Chayei Sara - 3 identity-defining vorts

Too hectic this week for any lengthy diatribes, but I hope you'll enjoy these brief thoughts.

Sara - As the first matriarch of the Jewish People, Sara Imenu fully understood the significance of that role and how obviously crucial it was for her to bring at least one viable child into the world in order to give continuity to Hashem's nation. Her life until that point was in her eyes inconsequential. The first posuk in this week's parsha is

"ויהיו חיי שרה מאה שנה ועשרים שנה ושבע שנים... " What was truly important in those 127 years? Only the 37 years that she was a mother. ויהיו is gematriya 37

Eliezer - remember him? I wrote about him 2 weeks ago as being the ideal recipient and transmitter of the teachings of Avraham Avenu. In this week's parsha, where even though so much narration covers his accepting and carrying out the vital mission from his master to find a mate for Yitzchak Avenu, we don't see his name mentioned once. No personal glory or agendas for him. His whole persona could simply be defined as the posuk says, "servant of Avraham"; עבד אברהם. But he is only referred to as האיש or plain עבד until his mission is successful. At that point he has realized his tachlis as עבד אברהם which is gematriya Eliezer (with the letters)

Avraham - When a person really wants something he doesn't walk, he runs. And thus the connection in Hebrew between רצון and לרוץ -to run. So too Avraham Avenu was especially known for his זריזות and speed with which he served Hashem. A few parshiot ago the posuk said ואל הבקר רץ אברהםת and to the cattle ran Avraham. Even the simple pshat shows us that he ran to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim in first class style (even though he was 99 years old and recovering from his bris milah). But if we look closer at the word הבקר we can find a number of things that Avraham ran to. הבקר is the same word HaBoker- the morning, which stands for Shacharit, the tefilah that Avrham established. הבקר is the same letters as הקבר -the grave; which chazal tell us by the way that in chasing this cow was heaven's way of leading Avraham to מערת המכפלה, which he worked so hard at in our parsha to extract from Efron. הבקר is the same letters as הקרב-the battle; standing for the unhesitating way that Avraham went to battle the 4 kings to rescue Lote. And finally הבקר is the same letters as רבקה - the zivug of his son Yitzchak, the securing of which so concerned Avraham in his latter days so as to ensure the propagation of the Jewish people.

May we each be zoche to find our defining moments and live up to our full potential.

Good Shabbos

Steve

Vayera - Don't Stop Believing

(Inspired by and based mostly on Rav Rosenfeld's shiur on Gemara Makos)

Although fulfilling all 613 mitzvot is ultimately for our eternal benefit, our sages realized the enormity and (near) impossibility of completing this daunting task. To encourage us to focus on essential and attainable goals, several abridgments were offered - e.g. King David in chapter 15 of Tehilim was the first who encapsulated the mitzvot into 11 fundamental principles - with the final word on the subject coming from the prophet Havakuk who got it down to one; Emunah - Tsadik Be'emunoso Yichyeh (A righteous person will live by his faith).

Why specifically was Havakuk the one to say this? Who was Havakuk? How can everything be contained in this?

Havakuk was the boy born to the previously-barren hostess of Elisha Hanavi who implored Heaven to bless her in appreciation for her extreme kindness. When the child suddenly died at a young age, it was his mother's adamant faith in the Tzadik that was the catalyst through which Elisha Hanavi was able to bing the boy back to life.

BTW - This child had to "die" and come back, since he was born with a female/gevurah (Havakuk is gematriya Gevurah) soul that had to be replaced with a male/kindness soul in order for him to lead a productive life (remember this for later).

Since it was Emunah that ultimately gave him life, it was appropriate for Havakuk to bring this teaching of the importance of Emunah to the world.

How could the whole Torah be contained in Emunah?

We know Hashem gave us the Torah, but we also say, Torah Tzivah Lanu Moshe. The word Torah is gematriya 611, which is the number of mitzvot we learnt from Moshe Rabenu. The first 2 (of the 10 commandments), Anochi and Lo Yihiyeh Lecha - which is THE epitome of Emunah - were said to us directly by Hashem, (or more accurately to quote chazal, M'pi haGevurah) and have equal weight and significance to the rest of the Torah (proof of this is beyond the scope of this sicha). These 2 mitzvot were miraculously transmitted to us in one simultaneous statement. This was the source for Havakuk consolidating the entire Torah into one all-encompassing mitzvah

Let's tie this in to our Parsha

While Avraham Avenu is classically known as being the symbol of kindness, he most assuredly was the world's first and foremost proponent of Emunah. In fact, when Hashem officially changed his name to Avraham, the posuk says, "ki Av Hamon Goyim..." = Father of a multitude of nations, How was he going to impact so many people? By instilling belief in Hashem. Av Hamon אב המון are the letters באמונה

This blessing by Hashem preceded the story leading up to the birth of Yitzchak Avenu (the perennial symbol of Gevurah) who was most certainly destined to be the main recipient and next standard bearer of Emunah. He spent 37 years gleaning Emunah from his father

Chazal teach us that Yitzchak Avenu also was born with a female/gevurah soul (see I told you to remember this), that needed to be exchanged for a male/kindness one. This was one of the reasons for the Akeida, where we learned that at the moment Avraham Avenu's raised sword was about to slaughter Yitzchak, in anticipation of his imminent death, Yitzchak's old soul left and was replaced with his rightful male soul.

