Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב boker tov and welcome back to the Parsha Perspectives for today, our weekly examination of the weekly Torah portion, the weekly פרשה parsha and its messages in a very contemporary fashion for our daily lives. I want to thank our generous sponsors of the Parsha series, dear friends, Becky and Avi Katz, in memory of David Grossman, Becky's father, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנש l'iluy nishmas David ben Menachem Monish. Thank you so much for your sponsorship. And if anyone would like to sponsor a future שיעור shiur, in addition to the series sponsor, you can email Lee at brsonline.org, Lee at brsonline.org. Thank you so much for all of our sponsors over the years in advance.Okay, let's get started. פרשת לך לך Parshas Lech Lecha, page 54 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. And of course, as always, so much to say on this incredible, incredible פרשה parsha and the story of our birth as a people. We're introduced to אברהם Avram on the scene. אברהם Avram is 75 years old. And the Torah speaks to us as if we already are familiar with him, as if we already know so much about him, even though we're really meeting him for the first time. ויאמר השם אל אברם לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך אל הארץ אשר אראך Vayomer Hashem el Avram lech lecha me'artzecha umimoladetecha umibeis avicha el ha'aretz asher areka. Hashem says to אברהם Avram, לך lech. He doesn't give a destination, he doesn't say where he's going. He doesn't give coordinates. He says לך לך lech lecha, go to you. Go discover who you are and what your life is about. How does one discover who they are? We've spoken about this a lot in the past. We're not going to revisit it at length now. But how does one discover who they are? The answer is that you have to transcend your background, your DNA, your surroundings. You have to transcend so much about you in order to discover who's the real you. You have to peel back all of those layers. You have to peel back the layers of מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך me'artzecha umimoladetecha umibeis avicha, of your land, culture and its impact on you, of your relatives, the genetics, the DNA, of your father's household, what did you hear around the שבת Shabbos table? That doesn't mean that we reject where we come from. The opposite. We embrace it and we accept it, and we celebrate it. However, it means that while we accept it, and while we allow it to inform and inspire us, simultaneously, we're on a journey of לך לך lech lecha to discover who we are. לך לך lech lecha. Why doesn't Hashem give him the coordinates? אל הארץ אשר אראך El ha'aretz asher areka. We've spoken about this too in the past, because Hashem wants us to cultivate within ourselves that sense of searching, of yearning, of being seekers, of looking, of being a דורש doreish. So Hashem doesn't give the answer. He doesn't spoon feed. He says, intuit, follow your spiritual intuition, extend your spiritual antenna. We spoke about this a lot in the context of Hashem not giving us the coordinates of the בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash. The בית המקדש Beis HaMikdash plays such a central role in the Jewish people. And yet, Hashem doesn't say where it is. Where is this holy place? He simply says it is the place that you'll be דורש doreish, that you seek and that you search. And we see that from the very inception of our people that אברהם אבינו Avram Avinu is not told the coordinates of where. He's told לך lech. Go on a journey where? לך lecha, discover who you are, אל הארץ אשר אראך el ha'aretz asher areka, to the land that I sent you.Okay. הרב דרוק Rav Druk, that was quick, we got right into הרב דרוק Rav Druk. הרב דרוק Rav Druk has such magnificent insights. I'm so grateful for his ספר sefer, איש תמיד Ish Tamid, and this year we've been focusing on sharing different years we share different sources, but insights from הרב דרוק Rav Druk. So הרב דרוק Rav Druk says the following. צריך ביאור לאיזה צורך כתבה התורה כל כך בפרטות את סדר היציאה של אברהם אבינו מביתו Tzarich biur l'eizeh tzorech kasva haTorah kol kach b'pratus es seder hayetziah shel Avram Avinu mibeiso. If this is the introduction to אברהם אבינו Avram Avinu, tell us where he grew up, what his childhood was like, what we take for granted in the מדרשים Midrashim about his knocking down and breaking the idols of his father. Tell us how he discovered השם Hashem, ethical monotheism in a world of idolatry and paganism. Tell us so much more about אברהם Avram. But why the detailed itinerary of his journey? מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך Me'artzecha umimoladetecha umibeis avicha. Says הרב דרוק Rav