Transcript
Okay, good morning, בוקר טוב boker tov. We continue our study of פרשה parsha. One of the, every פרשה parsha is phenomenal, but this is a פרשה parsha that changed the face of humanity. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, Abraham, very, very exciting to me. In fact, I'm going to write about it for my blog for the weekly this week, because when you think about one man's impact on humanity, it's astounding. I've been reading a book someone gave me, Martin Gilbert, the great British historian, called Jews in the House of Ishmael, which is the history of Jews in Arab lands. And it begins with the history of Islam of, of Muhammad. And reading that, it's astounding to learn about the way that he began Islam and the great obstacles that he faced, his lack of success in its, in its beginning, in its first few years. He had a breakthrough to have 40 followers, and then a major breakthrough when he had 700 followers, and then of course he hit the tipping point when he had 40,000 and that's when they conquered the Arab peninsula, and by his death, which was only a few years later, he had, Islam had spread. So it's unbelievable, and I was so moved, not of course by Islam in particular, but the idea that one person could have such a revolutionary impact on the world and then it occurred to me, forget Muhammad in the seventh century. That might be much more recent to our time. But אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is surrounded by pagans, in a world of hedonism, in a world of self-centeredness, in a world of materialism, a world of pleasure. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu identifies two qualities: monotheism, the belief in one God, and selflessness, the notion of caring about other people. And here we are and the majority of the globe, Jews, Christians, Muslims, if you add the number, billions of people, has אברהם אבינו'ס Avraham Avinu's experiment been successful? Absolutely. It's unbelievable when you think about the numbers. He revolutionized the way the world thinks about God. From, we take it for granted. I mean, I doubt whether any of us even know a pagan. Do we even know anyone who believes in more than one God? Let's leave aside Christianity for a moment, we studied that in the past. So the רמ\"א Rema פאסקענס paskens it's a צירוף tzeiruf, it's not a, it's שיתוף shituf, it's שיתוף shituf, not עבודה זרה avodah zarah. Maybe Hindus. Okay, fine. But, but in the classic sense of paganism or idolatry, it's unusual. I mean, I remember in Washington Heights in YU, you know, some of our neighbors had little chickens they were slaughtering in the backyard. There was some, some good old-fashioned paganism taking place and idolatry. But the world has been revolutionized and it's through the, through the work of אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. This week's פרשה parsha, one man. If you ever doubt what one person can do to the face of the globe, trace it back to אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. And the same is true by the way for the other world religions. Islam with, with Muhammad, and Christianity, not with Jesus, it wasn't until way after Jesus's death with Paul that Christianity was born and began to spread. But in all, in all cases, one person has a thought. I, this is weighing heavily on me, it's what I'm going to write about in, in the wake of the Pew study and just weighing heavily on, on me, I'm sure as it does on you. You have to come to one of two conclusions when you read the results of that study. Either you throw your hands in the air and you say, okay, we're going to hunker down, take care of our own like Noah getting the תיבה teivah, protect our families and continuity, and the 71% intermarrying, you know, זיי געזונט zai gezunt, all the best, good luck to you, we can't take care of it. Assimilation is out of the barn and it's rampant and we're going to just take care of our own and good luck. That's one reaction. It's not the one I choose, but it's one reaction. Or the opposite is something radical has to happen. In America, Judaism in America, Judaism with freedom and democracy and openness and autonomy and universalism, something radical has to happen. So is an אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu going to stand up? Will there be a prophet in our day who will not radically change Judaism, God forbid, that's not within our purview, but who will change the way we communicate it, articulate it, position it, how we influence the world, it becomes something attractive to the Jewish people. Anyways, so this is something weighing heavily on me and פרשת לך לך Parshas Lech Lecha was the perfect פרשה parsha. The other thing that came out in Martin Gilbert's book, and if you study this even superficially, and I'm giving you away everything I plan on writing, maybe not, we'll see, you never know what's going to happen between now and Friday in the world, but, but the other thing that's remarkable is, you know, when, when Muhammad first went and began Islam, who was his first target audience who he thought he would would be attracted to it? The Jews. They're living among pagans. Judaism has monotheism. Islam is a monotheism light. It's modeled the same way. It begins with praying three times a day, even though today they're up to five. Three times a day, it has the concept of Sabbath, it has a diet, it has circumcision. It's modeled after Judaism, but it's Judaism light. And he thinks that it's going to have a great appeal, and when the Jews reject it right from the very outset, Muhammad is turned off to the Jews and built into the fabric of the religion is this resentment and anger towards the very people he targeted who didn't embrace it at its outset. Christianity was the same thing. Paul thought he was going to introduce a Judaism light and it would have great appeal to the Jewish community and they looked at him and said, that's just a cheap reproduction, it's a counterfeit version of what we have. We're not interested. And again, you know, what was the result? We, we know, the Crusades and so on. So, but what was remarkable is why did Muhammad, why did Paul think that their version of monotheism would be attractive? When the Jews were dispersed after the destruction of the Second Temple to Rome, even beforehand, you know what was happening in Rome and Italy? Conversion to Judaism. Members of the pagan community who were so inspired by monotheism were converting to become Jewish. The same was true in the, in the Arab lands when Muhammad began. He saw entire peoples converting to Judaism. רבי יהודה הלוי Reb Yehuda HaLevi, the story of the כוזרי Kuzari, to which today there's tremendous historical evidence is an accurate story that actually took place. The king of the Khazars converted and took with him his entire nation. So what's remarkable is that there were times in our history, after the story of פורים Purim in שושן Shushan, the מגילה Megillah tells us, that so many converted. They wanted to be part of this people. There were times in our history where Judaism was so, was such an inspiration, was such a draw that there were whole peoples who converted to Judaism. We live in a time where Jews are leaving Judaism. So again, we need the prophet. We need somebody to stand up and teach תורה's Torah's timeless values, to bring תורה's Torah's timeless wisdom to this world, not because we need the nations to convert to Judaism, but because we need our own people to convert to Judaism, from being universal, secular, assimilated Jews to being תורה Torah Jews. So, that was אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. If, if we doubt that one person could stand up and stem this tide and reverse these trends and in 10 years, the Pew results can show incredible change for the better, then this is our פרשה parsha to be inspired. If אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu could do it, then we all can. It's a, it's an incredible, incredible story. So let's review the פרשה parsha quickly and then we'll get into our פסוקים pesukim that I want to look at this morning.How come Avram had a ישמעאל Yishmael? That's a good question. I mean, that's a, it's a broader question for all of our אבות avos. Avram had a ישמעאל Yishmael and Yitzchak had an עשו Eisav and יעקב Yaakov had sons who didn't get along. And of course we bless our children Friday night to be like אפרים ומנשה Ephraim u'Menashe, the first generation to get along. First generation, ironically, by the way, the generation who are raised outside of Israel, the Jewish context in Egypt, are the first generation to get along and to have a shared vision and so on. So it's a, that, that's an, it's an interesting question, but perhaps for another time. That, that struggle which was then built into Jewish destiny, the struggle of Avram and ישמעאל Yishmael, Jews and our cousins. The struggle of יעקב Yaakov and עשו Eisav. עשו Eisav is the progenitor of Christianity, ישמעאל