Therefore It was only due to Yitzchak Avenu's unquestioning faith in the Tzadik of his generation, Avraham, that enabled him to indeed live the life he was destined to lead.

Tzadik B'emunaso Yichyeh can be interpreted both actively and reflectively; i.e. a Tzadik will live via his faith and one who believes in the Tzadik will live.

May we merit having solid faith in Hashem and his Tzadikim and thereby truly and fully live in this world and the next.

Apologies for being so long...Good Shabbos

P.S. - This lesson was taught to us by Rav Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld צדיק באמונתו יחיה

P.P.S - One final thought as to possibly why davka these 2 individuals were first born with female souls. It might be attributed to the fact that it was specifically their mother's dominant desire to have children that could have influenced their initial gender

Lech Lecha - Help is NOT a four-letter word

When Avraham Avenu is notified that his nephew Lote has been taken captive by an unholy alliance of four powerful kings, he immediately springs into action. Mustering all the forces at his disposal, he and his band of 318 well-meaning but certainly out-muscled and grossly outnumbered combatants confidently pursue the brazen attackers/kidnappers. With Hashem at his side, Avraham Avenu miraculously defeats this vast army and rescues Lote.

At least one glaring question from the above incident is why specifically the number 318. Most commentaries say this refers to Eliezer, Avraham Avenu's loyal servant and student, whose name is numerically 318. There are different opinions as to whether this means he only took Eliezer, whose spiritual and physical value (he was the son of the warrior king Nimrod) was equal to 318 people or whether there actually were a brigade of 318 plus Eliezer, or whether 318 men set out but after weeding out the weak-hearted and spirtually-deficient only Eliezer remained.

A few observations:

1 - As seemingly impetuous as Avraham Avenu acted, he certainly did not believe that there was any natural way he could have hoped to achieve victory here. His only chance was to enlist Hashem's support. Eliezer in Hebrew is Aleph Lamed (Hashem's name for kindness) - Yud Ayin Zayin Raish (Ya'Azor = will help)

2 - But how was Avraham Avenu going to get that help? As any card-carrying Breslover will tell you; Hisbodidus. 318 is gematriya Siyach which means talking/prayer (just like it says by Yitzchak Avenu, Vayatze Yitzchak LaSucah BaSadeh).

3 - How did Eliezer come to embody all these lofty concepts? As I mentioned Chazal tell us that he was Nimrod's son. Nimrod was the ruler of the world. Certainly Eliezer could have had untold wealth and glory had he stayed by daddy. Instead he forfeited all that physicality to become Eved Avraham, because he recognized truth and what was truly important.

Much like R. Nasan z"l negated himself so absolutely before Rabbenu z"l, so too did Eliezer negate himself before Avraham Avenu. And just like it was that conduct that enabled R. Nasan z"l to absorb Rabbenu z"l teachings and dole it out to others, so too this was how Eliezer was able to assist Avraham Avenu in spreading faith in Hashem to so desolate a generation.

There is an expression that describes the relationship or ratio of knowledge possessed by the student in comparison to his mentor - Mar M'dli. This refers to the fact that if the Rabbi's knowledge can be compared to a pail full of water, what the student gleans from his Rabbi is merely the moist residue left in the pail after it has been completely emptied out (of course therein lies the secret of the student's success). Eliezer (plus the 6 letters of his name) is gematriya Mar M'dli.

May we all merit knowing what is truly important and to pursue and persevere until we achieve it

Good Shabbos

Steve

Rising From the Depths

With Rosh Chodesh Elul fast approaching, I'd like to share this thought I had while listening yesterday to Rav Rosenfeld's Ein Yaakov shiur from Sanhedrin.

The Gemara tells of three people in history who offered an improper/arrogant prayer, yet due to their sincerity and desperation, were granted their request.

The first was Kayin, who after murdering his brother Hevel and realizing the enormity and consequences of his actions said to Hashem, גדול עוני מנשוא - Is my sin too great to bear; meaning, is my sin beyond the endless power of Hashem to forgive.

The second was Eisav, who after being "tricked" by his brother Yaakov and seemingly losing out on getting the blessings from Yitzchak Avinu, cried bitterly, "הברכה אחת יש לך אבי" -Do you have only one bracha, father; meaning certainly you are great enough to have more blessings to dispense.

The third was King Menashe, the idol-worshiping and idol-spreading son of King Chezkiyahu, who after being captured by barbaric pagans and facing certain death at their hands (and mouths) first turned to all his idols for help and when none was forthcoming, he cried to Hashem, "If you also turn a deaf ear to my pleas, I and everyone will know that you are as powerless as every other idol" (chas v'shalom).