Druk והנראה לומר שבאה התורה ללמד בזה v'ha'nireh lomar sheba'ah haTorah l'lamed b'zeh, there's a very, very important lesson. Every one of us are on a journey and each one of us is tested like אברהם אבינו Avram Avinu that we too have to go on this path to discover who we are and what our lives are about. And there's a very critical lesson here. שאי אפשר לקפוץ מדרגה לדרגה She'i efshar likpotz madreiga l'madreiga, כי בעבודת השם חייבים ללכת צעד אחר צעד בשביל לקנות קנין רוחני וחזק בסתר הנפש פנימה ki b'avodas Hashem chayavim laleches tza'ad achar tza'ad bishvil liknos kinyan ruchani v'chazak b'soch hanefesh pnima. Just like אברהם אבינו Avram Avinu had to go step-by-step, just like אברהם אבינו Avram Avinu could not skip, could not accelerate, could not expedite, but he had to go step-by-step. He had to go in an incremental, meaningful way. He had to first leave and transcend and rise above ארצך artzecha and then מולדתך moladetecha and then בית אביך beis avicha. What if he wanted to do it out of order? What if he first wanted to transcend or redefine himself beyond מולדתך moladetecha or beyond ארצך artzecha or beyond בית אביך beis avicha? What if he did it out of order? So says הרב דרוק Rav Druk, that's what the Torah is coming to tell us. It takes its critical real estate to give us the order and the detailed itinerary of his journey to remind us that when we are on a journey, you cannot skip steps. Don't change your outer garb before you're internally ready. Don't change or skip to certain חומרות chumros, stringencies, before you're keeping the core responsibilities. There has to be a step-by-step, and there's a danger. When a person skips steps, when they try to expedite or they try to accelerate their spiritual growth beyond a meaningful way, it can result in disaster. אברהם ידע סוד זה Avram yada sod zeh. אברהם Avram knew this. ולכן התחיל את תהליך התנתקותו קודם כל מהסביבה החיצונית V'lachen hischil es tahalich hisnatkuso kodem kol mehasviva hachitzonis. So אברהם Avram goes incrementally. He understood this. This journey has to be done methodically and strategically and thoughtfully. So the first thing he does is מהסביבה החיצונית mehasviva hachitzonis, מארצך me'artzecha. The first thing he transcends is the culture. To take the best from the culture, but to do so with a filter. And I don't mean a filter on our technology, though that is important, but I mean the culture around us. The culture we live in today is so rich and has so much to offer us. There is such wisdom. But there's an enormous difference between culture and pop culture. Culture is rich, and Jews have always contributed to and drawn from sophisticated culture. But pop culture is shallow and superficial and נארישקייט narishkeit at best, and often is morally corrupt and worse. And so a Jew has to know how to transcend and how to filter and how to rise above ארצך artzecha, הסביבה החיצונית hasviva hachitzonis. What culture versus pop culture do we allow into our homes and into our minds and into our hearts? How do we draw from and filter the best that will enrich us without exposing ourselves and our families to the worst, to that which will corrupt us? מארצו ומולדתו Me'artzo u'moladto. ורק לאחר מכן היה מוכשר וראוי להתנתק גם מבית אביו V'rak l'achar dichein hayah muchshar v'ra'ui l'hisnatek gam mibeis aviv. And then a person has to know within their own family, within their own home. Again, we have parents, we have family, we have ancestry, and we should be proud and we should embrace and we should absorb their lessons, their values, their ideals, their narrative. But it means we don't have to do so hook line and sinker. Sometimes we don't have to pay forward what are the idiosyncrasies at best and some of the the hangups and worse at worst. Just because our parents or grandparents or our ancestors had certain neuroses, just because they had certain fears, if God forbid they were abusive or had rage problems or had other practices, we don't have to pay that forward. We have the ability to filter again the best of what our DNA and our genes and the nature and nurture of our homes offers, but to filter it out from the worst. ואם היה מנסה להתחיל את תהליך היציאה דבר ראשון מבית אביו, לא הייתה עבודה זו מחזיקה מעמד כראוי V'im hayah menaseh l'haschil es tahalich hayetziah davar rishon mibeis aviv, lo hayta avodah zo machzikah ma'amad k'ra'ui. And if the order had been reversed, if Avram had first been told and if Avram had first attempted to transcend and filter and rise above his genetics and his family, it would have flopped, he would have failed. It had to first be an evaluation of culture versus pop culture. It then was an evaluation within his own family. It had to go step-by-step. This was the itinerary. This was