www.lightzion.com Revealing hidden paths of the Kingdom. A powerful message from 12 rabbis about unity, true treasures and God’s loving heart. The LIGHTfrom ZION PUBLISHING www.lightzion.com Jerusalem, Israel Shalom Friend, Thank you for your interest in The Light from Zion. We are excited to release this book, and look forward to hearing your comments! In this free ebook, our goal is to introduce you to us and the contents of the full book. We start right out with three sample essays by three of the rabbis who contributed to this book: ● “The Secret of How to Find the Entrance to Paradise” on Genesis 18:1- 22:24 (Vayera) by Rabbi Chaim Richman; ● Life Lessons from Leviticus 16:1-18:30 (Acharei Mot) by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin; and ● “A Love Letter From The Divine” on Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks) by Rabbi David Aaron. We continue with the Forewords by Gidon Ariel and Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith and the Introduction by editor Britt Lode. We conclude with the Table of Contents, the copyright page, and a special offer for you! Please visit www.root-source.com/blog/light-from-zion-book-discussion and join the conversation! Thank you, God bless and enjoy! Britt Lode, www.oljetreet.no, Editor Gidon Ariel, www.Root-Source.com, Co-Publisher www.lightzion.com PARASHAT VAYERA And He appeared Genesis 18:1-22:24 וירא VAYERA TORAH LESSON BY RABBI CHAIM RICHMAN 55 www.lightzion.com THE LIGHT FROM ZION The Secret of How to Find the Entrance to Paradise “And Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sit- ting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.” (Genesis 18:1) UR PARASHA OPEns with G-d appearing before Abraham as he is sit- ting at the entrance of his tent. Our sages teach that this takes place on the third day following his circumcision, and that G-d Himself was there to fulfill the mitzvah of visiting the sick. The third day after the opera- Otion is the most painful day for everyone, and let’s not forget that Abraham was ninety-nine years old. The Holy One, blessed be He, and our father Abraham were having a con- versation, the contents of which are not disclosed. Then, the most amazing thing happens: Abraham looks up and sees three men, ordinary wayfarers— even idolaters, as far as he knows—and he jumps up to quickly bestow some of his famous hospitality upon them. In doing so, he leaves G-d in the lurch, so to speak, leaves the conversation dangling in the air and abruptly terminates whatever was going on between them. We never hear about that again. There is a world here, an unsaid world, that passes between verse one and verse two. As everyone knows, Abraham was particularly dedicated to the command- ment of hospitality. In fact, he was the very personification ofchesed (kindness), so much so that his name is synonymous with that attribute. Thus he pitched his tent at a crossroads and left it open at all four sides, so that he would be able to see travelers in every direction and offer food, drink and lodging. But G-d did not want Abraham to be bothered that day, he should be recuperating from his circumcision and not waiting over every itinerant and backpacker. Knowing His friend’s nature all too well, G-d miraculously changed nature—He made it exceptionally hot that day, so that nobody would be out in the streets.1 But G-d saw Abraham’s pain at not being able to have guests to care for, it was even greater than the pain he suffered over his physical operation. So, after having 1 The words of 18:1 are generally translated as ‘he was sitting ( . ) in the heat of the day’, the Hebrew actu- ally reads ‘like the heat of the day, indicating that the heat was not normal, but something especially cre- ated for this occasion. 