Page Zero of Torah Tidbits 835

Lead Tidbit cont. from page 1 (below) And here it is... teaches us a princile when it comes to angels: One angel does not perform two tasks. Therefore, there were three angels sent to Avraham • one to heal him from his recent Mila at an advanced age (R'fa'el); one to announce the upcoming birth of Yitzchak (Micha'el), and one to destroy S'dom (Gavri'el). The Gemara in Bava M'tzi'a gives us the names of the angels and their tasks. Fine, so far. After the angels leave Avraham, two of them continue onto S'dom • one to destroy S'dom (that would be Gavri'el) and one to save Lot and family (Micha'el). What happened to the one task per angel rule? We can say that Micha'el finished with his first task and now continues with Gavri'el to S'dom with a new single task • to save Lot. If there are four tasks • which there are, count them • them why not send four angels in the first place? Because, originally, there were only three tasks: heal Avraham, announce Yitzchak, and destroy S'dom. Lot's being saved was not a foregone conclusion. He didn't have sufficient merit to be saved on his own. He needed • as we've mentioned in the Sedra Summary, twice • additional lmerit to be saved. This merit he "acquired" when the angels were already at Avraham's tent. What happened there? The angels asked Avraham where Sara was and he said that she was in the tent. This is a window to the character of Sara Imeinu and because of her, of all womankind. Women, by nature, are quiet, "behind the scenes" types. (This is obviously an oversimplification of a complex issue • let's leave it simple for now...) And Lot got merit from this? We're not there yet • patience. The Torah tells us that an Amonite and a Moavite may not enter into K'hal HaShem (marry a women born a Jew, even though they have converted to , which they can do). Does this Torah restriction apply to males only or females, as well? Important question. Our Sages ruled that the restriction applies to males of Amon and Moav, but not to their females. They ruled this way because the Torah gives a reason for excluding Amon and Moav from K'hal HaShem. "Because they didn't offer you bread and water when you approached their land..." Who was held accountable for this reprehensible behavior? The males. They were the ones who There's more on page 3 below L 0 ‹ `xie zyxt zay e"dl 835 In Israel (not yet elsewhere) dkxal xhne lh oze Nov. 14•15, '08 • h"qyz oeyg f"i This is the 47th day (of 354), 7th Shabbat (of 50) of 5769 hi:gi ziy`xa ...h®Rt§¨Wy¦nEe dw¨g¨c§v z Fe Uy£¬ rl «© 'd½ Kj¤xCc´¤ ÆEex§nWy§ «¨ e... First Written TT Revisited Har Sinai, NCSY Upstate New York region, June 1971 (maybe) Regional Shabbaton in Rochester, NY • the term Torah Tidbits was coined. It referred to short divrei halacha and Torah, mostly to explain basic concepts that might not have been known to the NCSYers. Torah Tidbits were originally oral. 1990 (rough guess), Israel Center at 10 Straus Street • first use of the term Torah Tidbits to apply to a written D'var Torah. (Torah Tidbits as the weekly Torah publication of the OU Israel Center began in June '92 for Shabbat Parshat Sh'lach.) The first written TT, photocopied onto Correct for TT 835 • Rabbeinu Tam (J'm) • 5:55pm one side of an A4 sheet of paper and 4:04 Yerushalayim 5:18pm placed on the shelves near the door at 4:23 S'derot 5:21pm 4:20 Gush Etzion 5:19pm 10 Straus where flyers were placed, so 4:20 Raanana 5:19pm that people who took flyers of our 4:20 Beit Shemesh 5:19pm activities could also take home a D'var 4:21 Rehovot 5:20pm Torah, was for Parshat Vayeira. 4:20 Netanya 5:19pm I (Phil) heard the DT from Dr. Paul 4:20 Be'er Sheva 5:21pm Slater; he got it from Maayana Shel 4:20 Modi'in 5:19pm Torah, which quoted the Chidushei 4:04 Petach Tikva 5:19pm HaRim. 4:04 Maale Adumim 5:18pm cont. on page zero, above 4:19 Ginot Shomron 5:18pm 4:19 Gush Shiloh 5:18pm Shabbat 3:00pm ( 4:00) 4:20 K4 & Hevron 5:19pm 4:20 Giv'at Ze'ev 5:18pm Rabbi Binyamin Wolff 4:21 Yad Binyamin 5:20pm Motza'ei Shabbat 8:30pm 4:22 Ashkelon 5:21pm Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher 4:06 Tzfat 5:16pm

Tel: (02) 999•8440 US toll free: 1866•376•6716 [email protected] L 1 ‹ www.traveldealisrael.com Ranges are 10 days, WED•FRI 14•23 Cheshvan (Nov. 12•21) Earliest Talit & T'filin 5:13•5:20am Sunrise 6:06•6:14am Sof Z'man K' Sh'ma 8:44•8:49am (Magen Avraham: 7:58•8:02am) Sof Z'man T'fila 9:37•9:40am (Magen Avraham: 9:06•9:09am) Chatzot 11:23¼•11:25am (halachic noon) Mincha Gedola 11:54•11:56am (earliest Mincha) Plag Mincha 3:35•3:31¾pm Sunset 4:46•4:41pm (based on sea level: 4:41•4:36pm) Word of the Month If you haven't said Kiddush L'vana yet this month and you are reading these words on Wednesday cont. p.3

Orthodox Union OU ISRAEL OU Kashrut • NCSY • Jewish Action Seymour J. Abrams • Orthodox Union • World Center NJCD / Yachad / Our Way • Kharkov OU Israel Center programs• Makom BaLev • Lev Yehudi Synagogue Support Services • IPA Pearl & Harold M. Jacobs ZULA Center• Machon Maayan OURadio.org • Young Leadership NESTO • The Jack Gindi Oraita Program• Mashiv HaRuach Project Areivim • OU West Coast Beit Kharkov • OU Israel Communities • OU Kashrut Israel Stephen Savitsky, President, Orthodox Union Harvey Blitz, Chairman of the Board, Orthodox Union Yitzchak Fund, President, OU Israel Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Exec. Vice President, OU Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Senior Vice President Eliezer Edelman, Exec. Dir. Operations and Management Prof. Meni Koslowsky, Vice President Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Vaad member Headquarters: 11 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 Stuart Hershkowitz, Vaad member 212•563•4000 • website: www.ou.org Moshe Kempinski, Vaad member Sandy Kestenbaum, Vaad member Produced, printed*, collated, and folded in•house Zvi Sand, Vaad member Phil Chernofsky • (02) 560•9124 Harvey Wolinetz, Vaad member [email protected] • www.ou.org/torah/tt Rabbi Avi Berman, Director•General, OU Israel Advertising: Ita Rochel Menachem Persoff, Director of Programs, Israel Center [email protected] • (02) 560•9125 Phil Chernofsky, Educational Director and TT editor TT Distribution • 0505•772•111 • [email protected] 22 Keren HaYesod • POB 37015 • Jerusalem 91370 OU Israel and Torah Tidbits do not endorse the political or halachic phone: (02) 560•9100 • fax: (02) 561•7432 positions of its editor, columnists, or advertisers, nor guarantee the quality of advertised services or products. Nor do we endorse the email: [email protected] • website: www.ouisrael.org kashrut of hotels, restaurants, caterers or food products that are Torah Tidbits and many of the projects of OU Israel are advertised in TT (except, of course, those under OU•Israel hashgacha). assisted by grants from The Jewish Agency for Israel We recommend that readers check with the advertisers themselves to clarify kashrut and shmita details of their services and products.L 2 Founders‹ and initial benefactors of the Israel Center: George z"l and Ilse Falk Lead Tidbit cont. from page Zero (above) aggressively went to their border to bar Israel's passage through their territory. Their women are not held responsible, because they did not come forward confrontationally. They had the quality of Sara Imeinu of "HINEI VA•OHEL". Not extending the restriction on Moav to its women allowed Ruth to marry Boaz and to become the mother of the Davidic line. And Ruth is the extra merit that her progenitor Lot received. Without Ruth, perhaps Lot would not have been saved. No angel was initially sent for that role, which was not yet a certainty. Whether or not you take all this literally or figuratively, there are lessons to be learned. Sometimes, if the task is important and requires one's full attention, we should remember that even angels do one thing at a time. We each have merit that we ourselves earn, plus Z'chut Avot, "credit", if you will, from our parents and grandparents (especially when we follow in their good footsteps), and can receive further merit from our children • during our lifetimes and afterwards... And sometimes, even lacking full merit, we can benefit from special circumstances. Plenty of food for thought here. oea`za

WORD of the MONTH cont. from p.2 A weekly TT feature to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby enhancing our appreciation of G•d's gift to us of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... (November 12th • when TT first "hits the stands"), then you can still say KL all night Wednesday. But that's the last opportunity this month. (As we've pointed out occasionally, there are some opin• ions that permit KL beyond the midpoint between moladot • you should check with your Rav how strict a deadline you should keep to.)

