Parshas Lech Licha Messages 5780

בּ"ה

Parshas Lech Licha

With the parsha of Lech Licha, we essentially begin the stories of the Avos (Patriarchs):

It says in Tehillim (121:1-2): ‘I raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will come my help? My help is from with Hashem, Maker of Heaven and earth.’

Now, the Avos have been compared to mountains (see Rosh Hashanah 11a, and Rashi zt”l there, on the words ואומר שמעו הרים את ריב ה׳ והאיתנים). We thus see a wonderful inspiration from the above quoted verse: A person sometimes doesn’t know what to do in a certain situation or how they will be helped. But what we must do is ‘raise our eyes to the mountains’ -- meaning to look at and recall the stories of what happened with the holy Avos, and understand that just like they were in seemingly hopeless positions at times, and HaKadosh Baruch Hu helped and saved them, so too He will help us no matter what situation we find ourselves in. He is always there.

(Tal U’Matar)

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‘“Go for yourself -- לך לך”’ (Bereishis 12:1)

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Says the Noam Elimelech, Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk zt”l: We must go לך -- to ourselves, literally. We must consistently look into ourselves, and examine the middos (traits) that we have, so that we may identify our bad ones, and separate from them and/or elevate them by utilizing them for the service of Hashem.

(Noam Elimelech)

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I was privileged to hear from my Rebbe, HaRav Elyakim Rosenblatt zt”l,1 a beautiful lesson derived by another one of the great Chassidishe Rebbes from these words: לך לך -- Go away from ‘for yourself’ -- we must overcome the tendency to be and think exclusively about ourselves.

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1 Who saw it, I believe, in sefer Peninei HaTorah.

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‘“Go for yourself -- לך לך”’ (Bereishis 12:1)

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Hashem alluded to Avraham Avinu, says the Baal HaTurim, that when he was 100 years old -- like the Gematria (numerical value) of the words לך לך -- then ‘I will make you into a great nation’, when Yitzchok Avinu would be born.

Another thing, says the Baal HaTurim: Hashem alluded to him that after leaving his land, etc. he would live 100 more years (like the Gematria of לך לך), for he was 75 years old at the time of his departure from his land, birthplace, and father’s house.

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‘And Hashem said to Avram; “Go for yourself. . . to the land that I will show you.”’ (Bereishis 12:1)

Why did Hashem not tell Avraham Avinu the land to which He wanted him to go? Rashi zt”l quotes two explanations from Midrash Bereishis Rabbah. The first one is that it was in order to make it precious in his eyes.

We learn from this, says the Steipler Gaon, HaRav Yaakov Yisroel Kanievsky zt”l, that something is more special and precious to someone when they seek it for a while and really desire it before actually attaining it.

Practically speaking, when we learn Torah, if we really desire to know the truth of the words and understand them properly, and we truly seek and try hard towards that end, then when eventually, the thing does, b’Ezras Hashem, become clear to us, it will be all the more precious to us.

Now, as we know, something that happens to us which leaves a mark of joy (and, Chas v’Shalom, the opposite), we remember really well and much longer, as it remains engraved in our mind. We thus see that a person will remember their learning better according to how great their desire and yearning for it is, their effort to understand it, and how much joy they feel from attaining clarity in it.

(Bircas Peretz)

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‘And Hashem said to Avram, “Go for yourself from your land, and from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the Land that I will show you.”’ (Bereishis 12:1)

On this passuk, Rashi zt”l brings various explanations about how Hashem was hinting to Avraham Avinu the great benefits he would get from going to ‘the Land that He would show him’. Maayanah Shel Torah quotes that the Seforim ask; by telling him about all these benefits that would accrue to him, wasn’t this lessening the test for Avraham Avinu?

And they answer that that was actually part of the test. Would he go in order to achieve those benefits, or to listen to Hashem’s command?

And Avraham Avinu passed the entire test with flying colors, as the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh says (to verse 4), the verse emphasizes that Avraham Avinu went ‘like that Hashem had spoken to him’ -- meaning, not only did he obey Hashem, he did so only to do His Will, not for any ulterior motive.

Furthermore, he did all this with extreme alacrity. As HaRav Aharon Levin zt”l notes, right after Hashem’s command to Avraham Avinu to depart, the Torah records his departure. He did not delay at all. (HaDrash Vi’HaIyun).