Yishmael of Islam. This was kind of built into our history. And that's the, the גמרא Gemara, the מדרש Midrash, that it's destined for us to never get along. And Rebbe Yehuda has a different interpretation of that. But if you take it at its face value, the idea that we'll never get along, it's a good question but beyond the scope of our topic today. So the פרשה parsha. לך לך Lech Lecha, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu calls Avram to go. A question we've studied in the past, we won't review now, but if you look at the end of last week's פרשה parsha, so you see the same, the same trip was taken by Avram's father. Avram went together with his father, Terach, and they too set forth from אור כשדים Ur Kasdim, ויצאו מאור כשדים ללכת ארצה כנען vayeitzu me'Ur Kasdim laleches artza K'naan. They began this journey last week's פרשה parsha. What was unique about Avram's attempt in this week's פרשה parsha? We've studied that in the past, we won't look at it. But Avram goes, God gives him these promises. Three promises, רש\"י Rashi says correspond with the three deficiencies. Usually you travel on a long journey, you uproot your home, you stand to lose your money, your family's compromised, your name, profession. God promises him, don't worry about it. אעשך לגוי גדול Escha l'goy gadol, ואברכך va'avarechecha with money, ואגדלה שמך va'agadlah shmecha. It's all going to be good. And I'm going to bless you, and ונברכו בך כל משפחות האדמה v'nivrichu v'cha kol mishpichos ha'adamah. And they'll be blessed through you, all of the peoples of the land. Those who bless you will be blessed and those who curse you will be cursed. And you know who believes that? Evangelicals. You know who believes that? Many non-Jews. You know who struggles to believe that and sees that as elitist and biased and racist and struggles and challenge to accept it? The majority of Jews. But the תורה Torah makes this promise and many show through history, those who've welcomed us and who've treated us well have indeed been showered with blessing and the opposite is also true. Avram goes together with his nephew לוט Lot with הנפש אשר עשו בחרן ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan. This is already a biblical reference to what I was describing earlier. Right? It takes Avram takes Sarah his wife, לוט בן אחיו Lot ben achiv, his nephew, כל רכושם kol richusham, all of their property, he was a wealthy man, fulfillment of God's promise, והנפש אשר עשו בחרן v'ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan, on page 54 in the Stone, hey, we're just doing an overview of the פרשה parsha right now. But he takes all of the נפש nefesh. What does it mean? How do you make a soul? What do you build a גולם golem? What was this נפש אשר עשו בחרן nefesh asher asu b'Charan? רש\"י Rashi already tells us, Avram was the father of outreach, outreach to monotheism. He revolutionized the world. He was incredible. נפש אשר עשו בחרן Nefesh asher asu b'Charan says רש\"י Rashi, הכניסם תחת כנפי השכינה hichnisam tachas kanfei ha'Shechinah. He introduced them to God. אברהם מגייר את האנשים ושרה מגיירת את הנשים Avraham m'gayer es ha'anashim v'Sarah m'gayeres es ha'nashim. ומעלה עליהם הכתוב כאילו עשאום u'maaleh aleihem ha'kasuv k'ilu asa'um. Avram converted the men, Sarah the women. You see that it's not healthy for the man to be the one who's working with and recruiting the women and the women with the man. There was a sense of modesty to their project, to their life goal, but they were amazingly accomplished. הנפש אשר עשו בחרן Ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan. What ultimately happens to this נפש אשר עשו בחרן nefesh asher asu b'Charan, this group of converts, this posse, this this group following? Where do they go? Do they remain with them? Do they last? is a question that's discussed by the commentaries. But you see at this point, Avram is revolutionizing the world. One man. And there was no internet, there was no newspaper, and there was no YouTube. And yet, person by person in a grassroots way, Avram revolutionized the world such that today we have billions of monotheists. הנפש אשר עשו בחרן Ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan. Never give up. Don't worry, those results are are depressing, but we can't give up. Somebody will arise, a group, a plan, a strategy collectively. We set our hearts to it, we can do something. So Avram goes, they go down, there's a famine. They, I'm sorry, God gives him a promise, tells him to go to the land. He goes to the land, shows him that your children are going to live here. And then there's a famine. ויהי רעב בארץ Vayehi ra'av ba'aretz, and Avram goes down to Egypt. Why Egypt? We're going to speak about this morning. We talked about it last שבת הגדול Shabbos HaGadol, but we're going to talk about, review it this morning. Avram goes down to Egypt, and Egypt, he's very fearful. He notices on his way down something that רש\"י Rashi says he had not noticed previously. What does he notice? הנה נא ידעתי כי אשה יפת מראה את Hinei na yadati ki isha yefas mareh at. I never really took notice, but you're very beautiful. You're gorgeous. Now you can only imagine what their dating was like if he's the first time he's noticing or complimenting her on her looks. So it's one view of רש\"י Rashi. רש\"י Rashi alternatively, I find them more compelling, says, of course he knew she was beautiful. What he meant was, most others on a journey from Israel down to Egypt through the desert, right? You didn't, you didn't fly business class on El Al. Through the desert on this journey in this caravan, you look disheveled, it's hard to maintain your makeup, your appearance. Avram looks at her and says, while most other women would look horrible at the end of this journey, your beauty shines forth in a way that I never appreciated how lasting and how sustaining it is, that your beauty is so natural, so inherent, that it was even able to transcend and defy the elements of this journey. That's what רש\"י Rashi says is the alternative. He tells you you're beautiful. And what does he fear when he realizes how beautiful she is? That the Egyptians who are a culture that don't respect boundaries and such are going to want to take her. So Avram hides her in a, in a piece of luggage, and at customs, they open the luggage and find her. I'm not making this up, this is רש\"י Rashi. And he lies. And he tells her in advance, this is the plan, you're going to say you're my sister. And this is even more shocking, למען ייטב לי בעבורך l'maan yitav li ba'avureich. It'll be good for me. Forget just that this is our strategy to survive. Survival strategy in the Holocaust, people did all kinds of things in order to survive. Avram's not looking to survive, he's looking to thrive. למען ייטב לי בעבורך L'maan yitav li ba'avureich. They're going to be good to me. They're going to treat me well. I'm going to get welcomed to the palace and give me all kinds of gifts. The רמב\"ן Ramban, Nachmanides, actually sees this as a sin. This was Avram's mistake. Right, if we were reading the text, we'd be hard-pressed to, אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, this was a sin? The רמב\"ן Ramban says, and with it provides a great precedent we studied this in the past too, the notion of how free we are to criticize our אבות avos and אמהות imahos. Are we free in biblical exegesis to be critical based on the narrative? But the רמב\"ן Ramban paves the way. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, Avram made a terrible mistake, an error in judgment. He should not have treated Sarah that way. He owed Sarah an apology. But the plan works, even though פרעה Paroh is turned off by it, is obviously somewhat upset, but sends him away with great gifts and Avram ascends back to the land of Israel, which is the section that we're going to study together. They return to Israel. Avram and לוט Lot, their shepherds quarrel, they fight, and ultimately they have to go two different ways. We then want to turn... not necessarily. That, that's unclear. Right, he shouldn't have gone down. He shouldn't have gone down to Egypt. Correct, the רמב\"ן Ramban's critical he shouldn't have gone down to Egypt. Yeah, which was a precedent for... Anyway, the promise to Avram is repeated, you're going to be as many as the dust of the earth. After it's resolved his, his dispute with לוט Lot and the shepherds. We then have the war of the kings. This battle, סדום Sedom is defeated. In this battle where לוט Lot, who has chosen to live in this hedonistic metropolis of סדום Sedom, is taken captive, Avram steps forward. You can imagine how powerful and influential Avram is. He's not some push-over Jew, that Avram is able to step up and influence this war to the result that he wants. Saves his nephew לוט Lot, shuns honor, despite the rewards that he's offered, the תורה Torah tell רש\"י Rashi quotes the מדרש Midrash that he's given, we are provided the reward of certain מצוות mitzvos, ציצית tzitzis and so on for