P'sukim above average in length (i.e. number of VAYEIRA STATS words and number of letters per pasuk) explain its 4th of the 54 sedras; 4th of 12 sedras in B'reishit rise in rankings from p'sukim to words (and letters). Written on 252 lines in a Sefer Torah, ranks 5th Vayeira is actually 2nd largest sedra in the Torah. (Naso, is #1 with no rival • Bamidbar, Pinchas, 6 Parshiyot; 4 open, 2 closed and R'ei all take up more lines than Vayeira, but 147 p'sukim • ranks 7th (4th in B’reishit) those sedras each have many parshiyot, which means a lot of blank space between parshiyot which 2085 words • ranks 2nd (first in B’reishit) adds to the number of lines.) 7862 letters • ranks 3rd (2nd in B’reishit)

L 3 ‹ SDT:: It was unnaturally hot; that was MITZVOT G•d's doing, to spare Avraham the bother None of Taryag are found in Vayeira (one of 17 of visitors, He removed the from its sedras without entries on the list of 613) • however, envelope... However, Avraham is dis• tressed by the absence of visitors, so G•d there are Midot and values and other lessons to be sends three angels to him in the guise of learned. wayfarers. We have a lesson•within•a• lesson to learn here. To be careful to do for others • especially the ill and elderly • what Aliya•by•Aliya THEY want, not what WE want, and not what we THINK they want. Also, to realize Sedra Summary that there are exceptions to rules. Some people like being fussed about; others [P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicate start of a parsha p’tucha or s’tumadon't. For some, taking things easy is respectively. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of the therapeutic. For others, action is their beginning of the parsha; (Z) is themedicine. Avraham did not want to take number of p'sukim in the parsha. things easy, even though he was ailing. So G•d, so•to•speak, accommodated him. Kohen • First Aliya • Avraham sees the three "men" and runs to greet them, after asking G•d 14 p'sukim • 18:1•14 to wait for him (so to speak). (From here we are taught the greatness of [P> 18:1 (71)] And G•d appeared to him (Avraham)... the mitzva of Hachnasat Orchim.) This is one of the ways to interpret SDT: The use of the pronoun "him" SDT: the pasuk • that ADO•NAI means rather than using the name Avraham isG•d, and that Avraham was significant. EILAV (to him) refers us back addressing Him. ADONAI can also to the previous parsha • Avraham'smean "my sirs", in which case circumcision at the end of Lech L'cha,Avraham could have been speaking indicating that the purpose of G•d's visitto the men/angels. Each possibility with Avraham was Bikur Cholim, visiting causes minor awkwardness in the the sick. Furthermore, the fact that theflow of the p'sukim. The word is Torah does not indicate that G•d saidconsidered holy (meaning the first anything to Avraham at this "appearance", opinion prevails), and Sofrim write it tells us that He had another purpose, viz. with the Kavana for G•d's name, but Bikur Cholim. Commentaries teach us that some say that one should use a G•d was visiting the sick, even though the conditional "sanctification". This is a Written Word does not say that at all. touchy subject for Sofrim, since He is sitting at the entrance of his G•d's names are written with a tent (watching for travelers special to declaration of sanctity, and words that are not His names are welcome) in the heat of the day. not supposed to be sanctified. In the few cases where there is a dispute, the T'NAI, conditional statement of L 4 ‹ kedusha come in handy. However,He provided us with Manna. Moshe did not some authorities rule that it is better bring it about. G•d gave it straight to the to sancify a Name even if it mightPeople. not be sacred, rather than not sanctifying it, if it is holy. Levi • Second Aliya • SDT:: "Speak little, but do much." This maxim from Pirkei Avot is manifest 19 in p'sukim • 18:15•33 Avraham Avinu's behavior. He offers the angels a bit of water and some bread, but Sara would like to deny that she in fact prepares for them (with the help of laughed (and doubted), but she Sara and Yishmael) a sumptuous meal. The cannot. Mishna states that Avraham's meal for the The three angels each had a single strangers was proportionally greater than task: One to heal Avraham, one to even the feast of Shlomo HaMelech announce in the birth of Yitzchak celebration of the building of the Beit(both missions accomplished), the HaMikdash. Avraham and Sara are thethird to destroy S'dom. That angel ultimate models for hospitality, one of the is now accompanied by R'fael, hallmarks of the Jewish People. whose new task is to save Lot and One of the angels informs Avraham family. Avraham escorts the angels of the pending birth of Yitzchak.on their way to S'dom. Sara's reaction is to laugh (a slight Once again, we learn the correct doubt in the ability of a 100 yearSDT:: behavior of a proper host from Avraham: old man to father a child and of a part of hospitality is to escort your guests 90 year old woman to give birth). as they leave your home. It is even said that G•d asks Avraham why Sara would escorting out is greater than welcoming. doubt His ability to permit an old woman to conceive. HaShem next tells Avraham of his intention to destroy S'dom. SDT:: Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Avraham pleads and bargains on Rav (in Bava M'tzi'a): What Avraham did their behalf, but there aren't for his guests by himself, G•d did for theenough righteous people to save People of Israel by Himself; what Avraham the cities. did via another, G•d did likewise. Avraham said: YUKACH NA M'AT MAYIM. Rashi The dialog between Avraham and explains the strange grammatical form by HaShem is an astounding (and saying that Avraham did not provided the unique) example of the close water to the stangers himself (it does not relationship between them. say K'CHU...) So too, when G•d was to provide water to Avraham's descendants, SDT:: Avraham's expression of humility He commanded Moshe Rabeinu to throw before G•d is "and I am dust and ash". the stick into the water, to strike the rock, Says the Gemara, because of Avraham's to speak to the rock. But Avraham fed the humility, his children merited two mitzvot • angels himself • "and I will get the bread, the ash of the Para Aduma and the dust of etc." When G•d needed to feed the People, the Sota. Torah T'mima explains that the L 5 ‹ Para Aduma ash is the symbol of spiritual and the people of Israel (Pesach/matza and purity (which can be thought of as thethe unusual word L'HIT'MAH'MEI'AH. realm of "between the Jew and G•d"Lot is led out of the city by the mitzvot). The hopeful outcome of the Sota angels, his wife and two daughters procedure is Shalom Bayit, being a major example of interpersonal relationships.with him. They are told to flee for Thus the reward for Avraham covers thetheir lives, without looking back at whole range of Jewish life. the destruction of the cities. Lot pleads for permission to seek Shlishi • Third Aliya • refuge closer by. 20 p'sukim • 19:1•20 R'vi'i • Fourth Aliya • The two angels arrive in S'dom and 40 p'sukim • 19:21•21:4 are taken in by Lot. [The nephew of Avraham Avinu has learned2nd longest R'vi'i in the Torah something from his uncle.] TheOnce Lot and family are safely people of S'dom demonstrate their away, the destruction of S'dom evil nature. It is clear from thetakes place. Lot's wife looks back • p'sukim as well as Midrashim and against orders • and turns into a commentaries, that Lot was notpillar of salt. (Her punishment is sufficiently pious or believing in his specifically with salt as a measure• own right, but he compared favor• for•measure for her stinginess with ably with the people among whom guests.) he lived, and he had merit as the From the episode of Lot’s wife, we nephew of Avraham. (And as the can draw the following point. Lot and progenitor of Ruth!) family were worthy of being spared SDT:: The word "and he lingered" isthe destruction of S’dom, but they read with the rare trop•mark, were the not worthy enough to be able shalshelet, which musically emphasizes the to witness the destruction. In reluctance of Lot to (believe what he was contrast to Avraham, who views the told by the angels and) leave. The samedestruction. word is used in contrast to this behavior of "And Avraham gets up early in the Lot, in describing the haste with which the morning to the place where he Children of Israel left Egypt at G•d'sSTOOD before G•d." command, symbolized by the matza which they hastily baked rather than linger forSDT:: Avraham returns to the same spot the dough to rise and produce a "proper" to speak to G•d. From here is derived the bread demonstrating their faith concept and of having a MAKOM KAVUA, a confidence in G•d. Interesting, is it not,fixed place for prayer. The says: that Lot is described as baking matzot for "he who fixes himself a place for davening, the visitors. Rashi's comment: It wasthe G•d of Avraham will help him". Pesach. Which gives us a (However, double a fixed place in shul should association for the contrast between LotNEVER be the cause of argument or L 6 ‹ discord. E.g. when a person comes late • or [S> 20:1 (18)] Avraham and Sara even on time • to shul and someone now is travel to G'rar where they sitting in "his seat", how to handle such a again present themselves as brother