right. The Teshuva is needed to rectify the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews at the hands of the Christians, during our bitter Exile. We are living during miraculous times and the events going on are greater than our comprehension. However, we are beginning to see how these predictions of the ultimate roles of Eisav and Yishmael and Eisav, do seem to be unfolding before our eyes.

גזירה שוה

Every morning at the beginning of our Davening, we recite the thirteen methods of deriving Torah law, according to Rabbi Yishmael. These methods were given on Mount Sinai, as part of the Oral Law. These derivations, have the status of Torah laws, and are binding. One of these thirteen methods, is called גזירה שוה. One is not permitted to invent a גזירה שוה, as these must also originate on הר סיני. The גזירה שוה refers to a situation where the same word is used in two different instances, and there is a common denominator between the two. Parshat חיי שרה had one of the more well known Gezeira Shave’s. It is referred to as קיחה קיחה משדה עפרון. The purchase of מערת המכפילה has the usage of the words, לקח את השדה, that Avraham “took” the Cave of Machpeila. And it is clear that “taking” meant that he purchased it with money. In the Book of Devarim, the Torah discusses marriage with the words, כי יקח איש אשה, when a man takes a woman. The גזירה שוה principle teaches that “taking” refers to money. Therefore, we learn that when a man takes a wife, he must give her something that has monetary value. (There are other methods of marriage, but this is how marrying with כסף is learned. This is the example of גזירה שוה as taught by רבי ישמעאל.

Eliezer, Yiftach, Shaul

The Rabbis tell us that there were three individuals who made inappropriate vows. They were Eliezer, Yiftach, and Shaul. It is not recommended that one make conditions with G-d. In Eliezer’s case, things ended well. He succeeded in finding a worthy wife for Yitzchak. The situation with Yiftach did not have a happy ending. He foolishly said that the first to come out of his tent, would be sanctified to Hashem. His beloved daughter came out first, and because of the vow, she was never allowed to marry. In Shaul’s case, he was convinced to take back his vow. He declared that anyone in his army who would not fast, would die. His son, Yonatan was unaware of the decree, and ate honey on that day. Shaul rescinded his ruling, and Yonatan was allowed to live. We learn from this, that we should pray to G-d in critical times, but we should not make conditions with the Master of the Universe.

זקן בא בימים

The Pasuk tells us that אברהם זקן בא בימים, that Avraham was old, and advanced in years. We learn a principle that applies throughout the Torah. The word “זקן” is actually an abbreviation of three words, זה שקנה חכמה, this one who has acquired wisdom. The idea of זקנה, is really a compliment referring to one who has succeeded in accumulating a great deal of Torah knowledge. It does not have that much to do with age, although usually an older person has had more years to gain knowledge. Therefore, when Yosef is referred to as בן זקונים, or Eliezer being called זקן ביתו, we are being told that they studied a great deal of Torah. The word, שיבה, is the more appropriate term to describe old age in terms of years. We are also commanded to show respect for an elderly person. Another comment on this Pasuk of זקן בא בימים, is that Avraham recommended that people show physical signs of aging. This was meant to prepare loved ones that it was man’s destiny to ultimately leave this world. Aging made this a little easier to deal with death. This is another example of how much can be learned from examining a Pasuk more deeply.

Pay the Shadchan

We learn from the Pasha how careful Eliezer was to muzzle his camels on his way to search for a wife for Yitzchak. He wanted to be sure that he did not violate the prohibition against stealing from private fields on his journey. Rabbi Elazar Abuchatzeira זצ״ל pointed out a serious problem that exists in the Shidduch world. He told of several instances where couples married and they were unable to have children. When these couples went to various Gedolim, to find out what was stopping them from starting a family, surprisingly, they were asked if they paid their Shadchan, marriage broker, their fee. On numerous occasions, they had not paid, as the couples didn’t feel that the Shadchan was worthy of her fee. The Rabbis explained that this was a serious form of גזל, theft, and until they made things right, they would not be blessed with children. This is well documented that this story repeated itself on many occasions. And once the Shadchan, or Shadchanit, in modern Hebrew, was paid, babies soon followed. This demonstrates how careful we must be to stay away from גזל, on any level.

Purchasing Land

Shavua Tov. Sometimes Halachic matters are learned from what appears to be a simple story. In today’s Parsha, we learn of the purchase of מערת המכפלה. The Torah teaches that the cave was sold together with the adjacent field, together with the trees in the field, that surround its border. The Gemara in בבא בתרא teaches that certain details regarding the purchase of a field, can be learned from the Torah’s description of this sale. The Torah implies that regular trees are included in the sale. However, valuable trees, such as the חרוב, carob tree, and the סדן השקמה, a grafted sycamore tree, are not included in the sale, unless specifically specified. By mentioning the borders, we learn that an elevated or recessed border, that has trees growing on it, is also included in the sale. It is interesting how astute our sages were in applying principles of civil law, that were based on the Torah.