the fact that he refused to take a reward for having done this. God gives another reassurance to Avram not to worry, I'm going to take care of you, I have your back. Here we have the ברית בין הבתרים Bris bein ha'Besarim, we have the covenant, the, where Hashem promises Avram not to worry. Avram's fearful, but... How do I know? He said, take this animal, you're going to bring it. They're going to first suffer in Egypt, in exile, and then I'm going to bring you back. ברית בין הבתרים Bris bein ha'Besarim, the prediction, the prophecy of what we will go through in Egypt and then we'll come out. The parts. That's how at least it's... That's at least how it's translated. הגר וישמעאל Hagar v'Yishmael, we have the story of Sarah is unable to provide a child, אין לה ולד ein la vlad, we read at the end of last week's פרשה parsha, אפילו בית ולד afilu beis vlad, she didn't even have a uterus. She lacked a uterus, Sarah, and it was therefore even, obviously an incredible miracle that ultimately she does have a child, it's supernatural says the גמרא Gemara in סוכה Sukkah. So she provides הגר Hagar to Avram, who gives birth to ישמעאל Yishmael. ישמעאל Yishmael is described even at his birth... where are we? ...Yeah. The angel, she gives birth. Oh, the bottom line on page 70. והוא יהיה פרא אדם ידו בכל ויד כל בו V'hu yihiyeh pereh adam yado va'kol v'yad kol bo. This is the תורה's Torah's description of ישמעאל Yishmael, progenitor of Islam. He shall be a wild person, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him. ועל פני כל אחיו ישכון V'al pnei chol echav yishkon. And over all of his brothers shall he dwell. There'll be population growth on all continents of his descendants. His hand will be in everything, everyone will be troubled by him, and he'll be a wild person. That's the תורה's Torah's description, prophecy of who this ישמעאל Yishmael will be. You can tell me, you could decide on your own whether it's come true. We have this covenant. Avram is 99 years old, Hashem appears to him and says התהלך לפני והיה תמים hisalech l'fanai v'heyeh samim, go before me and be תמים tamim. Be תמים tamim, which is later repeated as part of תרי\"ג מצוות Taryag Mitzvos. תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך Tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha. We have an obligation of being תמים tamim. What is תמים tamim? We'll see, it connects to what we're going to study today also. תמים Tamim is to rely solely and exclusively on God. We don't believe in superstition, we don't believe in other deities, we don't believe in worshiping the moon, we don't believe in attributing things to good luck or fortune or coincidence or horoscopes, superstition. תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך Tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha. God says to Avram, התהלך לפני והיה תמים hisalech l'fanai v'heyeh samim. Walk with me, stick with me. I'm, God says, stick with me. I have your back. Don't rely on any of these other things. The new names, Avram and Sarah are given new names, the מצוה mitzvah of ברית מילה Bris Mila, of circumcision, the promise to Sarah, and the end of the פרשה parsha, Avram's family. Okay, so let's get into, that's an overview of the פרשה parsha, and now we'll get into the specific פסוקים pesukim that we're going to study together. פרק י\"ג Perek Yud Gimmel. I want to go through all of פרק י\"ג Perek Yud Gimmel, hoping we have time. Chapter 13, it's on page 58. Page 58 in the Stone חומש Chumash. What I want to do is read these פסוקים pesukim with you, see the מפרשים mefarshim, see the commentators, we'll see what we're troubled by and when we can, if we can resolve it. But what I want to do is show you based on a fascinating שיעור shiur by the truth is this comes from many, many places, but one place is Rav Menachem Leibtag from Gush, his תנ\"ך Tanach studies center, in a, in an article he wrote on פרשת עקב Parshas Eikev of all places, but it applies to our פרשה parsha as well. What I want to show you is that there's something else going on beneath the surface. This whole idea that Avram descends to Egypt and returns, and then we have this dispute with לוט Lot, and לוט Lot chooses when given the choice to go to essentially Egypt or the direction of Egypt, and then we have God promising Avram your descendants are going to be in servitude in Egypt before Israel. מצרים Mitzrayim and Israel, what's going on here? We studied this in depth last year on שבת הגדול Shabbos HaGadol. Anyone wants the source sheets, I'm happy to email them to you. We studied this in depth that there is a biblical prohibition to go to Egypt. Torah says in no less than three places, you're not allowed to live in Egypt. You can't live in Egypt. Why? Torah tells us, you can't return to Egypt. You shouldn't have too many horses. Why? Because you'll have to go to Egypt to get the horses. That's where horses were bred. And in three places, Torah says you can't live in Egypt. And of course, we discussed the question. Who lived in Egypt? The Rambam. The Rambam lived in Egypt. Rav Ovadia Yosef, זכר צדיק לברכה zecher tzaddik l'vracha. His funeral was yesterday, 800,000 people. More than 10% of Israel was there, more than 6% of the entire Jewish population on the globe went to one man's funeral. It's a remarkable fact. Rav Ovadia Yosef in 1947 was the head of the rabbinical court in Egypt before he came to Israel, when he was, after he was born in Baghdad. So many prominent Jews have lived in Egypt. How did they live in Egypt based on this verse? We discussed that. But more significantly, we spoke about why? Why doesn't God want us to live in Egypt? And we developed the idea, a few ideas, of Egypt being more than a geographical location. Egypt is a philosophy, Egypt is a way of life. And when God says don't go back to Egypt, what he means is don't go back to that philosophy, don't go back to that way of life. What's that way of life? How is it different than our way of life? Don't walk like an Egyptian, walk like a Jew. What's the difference between an Egyptian lifestyle and a Jewish lifestyle? Let's get into our פסוקים pesukim and hopefully we'll have time to see. פרק י\"ג פסוק א Perek Yud Gimmel, pasuk aleph. Chapter 13 verse 1, page 58 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. ויעל אברם ממצרים הוא ואשתו וכל אשר לו ולוט עמו הנגבה Vaya'al Avram mi'Mitzrayim hu v'ishto v'chol asher lo v'Lot imo ha'Negba. Avram ascended from Egypt, he and his wife and all that was with him, and לוט Lot was with him, and where did they go? הנגבה ha'Negba, to the south. Now what is the term ויעל vaya'al? It should have said ויסע vayisa, to travel, to journey is ויסע vayisa. Why does it say ויעל vaya'al, to go up? What do we know about Israel? What do we describe a person who moves to Israel? They make עליה aliyah. They make עליה aliyah. עליה Aliyah means to go up. Geographically and topographically, what do they call it? Topographically, Egypt is considered an ascension when one is ascending towards it, but also spiritually, Israel is a place in which God's presence can be felt more intensely. You get off that plane and you feel alive, you feel a member of a, of a people, of a nation. You feel connected. It's a special place, a place that God's eyes are always on. So one ascends when they go up. The highest place in Israel, maybe not topographically, but spiritually certainly, is ירושלים Yerushalayim. הרים סביב לה Harim saviv la. One goes up to ירושלים Yerushalayim, it's called עליה לרגל aliyah la'regel. Even if you live in Israel, you make עליה לרגל aliyah la'regel, you go up. And then the highest point on all of earth is not, where do they all climb? The highest point on all of earth? Everest, Mount Everest. The spiritually highest place on all of earth is of course הר המוריה Har HaMoriah, is הר הבית Har HaBayis, is the Temple Mount. And that's called the highest. עליה Aliyah to go up to the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. So ויעל אברם vaya'al Avram. He was in the depth of Egypt, we'll see what the Egypt philosophy is in a moment, and he came up back from there to Israel. He and his wife, all that was with him, and לוט Lot. ואברם כבד מאד V'Avram kaveid me'od. Avram was very heavy. What does that mean? He didn't eat, he ate a lot of flight food when he was in Egypt? What does that mean? He ate a lot of Twinkies, he was fat? He was wealthy. כבד מאד Kaveid me'od means heavy is a description of having much to carry. Heavy meant he had a great deal. רש\"י Rashi says he had a lot of luggage. He had been blessed in fulfillment of God's promise. Egypt had provided him great wealth. So he came back, במקנה בכסף ובזהב ba'mikneh, ba'kesef u'va'zahav, with livestock, with silver and with gold. He was blessed with it all. כבד מאד Kaveid me'od. What did I say? Oh, the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra. This word כבוד kavod, when we talk about honor, it comes from the word כבד kaveid. Honor and כבוד kavod, כבוד kavod, honor and כבד