situation requires sensitivity.) and sister. Sara is taken to Of course, more fundamentally, it is Avimelech, but G•d appears to him this pasuk and another that combine and warns him not to touch her. to "support" the Gemara's statement Avimelech confronts Avraham who that Avraham instituted T'filatexplains that his fears were based . That AMIDA, to standon the lack of "Fear of G•d" in the before G•d, means to pray is learned place. from VAYA'AMOD PINCHAS VAIPA• LEIL. And Pinchas stood in prayerAvraham then prays on behalf of (we can say) • T'hilim 106:30. The Avimelech and his people who pasuk here in Vayeira links AMIDAwere stricken with a disease which with Avraham Avinu and with early rendered them temporarily sterile. in the morning, hence Shacharit. From this point (21:1) to the end of Vayeira, The Torah reiterates the point that is the of Rosh HaShana (part Lot was saved in the merit of hison the first day, part on the second.) uncle Avraham Avinu (and Ruth, [S> 21:1 (21)] G•d fulfills His the "mother of royalty" who was to promise and Sara becomes come from Lot • G•d can workpregnant. She bears a son to merit either from the past or theAvraham in his advanced age, and future). the son is called Yitzchak. Avraham Lot's two daughters, having wit•circumcises Yitzchak at eight days nessed the total destruction of of age, as G•d has commanded. S'dom, assume that they are theAvraham's having prayed on behalf sole survivors of mankind. Theyof Avimelech for children is juxta• plot to get Lot drunk and sleepposed to Sara Imeinu conceiving. with him in order to continueOur Sage teach us that selflessly humanity. Moav and Amon are the praying for others can sometimes results. result in the same prayers being answered for yourself. Note that everything that has hap• pened so far in Parshat Vayeira, make up a single long, 71•pasukChamishi • Fifth Aliya • parsha. From the arrival of the angels through the completion of the 17 p'sukim • 21:5•21 final task of those angels • namely, Avraham is 100 years old when the destruction of S'dom. Appar• ently, the different episodes Yitzchak all is born. Avraham makes a belong together more than onegreat party upon the occasion of would initially think. The commonhis being weaned. thread, of course, is/are the angels. Although the plain understanding of Their tasks are now complete. B'YOM HIGAMEIL ET YITZCHAK is L 7 ‹ "when Yitzchak was weaned" • which Rashi says is at 24 months of age, Shishi • Sixth Aliya • there is a REMEZ (hint/clue) in the word HIGAMEIL to a possible other 13 p'sukim • 21:22•34 explanation of the word. HEI+[P> 21:22 (13)] Avimelech and his GIMMEL = 8 (days), MEM•LAMED,commander Pichol enter into a pact MAL, was circumcised. It can mean with Avraham. The pact has to do that the party in question was towith wells that Avraham dug, that celebrate Yitzchak's BRIT. the servants of Avimelech stole, the As Yitzchak is growing up, Sarareturn of those wells and the notices the potential negativeacknowledgement by Avimelech influence of Yishmael and demands that the wells do actually belong to of Avraham that he send Yishmael Avraham. The city of Be'er Sheva and his mother Hagar, away.receives its name from the double Blinded by his great "kind heart", meaning of the 7 sheep used as Avraham has to be told by G•d to tokens of the covenant and the listen to Sara. Hagar and Yishmael oath sworn between them. once again are on the verge of Avraham plants an "Eshel" in Be'er death in the wilderness, but Sheva. In addition to being a type Yishmael's prayers are answered of tree, the word ESHEL is and they are saved. Hagar is considered an acronym of the assured by an angel that they will Hebrew words for Food, Drink, survive. and Lodgings (or Food, Sleeping, And indeed they do, and HagarEscort). ESHEL AVRAHAM is the subsequently marries Yishmael off symbol of hospitality for all times. to a woman from the land of Egypt. Both Hagar and Yishmael prayed to Sh'VII • Seventh Aliya • G•d when Yishmael was dying. G•d heard "the lad's voice". Rashi says, 24 p'sukim • 22:1•24 from here we learn that the strong• est prayer offered on behalf [P> of 22:1 (19)] This is the portion of someone who is ill are those of the the • Akeidat sick person himself (if he is able to Yitzchak. The Akeida is one of the pray on his own behalf). And, few of passages from the Torah to be course, others should pray on hisincorporated into our daily davening behalf as well, regardless of whether (there are those who did not include the person himself is able to daven. it in their davening, and there are In fact, there are opinions that Bikur siddurim that don't have it, but most Cholim MUST include a prayer forsiddurim put the Akeida with an intro the recovery of the patient (theand closing prayer, after the morn• visitee) in addition to anything else ing brachot and before korbanot). It one does, for the mitzva to be represents the ultimate manifesta• considered properly performed. tion of commitment to and love of G•d. It also belong is the portion of L 8 ‹ the davening called KORBANOT for with the donkey... On the way, just obvious reasons. And then there is Avraham and Yitzchak, hand in the idea of a tribute to the originator hand, Yitzchak asks where the of Shacharit. animal for sacrifice is and Yitzchak Although none of Avraham's descen• understood what was to happen dants (we, the Jewish People) canfrom Avraham's answer. Avraham ever be tested in so drastic a waybuilt an altar, bound Yitzchak to it (because we have the experiences of and was about to sacrifice him, our predecessors to give us sup•when a heavenly angel told him to port), we do derive tremendousstop and not harm the boy. inspiration from this portion of theAvraham spotted a ram (which our Torah. It is part of our Heritage and, Tradition tells us might have been even more, part of our Essence.created specif• ically for this Tests of Faith are relative to the individual. Each of us is challenged in purpose in the instant before the different ways throughout our lives. first Shabbat of B'reishit, as one of So too, for us as a Nation. May we the final acts of Creation) caught by be always guided by deep commit• its horns in a thicket. G•d ment to Torah and Jewish values. acknowledges Avraham's dedica• tion and blesses him again with MORE. Akeidat Yitzchak is our identity card. It defines who countless we descendants... Avraham are... even when our own behavior is and company return to B'er Sheva. contradictory to our Torah stan•[P> 22:20 (5)] The parsha ends dards. We stand before G•d with on mention of the birth of Rivka, Judgment Day • Rosh HaShana, and to link to the next phase of the we blow the Shofar made from development a of Judaism • viz., the ram's horn. We ask G•d to remem• means of its transmission and ber Akeidat Yitzchak and have mercy on His (sometimes undeserving)continuity. children. We read the Akeida in the Maftir is the final five p'sukim. Torah and we refer to it repeatedly It is this last portion of 5 p'sukim in our Rosh HaShana davening and that tell us about Rivka's birth. But Slichot, to inspire us and to identify we also hear that Nachor (Avraham's us. brother) had eight sons from his wife After these events, G•d testedMilka and four sons from his Avraham • He told Avraham to take concubine R'uma. We are really Yitzchak to Har HaMoriya and offer interested in one son • B'tu'el, father him as an Olah • an all•burnedof Rivka (and Lavan). Why tell us the sacrifice... Avraham enthusiastically rest? Rabbi Macy Gordon suggests set out to do G•d's bidding... Onthat the Torah is telling us how the the third day, Avraham saw the"other half" live. Contrast the tough intended place from afar and told family life of Avraham with his the two (Eliezer and Yishmael,brother's larger family. Nachor had the proverbial house in the suburbs, according to our Tradition) to wait L 9 ‹ two cars, membership in the localin it for me" nature of S'dom. The country club. Avraham had trouble haftara is about the widow of a at home, left to places unknown,prophet who was facing losing her underwent many trials and tribula• two children because of her tions, was childless for a long time, poverty and the twisted state of had domestic difficulties, suffered a Israel's society that lost sight of the famine... Avraham had to wait two legacy of Avraham and Sara. The generations for his 12 tribes. Nachor's came much sooner. prophet Elisha performs a miracle (of olive oil miraculously filling Ah, but look at the spiritualmany vessels that the woman had difference. Look at who Avrahamand borrowed and anointed with a was, and is to us. Now translate the few drops of oil she possessed) and whole comment and apply it the to family is spared that plight. Jewish History vs. the story of many other nations. The haftara also tells of the Shunamite woman who prayed so Haftara • 37 p'sukim • fervently for a son. She had a son but he died. He is miraculously Melachim Bet • 4:1•37 resuscitated by Elisha. This forms a counterpart to the birth of Yitzchak The sedra shows us the sharpand the subsequent almost•losing contrast between the kindness and him at the Akeida. (And fits well hospitality of Avraham & Sara on with Midrashim that say that the one hand, and the cruelYitzchak was actually sacrificed on "business is business" and "what's the Altar and restored to life.)