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‘And he [Avram] departed to go to the Land of Canaan, and he came to the Land of Canaan.’ (Bereishis 12:5)

The Sforno zt”l contrasts this to what it says at the end of Parshas Noach, that Terach left to go to the Land of Canaan, but he came only to Charan, and he stayed there.

We must go in the ways of Avraham Avinu, says the Chofetz Chaim zt”l. And we learn from here that if a person takes it upon themselves to go to Eretz Yisroel -- or to reach any spiritual goal -- they must not stop in the middle or change course. We must get there!

(Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah)

Similarly, HaRav Leib Chasman zt”l teaches that we see from here that we must never forget the purpose of our life -- coming close to, and the service of, Hashem (which are intertwined). Because distraction from our mission can lead to, Chas v’Shalom, laziness in it and loosening our grip on it. We must constantly check and make sure that the path we are going on is in line with our purpose in life.

(Brought in Li’Hisaneig Bi’Saanugim)

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‘And it was when he [Avraham] approached to come to Egypt, and he said to Sarai his wife, “Behold, now I know that you are a woman of beautiful appearance. And it will be when the Egyptians will see you, and they will say ‘This is his wife’, and they will kill me, and they will let you live. Say please, that you are my sister, in order that it will be good for me because of you, and my Soul will live on your behalf.’ (Bereishis 12:11-13)

Avraham Avinu, knowing how the Egyptians would be, asked Sarah to claim to be his sister (which, to preserve his life, was permitted, and furthermore, it is explained -- see Midrash HaGadol -- that it wasn’t a total untruth anyway), so that he would not be killed in order to take her.2 This is completely understandable. But what is baffling is what Rashi zt”l says the words ‘that it will be good for me because of you’ mean: “They will give me gifts”!

Many commentators ask; what does this mean to say, and how can we understand it? Firstly, we know that it is often better to not take a gift that we don’t need (see Mishlei 15:27), so did Avraham Avinu really desire to accept gifts? And secondly, later in our very Parsha we find that Avraham Avinu declined to take any of the spoils of war, to which he was rightfully entitled, from the king of Sodom, after he (with Hashem’s help!) defeated the four kings, saying that he didn’t want him to be able to say that he made him rich -- as Rashi says there, HaKadosh Baruch Hu promised to make him wealthy. So why did he act differently here? Many answers are given (see Sifsei Chachamim HaShaleim, Be’er Yosef, etc.), but we will list three here:

1) ----- HaRav Shmuel Borenstein zt”l: The Midrash says that Avraham Avinu was supposed to ‘go out and pave the way for his children’, i.e. descendants. Therefore, he put into action a simile of what would later happen to his descendants, Klal Yisroel, that they would go up from Egypt with great wealth. (Shem MiShmuel).3

2) ----- HaRav Moshe Feinstein zt”l: With the king of Sodom, Avraham Avinu knew that he would consider it as if he had made him wealthy, whereas with Paroah, it wasn’t so. And perhaps it was even that Hashem was kind of causing him to give, in order to fulfill His promise to enrich Avraham. (Darash Moshe vol. 2).

3) ----- HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein shlit”a: Avraham Avinu was most always trying to spread faith in Hashem to as many people as he could, and to show people that going in the way of Hashem is good and beneficial.

Now, the Gemara (Bava Metzia 59a) relates that Rava told the people of Mechoza to honor their wives, and that will even bring them wealth.

It wasn’t that Avraham Avinu desired gifts; but rather, he was trying to, as usual, spread something good in the world. It would be clear to everyone that the gifts and wealth came to him because of his wife, as the verse specifies ‘in order that it will be good for me because of you’, and thus everyone who heard would learn to honor their wives, and that that would help them become wealthy.

For this reason, as well, when it came to the king of Sodom, Avraham Avinu declined the offer of the money and spoils. Because it would not have made any kind of Kiddush Hashem; in fact, there was a concern that it could cause just the opposite, with the king of Sodom claiming that he made Avraham wealthy. But with the gifts of Paroah, this would show everyone the goodness of Hashem and how important and worthwhile it is to honor one’s wife. (Aleinu LiShabeiach).

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2 However, see Ramban zt”l, who says it actually was a sin.