kaveid heavy come from the same thing. Someone who is worthy of honor is heavy with, it could be wealth, it could be with virtues and wonderful qualities, it could be with תורה Torah learning, but they're heavy meaning that they've accumulated and amassed a lot. So כבוד kavod and כבד kaveid come from the same place, says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra. וילך למסעיו פסוק ג Vayelech l'masa'av, pasuk gimmel. וילך למסעיו Vayelech l'masa'av, and he went on his journey, מנגב ועד בית אל mi'Negev v'ad Beis El, he went from the south until בית אל Beis El, עד המקום אשר היה שם אהלו בתחילה ad ha'makom asher hayah sham oholo ba'tchilah, back to the tent, back to where he was before he descended to Egypt, בין בית אל ובין העי bein Beis El u'vein ha'Ai, between these two places. Why does it tell us that he went back to the same place? Says רש\"י Rashi, we learn a lesson of דרך ארץ derech eretz. כשחזר ממצרים לארץ כנען Kshe'chazar mi'Mitzrayim l'Eretz K'naan, when he went back to Israel, he was `הולך ולן` holeich v'lan `באכסניות שלן בהן כשהלך למצרים` b'achsanyos she'lan bahem k'she'halach l'Mitzrayim. Where did he stay on the way back? The same hotels. He stayed in the very same hotels that he stayed on the way down. What do you learn from here? למדך דרך ארץ שלא ישנה אדם באכסניא שלו Lamadcha derech eretz shelo yishaneh adam b'achsanya shelo. You learn consistency, loyalty. Before you had programs of loyalty, you got points. Avram didn't get points for staying in the same hotel. He stayed there because of customer loyalty. A person took good care of him when he was on his way down to Egypt. When he's on his way back, he's going to stay in the very same place. Loyalty, customer loyalty, very important fact. The בעלי מוסר Baalei Mussar learn from here an additional thing. When Avram descended, he was not a wealthy man. When he came back, due to the gifts that he received in Egypt, he came back, the Torah just described, כבד מאד kaveid me'od. He could have stayed, he went down, he stayed at the Holiday Inn. On the way back, he could have stayed at the Waldorf Astoria. But where did he go back to? The Holiday Inn. He was a simple man and he wanted to show loyalty even though he could have afforded something much greater. So it emphasizes that on his journey back he went to the same, he went to the same place. Okay. ויטר Vayiter, פסוק ד pasuk daled. אל מקום המזבח אשר עשה שם בראשונה El makom ha'mizbeach asher asah sham ba'rishonah, ויקרא שם אברם בשם השם vayikra sham Avram b'shem Hashem. He went back to the site where the מזבח mizbeach he had built, and there Avram invoked Hashem by name. In other words, the place that Avram had previously reached out to Hashem. The רש\"י Rashi says, is this referring to previously reached out to Hashem, or when he came back from Egypt, did he reach out to Hashem again? So רש\"י Rashi says, וגם יש לומר ויקרא שם עכשיו בשם השם v'gam yesh lomar v'yikra sham achshav b'shem Hashem. Either way, רש\"י Rashi quotes two opinions. Is it referencing a geographic location that he once called out to Hashem, or is it saying that what did he do when he got back? The first thing he did was he davened. Thanked Hashem for the journey, for the safety, for the security. It could have gone much differently in Egypt. He came back safe, came back with Sarah, essentially the equivalent of bentsching gomel. פסוק ה Pasuk hey. וגם ללוט ההולך את אברם היה צאן ובקר ואהלים V'gam l'Lot ha'holeich es Avram hayah tzon u'bakar v'ohalim. The sidekick, לוט Lot, his little sidekick, his nephew, לוט Lot, who had gone ההולך את אברם ha'holeich es Avram, he also had צאן ובקר ואהלים tzon u'bakar v'ohalim. He also came back with some wealth. He had some cattle, he had some tents, he had his own entourage. What's unusual about that פסוק pasuk? וגם ללוט V'gam l'Lot... The way לוט Lot is described is unusual. Should have just said, וגם ללוט היה צאן ובקר ואהלים V'gam l'Lot hayah tzon u'bakar v'ohalim. We already know who לוט Lot is. We've been introduced to him a number of times. He's Avram's nephew. Why is he described as ההולך את אברם ha'holeich es Avram? And also לוט Lot, who had traveled with Avram, had these things. Why use that to describe his identity? We already know who he is. So רש\"י Rashi says, you know why? Because מי גרם לו שהיו לו זו על שהתחסה עם אברם mi garam lo shehayu lo zoseh al shehichasah im Avram. Why did he have that צאן ובקר ואהלים tzon u'bakar v'ohalim? How did he merit to get that wealth? Because he was the shadow of Avram. He was the sidekick of Avram. Avram made him. So therefore the Torah describes לוט Lot was not independently wealthy. לוט Lot was not a self-starting entrepreneur. לוט Lot rode Avram's coattails, and with Avram's coattails, he accumulated his own wealth. And what did he do with that wealth? Was לוט Lot humble and modest because he realized that he wasn't even responsible? He was just the recipient of a trust fund? Was לוט Lot humble and modest because he realized he was in the right place at the right time and his uncle Avram took good care of him? No. He was כפוי טובה kafui tov. Not only was he not appreciative and not only was he not modest, he made him crave more. We just read in קהלת Koheles on סוכות Sukkos. אוהב כסף לא ישבע כסף Oheiv kesef lo yisba kesef. Someone who loves money will never be satisfied by money. Which the גמרא Gemara learns, the חז\"ל Chazal learn, אוהב תורה לא ישבע תורה oheiv Torah lo yisba Torah. It means that whatever you love, you'll never get enough of. So choose something to love which is a virtue. Love doing חסד chesed and you'll never get enough of חסד chesed, that's great. Love exercise instead of loving chocolate cake. You know, love, love helping people, love learning תורה Torah. Whatever you love, you'll never be satiated by, so choose something wisely to love. Form good habits. So here לוט Lot loves this access to the wealth he's received through his uncle. ולא נשא אותם הארץ לשבת יחדיו כי היה רכושם רב ולא יכלו לשבת יחדיו V'lo nasa osam ha'aretz lasheves yachdav ki hayah richusham rav v'lo yachlu lasheves yachdav. So what happens as a result? They can't live together. There's not room enough. Is there literally not room enough? No, of course there was plenty of room. The land of Israel had plenty of room for Avram and לוט Lot and their entourages, their their shepherds and all of their wealth. What it means is their egos... not there, Avram's ego was in check. There wasn't enough room in the entire land of Israel for לוט's Lot's ego together with his uncle, even though his uncle was the one who was provided him with all the wealth that he had. So what happens? ויהי ריב בין רועי מקנה אברם ובין רועי מקנה לוט Vayehi riv bein ro'ei mikneh Avram u'vein ro'ei mikneh Lot. A dispute, a quarrel results and ensues between their shepherds. והכנעני והפריזי אז יושב בארץ V'haK'naani v'haPrizi az yosheiv ba'aretz. There's a dispute. What's unusual about that פסוק pasuk? What strikes you about that פסוק pasuk? There's a dispute between these shepherds. Period, hard stop. Oh, and by the way, just for informational purposes, these were the nations living in the land at the time. Clearly the fact that the תורה Torah links them in one פסוק pasuk seems to indicate that there's a connection between the two. So what's the connection? So says רש\"י Rashi, ויהי ריב, there's a dispute between their shepherds. לפי שהיו רועים של לוט רשעים ומראים את בהמתם בשדות אחרים. What happens? Now, the Torah just indicated that Lot was independently wealthy, or not independently but aside from Avram had wealth. צאן ובקר ואהלים Tzon u'vakar ve'o'halim. Nevertheless, what do the shepherds of Lot do? What are they instructed to do? What is their practice? Where do their animals graze? On the fields of others. Why? Because why use up your grass, why use up your produce, when you could deplete others of their. But what is that? To allow your animal to graze on others? What is that? ורועי אברהם מוכיחים אותם על הגזל Veroei Avram mochiḥim otam al ha'gezel. So Avram, excuse me. Avram's, thank you, Avram's shepherds who are in his image, his students, turn to the shepherds of Lot and say, \"Hey guys, buddies, what are you doing? Don't let your animals graze there. That's stealing. They can't go on that property.\"How do Lot's shepherds take it? הם אומרים נתנה הארץ לאברהם Hem omrim nitna ha'aretz l'Avram, ולא אין יורש velo ein yoreish. What do you mean? God promised Uncle Avram the land. To whom does this land really belong? My uncle. And who stands to inherit from Avram? Does Avram have any children at this point? No, none. So says Lot, \"Ah, I'm in Uncle Avram's will. I am the sole inheritor. He's going to bequeath all of this to me. So therefore it's as if I own it now.