The common denominator in all these cases is that though these individuals had committed the foulest of crimes and only turned to heaven when painted into a corner with no other way out, and even then offered a seemingly disrespectful prayer, still just because the did turn to Hashem, their offering was regarded by Hashem purely on it's standalone merit and all were answered in the affirmative.

Can you get a group lower then these 3? Even the roshei taivos of their 3 names E -isav, M- enashe, K -ayin make up the word Emek= valley/depth.

Certainly none of us can compare to the wickedness of these individuals, to have sunk to their depths, yet possibly too often we also only turn to heaven when our Earthly options run out.

As we approach Elul and will be saying the Shir Hama'alos Mima'akim (from the depths), may the Hashem who elevated even the most hardened criminals in his infinite mercy, have pity on us and raise each one of us from our personal abyss to our rightful lofty place next to His Holy Shechinah

Hashgacha Prati 1

Hashgacha Prati (Divine -and Individual - Intervention) is one of the foundations of our faith and something that Rebbe Nachman of Breslov placed tremendous emphasis on. If one's eyes are truly open you will see Heaven's hand playing a very active and recurring role in your life.

I would like to record for posterity 2 simple such events in my "mundane" life to illustrate this point.

CASE 1: A few years ago I had scheduled a job interview in Rechovot, near the Weizman Institute at 10:00AM. To put it mildly, the commute from my home in Hashmonaim is not easy and I wasn't looking forward to the convoluted multi-bus trek. To top it off, I got off to a late start; perfect!

Within 60 seconds of my arriving at my yishuv's "trempiada" - hitchhiker post - ostensibly just to get a lift to the first bus stop I needed, a car pulls up. I asked the driver where he was going. Guess what? He was going to his office which was across the street from the Weizman Institute.

Coincidence? He said that he didn't know what happened top him that morning as he never leaves this late (it was close to 9:00) and I don't recall anyone on any other day headed to that location.

When I arrived (on time) for my interview, my interviewer sheepishly apologized for agreeing to meet with me in the first place as I wasn't at all suited for the spot he needed filled.

Conclusion - This whole scenario was orchestrated from heaven for the express purpose of teaching me (and my driver) an invaluable lesson in Hashgacha Prati.

Case 2: The other day on Tu B'av I had decided that I wanted to make a trip to the Kotel after work. In the morning I estimated that I would leave by 6:30 in order to get there in time for Mincha.

Sure enough by the time 6:00 rolled around I was starting to make excuses in my head why I could go later or maybe even not at all that day. After all, there was still so much work to take care of and I was really beat. The Yetzer Hara has an exhaustive list of excuses.

At exactly 6:20 the company Internet line went down...kaput. No fiddling around on my part could revive her. Without the Internet, there is basically nothing I can do at work. I ended up leaving exactly 6:30 and Baruch Hashem arriving at the kotel just before sunset.

P.S. - lest you think that Internet crashing is a regular event by me, it's not. It happens about once every 2 or 3 months

Lifesavers

I just heard the following "vort" today at my Shiur on Parshat Hahavua. It was mentioned by one of the students and while I don't know the source, it sounds valid:

We know that from that Tisha B'Av that Bnei Yisroel heard and accepted the slanderous report of the spies, they began a 40-year death sentence, where a portion (15,000=1/40 of 600,000) of the nation was killed every subsequent Tisha B'Av until the whole male generation was wiped out...almost. In the 40th year, they lied down in the graves that they dug for themselves on Tisha B'Av (as they had done for the previous 39 years). The next morning, to their surprise, everybody rose up. Thinking they erred in the date, they repeated this "ceremony" each night until the 15th of Av, at which point the moon was full and they were certain that Tisha B'av had passed and that the decree has been rescinded. This is one of the reasons that Tu (ט"ו) B'av is celebrated.

The question is why did they earn a reprieve in that last year.

A possible answer that was offered was that in previous years every Jew that lied down secretly (or openly) prayed that he wouldn't be from those 15000 to die. In other words, he wished that another Jew died instead of himself. That in and of itself was another cause for his death. That last year, there were no "other" Jews left, thus nobody prayed that another Jew should die. As a reward for not having this negative thought G-d spared their lives.

Look at the value of each Jewish life.

Why we don't "harp" on this

על נהרות בבל...על ערבים בתוכה תלינו כנורותינו

Along the rivers of Babylon...because of the Arabs in our midst we hang up our harps

Why should we do this? Simple reason is that since the destruction of the temple and goyim are in our midst, we can't be happy and play music. A possible more direct connection... תיקן חצות is THE best antidote to our temple-less existence. King David also got up at midnite every night to learn and daven. How did he know when to wake up? His harp that was suspended over his bed would begin chiming from the blowing of the North wind exactly at חצות. Thus since ערבים בתוכה we need תלינו כנורותינו to wake up for חצות to rectify the situation.

Rabbi Goldman's comments:

Nice play on words.
That word is also alluding to the other half of our problems in golus - Eisav as follows:
Aravim - in "A-T B-SH" is transformed as follows:
Ayin = Zayin = 7
Reish = Gimmel = 3
Beis = Shin = 300
Yud = Mem = 40
Mem = Yud = 10