3 See Ramban zt”l; Maaseh Avos siman l’banim -- the deeds of the Patriarchs are signs for what would happen with their descendants.

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‘And there was a quarrel (ריב) between the shepherds of the livestock of Avram, and between the shepherds of the livestock of Lot. . . And Avram said to Lot, “Please let there not be a quarrel (מריבה) between me and between you, and between my shepherds and between your shepherds. . . “’ (Bereishis 13:7-8)

The way of a quarrel, says the Alshich HaKadosh {HaRav Moshe Alshich zt”l}, is to start small, and then spread out amongst people if it is left unchecked. Furthermore, the Torah switches from a masculine language of ריב, to the feminine form מריבה. Why? Because מריבה, being feminine, indicates that it can “give birth”, as it were -- meaning, bring more of it into existence.

Based upon this, elucidates the Alshich, we may explain these pessukim (verses): There was a ריב, a small quarrel between only some of the shepherds of Avraham and Lot.4 Avraham Avinu knew, though, that strife easily spreads. So he took action, saying ‘Please let there not be a quarrel (מריבה) between me and between you, and between my shepherds and between your shepherds’ -- meaning, now it was just a small ריב between some of the shepherds, but soon, if they weren’t careful, it might become a full-blown מריבה, spreading and expanding to all of the shepherds, and perhaps even between even Avraham and Lot themselves!

(Toras Moshe)

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4 See Rashi zt”l here as to what it was about.

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‘And Avram heard that his brother [Lot] had been captured, and he armed (וירק) his students who were born in his house, three-hundred-and-eighteen, and he pursued until Dan.’ (Bereishis 14:14)

According to Shmuel in the Gemara (Nedarim 32a), “וירק” means that Avraham Avinu brightened his students with much gold (i.e. he gave them much gold). Why did he do so? Tosafos to Gemara Sukkah 31b explains that it was so that they would not be tempted to secure for themselves the spoils of war, and would be able to concentrate on saving lives. (See Matanos Kehunah on Bereishis Rabbah 43:2).

According to this explanation of Tosafos, says my Rebbe, HaRav Elyakim Rosenblatt zt”l (adapted from a shmuse of HaRav Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz zt”l), the verse is saying that prior to their embarking on their sacred mission to rescue Lot from captivity, Avraham Avinu gave each and every one of his students an abundance of gold. The reason for this somewhat strange behavior for people going to war was that in the course of battle, these students might be tempted by the glitter and glare of the spoils of war lying on the battlefield. They might stop, even if only briefly for a few short moments, to acquire this newfound wealth, and thus jeopardize their goal of saving Lot. Avraham Avinu foresaw this possibility and gave them gold to counter this temptation. They no longer would need to stop. They would now be independently wealthy on their own.

This would seem to imply that if Avraham Avinu hadn’t given them the gold, there would be a significant possibility that they might have indeed stopped and been diverted from their mission by the lure of financial gain.

However, who were these students? They were Gedolei Torah and Tzaddikim in their own right (Nedarim 32a), worthy of being disciples of the Patriarch of the Jewish People, Avraham Avinu. These noble people had volunteered to risk their lives for the holy Mitzvah of saving a life -- of rescuing Lot from captivity. How could such great and idealistic people jeopardize their entire mission by stopping to acquire for themselves spoils of war? Wouldn’t rational people, as they surely were, understand how precious every moment actually was? Shouldn’t they realize that tarrying even for a few short moments could jeopardize their entire mission? Surely, it made no sense for them to stop, even for one moment. Why, then, did Avraham Avinu deem it necessary to give them gold?

We see from here, says Rav Rosenblatt zt”l, a profound insight into the human temperament: Even rational people, Gedolei Torah and Tzaddikim, embarking on a sacred life saving mission, willing to risk their own lives for the sake of this goal, might stray from their path and engage themselves in insignificant matters.

While on the path to attain their holy objective, they will see the enticing gleam and glitter of the spoils of war lying on the battlefield, and they will be attracted to it. Avraham Avinu, with his brilliance and depth, foresaw and understood these inner temptations of the human being. He, therefore, addressed the issue directly by satiating that desire from the outset, by giving his students an abundance of gold prior to their embarking on their mission to rescue Lot, in order to counter that temptation.