56 www.lightzion.com Genesis/Bereshit changed nature once that day by making it exceptionally hot, the Creator of the Universe had to change nature again, by providing three angels in the guise of men—just so Abraham would have recipients for his kindness. Abraham leaves G-d so that he can attend to his guests—which he no doubt viewed as a G-dsend. He aims to prepare a banquet for them, and he tells his wife Sarah ‘hurry, knead and make three cakes,’ while he himself (in his con- dition!) goes running after the cattle. Our sages goes on to share a remarkable tradition with us: One of the calves ran into a cave, and Abraham ran after to catch it. That cave turned out to be none other than Ma’arat HaMachpela, the famed Double Cave of Hebron, the Tomb of the Patriarchs. This is how Abraham discovered it—running after that little calf to prepare a feast for his three visitors! According to the holy Zohar2, Ma’arat HaMachpela is ‘the entrance to Gan Eden’ (the Garden of Eden). Whether or not this is to be taken literally, one thing is for sure: when Abraham entered the cave, he saw Adam and Eve lying there in repose, and he knew exactly who they were. He was overwhelmed with a tre- mendous, burning sense of yearning for this place—and from that moment on, he pined for it and wished to make it his own place of burial. He was overcome with the feeling of sheer holiness and Divine purpose in that place. It was easy enough later to purchase it from Ephron, who didn’t see a thing that was par- ticularly special or desirous about it. He just couldn’t see it. But it’s not a physical thing that can be seen with the naked eye, the entrance to the Garden of Eden— it’s a spiritual concept. Abraham wanted to be buried there because he wanted to be part of the legacy of Adam HaRishon, (the first man)—who, like himself, also had a close and per- sonal relationship with the Creator. But even more so, Abraham was the continu- ation of Adam’s heritage; Abraham was his guarantor that all of humanity would learn that there is only one G-d, because Abraham took responsibility to bring the light of G-d to humanity. Until Abraham came along the generations were not looking for G-d—they were running away from Him. Abraham discovered this holy place, ‘the entrance to the Garden of Eden’, which was to become the Tomb of the Patriarchs, quite by accident— running 2 The Zohar is a collection of commentaries on the Torah, intended to guide people who have already achieved high spiritual degrees to the root (origin) of their souls. 57 www.lightzion.com THE LIGHT FROM ZION after a calf which he intended to slaughter to prepare a meal for a bunch of strangers. Open up your heart, because our sages are telling us here two of the deepest secrets in the world. What is a true religious experience? It’s easy to pretend to be ‘holy’, but what does it really mean to be holy? A person can sit back and roll his eyes and make all sorts of ridiculous expres- sions while claiming to have ‘visions’ or ‘prophecy.’ In the beginning of the parasha, Abraham was truly having a face to face visit with G-d, conversing with Him intimately. But when he saw what he perceived to be three ordinary men, even if they were lowly idolaters—he quickly opted to terminate his intimate meeting with G-d Himself, choosing to bestow upon these strangers an act of kindness instead. This is the true religious experience; Imitatio Dei, acting like G-d, not just talking about Him, or even, talking with Him! It’s all about action and doing—that’s the basis of our holy Torah and all the com- mandments. It’s as if Abraham said to G-d: “Pardon me, but I don’t have time to be with You now—I have to act like You”. That’s how we are measured in this world—only by our actions. He left the conversation with G-d, and while running after a calf, stumbles upon the entrance to Paradise! Our sages are teaching us an amazing thing; the road to paradise is paved with acts of loving kindness. Abraham was simply trying to do a good deed, to catch a simple calf and prepare a meal. Doing something for someone else is how to fi nd the entrance toGan Eden, and also the way to get in. Action is what Abraham was all about. While some might say that the road to paradise is paved with good intentions, Abraham teaches us that it’s paved with good deeds. 58 www.lightzion.com PARASHAT ACHAREI MOT After the death Leviticus 16:1-18:30 אחרי מות ACHAREI MOT TORAH LESSON BY RABBI ZELIG PLISKIN 177 www.lightzion.com THE LIGHT FROM ZION Use techniques to overcome excessive concern about what others think of you וכל-אדם לא-יהיה באהל מועד, בבאו לכפר בקדש . “And there shall be no man in the Tent of Meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the sacred place.” (Leviticus 16:17) HEN THE HIGH Priest performed the special service on Yom Kippur, it could have been very easy for him to feel conceited. He had been the only one chosen from the entire nation to perform the sacred service on this most holy of days.