THE JERUSALEM INSTITUTE OF JEWISH LAW Rabbi Emanuel Quint, Dean Lesson #449 (continued from last issue) Women as Participants in the Judicial Process

Another Sephardic authority, R. Yonahquestion, where women are the only Navon (1713•1760, Jerusalem) writing in witnesses, women would be able to the middle of the 18th century, decided testify. He cites R. Castro, however, that the following case. A woman had taken the Sephardic tradition follows the an oath not to curse her husband'sholding of R. Karo that they are not parents. Her husband alleged that sheeligible. Furthermore, even R. Luria, who violated the oath. The only witnessesfollows the Germanic/French/Eastern were women. R. Navon acknowledges the European school, would not permit them opinion of the Rama that in certainto testify if the defendant denied the instances, especially like the one entire in claim, as was the case before him L 10 ‹ where the woman denied ever cursing her witnesses, it might have been thought that husband's parents. that the ineligibility was limited only to R. Chaim Palache (1788•1869; Turkey) Gentiles and slaves and that all other living in Sephardic Izmir, Turkey in the ineligible persons would be eligible to 19th century was asked to decide a case testify in tort cases. R. Eybeschuts rejects in which a school board wished this to by saying that women would remove a teacher on the alleged grounds certainly not be found in the places that of his molesting some of the children.slaves and Gentile women frequent. Thus he seeks to limit the application of the The children and some of the mothers were the sole witnesses. This was decree. a classic case of the unavailability Again of in the Ashkenazic tradition, Rabbi eligible witnesses. Could the teacher be Ezekiel Landau (1713•1793) living in dismissed on the testimony of minors and 18th century Poland was asked to decide their mothers? He concluded that thethe following case. Reuven had a teacher could not be dismissed on thereputation in the community as a thief. testimony of ineligible witnesses. TheSomething was stolen from Shimon's decree permitting ineligible witnesses to house. Two young women saw Reuven testify where eligible witnesses were not with the stolen item. Could Reuven be available was not part of the halacha of sued on the basis of the testimony of the Sephardic countries. two women.? R. Landau writes that even In 1843 in Leghorn, Italy, Rabbi Isaacunder the decree permitting ineligible witnesses to testify in certain matters, Teib wrote that some authorities permitted ineligible witnesses to testify in ineligible witnesses could not testify in matters other than torts. However, since tort cases because it was suspected that Maimonides holds that, even in tortsthey would be more prone to be which he considers unusual, ineligiblepersuaded to give false testimony and witnesses may not testify, the prohibition many persons would be found liable on applies equally to all case, whetherthe basis of perjured testimony. The unusual or not. Thus the tradition present of case was a classic example of such a situation. Also the exceptions Maimonides was again followed in a Sephardic country. applied only to those situations in which they were the only witnesses to a It thus seems that two traditions werespontaneous occurrence. In this case they simultaneously being applied. In 18thdid not see the actual theft, which might century Poland R. Yonathan Eybeschuts be construed to be a spontaneous (1690•1764) in his double commentaryoccurrence. But seeing the stolen object on Choshen Mishpat follows in the Reuven's possession was not such a Ashkenazic tradition. He cites R. Yaakov spontaneous occurrence that eligible Popper (late 17th, early 18th centuries), witnesses could not duplicate. R. Landau an older contemporary, who stated that if concludes with a caveat that even if they Maimonides had not stated that had the witnessed the actual theft, he is not Talmudic rejection of Gentiles and slaves sure how he would have decided the case. certainly applied to all other ineligibleHe states that there are two opinions L 11 ‹ amongst the authorities. His decisionwords. Also the wording of the Rama indicates that the doctrine would haveseems to be that R. Isserlein and been narrowly construed especially inMordechai held the eligibility of women cases of criminal conduct. to testify in spontaneous events to be a A work that reviews many of the viewsdecree. discussed in Petach Beit David written by In a case decided by the Rabbinic High R. Yosef David and published Court in here in Jerusalem about 35 years Salonika, Greece in the middle of the 18h ago, the question of ineligible witnesses century. He states that there are twowas discussed, including the ineligibility opinions among the authorities. The view of women, although that last point was of Rabbeinu Tam as cited in R. Kolonnot in issue. The burial society of and Kolbo, that there is a decreeRaanana sued the defendant for the cost permitting ineligible witnesses to testify of the plot in which they had buried the because it is not possible to preparedefendant's father. The defense was that a eligible witnesses to witnesslesser sum a than was being sued for had spontaneous event. Thus in cases been of agreed upon between the burial fights or informers where the words were society and the defendant prior to the uttered and there might not be eligibleburial . (This was one of many defenses, witnesses, the ineligible witness becomes including duress, because the decedent's eligible for this limited purpose. But R. body was awaiting burial, and thus the Isserelin, Mordechai and Aguda hold that defendant was not able to conclude the it is not merely an ancient tradition buttransaction properly.) The major witness the actual law that asserts they maycalled by the burial society was the uncle testify in such events. This is based onof the defendant, the decedent's brother. the Talmudic statement that a midwifeThe defendant raised an objection to may testify in such a situation. Beit David permitting him to testify, since a relative goes on to state that Maimonides andis not eligible to testify. In passing on this Rashba who are cited by R. Karo do not question, the appeals court stated that dispute Rabbeinu Tam. I find they this most likely would have followed the statement difficult in view of the fact that school of ancient tradition that ineligible so many of the codes, commentators and witnesses could testify if the were no respondents are convinced eligible that witnesses. Maimonides and his school maintainTo be continued IYH in the next lesson otherwise. In addition the wording of Maimonides and Rashba would have to The subject matter of this lesson is more fully be stretched to read such agreement with discussed in A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint. Copies of all volumes can be purchased at the view of Rabbeinu Tam into local the Judaica bookstores. Questions to [email protected]

L 12 ‹ Spiritual and Ethical Issues in the Bamidbar Stories by Dr. Meir Tamari “And your camp shall be holy”; The Nazir [4] There is a misconception of Judaism, common to non•, secular Jews and even to many religious Jews, that it is a religion of ritual and law but devoid of spirituality, emotion and ecstasy. Sometimes this misconception can explain the attraction of sects, cults and the eastern religions for some. The very concept of the Nazir, that is the expression of a search for heightened spirituality and sublime rejoicing in the divine glory yet one that is channeled and guided by G•d's commandments, shows the error of such a view of Judaism. "Divine revelation communicates His will through the mitzvot for the purification and correction of human behavior. There are, however, a few instances where G•d reveals Himself to the individual or group, without making known any particular intention or mitzva. The divine revelation itself constitutes the end purpose, in order that they may experience and find joy in His nearness and presence. G•d revealed Himself to Avraham on the very same day that he was circumcised and this was a revelation simply designed to do him honor. So too, when the Mishkan was completed, the Divine Presence was revealed not to convey any mitzva, but was solely in honor of the zeal and devotion with which Israel had set about erecting the Mishkan" (Ramban, Vayikra 9:23•24). The desire of the Nazir was to show the same devotion and love for G•d as Avraham or as Israel had done; "One thing have I asked of HaShem that I will seek" that I may dwell in the house of HaShem, to behold the delight of HaShem (T'hilim 27:4). Appreciation and regard for the spiritual greatness and the sanctity of the Nazir is expressed in the words that the Torah uses to describe his vows: "when anyone vows amazingly and wondrously". Similarly, Amos draws a parallel between the sanctity and spiritual heights reached by a prophet and that of the Nazir; "I have raised prophets from among your sons and n'zirim from among your youth" (2:11). Both are signs of Jewish