THE OHR SOMAYACH TORAH MAGAZINE on the INTERNET Dedicated His Life to Proclaiming G-DS with Our Every Action
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OTHE OHRH SOMAYACH TORAHR MAGAZINE ONN THE INTERNET E WWW.OHR.EDUT SHABBAT PARSHAT LECH LECHA 13 CHESHVAN 5761 NOV. 11, 2000 VOL. 8 NO. 3 PARSHA INSIGHTS relatives and his fathers house to travel to a spiritual land AND WITH THIS WELL CLOSE... and be the founder of the Jewish People. Abraham didnt And you shall be a blessing. (12:2) have the benefit of a great Torah sage for a father. His father heres something that Abraham had in common with was in a different line: He was an idol manufacturer. Not a Ta lot of todays Jews. He didnt grow up frum (reli- job for a Jewish boy. Even though Abrahams son, Isaac, had gious). a grandfather who was an idol maker, he at least had the The attrition of the Jewish People didnt stop with Nazi advantage of growing up in the home of a spiritual giant, his Germany. After six million Jews had been murdered in father Abraham. And Jacob, the choicest of the patriarchs, Europe, an equal number of Jews have been lost to Judaism was completely removed from Abrahams roots; he inherit- through assimilation. While some mixed relationships have ed both his fathers and his grandfathers spiritual achieve- led to the creation of genuine and enthusiastic Jewish spous- ments and their lifestyle. es, the vast majority have produced children who are either In the first blessing of the Amidah, the standing prayer, we not Jewish or not interested in being Jewish. address the Creator through our family connections. We However, ever since the Six Day War, theres been a fas- call on Him as the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac and the cinating anti-historical trend. Since 1967 shortly, and un- G-d of Jacob. However, when we come to the end of that coincidentally, after the Western Wall returned to Jewish blessing we only address Him as the G-d of Abraham. hands thousands of Jews from non-religious backgrounds What happened to Isaac and Jacob? have become frum. And not just frum; today you can find The first blessing of the Amidah depicts a historical baalei teshuva who have become the professors of Jewish process. Eventually at the end of the road, when history learning. Their numbers are minuscule compared to the draws to a close, G-d will be seen in the world as the G-d of vast figures for intermarriage, but they are a significant and Abraham. For it will be those Jews who have emulated visible trend in todays community. Abraham and left their land, their relatives and their fathers What does it mean when we see a large number of unaf- house to travel to a spiritual land who will be the ones to filiated Jews embracing their Jewish spirituality and identify- write the last chapter of Jewish history. ing as the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Sources: In this weeks Torah portion, Abraham leaves his land, his Rashi, Rabbi Shimon Shkop as heard from Rabbi C. J. Senter LOVE OF THE LAND Selections from classical Torah sources which express the special relationship between the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael A LAND LIKE YOURS hen Sancheriv followed up his destruction of your own land. (Melachim II 18:32). W the Kingdom of Israel and the exiling of the ten The respect he showed for Eretz Yisrael by not dar- tribes which inhabited it with a siege of ing to suggest that there was a land superior to it, say Jerusalem, Capital of the Kingdom of Judea, he sent our Sages, gained for him the merit of being referred to messengers to persuade the besieged Jews to sur- elsewhere (Ezra 4:10) as the great and noble render. He promised to transfer them to a land like Asnappar (Sanhedrin 94a). 1 PARSHA OVERVIEW en generations have passed since Noach. Man has Jordan. A war breaks out between the kings of the region, descended spiritually. In the year 1948 from Creation, and Sodom is defeated. Lot is taken captive. Together with a TAvram is born. By observing the world, Avram comes handful of his converts, Avram rescues Lot, miraculously to recognize Hashems existence, and thus merits that overpowering vastly superior forces, but Avram demurs from Hashem appear to him. At the beginning of this weeks accepting any of the spoils of the battle. In a prophetic Parsha, Hashem tells Avram to leave his land, his relatives and covenant, Hashem reveals to Avram that his offspring will be his fathers house and travel to an unknown land where exiled to a strange land where they will be oppressed for 400 Hashem will make him into a great nation. Avram leaves, tak- years, after which they will emerge with great wealth and ing with him his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, their servants, and return to Eretz Yisrael, their irrevocable