An he concludes beautifully: Perhaps we can apply this thought to our very own lives: Hashem created us and charged us with a mission and purpose in life -- to do Hashem’s will, to study and observe His Holy Torah, and to disseminate it. Despite the fact that we are fully cognizant of this sacred mission -- which is our obligation on earth and the purpose of our creation -- and despite the fact that we may set out to attain this goal with great self-sacrifice, we can nevertheless become distracted from this noble goal. We can involve ourselves in trivial pursuits, and in matters of zero spiritual consequence. We can tarry on the way, to the extent that we may never attain our holy objective, which means so very much to us, and for which we are willing to sacrifice so very much.

May we recognize this inherent weakness within us, and may we find the inner strength to overcome it. May we be zoche (have the merit) to never be distracted from the sacred mission for which we have been created. Amein.

(From one of Rav Rosenblatt’s Dvar Torah’s)

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‘And He took him [Avram] outside, and He said, “Gaze, please, towards the Heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them,” and He said to him, “So will your offspring be.”’ (Bereishis 15:5)

According to the simple interpretation of this verse, Hashem was promising Avraham Avinu that his offspring would be very abundant. But there are also other ways to understand the simile of Avraham’s progeny, the Jewish People, to the stars:

1) ----- The Baal Shem Tov zt”l: Just like the stars seem very small, but in reality, they are very large, so too the Jews seem to look quite small sometimes in this world, but in Heaven, we will be -- and are -- very mighty and lofty. (Maayanah Shel Torah).

2) ----- The Chiddushei HaRim {first Gerrer Rebbe, Rebbe Yitzchok Meir Alter zt”l}: Rashi zt”l’s second explanation (from Bereishis Rabbah) is that Hashem took Avraham Avinu ‘above the stars’.

Even though according to “nature”, Avraham Avinu couldn’t bear a son (see Rashi’s first explanation here), Hashem took him above constellations and nature. And regarding that He told him “So will be your offspring” -- meaning, they, too, will be above the realm of constellations and their conduct will be outside the “natural way”. Rather, they will be guided by His Providence, and in a miraculous way, as our Sages say (see Shabbos 156). (Ibid.).

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‘And He said to Avram, “You should surely know that your offspring will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they [that nation] will enslave them and they will afflict them. . . And also the nation that they [the Jews] will serve, I will judge (דן אנכי). . .”’ (Bereishis 15:14)

‘Say little and do much’ (Pirkei Avos 1:15)

We learn this trait from Avraham Avinu, as it says (Bereishis 18:5-8) ‘And I will take a morsel of bread’ and then we find afterwards that he did much more than that, ‘And he took cream and butter and the young bull’.

But further, Chazal (Avos D’Rabbi Nasan ch. 13) learned this trait actually from HaKadosh Baruch Hu Himself! He didn’t promise anything except for two words about what He would do to the Egyptians after they subjugated us -- דן אנכי, and yet He punished them much, and performed many, many wonders, and redeemed us in the midst of amazing miracles!

In a similar vein, Rabbeinu Saadya Gaon zt”l said: If about what He would do to the Egyptians, Hashem only promised two words, and yet He performed so, so many miracles and wonders for us in Egypt, how much more incredible and miraculous will be Hashem’s deeds for us in the Complete Redemption of the future, about which so much has been promised in Neviim and Kesuvim, etc.!

And we should contemplate this and take it to heart, for we will receive abundant reward for the great faith it will instill in us.

(From Rabbeinu Yonah zt”l’s commentary to Avos 1:15)

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‘And Sarai afflicted her [Hagar] and she fled from before her.’ (Bereishis 16:6)

The question arises; is it possible that the great Sarah Imeinu, the first Matriarch of the Jewish People, should have acted out of pure malice? Surely she must have had some kind of reason or justification for her actions!

Suggests HaRav Yisroel Yaakov Lubchansky zt”l; Sarah Imeinu’s conduct towards Hagar did not change at all: She had been accustomed to treating her with a certain strictness and direction all along in order to better mold her character and make her into a finer person. Hagar, who greatly respected Sarah, willingly accepted this, and also understood that it was for her benefit.

Once she conceived a child, however, ‘her mistress became light in her eyes’: Hagar developed a certain arrogance towards Sarah Imeinu and no longer regarded her with the same respect. Suddenly, Sarah’s household strictness was no longer acceptable to Hagar. She started feeling persecuted and oppressed, until finally, she was forced to flee from the house of her mistress.