royalty; "All men are slaves to their desires, wants and lusts, even a king; the only true king is the one with a royal crown, nezer, on his head, who frees himself from all of them" (Ibn Ezra). " Parshat Nazir is followed in the Torah by the threefold Birchat Kohanim since they both flow from a spiritual source that is elevated far above the natural level of man. The Nazir's injunction against tum'at meit corresponds to the bodily desires, the one against grapes to the innermost and secretive expressions of a human being, and that against shaving the head corresponds to the brains that are contained there" (Shem MiShmuel). "The first blessing of the Kohanim refers to our material possessions [tum'at meit], the second one, VICHUNEKA, to the intellectual blessings [non•shaving], and the third one, YISA, is the most intimate feelings and the most personal nearness of G•d [wine]" (S.R. Hirsch). L 13 ‹ "Shimon HaTzadik once asked a young handsome man why he had taken the vow of Nazir. He explained, 'I happened to see my reflection in the waters of a spring and found myself overwhelmed by self•love and narcissism; then I took the oath'. Whereupon Shimon HaTzadik exclaimed, 'of such a one the Torah writes, 'If a man or woman, wondrously, astonishingly, should vow to be a Nazir''" (Nedarim 9b•10a). "Why did G•d command the Nazir not to shave his head? The shaving beautifies one, as is written regarding Yosef, 'and they shaved him and changed his clothes to bring him before Par'o' (B'reishit 41:14). However, the growing of the hair is a sign of sorrow and mourning. So G•d said, 'since the Nazir vowed to abstain from grapes in order to save himself from the yetzer hara, let him refrain from shaving his head so that in his sorrow the yetzer hara cannot attack him "(Bamidbar Rabba 10:10). "The Nazir, acquiring the sanctity of a Kohen Gadol, is forbidden to make himself impure to the dead, even of his immediate family, whereas an ordinary Kohen may do so. This is because sanctity of the Kohen stems from his birth, whereas that of the Nazir is self•induced without any connection to family or relatives" (Avnei Nezer). While this voluntary assumption is characteristic of all the obligations that the Nazir undertakes, the very fact such a voluntary decision leads to clear cut legal obligations, makes the Nazir a specifically Jewish type of spiritualism. Furthermore, this type of spiritualism entails also a corresponding legal obligation on the Beit Din to supervise the adherence of Nazir to his vows; "'and they stumble one against the other' (Vayikra 26:37), from this we learn that all Israel are sureties, AREIVIM, for each other" (Bamidbar Rabba 10:5). It is instructive to note that the two most famous examples of the Nazir in the Tanach, Shimshon and Shmuel, did not adopt it voluntarily; the former was designated as such by the angel who foretold his birth (Shoftim 13: 3•5), while the latter was consecrated by his mother Chana (Shmu'el Alef 1:27•28). Nevertheless, they clearly demonstrate the nature of Nazir; neither of them lived as hermits, as monks or in poverty, both were married, and both of them were involved in the mundane and materialism of human society, even to becoming leaders and judges of Israel. N'ZIRUT is a mitzva, yet strangely enough it is not G•d's desire that it should be universally observed: perhaps even wrong when it becomes a way of life, "This Torah shall not decline from out of your mouth but rather you shall meditate on it day and night' (Yehoshua 1:8). Rabbi Yishmael taught that since it is written 'that you may gather in your corn, your wine and your oil' (D'varim 11:14), Torah has to be combined with the earning of a livelihood, derech eretz. Shimon bar Yochai taught that if people plough, sow, reap, and winnow and thresh, what will become of Torah study? Many followed Rabbi Yishmael and were successful whereas only a few succeeded in the way of Bar Yochai" (B'rachot 35b). L 14 ‹ MISC section • contents: 1:5), that when the chazan gets up to Modim, the congregation should also bow. [1] Vebbe Rebbe The Gemara (Sota 40a) discusses the [2] Candle by Day different possible texts people should recite at that time, out of which has arisen the [3] From Aloh Naaleh text we use. The classical sources do not [4] Wisdom and Wit talk about standing at that point (although many require or suggest it throughout [5] Parsha Points to Ponder chazarat hashatz • see Rama, OC 124:4). [6] Portion from the Portion However, (Yechaveh Da'at V, 11; Ishei Yisrael 24:38) point out that since [7] micro Ulpan it is required to bow, it becomes necessary [8] Torah from Nature to stand to make bowing possible. We see [9] Loose Ends the connection between standing and bowing regarding the halacha of one who [10] Gimatriya Match is unable to stand for T'fila who should try [11] Divrei Menachem to stand at least at the places that he needs to bow (, OC 94:5). [1] From the virtual desk of the OU Regarding what part of Modim VEBBE REBBE D'Rabbanan requires bowing, there are The Orthodox Union – via its website – fieldsmultiple opinions and minhagim. These are questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish primarily: at the beginning, at the law and values. Some of them are answered bybeginning and end, and throughout. Based Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish on the above, the time that one should be Studies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmel standing would correspond to the opinions and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav on the bowing (see Shulchan Aruch, OC Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, to prepare rabbanim and127:1). dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is The next question is then whether a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, semi•standing is considered standing. Eretz Hemdah... and the Israel Center. TheRegarding Shemoneh Esrei, where one following is a Q&A from Eretz Hemdah... certainly should stand, the Shulchan Aruch I see people use a semi•rising(OC 94:8) says that one should not even Q motion at the beginning of Modim lean on a stand or another person. The D'Rabbanan (what the congrega• Mishna B'rura (94:22) points out that, in tion recites when the chazan gets up togeneral, standing while leaning is not Modim) and when a talmid chachamconsidered standing if the person would be walks by? Is that correct? What are the unable to continue standing in that position rabbinical sources on the matter? if the object were removed. Depending on how high off the chair one lifts himself, it The two practices are based onis questionable whether the average person A different sets of sources and,would be able to keep himself suspended if apparently, logic. the chair were removed after what you call Shulchan Aruch ( 127:1)a semi•rise. Can we, then, justify the rules, based on the Yerushalmi (B'rachotpractice you describe? L 15 ‹ It appears that one can find Ask some the Rabbi Q&A is part of Hemdat Yamim, the justification in significant, albeit minorityweekly parsha sheet published by Eretz Hemdah. sources. The Rambam (T'fila 9:4) saysYou can read this section or the entire Hemdat Yamim at www.ou.org or www.eretzhemdah.org. about the bowing at Modim D"Rabbanan: And/or you can receive Hemdat Yamim by email "All of the people bow down a little, and weekly, by sending an email to they should not bow too much." This basic [email protected] with the message: idea is found in the Yerushalmi (ibid.), but Subscribe/English (for the English version) or there is much discussion as to whether this Subscribe/Hebrew (for the hebrew version). is specific to Modim or whether Please not leave the subject blank. Ask the Vebbe bowing too much is a general guidelineRebbe is partially funded by the Jewish Agency for (see Beit Yosef, OC 127). In any case, the Israel Bach explains the Rambam that there should be a less than usual bow by Modim [2] Candle by Day D'Rabbanan for the following reason. Since the people have already davenedMost men are not aware of the very Shemoneh Esrei and bowed at Modim,significant distinction as to whether they shouldn't need to do so again. Thetheir loneliness is caused by the world's reason they do is to avoid looking as if they having left them behind or by their disagree with the enthusiastic praise ofhaving left the world behind. Hashem the chazan is involved in. (For this From "A Candle by Day" by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein reason, one who is in the midst of his own Shemoneh Esrei at that time bows alongA Candle by Day • The Antidote • The World of with the others • Mishna B'rura 109:10). by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein Therefore, it is best to suffice with a small Now available at 054•209•9200 bow. It is very possible that according to this approach, it is also unnecessary [3] to CHIZUK and IDUD stand fully. Although the Magen Avraham for Olim & not•yet•Olim respectively (127:1) and Mishna B'rura (127:2) do not pasken like the Bach, it still could explain The Mishna in Avot (5:13) says: ...he who the minhag. says, What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours, this is a neutral character, The matter of partially standing up for a some say, this is a character like that of talmid chacham is based on the following. Sodom)... The Gemara (Kiddushin 32) discusses whether a rav can be mochel (relinquish)Midrashic literature describes Sodom in the the honor coming to him, which we ruleharshest of terms. Sodom is a city that that he can (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah tortures its guests, tramples its 242:32). The Gemara tells of a rav whodowntrodden, and punishes its citizens for seemed to be mochel, yet was slightedthe slightest degree of mercy and when someone did not move from his chair compassion. As Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer in his proximity. It explains that he should succinctly states: "It was declared in have at least done a hidur, which RashiSodom: 'Whoever shares his bread with the explains as a slight movement to show that stranger, orphan, and the poor, shall be set he would like to stand up.on fire.'" This compromise semi•rising is accepted by the Against the backdrop of Midrashim Shulchan Aruch (ibid.) L 16 ‹ depicting Sodom as the quintessence of[4] Wisdom & Wit evil, the description of "midat Sodom" ("the characteristic of Sodom"), as cited in When many Jewish youths were being led Pirkei Avot (5:13), seems rather tame. astray from the proper path, the Chafetz Chayim told the following story: Prior to reading Pirkei Avot, one could assume that, if anyone were to be described "A wagon driver stopped off at an inn as possessing "midat Sodom", it would be because it was bitterly cold. It was getting the selfish person who declares, "Mydark, and the snow was falling. To warm property is mine and yours is mine," andhimself, he took a drink of brandy, and not the "mind•your•own• business" person then another, and another. Soon he fell into who chooses to keep his property separate a drunken stupor. from that of his neighbor's. "Before dawn, he arose and realized that he had to reach his destination in a hurry, but In an attempt to answer this question, as the snow had covered all the ground and Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (1882•1945), he had no idea where the proper path was, former chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, provides a he let his horse go wherever it wanted. The homiletical interpretation. If an individual horse wandered off and led him into a deep says "what is mine is mine and what is forest, where he became hopelessly lost. yours is yours" • HaOmeir, in the singular • then that is an average character trait. But, "When the townsfolk woke up, they saw if this statement turns into a communalthe tracks left by the wagon, and presumed norm • Yeish Omerim, in the plural • then that the driver knew where he was going, it becomes "midat Sodom." There is a so they followed the tracks as far as they slippery slope between an individualcould and got lost as well." citizen who adopts"The moral is a obvious", continued the "mind•your•own•business" stance and anChafetz Chayim, "one does not always entire society in which the "haves" refuse need to follow a path just because others to share their bounty with the "have•nots." have taken it. One must first be sure to The modern State of Israel is a society inascertain that the others know where they which the gaps between the "haves" andare headed, and that it is a safe direction in "have•nots" are becoming greater everywhich to travel. year. We would do well to take Shmuel the Himelstein has written a wonderful series for message of our parsha to heart • an unjust : Words of Wisdom, Words of Wit; A Touch of society is one in which people keep theirWisdom, A Touch of Wit; and "Wisdom and Wit" — distance and mind their own business,available at your local Jewish bookstore (or should be). whereas a just society is one in whichExcerpted with the permission of the copyright holder people bridge societal gaps and are generous with their resources. [5] Parsha Points to Ponder Dyonna Ginsburg, Jerusalem VAYEIRA THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members 1) Why does Avraham only seem to invite for publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torahone of the passersby into his home by Insights', a weekly Torah publication on Parshatcalling out, MY MASTER...?" (18:3) HaShavu'a L 17 ‹ [6] 2)Why does Avraham refer to himself as both ASHES AND DIRT? (18:27) 3)Why does the Torah relate that the wife of Lot looked behind HIM (MEI'ACHARAV instead of behind HER (MEI'ACHAREHA)? (19:26) by Rakel Berenbaum FEEDback to [email protected] POSSIBLE ANSWERS... Ponder the questions first, then read here And Avraham and 1) The Ohr Hachayim explains that two of Sara were old the angels had jobs in Avraham's home • one to heal Avraham and one to informThis week my daughter asked me why them about the birth. So, those two were people have a facelift. I told her that already coming into the home. The thirdsome people will do anything to look angel whose job it was to destroy S'domyoung •• they just don't want to look was not heading to the tent, so Avrahamold. This was not a problem before the called to him and invited him to join them days of Abraham. Before the flood as well. people lived a long time • hundreds of years in fact • but they didn't become 2) The Beit HaLevi answers that dirt has no old. They looked, felt and acted the significance in terms of its past but it cansame throughout their whole life. No be used to grow new crops. Ashes have no one would have needed a facelift, future use but they indicate past use andbecause no one ever got wrinkles. importance. Avraham used these terms to They never changed physically at all express how he viewed himself and as would just die when their time worthless both in the past and for came. the future. The first time we encounter the word 3) The Kli Yakar explains that her sin was ZAKEIN • old • is in this week's portion. looking back and caring about her money V'AVRAHAM V'SARA ZEKEINIM • and which was lost in the destruction of S'dom. Avraham and Sarah were old. After the She thought about all that could have been flood people lived shorter lives • 100 hers after her husband passed away years • or so. So what does it mean here BEHIND or AFTER HIM. That selfishness ZAKEIN? We would think that the word was her sin and led to her punishment. ZAKEIN would have been used for Parsha Points to Ponder is prepared by Rabbipeople who lived longer lives, not for Dov Lipman, who teaches at Reishit Yerushalayim people who lived shorter lives? and Machon Maayan in Beit Shemesh and is the author of "DISCOVER: Answers for Teenagers The midrash says that Avraham asked (and adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith" G•d for ZIKNA • old age. He said that (Feldheim) and "TIMEOUT: Sports Stories as a because people didn't age, a man and Game Plan for Spiritual Success" just released by his son would be in the same place Devora Publishing. [email protected] and no one could tell the difference between them. No one would know who deserved more respect. Avraham L 18 ‹ asked G•d to beautify people with the 100 YEAR OLD signs of old age, ZIKNA, so they could receive the honor they deserve. TheJAM CAKE RECIPE Midrash says that Hashem thought this 4 eggs, separated was a reasonable request. From Avraham's time we encounter the word 1 tsp baking soda ZIKNA. The Rabbis teach that ZIKNA 1 cup white sugar stands for ZEH SHEKANA CHOCHMA 1 cup brown sugar • someone who has acquired wisdom. Because of all his years, the person 1 cup butter or margarine has life experience and Torah1 tsp cinnamon knowledge that others have not had the opportunity to amass. The gray 1 tsp cloves hair, and wrinkles are a way to let1 tsp allspice people know this. Those of us who have grey hair and wrinkles should not 1 tsp nutmeg want to hide them, but should be proud 1 tsp cocoa of them. 1 cup blackberry jam As you may have guessed, care of the 1 cup raisins elderly is close to my heart. Just a reminder to those who might want to 3 c. flour join MELABEV's 2nd annual study tour 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup soymilk • December 2•4, to Geriatric facilities. with 1 Tbsp white vinegar or lemon This 3•day tour in English to state of juice) the art facilities in Israel is appropriate for professionals from Israel Beat and egg yolks, put in soda, sugars abroad who work with the elderly. Toand butter. Add spices and cocoa. Beat sign up for 1, 2, or 3 days contactegg whites. Add jam and raisins. Add [email protected] • the website is to egg yolk mixture. Alternately add www.melabev.org/singleNews.asp?id=51 flour and buttermilk. Bake at 350Fdegrees for about 50 minutes or Or if you want to help support care of until done. Dust with confectioners people with Alzheimer's disease, join sugar or ice with the following icing. Melabev's 5th annual Walkathon the following week to the Eilat Icing hills www.friendsofmelabev.com • Or look