Sara’s Death

Parshat חיי שרה has matters of death and burial as one of its central themes. I heard a story that took place in Chicago more than sixty years ago. A class of fourth graders were learning about how שרה אמנו died when she heard about עקידת יצחק. One little boy began weeping profusely. The teacher had trouble calming him down. But the boy cried as he felt it was “his” Mother, Sara. (The boy grew up to be a much loved rebbe, who died tragically at a relatively young age.) The קול התורה of Rabbi Munk, wrote that Satan had a role in this tragedy. First he posed as an unfed beggar at the great party of the weaning of Yitzchak. He was neglected which caused the עקידה. And later, it was Satan who challenged Hashem to test Avraham’s faith. There is great debate among the rabbis regarding the eulogy of the deceased. Some say that they are for the benefit of the deceased, while others felt that eulogies gave comfort to the mourners. In any case, we see how difficult it is to depart from a loved one. This was felt very strongly this week, as it is truly remarkable how Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, זצ״ל, had such a strong impact on so many people. May all of the mourners be comforted, and may we be victorious over the evil designs of the Satan that we are continuously fighting, to this day.

Manna, Clouds, Well

It is always interesting how the Midrash comes up with the symbolism that is learned from biblical stories. This is particularly true regarding the patriarchs and matriarchs. One such example comes from what was learned in the manner in which Avraham served the three angels. The information comes from תנא דבי רבי ישמעאל, the Beit Midrash of Rabbi Yishmael. When Avraham fed the angels חמאה וחלב, milk and butter, his children merited being fed the מן in the desert. When the Torah says, והוא עומד עליהם, that he stood over them, his children merited the עמוד ענן, the pillar of cloud. And when he said, יקח נא מעט מים, that they should take a little water, his children merited the well that traveled with them in the desert. Later, we credited the מן to Moshe, the Clouds of Glory, to Aharon, and the באר to Miriam. But the original זכות, began with Avraham.

Lot’s Daughter

The incident with Lot and his daughters is very perplexing. It is strange that a case of incest is spoken about so openly in the Torah. The Gemara in Nazir actually praises the older daughter for initiating the possibility of continuing the human race. The Gemara says that one should always be quick to do a Mitzva. This is learned from the older daughter of Lot, that because she preempted her younger sister, she was rewarded with four generations to the kingdom. Oved, Yishai, David, and Shlomo, all descended from her, and ultimately, the Mashiach will come from her as well. The origins of the Redemption and Messianic times are equally perplexing. The times we are living in, are much greater than we can comprehend. It appears that שקר and Godlessness are strong. We must remember that Hashem has a plan. Things aren’t always the way they seem to be. Lot’s daughters are a perfect proof of this.

ביישנים רחמנים גומלי חסדים

Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of Tzefat, commented on Hashem’s need to tell Avraham of His intention to destroy Sodom and Amorra. Hashem says to Himself that He knows how Avraham is going to teach his children to act in an upright and honest fashion. This is the source for a Jew being recognized by three character traits: ביישנים, רחמנים, גומלי חסדים, their shyness, their mercifulness, and their acts of kindness. Rav Eliyahu asked in connection with the terrorist attack in Austria. When the world first heard of the attack, was there anyone who would have reacted with, “A Jew probably killed innocent people.” There would be no such response, because that is not how Avraham taught his children how to act. We remain Avraham’s children, and we are a moral and just people.

Sodom and Givah

There is a comparison made between the evil people of Sodom and the incident of פילגש בגבעה. In the latter case a group of evil people from the Tribe of Benjamin gang raped a concubine in Givah, and ultimately murdered her. As heinous the crime of the Binyaminites was, Sodom was much worse. With Lot, ALL of the residents of Sodom tried to attack his guests. In the Givah case, it was only a small band of criminals. In Sodom, there was a concerted effort to frighten foreigners who entered their city. This was not true in Givah. The people of Sodom came with the intent to commit murder. In the Givah case, they did not intend to kill the concubine. They did not realize how mortally they hurt her. And finally, the Givah case led to a national outcry and protest for this unspeakable crime. There was no such protest in Sodom. This is why Sodom needed to be destroyed, while the people of Binyamin ultimately did Teshuva and were reinstated as part of עם ישראל.

Micha’s Idol and Hachnassat Orchim

Shavua Tov. The importance of הכנסת אורחים, welcoming guests, is clearly a theme of פרשת וירא. We see the example set by Avraham Avinu, and how his nephew Lot, tried to follow his example. There is an interesting parallel brought in the Book of Judges, and the story of פסל מיכה. Micha had built an idol and Ephod that was able to tell the future. He created kind of an idolatrous cult, by welcoming guests and feeding them. The Midrash says that the angels demanded of Hashem that Micha be punished in the harshest manner. Hashem explained that despite this horrible sin of idol worship, Micha did attain many merits because of his fulfillment of הכנסת אורחים. This is another angle to explaining why welcoming guests is such an important Mitzva.

Was It a Dream

Parshat וירא begins with the story of the angels dressed up as men. It is a fascinating story with many lessons. We learn of Avraham Avinu’s great desire to spread the knowledge of Hashem to all who passed by. We also learn the importance of the Mitzva of הכנסת אורחים, welcoming guests. Avraham was just recovering from his ברית מילה but was still saddened that the intense heat caused people to stay home, preventing him from welcoming guests. When the three angels dressed as men, finally did come, Avraham went all out to prepare a feast for total strangers. He had been speaking with Hashem, but interrupted his conversation to perform הכנסת אורחים. The Rabbis therefore say, that הכנסת אורחים is even greater than receiving the שכינה, Divine Presence. This wonderful story is debated by the Rambam and Ramban. The Rambam in מורה נבוכים wrote that all of this was Avraham’s dream but it never really happened. The Ramban disagreed and said that it really did take place. Whichever opinion you agree with, is not so significant. The lessons from the story are most significant.