inheritance. Sarai is those whom they converted to faith in Hashem. When they barren and gives Hagar, her Egyptian hand-maiden, to Avram reach the land of Canaan, Hashem appears to Avram and tells in the hope that she will provide them with a child. Hagar him that this is the land that He will give to his descendants. becomes arrogant when she discovers that she is pregnant. A famine ensues and Avram is forced to relocate to Egypt to Sarai deals harshly with her, and Hagar flees. On the instruc- find food. Realizing that his wifes beauty would cause his tion of an angel Hagar returns to Avram, and gives birth to death at the hand of the Egyptians, Avram asks her to say that Yishmael. The Parsha concludes with Hashem commanding she is his sister. Sarai is taken to Pharaoh, but Hashem afflicts Avram to circumcise himself and his offspring throughout the Pharaoh and his court with severe plagues and she is released generations as a covenant between Hashem and his seed. unmolested. Avram returns to Eretz Yisrael (Canaan) with Hashem changes Avrams name to Avraham, and Sarais name much wealth given to him by the Egyptians. During a quarrel to Sarah. Hashem promises Avraham a son, Yitzchak, despite over grazing rights between their shepherds, Avram decides Avraham being ninety-nine years old and Sarah ninety. On to part ways with his nephew Lot. Lot chooses to live in the that day, Avraham circumcises himself, Yishmael and all his rich but corrupt city of Sodom in the fertile plain of the household. HAFTARA YESHAYA 40:27 - 41:16 n the time of Nimrod, the entire must first be worthy of being called O H R N E T Iworld, with its power-crazed wor- the descendants of Avraham. Like ship of might, knew only battle and Avraham, we must live our lives in destruction. Enter Avraham. Avraham peace and harmony fulfilling G-ds will THE OHR SOMAYACH TORAH MAGAZINE ON THE INTERNET dedicated his life to proclaiming G-ds with our every action. Published by presence through every step and every OHR SOMAYACH TANENBAUM COLLEGE action, bringing light into a world of POB 18103, Jerusalem 91180, Israel 02-581-0315 darkness. When the worlds nations HARD HITTER General Editor: were fighting, Avrahams sword and Rabbi Moshe Newman Every man would support his friend and say Editorial & Web Advisor: bow were left to gather dust. But Be strong ... as the hammer polisher sup- Rabbi Reuven Lauffer when it became a necessity for ports the anvil striker. (Yeshaya 41:6,7) Associate Editor: Rabbi Reuven Subar Avraham to engage in battle, G-d gave hen the hammer strikes the Contributing Writers: him victory. The biggest miracle was anvil it appears that the pur- Weekly Daf, Love of the Land: W Rav Mendel Weinbach not that Avraham won the battle, but pose is to shape and form the Insights, Overview: that he won the war. By remaining a anvil. The opposite it true: It is the Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair peace loving servant of G-d, he won hammer that is knocked into shape. Web Production: Michael Treblow the war against the prevailing mentality So, when a person helps and supports Produced and Designed by the Office of Communications of war and destruction. his friend, the giver often gains more Rabbi Eliezer Shapiro, Director So too, says the Prophet Yeshaya, than the recipient. The root of the © 2000 OHR SOMAYACH INSTITUTIONS - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED will Avrahams descendants return to word ahavah (love) is hav (give). THIS PUBLICATION CONTAINS WORDS OF TORAH. PLEASE TREAT IT WITH DUE RESPECT. Jerusalem in peace as G-d delivers us The more a person gives, the more he from our oppressors. However we develops love and other positive traits. The Ohr Somayach Web Site is Hosted by Virtual Jerusalem www.virtualjerusalem.com OHRNET is available from the following sources: THE OHR SOMAYACH WEB SITE E-MAIL VIA INTERNET: Write to [email protected] for information. WORLD WIDE WEB: Our address is: www.ohr.edu Submit your questions to ASK THE RABBI at www.asktherabbi.org or E-Mail [email protected] set subject to ASK THE RABBI. www.ohr.edu 2 Insights, explanations and comments for the seven pages of Talmud studied in the course of the worldwide Daf Yomi cycle. WEEKLY DAF NAZIR 20 -26 INNOCENT ACTS A SIN FOR HEAVENS SAKE AND GUILTY INTENTIONS sin committed for the sake of Heaven is equal to a Amitzvah performed with an ulterior motive. This f a woman made a vow to be a nezirah and, unaware that equation is made by Rabbi Nachman bar Yitzchak on her husband cancelled her vow, drank wine or came into the basis of a passage (Shoftim 5:24) comparing Yael the I woman who ended the Canaanite threat to Eretz Yisrael by contact with the dead, she is not punished by lashes for violating the Torah command prohibiting a nazir from slaying their general to the Matriarchs.