up the list of walkers and sponsor a ½ cup blackberry preserves walker 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar www.friendsofmelabev.com/subpages/walkers.htm Once cooled, heat the half cup of Since Avraham and Sara were old, this blackberry preserves in a small sauce weeks recipe is over a 100 years old. pan until melted and then remove from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar. To make the consistency that you desire add more or less of either ingredient. L 19 ‹ [7] MicroUlpan To date, over 100 new species have been confirmed... some recent discoveries Time for another MicroUlpan continue to amaze scientists... BILINGUAL LESSON It have been found that many deep• ocean Plumbing = SH'RAV•RAVUT octopuses share an Antarctic origin.... As You turn on the water in the bathtub the Antarctic got colder, ice increased and (AMBAT) and it can go through one of octopuses were forced into deeper two paths: from the faucet into the tub of water... salt and oxygen are concentrated through the shower head. How do you get in the deeper waters... this dense water it to go through the shower head? then flows out, carrying along the octopuses that have adapted to the new But turning or flipping the conditions, enabling them to spread to DIVERTER VALVE deep waters around the world... In Hebrew: SHASTOM MACHLIF many newly discovered mollusks, from Some showers have a fixed head: snails to cuttlefish to squids. MAKLEI'ACH KAVU'A a brittle star city off the coast of New Some have a portable head: Zealand... brittle stars, animals with five MAKLEIACH NISA arms, have colonized the peak of a A plumber is a SH'RAVRAV seamount • an underwater mountain • but the common "Hebrew" term is where the current flows past at about 2.5 INSTILLATOR (of course, you have to mph. The current delivers such an ample pronounce the word in Hebrew and NOT in food supply that thousands of stars can the English it is borrowed from) capture food simply by raising their arms. Researchers found a carpet of small [8] Torah from Nature crustaceans inhabiting the head of the Mississippi Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. Census of Marine Life There are as many as 12,000 of these small ...a global network of over crustaceans 2000 per square yard. researchers in more than 80 nations... aThe mid•Atlantic ridge halfway between 10•year ($650,000,000) scientific initiative America and Europe is home to hundreds to assess and explain the diversity,of species rare or unknown elsewhere... distribution, and abundance of life in the the ridge includes the world's deepest oceans... first comprehensive Census ofknown active hot vent, more than 4100m Marine Life • past, present, and future •deep and populated by anemones, worms will be released in 2010... purpose of the and shrimp. COML is to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance ofReefs deep in the Black Sea are made of marine life. Each plays an important role in bacterial mats using methane as an energy what is known, unknown, and may never source. The bacteria form chimneys up to be known about what lives in the global13 feet (4 meters) high. ocean... study will include about 230,000 The deepest comb jellyfish ever found was known species and thousands morediscovered at a depth of over 7000m... species are predicted to to be discovered. The discovery raises questions about the L 20 ‹ availability of food resources at suchAnd Avraham named his son, born to him, depths, which had not been thoughtto whom Sara had given birth • Yitzchak. capable of supporting predators like this When was Yitzchak born? Our Tradition one. is that he was born on Pesach. Which Satellite tagging discovers that whitebrings us to our second pasuk: sharks travel long distances each winter to z¤k`¬¤l§nÎl¨M W¤FrwÎ`¨® x§w¦noF W`¦g x«¨d mF¬I©A concentrate in the Pacific for up to six months. While there, both males and :E«U£r«©z `¬r l dFrg¨a£r females make frequent, repetitive dives to This pasuk (Bamidbar 28:18, Parshat depths of 300m, which researchersPinchas), describes the first day of Pesach, theorize may be significant in eitherYitzchak Avinu's birthday. The two p'sukim feeding or reproduction. have the same gimatriya. This part of the 5th day of Creation will be (Vayikra 23:35, in Emor, is identical • and surprising us with new discoveries fortherefore also has the same gimatriya, and many years to come. is talking about the first day of Sukkot. This does not enhance the Gimatriya Here are a few of the newest discoveries Match but is included here for the sake of thoroughness and honesty.) The other pasuk of interest is from the end of Vayigash, B'reishit 47:27. It describes the situation several generations Left to right: Male sea spider carrying its after the birth of Yitzchak, that brings us eggs under its body... brightly coloredfrom his birth, when "it all began", to the comb jelly from high Arctic waters... description a of the family that descended shallow water Antarctic octopus... from Avraham and Yitzchak, that was soon to become a nation, The Nation. [9] o¤W®B u¤x`§ ´¤A m¦ix§g©v¦n u¤x`§ ¬¤A l`¨ ²¥x§U¦i a¤W¯¥I©e :cr`§« n EA§gx¦I©e E¬xt¦I©§ e D½a¨ E´f£g`¥I© «¨ e lF«g i¥pE¬n§h i g ¥p t§ªUE Note that these are complete p'sukim with no finagling with wording to arrive at the desired gimatriya results.

Treasures in the Sand [10] Divrei Menachem 2794 2x11x127=2794 (irrelevant).We are, perhaps, accustomed to comparing What is of interest is/are three of the five the complex Noach of the Flood with our p'sukim in the Chumash that have forefather a Avraham. Probably, we are less gimatriya of 2794. They relate in likely an to compare the behavior of Lot's interesting way. impetuous daughters with that of our First is B'reishit 21:3, from Vayeira: illustrious Matriarchs. F²lÎc©lF«P©d F¯p§AÎm¤WÎz¤` m¹d¨¨x§a©` `x§ ¸¨w¦I©e In Parshat Vayeira we learn of Lot's two daughters • "who have never known a man" :w«¨g§v¦i dx¨g¨U F¬NÎd¨c§l«¨iÎx¤W£` • who were vainly offered by their father to L 21 ‹ the local Sodomites to alleviate the pressure Item: SHO•FEIT means judge. (By the way, of the mob clamoring for his angelic visitors. when the issue is not about what syllable gets accented, we will write the word all in After the destruction of Sodom, the two uppercase as a way of focusing on it.) Five of daughters lie with their (drunk) father • the the six times in Tanach that the word only living male, they thought • in order to HASHOFEIT occurs in Tanach (in D'varim maintain the human race. Interestingly, the and, appropriately, in Shoftim) it meakes The Torah does not label them incestuous. judge and the HEI is voweled with a PATACH Rather, they are considered well• meaning and the SHIN has a DAGESH CHAZAK in it. and virtuous and merited that Once, their in Parshat Vayeira, when Avraham says descendants would include Ruth, forbearer to G•d: G•d forbid You should do such a thing of the Davidic dynasty, and Naama,to kill the good along with the wicked... Solomon's queen and mother of Rehoboam, HASHOFEIT, the judge of all the world the next in line in the Davidic chain (R.wouldn't do justice, the phrase is in the form Bachya). of an incredulous question • as if it said: Nevertheless, R. Chanina ben Pazzi, cited in What? How could it be that the Judge of the the Midrash, compares Lot's daughters, who World wouldn't act justly? The lead HEI is not conceived immediately, to wild thorns that the HEI HAY'DI'A but the HEI HASH'EILA, spring up of their own accord. In contrast,the questioning HEI. It is voweled with a the Matriarchs, who endured much pain till CHATAF•PATACH and the SHIN that they bore children, are likened to preciousfollows it does not have a DAGESH in it. wheat that takes much care and nurturing till Similarly, HABEIN is the son; HAVEIN is "the it grows and ripens. son...?", as in HAVEIN YAKIR LI EFRAYIM... Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff Item: This one is not related to the sedra. B'RACHA, blessing. B'RACHOT, blessings. Towards better Davening Those are the stand•alone forms of the noun. In the connecting forms, we have: Birchot and Torah Learning HaTorah, the b'rachot of the Torah. Birchot HaShachar, the morning brachot. Birchot This & That K'ri'at Sh'ma, the brachot (before and after) the Sh'ma. Item: HA•OHELA, to the tent. Avraham rushes to the tent, to Sara... to In begin the singular, however, the word seems to preparations for the guests. The word seems be Birkat, with a DAGESH in the KAF. This to have four syllables: HA•O•HE•LA, with the gives us (benching), Birkat accent on the O. This makes it a doubleKohanim, Birkat HaChama, Birkat HaGomeil, and so on. Thank you YL for these details. YL MIL'EIL, which is very rare. But it really isn't a double MIL'EIL, because the HEI is voweled considers BIRKAT to be an exception to the with a CHATAF•SEGOL (and not a rule full that the other forms of the word follow. SEGOL) which is treated like a SH'VA NA and attaches its letter to the following syllable rather than constitute its own syllable. Therefore, the word has only three syllables: HA•O•HELA and the accent on the O makes the word MIL'EIL. You can say that it is sort of like a double MIL'EIL, but that's as far as you can go. L 22 ‹ z Drawing of a metal shield used by many mohalim in their set up for z On the right is the thermometer Mila with kipa, glasses, and z Father and son walk hand in stethoscope, wishing someone hand, VAYEILCHU SH'NEIHEM who is sick a REFU'A SH'LEIMA. YACHDAV This is one of the lessons we learn from G•d z Of course, there is the Davka Akeida graphic and a Shofar that z UGOT that Sarah LUSHIed • they is connected to the story of the look like matza because the Akeida angels' visit was on Pesach. z Dorothy and Co. (UTZ, Hebrew z And Lot made matzot for his version of OZ)... visitors too z the chef (TEVACH, TABACH)... z Upper•left is one of the three BEN BAKAR that Avraham ran to, inz the bottle of liquor (BUZ, order to prepare the mostBOOZE)... sumptuous dish for the visitors, tongue in mustard sauce z the sea cow (TACHASH) are for some of Yitzchak's cousins, z In the middle is Braille writing, mentioned at the end of the reminding us of what the angels sedra did to the people of S'dom who demanded of Lot that he send his z The donkey is mentioned in both visitors out to them (blinded the sedra and the haftara them). The message is something z The olive oil is from the haftara the blinded S'domites might have graffitied on Lot's door (whenz And there is a column (or pillar) they finally found it). It says: of salt • NaCl one on top of GUEST LOVER another. z The skull is the symbol z The of binoculars are for acid•rain, a good description of VAYASHKIFU (and they looked that which destroyed S'dom... out • the word shares a root with the word for binoculars • z Wine? Lot was given wine by his MISHKEFET) AL P'NEI S'DOM daughters to make him drunk... (B'reishit 18:16) z The alarm clock set for very early z And some Unexplaineds... in the morning, is to remind us of the many times the Torah tells us that Avraham got up early, toTTRIDDLES... are Torah Tidbits•style enthusiastically do G•d's bidding. riddles on Parshat HaShavua (sometimes on the (Avimelech too) calendar). They are found in the hard•copy of TT scattered throughout, usually at the bottom z The baby in the cradle represents of different columns. In the electronic versions the birth of Yitzchak of TT, they are found all together at the end of L 23 ‹ the ParshaPix•TTriddles section. The best[3] Eikev and Lech L'cha each follow solution set submitted each week (there isn't always a best) wins a double prize a CD fromThis one was "blown" in its presentation in the hard Noam Productions and/or a gift (game, puzzle, copy of Torah Tidbits. We caught the unfortunate book, etc.) from Big Deal. error for the PDF file and the email version of TT. Eikev is correct for this TTriddle; R'ei is wrong. TTriddles are scattered through the hard copy of Torah Tidbits and are listed in the email andParshat Eikev follows Parshat Va'etchanan in the web versions. They are in the order in whichsequence of sedras. The haftara of Lech L'cha they are found in the hard copy, but follows not the haftara of Va'etchanan (Nachamu) in the necessarily in the order in which they werebook of Yeshayahu. That's all there was to it, but we originally conceived. In the wild, they are accidentally typed R'ei • okay, it wasn't an accident, sometimes overlooked. If you are interested, go page by page and keep your eyes peeled. it was typed on purpose, but it was a careless error • we forgot about EIKEV. Sorry. Last issue’s (LECH L'CHA) TTriddles: [4] It's like a generation for between Pesach and [1] a wave in them Shavuot Sara gave her handmaiden Hagar to Avraham for Awkward wording, but let's render it back into him to have a child with her. Hagar becomesHebrew. Like a generation is K'DOR, between pregnant and belittles Sara. Sara complains toPesach and Shavuot is the Omer, of course. For the Avraham, who gives her freedom to do with Hagar Omer is LA'OMER. Together, you get K'DORLA'• as she sees fit. Hagar is sent away and an angel OMER, the king of EILAM, one of the four kings who appears to her. He tells her about the multitude of did battle against the five kings in B'reishit 14, and descendants that will come from her son, to beone of the kings that Avraham successfully defeated named Yishmael, and sends her backin his fight to to free nephew Lot. Avra(ha)m's house. In B'reishit 16:13, she reacts to [5] 59 times before and twice more later on her experience as follows: [Hagar] gave a name to God who had spoken to her, [saying], 'You are a If you noticed (or even if you didn't), whenever the Vision God,' for she said, 'Didn't I [still] see here name AVRAM appeared in last week's Torah Tidbits after my vision?' "Didn't I still" is the translation of (or this week's), we call him Avra(ha)m. This is our HAGAM ALOM. Having nothing to do with the text, way of retaining the name Avram, but identifying these two words said TTriddle us. HEI•GIMEL•MEM, him be the name we know him better as • Avraham. MEI•LAMED•MEM. GIMEL and LAMED, which spellFurthermore, it is a way of keeping the spirit of GAL, wave, are each inserted into the word HEIM, B'reishit 17:5 • "No longer shall you be called meaning them. Hence, a wave in them. Avram. Your name shall become Avraham, for I have set you up as the father of a horde of nations." [2] Perhaps this is the origin of the expression, Torah T'mima (the earlier TT) quotes the Gemara in "what am I, chopped liver?" B'rachot that states in the name of Bar Kapra: He This is kind of a bad play on words, but that's the who calls Avraham Avram violates a positive way it works sometimes. V'AVRAHAM KAVEID,command, as it says, "Your name shall become actually means, and Avraham was laden withAvraham". And R' Eliezer says, (such a person) (riches), but in TTriddlese it means and Avraham violates a prohibition, as it says, "No longer shall was liver (KAVEID). Since a person as important as you be called Avram". In his commentary on these Avraham is called liver, when I person feels slighted words of the Gemara, the Torah T'mima asks and ignored, he might exclaim: "What andrhetorically, I, where are these "mitzvot" in the list of chopped liver?" TARYAG? Meaning, no one counts either the ASEI or L 24 ‹ LO TAASEI among the 613, so how do we and in contrast to (okay, with) a line segment, which understand Bar Kapra and R' Eliezer. He explains is drawn with dots on both ends, a ray is a line with that there are many examples of this style a ofstarting point but which continues in one direction wording that are applied to ideas that are based on forever, and is symbolized as in the ParshaPix, with references and allusions in the verses, but don'ta dot on one end of a line and an arrowhead on the really mean to suggest that they are actual mitzvot. other. Together, you get MEM•RAY, as in MAMREI, the third of Avraham's allies. To these three friends, Oh, almost forgot the TTriddle. The name AVRAM Avraham allowed some of the spoils of war to go, occurs 61 times in Tanach. 59 times from the end even though he took nothing from the King of of Parshat No'ach until the name change towards S'dom at all. the end of Lech L'cha, and twice more later. Once is in the book of Ezra•Nechemia (the Nechemia part, 9:7) which is in P'sukei D'Zimra: "You are HaShem This week's TTriddles: Elokim, Who chose Avram, took him out of Ur of the Chaldees and made his name Avraham." This pasuk, [1] tardigrade BTW, is the pasuk for the name Avraham. And in [2] Angels to Avraham; S'domites to Divrei HaYamim: "Avram is Avraham". Lot; Yehuda to Adulamites [6] Where did the sedra's shepherds sit in the [3] Angel to Lot; Par'o to M & A theater [4] The universal spokesman Both the shepherds of Avraham and the shepherds of Lot sat in the front row at the theater, Row A, as [5] Where is Edith Brina in RO'EI MIKNEI AVRAM and RO'EI MIKNEI LOT. [6] Slightly deceptive TTriddle: [7] And then there were some Unexplaineds in the YUKACH NA M'AT MAYIM • ParshaPix Based on Daat Moshe as quoted in Even Bochein • not necessary to • The Seder plate represents Pesach, based on solve B'reishit 17:21 • "But I will keep My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you this time next [7] When are we chayav patir? year." G•d says to Avraham that Sarah will bear him [8] One over three and two over one a child at this time, next year. Yitzchak was born on Pesach, so G•d's statement and promise was made [9] Avraham, Sara, and Amnon? to Avraham on Pesach. • Between the animals and the crowns and under the watchful eye of the CBS logo, are CDs, representing EIMEK HASIDIM (CDim), the site of the battle of the four kings and the five kings. • The other three Unexplaineds, at the bottom left of the ParshaPix are a set. Cluster of grapes is an ESHKOL, as in one of Avraham's allies by the same name: ESHKOL. A candle, that is A NER, as in ANEIR another of Avraham's allies. And the letter MEM over the geometric symbol for a ray. In contrast to a line, which is continuous in both directions, and is symbolized by arrowheads on both ends of the line, L 25 ‹