\" And that's the attitude of his shepherds so they therefore allow their animals to graze everywhere. ולוט יורשו ואין זה גזל Ve'lot yorsho ve'ein zeh gezel. So that was their argument. But כתוב אומר הכנעני והפרזי אז יושב בארץ kasuv omer ha'knani ve'haprizi az yoshev ba'aretz, ולא זכה בה אברהם עדיין velo zacha bah Avram adayin. So the פסוק pasuk therefore tells us, no. Avram didn't yet acquire the land, it doesn't belong to him. Was it God's promise? Yes. Has it been fulfilled yet? No. And therefore for for Lot's shepherds to allow the animals to graze is nothing short of thievery, it's stealing, and it's inappropriate. But that's the origin of the dispute because Avram's shepherds had a strong moral compass. Lot's did not, and therefore they did not get along.Says the ספורנו Sforno similarly, הכנעני והפרזי אז יושב בארץ ha'knani ve'haprizi az yoshev ba'aretz, ולכן היה ריב בין שני אחים ulachen haya riv bein shnei achim גרים garim מביא איש mevi ish אזרח בעיני התושבים ezrach be'einei ha'toshavim. כי בהיות מריבה בין אחים הגרים ki bihiyot meriva bein achim ha'garim, הגרים יחשבו אותם התושבים לאנשי ריב ha'garim yachshevu otam ha'toshavim l'anshei riv ויעשו כל בחומר בעצמן ve'yaasu kol be'chomer be'atzman. Says the ספורנו Sforno even more so, if there's a dispute between these two brothers, imagine the impact on the other nations that they're living with. If there's a dispute within the family, it's an opportunity for the others to turn on them. Says the ספורנו Sforno, that's the connection between that's the connection between the two.The כלי יקר Kli Yakar has a little bit of a different point of view. Let's look at the כלי יקר Kli Yakar quickly. רש\"י פירש סמיכות כנעני ופריזי אז יושב בארץ לומר Rashi peirash smichut knani u'prizi az yoshev ba'aretz lomar, שלא זכה בה אברהם עדיין shelo zacha bah Avram adayin. כלי יקר Kli Yakar of Luntschitz begins by quoting Rashi, that Avram had not yet inherited the land. Therefore it was outright stealing and that's what Avram's shepherds warned Lot's. וקשה ve'kasha says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, that's difficult. למה הזכיר כאן הפרזי Lama hizkir kan ha'prizi ולמעלה אמר והכנעני אז בארץ u'lemala amar ve'ha'knani az ba'aretz. Where did the פרזי prizi come from? Earlier we were told when Avram's going to go to the land, who's living in the land? If you look in פרק י\"ב פסוק ו' perek yud beis pasuk vav, ויבוא אברם vayavo Avram, Avram goes to the שכם אלוני מורה Shchem Elonei Moreh, and who's living there at the end of פסוק ו' פרק י\"ב pasuk vav perek yud beis? הכנעני אז בארץ Ha'knani az ba'aretz. הכנעני Knani lived there. Asks the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, if you're an astute reader of the text, we've been told the כנעני Knani live there. Where did these פרזי prizi come from? Who are the פרזי prizi people and how did they get there? וכאן הזכיר יושב ולא הזכיר זה למעלה ve'chan hizkir yoshev velo hizkir zeh lemala. And here it says that they are יושב בארץ yoshev ba'aretz, dwelling in the land, and that was not said. It says הכנעני אז בארץ ha'knani az ba'aretz. It didn't say earlier הכנעני יושב בארץ ha'knani yoshev ba'aretz. He said they're found in the land, whereas here it says they're dwelling in the land. So the כלי יקר Kli Yakar is teaching us, you have to read the text with a fine-toothed comb. You have to be very astute and pick up on discrepancies and differences and changes because you can deduce many beautiful lessons, ideas. ויש אומרים Ve'yesh omrim says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, שרוצה לומר אלו שני אומות גדולות הכנעני והפרזי sherotzeh lomar elu shnei umot gedolot ha'knani ve'haprizi נתישבו בארץ בלא מריבה nityashvu ba'aretz belo meriva. These two great nations lived in the land and they weren't fighting with one another. ושני רועים אלו U'shnei roim eilu לא נשא אותם הארץ לשבת יחדיו lo nasa osam ha'aretz lashevet yachdav. The Torah is, it's an indictment of the shepherds of Lot and Avraham. והכנעני והפרזי אז בארץ ve'ha'knani ve'haprizi az ba'aretz means they were able to live together, two independent sovereign nations. There was enough room for the two of them to dwell together. Why couldn't the shepherds of Lot and Avram get along? Because egos get in the way. There's not enough room in that shul, in that business, in that community, in that minyan, in that whatever. Of course there's enough room. Look at the non-Jews. Look at our neighbors. They all get along. Why can't we get along? This is an indictment, an incredible כלי יקר Kli Yakar, right? והכנעני והפרזי אז יושב בארץ ve'ha'knani ve'haprizi az yoshev ba'aretz, they got along just fine. Why couldn't the shepherds of the קשה kasha, the כלי יקר Kli Yakar goes on but we don't have time. Very beautiful. Very beautiful.So פסוק ח' pasuk ches. ויאמר אברם אל לוט vayomer Avram el Lot, Avram turns to his nephew and he says, אל נא תהי מריבה ביני ובינך al na tehi meriva beini u'veinecha ובין רועי ובין רועך u'vein ro'ai u'vein ro'echa כי אנשים אחים אנחנו ki anashim achim anachnu. This ריב riv, right? We saw two explanations why the פסוק pasuk why the Torah brings כנעני והפרזי אז בארץ knani ve'haprizi az ba'aretz. But says Avram, \"I don't want this to reach us. Our shepherds are not getting along. Let it not be ביני ובינך beini u'veinecha. Let it not reach the point of between me and you.\" Says the אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim ha'kadosh, look פסוק ח' pasuk ches, אל נא תהי מריבה al na tehi meriva. טעם אמרו ביני ובינך ta'am omro beini u'veinecha הודיע כי סופה להיות המריבה גם בין שניהם hodia ki sofa liyot ha'meriva gam bein shneihem. If it starts out between our shepherds ultimately it's going to elevate and escalate till it becomes a fight between us. ואף אם יאמר לוט כי חס ושלום לא יורד את רבו ve'af im yomar Lot ki chas v'shalom lo yored et rabo וגאונו ולא יהיה הדבר u'ga'ono velo yihiyeh ha'davar. Lot would say, \"God forbid, why can't we we just stay like this?\" So our shepherds are fighting but I would never take you on Uncle Avram. אף על פי כן ידע בדבר אשר קרה הוא בין רועה ורועי אברהם af al pi chen yada ba'davar asher kara hu bein ro'eh u'roei Avram והוא אומרו ובין רועי ve'hu omro u'vein ro'ai. So Avram says, \"No, if it's already at that level, it's going to escalate. The nature is everyone's loyal to their workers. And if our workers aren't getting along it's going to escalate to us and then it's not going to be pretty.\" What do you see from here? Says the אור החיים Or HaChaim, you have to have some foresight. You have to see what's coming. You have to know how to dissolve a partnership before brothers stop talking forever. If the business is not working out and you see indications it's not working out, get out before it turns out to an turns into an all-out war. Before people stop talking to one another. Most family disputes where people aren't talking to one another, if you want to get to what's the root of the dispute, the core of the dispute, they used to be in business. Someone was in business with someone else. Had they gotten out when there was the first indication and came to an amicable conclusion, a fair and equitable distribution, they wouldn't have had it happen.So אור החיים Or HaChaim says that's what Avram says to Lot. אל נא תהי מריבה ביני ובינך Al na tehi meriva beini u'veinecha. Lot, I know that you say now that you would never take me on. But you know what? If it's happening among our our shepherds then it's going to escalate and get to us and that won't be good. And therefore says Avram, what's his proposal? פסוק ט Pasuk tes. הלא כל הארץ לפניך Halo kol ha'aretz lefanecha. The whole land is before you. הפרד נא מעלי Hipared na me'alai. So separate from me. Break off, break away. אם השמאל ואמינה ואם הימין ואשמאילה Im ha'smol ve'eimina ve'im ha'yamin ve'asma'ila. If you want to go left, I'll go right. You want right, I will go left. Which directions are those? Give them a what are the directions on the compass? Avram's telling Lot. So everyone says East and West, right? Left and right, East and West. Oh, so is that what it really means, East and West? Look at the look at אונקלוס Onkelos. Says תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos: הלא כל ארעא קדמך הפרש כאן Halo kol ara kadamach, hiparesh ka'an. Who's תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos? Let's take 10 seconds. Now that the new cycle has begun again and we have an obligation of reading שניים מקרא ואחד תרגום shnayim mikra v'echad targum. Who's תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos? אונקלוס Onkelos is a גר ger, אונקלוס Onkelos is a convert. He lives in the period of the תנאים Tannaim. He lives in the first couple centuries of the Common Era. He's a convert and a whole story about the Romans tried to take him out to execute him and... Not the Romans... sorry... And yeah and he each of them he kissed the מזוזה mezuzah. He touched, it doesn't say he kissed it. He touched the מזוזה mezuzah on the way out. They said what are you doing? He told them all about the מזוזה mezuzah. By the time they were done, they stayed and converted. And they gave up on trying to arrest him. So who is אונקלוס Onkelos? Why is his תרגום targum so authoritative? רב שכטר Rav Schechter used to describe in שיעור shiur because אונקלוס Onkelos, normally