Perhaps Sarah Imeinu should have been more sensitive to Hagar’s new state of mind, says Rav Lunchansky zt”l, which is why her descendants suffer as a result (see Ramban zt”l), but she certainly didn’t act out of spite or malice.

(Talelei Oros)5

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5 See The Stone Edition Chumash p. 71, for a similar idea in the name of HaRav Aryeh Levin zt”l.

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In this parsha, Hashem gives Avraham Avinu the Commandment of Bris Milah (circumcision).

Now, regarding Bris Milah, I heard from HaRav Yehoshua Kalish shlit”a two different approaches as to what it symbolizes. One is said by the Sefer HaChinuch. He writes that it symbolizes that we are born incomplete and it is our duty to complete and perfect ourselves.

Another symbolism is what HaRav Yaakov Moshe Charlop zt”l suggests, and that is almost the very opposite of what the Chinuch says; that is, that Milah represents that a Yid is born with a lot of Kedusha (holiness), having the Bris performed on them when they are only a tiny baby.

Really, both are surely true and should be taken to heart!

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~ Maasim Tovim ~ It is told that someone once came to the Vilna Gaon zt”l to ask for a haskamah for the sefer they had written, which was a commentary to the Siddur. The Gaon looked in the sefer, and saw that towards the beginning of it the author had given an explanation on why we start our morning prayer service with Adon Olam: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught (Berachos 7b) that from the day HaKadosh Baruch Hu created the world, nobody called Him ‘Adon/Master’, until Avraham Avinu came along and did so (see 15:8). Now, the author wrote, since we are told that Avraham Avinu established the Shacharis prayer service, it is very fitting to begin it by referring to Hashem by the Name ‘Adon’!

Said the Vilna Gaon, if this sefer would be printed for even just this thought alone, it would be enough.

(Related in the introduction to Shaalos U’Teshuvos Kanfei Yonah)

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There was a Sage named Nachum Ish Gamzu. Why was he called this? Because about everything that happened to him, even something that seemed bad, he would say “Gam zu li’tovah! -- Also this is for good!”

One time, the Jews wanted to send a gift to the ruler’s house. They asked who should go on this important mission, and they decided that it was best to have Nachum Ish Gamzu go, because he was used to having miracles done for him. So they sent him with a chest full of precious stones and pearls for the ruler.

He went, and during his travels to the palace, he stopped at an inn and stayed the night there. That night, the residents of the inn opened up the chest Nachum Ish Gamzu had with him, took all the precious gems inside, and filled it with dirt instead! The next morning, when Nachum Ish Gamzu saw the dirt in the chest, he said “Also this is for good.”

He continued on the trek, and when he reached the palace, they opened up the chest, which was supposed to contain great stuff as a gift for the ruler. When they saw that it was filled with dirt, the ruler got very angry, and wanted to kill all of the Jews, because he thought that they were making fun of him. Nachum Ish Gamzu, however, still maintained his strong faith, and said once again “Also this is for good.”

Eliyahu HaNavi came and appeared to the people in the palace like one of the ruler’s officers. He suggested to them that perhaps this dirt was from the dirt of Avraham Avinu which he used in the war with the four kings, that when he would throw dirt, it would become swords, and when he threw straw, it would become arrows (see Yeshayahu 41:2).

There was one country that the ruler’s army was not able to conquer. So they decided to try out this dirt against it, to see if it really was special. Hashem performed a miracle, and made it work, and they conquered that country. They were so happy about this, that they went into the royal treasury, filled a chest with precious stones and pearls, and sent Nachum Ish Gamzu off -- with the chest -- with great honor.

When he was coming back from his mission, he stayed the night at the same inn in which he had lodged on his trip to the palace. The residents of the inn asked him what he had brought with him to the palace for which he had been given all this honor. And he replied “What I took from here, I brought to there.” Now the innkeepers must have been excited, because they knew very well what he had taken with him from their inn! A chest full of dirt! So they destroyed their inn, and brought the dirt from underneath it to the house of the ruler, and they told him that the dirt which Nachum Ish Gamzu had brought was from them. But when the dirt they brought was tested, it didn’t work, and those wicked innkeepers were killed.

(Gemara Taanis 21a with Rashi)

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Friday, November 8, 2019