Jewish kids in Israel and Babylonia, centers of Torah learning, they learned חומש Chumash when they were in first grade, second grade, third grade, whatever age. I don't even know what they learned it then. They learned as little kids. So they took notes. So what are we going to rely on their notes to teach us what the מסורה mesorah, what our tradition is for how to understand the חומש Chumash? On the one hand, that's when they studied חומש Chumash. On the other hand, they're little kids. So אונקלוס Onkelos gave us a great opportunity. Because אונקלוס Onkelos was a grown man. He decided to convert and join the Jewish people and study. אונקלוס Onkelos went back to third grade. And he sat down and he listened to Torah, חומש Chumash being taught. And he took notes. And his notes became תרגום אונקלוס Targum Onkelos. They're the most authoritative translation that we have of Torah because they were written by an adult but heard from a link in the chain of our מסורה mesorah, of our, the transmission of our tradition. So that's אונקלוס Onkelos. So how does אונקלוס Onkelos translate this verse? הלא כל ארעא קדמך הפרש כאן מעלוי Halo kol ara kadamach hiparesh kaan me'alvai, אם את לצפונא ואנא לדרומא im at l'tzifuna ve'ana l'daroma. אונקלוס Onkelos translates right and left, שמאל וימין smol v'yamin as צפון ודרום tzafon ve'darom. What are צפון ודרום tzafon ve'darom? צפון Tzafon is North and דרום darom is South. ואם את לדרומא ואנא לצפונא ve'im at l'daroma ve'ana l'tzifuna. North and South. Why does אונקלוס Onkelos translate it that way? As opposed to West and East. He doesn't translate as West and East. Oh, so it all has to do with perspective. It all has to do with where you're facing. If you're facing East then you'll say left and right is North and South. ספורנו Sforno by the way says the same thing. No, I thought he said the same thing... Well the ספורנו Sforno does not say the same thing. But אונקלוס Onkelos translates it here. אונקלוס Onkelos translates it here as such, right? Maybe later the ספורנו Sforno says it? I thought I saw the ספורנו Sforno on... Oh yeah the ספורנו Sforno does say it. If you look to ויסע לוט מקדם vayisa Lot mi'kedem... We'll see in a moment that Lot chooses קדם kedem. ספורנו Sforno says לא נטה לימין ולשמאל שהן צפון ודרום lo nata l'yamin v'lismol she'hen tzafon ve'darom. אבל נטה מן המזרח למערב aval nata min ha'mizrach l'ma'arav. Even though Avram told Lot to go either North or South, Avram, Lot neglected those choices and chose instead East to West. So you see the ספורנו Sforno also understands right and left, not as East and West, but Avram's proposal was right or left as North or South. And we'll see again the significance of this in a moment. Because what's south of Israel? Egypt. What was Avram giving Lot options? You want to head towards Egypt? Their philosophy, their culture, their attitude, their approach, we'll talk about that in a moment. Or North, which is which is not.So what does Lot choose? וישא לוט את עיניו Vayisa Lot et einav. He lifts his eyes. וירא את כל ככר הירדן vayar et kol kikar ha'yarden, כי כולה משקה ki kulah mashkeh, לפני שחת ה' את סדום ואת עמורה Lifnei shacheit Hashem et Sdom ve'et Amora, כגן ה' כארץ מצרים באכה צער k'gan Hashem k'eretz Mitzrayim boacha Tzoar. How does Lot describe where he chooses? First of all he lifts his eyes. What's the imagery of lifting his eyes? When do a person's eyes get really big? What do they see when their eyes get big? Greed. Greed. Lot didn't make a choice based on which has the best yeshiva, the best shul, the best school for his children, which is the best spiritual environment. His eyes get big. וישא לוט את עיניו Vayisa Lot et einav. Dollar signs, ching ching. Dollar signs flash. He says I have a choice where to go. I have this great cattle. I'm real estate. Right? Essentially Lot's in business with his uncle, real estate let's call it. And Avram says this isn't going to work out, we gotta break off. You take whatever buildings you want, I'll take the other ones. It's your choice. It's your choice. We're going to go 50-50, you choose the 50. I don't want you to come back to me and say I was unfair. Lot says I choose the 50, ching ching. He sees dollar signs. I'm going to choose the best buildings, the great best real estate. Where does that real estate happen to be? Near מצרים Mitzrayim. Happens to be near סדום Sdom. Happens to be in the most hedonistic, evil, licentious, lascivious, lewd, corrupt place. Does that bother Lot? Not in the least. That's what he chooses. So let's just translate the פסוק pasuk. So what does Lot choose? Lot raises his eyes, he sees the ככר הירדן kikar ha'yarden. He sees the plain, the Jordan Valley. It's well watered everywhere. Why is the Jordan Valley watered everywhere? What waters the Jordan Valley? The Jordan River. Jordan River waters the Jordan Valley. So Lot sees the Jordan River. This is why the Sforno said he didn't see North or South, he saw East. The Jordan River is what waters the Jordan Valley. And this was before Hashem had destroyed סדום ועמורה Sdom ve'Amora. And how did the area look? כגן ה' k'gan Hashem, כארץ מצרים באכה צער k'eretz Mitzrayim boacha Tzoar. What does that mean? It was lush, green, growing, blossoming, beautiful. Why did it look that way? It has perpetual irrigation. It has the most sophisticated, greatest irrigation system in the world, called the Jordan River. You didn't rely on what? What's the alternative to the Jordan River? The rain. So Lot says, \"Let's see, I can choose an area where for me to be successful, I need the rain.\" And now you'll get where I'm headed. What do you need to do to get rain? Merit the rain. Pray for the rain. Be worthy of the rain. So I can choose an area where I need to be worthy of rain and pray for rain and rely on rain, or I can choose the Jordan River, the Jordan Valley, lush, beautiful, where it's always there, the greatest irrigation system that's going to nurture my property. I'm good to go. And what does he liken it to? Why is Lot so excited? כארץ מצרים K'eretz Mitzrayim. He wants to go, כי כולה משקה ki kulah mashkeh, it's all, it's all watered, it's all irrigated. כארץ מצרים K'eretz Mitzrayim. What irrigated Egypt? The Nile River. The Nile River. Egypt too was a land that you didn't need to rely on God. Egypt was a land where you were independent. You thought I've got my water source, I've got to grow my, I've got everything. I'm good to go. God thanks but no thanks, don't need you, I'm good to go. Got my irrigation system, can grow my produce, can take care of myself, have my income, have my wealth, I'm good to go. That's what Lot chooses. And we'll see one second we'll develop this further. ויבחר לו לוט את כל ככר הירדן Vayivchar lo Lot et kol kikar ha'yarden. Chooses the Jordan Valley. ויסע לוט מקדם vayisa Lot mikedem. And Lot goes מקדם mikedem. What does it mean מקדם mikedem? Lot literally means east. One can say maybe מקדם mikedem means like, like מקדם mikedem was גן עדן Gan Eden was מקדם mikedem. He saw this as גן עדן Gan Eden. He headed towards what he perceived as גן עדן Gan Eden. Are you kidding? סדום ועמורה Sdom ve'Amora? Going to Vegas, man. It's גן עדן Gan Eden. Going to Vegas with an unlimited budget. This is גן עדן Gan Eden. I'm not I'm not saying Vegas is סדום ועמורה Sdom ve'Amora exactly. So it's I'm going east, I'm going to גן עדן Gan Eden. But how does רש\"י Rashi interpret מקדם mikedem? Look at רש\"י Rashi. הסיע עצמו מקדמונו של עולם Hisiya atzmo mikadmono shel olam. קדם Kedem means from the first. It means he left the creator of the universe. מקדם Mikedem means he unburdened himself of God. ויסע לוט מקדם Vayisa Lot mikedem. קדם Kedem is an allusion, you find it many places in the Torah. קדם Kedem is a reference and allusion to God. God is the קדמונו של עולם kadmono shel olam. God is the first of everything. He began it, excuse me, he began it all. He's the קדמונו של עולם kadmono shel olam. Lot unburdens himself. I'm out of here. He unshackles himself. Rain? God? Uncle Avram, it's all yours. I'm going to Egypt, Sodom, the river, lucrative, income, financial stability. And therefore when you have the financial stability and you don't feel your lie on God, what do you get? סדום ועמורה Sdom ve'Amora. If you don't need merit, you don't need to be on your best behavior, you don't need to live an ethical, moral life in order to be worthy of the rain to sustain you, where does man, where is one drawn? יצר לב האדם רע מנעוריו Yetzer lev ha'adam ra mi'neurav. You're drawn to a very hedonistic, lustful, temptation, you're left with סדום ועמורה Sdom ve'Amora. And therefore אברם ישב בארץ כנען Avram yashav b'eretz Knaan, ולט ישב בערי הככר ויאהל עד סדום ve'Lot yashav b'arei ha'kikar vaye'ehal ad Sdom. Avram goes to כנען Knaan, Israel, the north, and Lot goes to Sodom. ואנשי סדום רעים וחטאים לה' מאוד Ve'anshei Sdom raim v'chataim la'Hashem meod. What do we think of the people of Sodom? Wicked, evil.וה' אמר אל אברם אחרי הפרד לוט מעמו Va'Hashem amar el Avram acharei hipared Lot me'imo. שא נא עיניך וראה מן המקום אשר אתה שם Sa na einecha u're'eh min ha'makom asher ata sham. Now that Lot is gone, now that you Avram got rid of that lowlife, it's not nice to call him lowlife, he's your nephew. Now that you got rid of that young man, Lot, lift your eyes, but not lift your eyes ching ching. Avram lifts his eyes. שא נא עיניך Sa na einecha, God tells him open your eyes, וראה u're'eh and what does he see? מן המקום אשר אתה שם צפנה ונגבה וקדמה וימה min ha'makom asher ata sham tzafona va'negba ve'kedma va'yama. Every direction. Open your eyes and look in every direction. Why? כי כל הארץ אשר אתה רואה Ki kol ha'aretz asher ata ro'eh, לך אתננה lecha etnena. Everything you can see Avram, it's yours. ולזרעך עד עולם u'lezar'acha ad olam. And it's for your offspring. עד עולם Ad olam, there are periods in our history where we didn't have it. What do you mean עד עולם ad olam? It means the promise, the right to the land is everlasting, is עד עולם ad olam. ושמתי את זרעך כעפר הארץ Ve'samti et zaracha k'afar ha'aretz. I'm going to place your children like the dust of the earth. אשר אם יוכל איש למנות את עפר הארץ גם זרעך ימנה Asher im yuchal ish limnot et afar ha'aretz gam zaracha yimaneh. Just like you can't count them, so too you won't be able to count your offspring. You could spend five hours studying that פסוק pasuk. We just did a pew study counting the Jewish people. And guess what? You can count them. And you have a few fingers left over. So what do you mean they're going to be like the dust of the, stars of the sky and the dust of the earth and the sand of the sea? In fact we have a prophecy, many prophecies that describe the Jewish people are never going to be great in number. We're always going to remain small. So what does this פסוק pasuk mean? That אם יוכל איש למנות im yuchal ish limnot? Just like a person can't count. Obviously it has to mean something metaphorically because it has not come true literally and we have prophecy that contradicts it in its literal sense, but that's beyond our scope today. And I encourage you to look further into that פסוק pasuk. קום התהלך בארץ לארכה ולרחבה Kum hithalech ba'aretz l'orka u'lerochba. So God tells Avram get up and walk the land. כי לך אתננה Ki lecha etnena. And that's how you acquire the land. We'll see in a second. ויאהל אברם ויבא וישב באלוני ממרא אשר בחברון Vaye'ehal Avram vayavo vayeshev b'elonei Mamre asher b'Chevron. Avram gets up he goes to אלוני ממרא Elonei Mamre, he goes to חברון Chevron. ויבן שם מזבח לה' Vayiven sham mizbeach la'Hashem. Everywhere Avram goes, he builds a shul, he builds a מזבח mizbeach. He expresses his gratitude, he connects with the Almighty. Let's go back and look at a few מפרשים mefarshim and then I want to get to the punchline of this entire topic today.רש\"י Rashi says on פסוק י\"ג pasuk yud gimmel, ואנשי סדום רעים ve'anshei Sdom ra'im. I'm sorry. ואנשי סדום רעים Ve'anshei Sdom ra'im. אף על פי כן לא נמנע לוט מלשכון עמם Af al pi chen lo nimna Lot milishkon imam. ורבותינו למדו מכאן ve'raboteinu lamdu mikan. Lot should have identified that the people of סדום Sdom were wicked, but nevertheless, ואנשי סדום רעים anshei Sdom ra'im, even though the Torah says it wasn't a secret to Lot, it wasn't hidden, they weren't duplicitous, they weren't angelic on the outside and only once he got to know them he realized that they were terrible, that they were rotten in their core. You you could see they you you knew who they were on the outside. And nevertheless Lot chose to dwell together with them.Why does God tell Avraham only once he splits from Lot, once they break up the family business and they go on two different directions, only then does God tell Avraham \"Walk around the land, lift your eyes, look in every direction, it's all yours\"? Why did it take till now? Says the ספורנו Sforno, פסוק י\"ד pasuk yud daled: ולא אמר זה בהיות לוט עמו Velo amar zeh behiyot Lot imo, פן בכבודו יזמרו ויסגלו לוט ורועיו ויאמצו לגזול pen bichvodo yizmeru v'yisgalu Lot v'roav v'ya'amtzuy l'gzol. What started this whole fight to begin with? Because Lot thought my uncle Avram's getting everything and I'm his sole inheritor. So God did not want to compound that issue by making Lot have an even more inflated ego or sense of entitlement by telling Avram while Lot was yet with him, \"Look everywhere, this is all going to be yours.\" So says the ספורנו Sforno, it's not coincidental, that's why God waits. Only once there's a split and Avram and Lot are no longer together, now God can confidently tell Avram, \"Look everywhere, lift your eyes, look in every direction, it's all going to belong, it's all, it's all yours. It's all yours.\" If you look at the רמב\"ן Ramban, this idea of Avram walking the land. What does that mean? Why did he have to walk the land? קום התהלך בארץ לארכה ולרחבה Kum hithalech ba'aretz l'orka u'lerochba. And we know that that's not too difficult, right? Israel is you know smaller than New Jersey, seven seven Israels could fit in Florida. You could fit Israel in Florida seven times. You could fit Israel in Lake Michigan, I forgot how many times, multiple times. Israel is not a long, I mean, you know there are tours that bike from the northern tip of Israel to the southern tip and it doesn't take months or weeks, it takes a few days. So God tells Avram, \"Walk the breadth of Israel, the width and breadth.\" Why? Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, יתכן שזה רשות כרצונו Yitachen she'zeh reshut kirtzono. אמר לו בכל אשר תרצה ללכת בארץ לך Amar lo bechol asher tirtzeh lalechet ba'aretz lech. So was this a commandment or was it an invitation? Says the רמב\"ן Ramban it's a רשות reshut. It was an invitation. It's all yours. Take it in. Look at it, it's beautiful. Walk it all, see it's mountains and valleys and lush pastures. כי יהיה אמינך ושמרתיך מן הגוים Ki eheyeh imcha u'shmarticha min ha'goyim. I will be with you and I will protect you from the other nations. כי לך אתננה Ki lecha etnena, it's all yours. כלומר שהיא תהיה klomar she'he tihiyeh it will belong to you. So go for a stroll. It's like someone's buying you a house and they say, \"Walk through it, enjoy it.\" Is that a command or is that an invitation? It's an invitation. Check out every closet, look in every pantry, open every cabinet, it's all yours, it's going to be all yours. I'm going to be buying it for you. ואם היא מצוה שילך בה כל ארכה ורחבה להחזיק במתן תנועות Ve'im hi mitzvah sheyeilech bah kol orka v'rochba l'hachzik bematan tenosoe. כשאשר פירש רש\"י ke'asher peiresh Rashi. למה נצטווה לעשות זה מיד Lama nitztavah laasot zeh miyad. והנה עשה כן כי הטה אהלה במזרח Ve'hinei asah kein ki hita ohelo b'mizrach ואחר כך הלך ארץ פלשתים שהוא מערב ve'achar kach halach eretz plishtim shehu ma'arav. וקיים המצוה בחייו ve'kiyem ha'mitzvah be'chayav. The רמב\"ן Ramban says there's also an element which was a מצוה mitzvah. And that's why he told him to do it immediately. And Avram fulfills it and he walks in every direction. וטעם לחלז רש\"י תחזיק במתנה Ve'ta'am lech l'Rashi tachzik bematana מעכשיו להנחיל לזרעך me'achshav l'hanchil l'zar'acha כמו שאמרו רבותינו ירושה להם מאבותיהם k'mo she'amru raboteinu yerusha lahem me'avoteihem. ועל דרך הפשט יתכן שיהיה מושל עליה ונהיה אלוקים בסוכו ve'al derech ha'pshat yitachen she'yiyeh moshel aleha v'nehiyeh Elokim b'suchech. בכל מקום שילך בארץ ההיא b'chol makom she'yilech b'eretz ha'hi. This was, the גמרא Gemara in בבא בתרא Bava Basra learns, this was the mechanism through which Avram acquired the land. One of the methods of acquisition is by walking a property. When Avram walked this property, he acquired it and was then able to bequeath it to all of to all of us.The אור החיים הקדוש Or HaChaim ha'kadosh points out there was a miracle that took place here. What was the miracle? The אור החיים Or HaChaim, פסוק י\"ד pasuk yud daled. וראה מן המקום u're'eh min ha'makom. טעם שהוצרך לומר מן המקום אשר אתה שם Ta'am shehutzrach lomar min ha'makom asher ata sham. Lift your eyes and look in every direction from the place where you are. כאן עשה לו נס גדול Kan asah lo nes gadol. He made a miracle. ונס עצום ve'nes atzum, a great miracle. שיוכל לראות מצפון לדרום ומערב למזרח she'yuchal lirot mitzafon l'darom u'mi'maarav l'mizrach ממקום אחד מבלי שיצטרך לסובב mi'makom echad mibli she'yitzatarech l'sovev. This was a miracle that Avram could be in one place and see north, south, east, and west without turning around. To be in one place and see it all. I went twice skydiving over Israel and you could see very far, Haifa even, you could see the boundary of ירושלים Yerushalayim, but you can't see all the way down to אילת Eilat from the sky, even from 12,000 feet. You can't see everything. This was a miracle. You're beneath once once you pass through the clouds, you still can't see the whole... But this is a miracle that Avram was able to see everything. And the next אור החיים Or HaChaim כי כל הארץ ki kol ha'aretz. הנה ידוע כי שיעור חוש הראות הוא מוגבל באדם Hinei yadua ki shiur chush ha're'ut hu mugbal ba'adam אשר ישיג אל אור השמש asher yasig el or ha'shemesh. כאן עשה לו ה' נס שנקראו קצות הארץ Kan asah lo Hashem nes she'nikrau ktzot ha'aretz. וראה הכל באמצע אותו דבר החזק בכל הארץ ve'ra'ah ha'kol b'emtza oso ha'davar ha'chezek b'chol ha'aretz. You know what the miracle was? Anyone here been to מיני ישראל Mini Yisrael, Little Israel, what's it called? מיני ישראל Mini Yisrael. So God made מיני ישראל Mini Yisrael for Avram. That's what it means Avram was able to see everything. God essentially gave him a vision of מיני ישראל Mini Yisrael. Even from the place where he was, he saw all the boundaries. He could walk the width and the breadth. He saw the תנובה Tnuva factory. He saw מיני ישראל Mini Yisrael. He saw everything that was destined to be in Israel. He was able to take it all in. That was a miracle. Avram walks the land and now he's separate from Lot. And again we're not going to continue in the text but this is, understand from here, סדום Sdom then gets conquered, Lot gets in trouble, סדום Sdom gets what it deserves and Avram interferes. So what's really going on beneath the text? We have two minutes left. So what's really going on beneath the text?So Egypt and Israel, the tension is felt, palpably in this פרשה parsha. Avram descends to Egypt, God brings him back to Israel. It's considered ויעל vaya'al, he ascends. Egypt is, we always talk about going down to Egypt. Not only topographically but spiritually. Egypt is saturated with טומאה tumah. So what is Egypt? So we've already hinted to it. Egypt because it's nurtured by the Nile, has confidence, hubris, feels independent, has no use for God. Egypt worships itself. Right? פרעה Pharaoh. פרעה Pharaoh would relieve himself in the morning in the Nile River, didn't want his people to see him. There's this sense that we don't rely on God. He wasn't human. He wanted the people to worship him. He was responsible. The Nile River was responsible. They would bow down to the Nile River because the Nile River was their rainmaker. The Nile River was their was their ATM machine. The Nile River was their income. They had the Nile River, they had no need. So you see throughout the Torah this description, this tension between the philosophy and the attitude of Egypt which was independent from God, no need to be worthy, to merit, no need to pray, no need to connect, no need to have a relationship, versus living in Israel. Israel is a place, relies heavily on rain. We just prayed גשם geshem, where we began to ask Hashem to provide rain. If Israel doesn't have rain, it's in deep trouble despite the salination, the all the scientific progress, Israel needs rain. Is that coincidental that in the same region one country has the Nile River needs nothing and the next door needs... That was by design. ארץ אשר תמיד עיני ה' אלוקיך בה Eretz asher tamid einei Hashem Elokecha bah. God put his eyes in there always in means when you live in Israel every day you need Hashem. Every day you think of Hashem. Every day you rely on Hashem. Today you can go to Super-Sol or you can go to Rami Levy, you go to the supermarket in Israel so you don't feel it as much. But the farmer knows in Israel they need Hashem and even if you go shop there you know you need the rain. It's a clash of civilizations. It's a clash of philosophies. It's a world view that has a reliance on the Almighty that feels dependent, that has faith, that works on worthiness and merit, versus a world view that sees itself as the deity, independent, no need. And therefore becomes saturated with the 49 levels of טומאה tumah. Because when you have no need for God, you have no need to live morally. When you have no need for God, you have no need to merit. When you have no need for God, you feel hubris, arrogance, ego, and you have no need to share with others. And the result is you get the culture of Egypt and you get the culture of סדום Sdom, which is an offshoot of a suburb, so to say, of Egypt. Because it too is near the Nile. Lot is given the choice of where to go and what does he choose? כארץ מצרים K'eretz Mitzrayim, סדום Sdom, the Nile. God, who wants God? מקדם, מקדמונו של עולם Mikedem, mi'kadmono shel olam. He walks away from God. You see this tension and it's part of Avram goes down to Egypt and ויעל vaya'al he comes back. Why did that happen? Maybe God wanted him to see when he tells him והיה תמים ve'heyeh tamim. Walk with me, be תמימות tmimusdik. What he means is not like the Egyptians. You know in Egypt, Egypt was the capital of superstition, sorcery, superstition, magic. That was Egypt. Do we believe in that? Absolutely not. The red bendel is ridiculous. The red bendel is, to wear a red string around your wrist and think that's going to protect you, that's Egypt. You belong in Egypt. If you belong, a Jew belongs in Israel, you don't think a red string string will protect you. What protects you? Your merits. Be kind and charitable and sensitive and good and honest. And have a relationship with God and pray. That protects you. I mean you really think that if you're unworthy and deserving of something negative, but if you put a red string on your wrist, it's going to shield you? That's magic, that's superstition. That's דרכי האמורי darkei ha'Emori. It's ridiculous. The תוספתא Tosefta describes it as דרכי האמורי darkei ha'Emori. That's Egypt. You know R' Schechter says all the time, God says 'I took you out of Egypt.' I took you out of that superstition. I took you out of those horoscopes. I took you out of that way of thinking. That's ויעל vaya'al. Avram experienced it so he could understand the contrast. And yet we're going to walk around by the Kotel and they're giving them out. No, it's called a brilliant business plan. You know that red spring is a סגולה segulah for the people who sell it. That's who it's a סגולה segulah for. You know what the number one סגולה segulah for פרנסה parnasah is? Having a job. It's the number one סגולה segulah for פרנסה parnasah, having a job. So you see this tension throughout and you see it in many places. Rabbi Leibtag develops it, but it's developed by many others also. By the way, you also see, my brother once gave a חבורה chaburah here in the shul, also proving, I wish he had more time, and you see it alluded to here even with Lot. The difference between fruit and vegetables. Fruit are obligated in תרומות ומעשרות trumos u'maasros, tithing. Vegetables only rabbinically. Vegetables really technically are not. Where do vegetables come from? They're irrigated. by the ground, they come all year round. The fruit relies on the rain. They are very, very different, and they represent our our philosophy as well. You have our patriarchs begging their children, whatever you do, don't bury me in Egypt. Yosef, when you leave, you must take me out of Egypt. Whatever you do, don't leave me in Egypt. Egypt, Israel is described as a good land, right? In in דברים פרק ח' Dvarim perek chet, השם אלוקיך מביאך אל ארץ טובה Hashem Elokecha miviacha el eretz tova. Israel's described as a good land, but the Jewish people feel Egypt is an even better land. And this is the the struggle when we're going through our adolescence in the desert, when God's taking us out, we're tempted to want to go back to Egypt. How do we describe that? How do we describe that? What does it say? Shockingly, I never understood this until now, when the nation, במדבר, ויהי העם כמתאוננים רע באזני השם Bamidbar, vayehi ha'am k'miton'nim ra b'oznei Hashem, when they're complaining, במדבר Bamidbar chapter 11, God hears them. What is it that they want? זכרנו Zacharnu, we remember הקישואים, האבטיחים hakishu'im, ha'avatichim. The cucumbers and the watermelons. What are those? Vegetables. We owe from the ground. We remember this was my brother's חדוש chiddush. I heard this from my brother. They say, we remember the vegetables. In other words, we're here in the desert, the manna falling from God. We don't want to rely on God, Moshe. Take us back to Egypt. We want a Nile. We want a river. We want the Jordan river. We want a river that's going to irrigate. We want vegetables. We want to be able to depend consistently on the ATM machine, on the income. We don't want a life where you have to be worthy and merit and pray and have faith. We don't want that. We want it to come no matter what. We want the ATM machine to spit it out, no matter what. So, that's what's really going on here, just beneath the surface, that's what's really going on. אברהם Avram in the debate between אברהם Avraham and לוט Lot and their split and going in two different directions, is a clash of civilizations, that Egypt lacks, Egypt is a independent place, it has the Nile. Israel relies on the rainfall, is a place of dependence on השם Hashem. And therefore, ultimately what this really is, is a, is a debate of philosophy. אברהם Avram chooses a lifestyle with השם Hashem. לוט Lot chooses to dismiss the yoke of השם Hashem, and you see the results, לוט Lot moves to סדום Sdom and ultimately needs his uncle אברהם Avram to come and to save him.