the journey of personal growth of Avram, and this is the journal of personal growth in our own lives as well. And therefore the הרב דרוק Rav Druk continues, a חתם סופר Chasam Sofer, רבי משה סופר Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, פירש על דרך זה את הפסוק peireish al derech zeh es ha'pasuk. We have a פסוק pasuk in במדבר Bamidbar ולא יבואו לראות כבלע את הקדש ומתו v'lo yavo'u liros k'vala es hakodesh vameisu. ישנם אנשים שבעבודת השם רוצים לבלוע את הקדושה בבת אחת Yeshnam anashim sheb'avodas Hashem rotzim livloa es hakdusha b'vas achas, ותופסים בחיפזון להגיע לדרגה שאין להם אחיזה ושייכות עמה u'tofsfim b'chipazon l'hagia l'madreiga she'ein lahem achiza v'shayachus ima. Sometimes Jews, they want to swallow all of קדושה kdusha at once. They don't want to take bite size. They don't want to chew. They don't want to swallow. They want to stuff it all in their mouth and swallow it all at once. And you know what happens if you put too much in your mouth? If you have a little newborn, if you have an adolescent child and you're teaching them to eat and they put too much in their mouth at once, and they don't chew and they're not careful and they don't swallow, חס ושלום chas v'shalom, God forbid, they can choke. Says the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer on that פסוק pasuk in במדבר Bamidbar ולא יבואו לראות כבלע את הקודש ומתו V'lo yavo'u liros k'vala es hakodesh vameisu. If you try to chew too much spirituality, if you stuff too much spirituality in your mouth at once, you don't take bite size, you don't chew, you don't swallow, you don't digest, you could choke and spiritually die. על זה מזהיר הכתוב ואומר לא יבואו לראות כבלע את הקודש ומתו Al zeh mazhir hakasuv v'omer lo yavo'u liros k'vala es hakodesh vameisu. אם יבלע את הקדושה ולא יאכל אותה לאט לאט כפי ערכו יגיע למצב שימות בעבודת השם Im yivla es hakdusha v'lo yochal osa l'at l'at k'fi erko, yagia l'matzav sheyamus b'avodas Hashem, כי כל הקניין שלו לא יהיה אמיתי ki kol hakinyan shelo lo yihyeh amiti, because that entire acquisition of that holiness wasn't genuine, it wasn't authentic, it wasn't slowly, it didn't take root. It was fake, it was false, it was fraudulent. I've seen it, you've seen it. I remember back to my year or years in Israel post-high school, and I've seen it since then with post-high school students. Those who take steps that are too big, those who took bites that are too big religiously and spiritually before they're ready, not slowly, not incrementally, not with authenticity, it ends up being an enormous fail. ומתו v'meisu spiritually they die. So that the months they come back from Israel, they're so to say on fire, but they're on fire externally. They haven't grown and built it up internally. And if you fast forward the clock and look a year or two later, it's not that they've lost the fire, sometimes they've lost everything they've gained and they've set themselves back and regressed to even earlier than they were before their year in Israel. I'll never forget, I met somebody, my brother-in-law Zuffref had been just been back from my year in Israel, and he had a friend that his Zuffref and that friend spent the entire Shabbos with me sharing divrei Torah, exchanging divrei Torah on the Parsha and on Halacha and I was wowed, I was inspired, I was blown away by this friend and it came to my attention that this friend actually was no longer shomer Shabbos. And I couldn't reconcile in my mind, particularly a young mind that had just came back from my gap year, what do you mean he's been exchanging divrei Torah and he seems to be so religiously on fire. What do you mean? How could you describe that he's not shomer Shabbos? How does that make sense? I couldn't reconcile it. And it was explained to me that in Israel, he grew too fast and he was encouraged to grow too fast and he took on too many stringencies and too many external manifestations of that growth and it didn't come slowly and incrementally and authentically and it wasn't able to take root so that it could blossom and sprout and grow. And when he came back, he did too much and by doing too much too fast, he ended up losing it all. He ended up losing it all. That is a danger. Who Mashi'ira im Nadav v'Avihu shebikshu la'alos b'madregos hakdusha l'madreiga she'me'ever l'hasagasam v'nitpesu al kach. He says, Rav Druk, maybe that's where Nadav v'Avihu, Aaron's two sons went wrong as well. They too, they tried to grow too fast. They took bites that were too big. They couldn't chew, they didn't swallow, it wasn't real, it wasn't slow. And so this itinerary of Avram Avinu, we're introduced to Avram Avinu. Here's his itinerary, here's his agenda. What do I need the details? Just tell me that Avram set on a journey towards Eretz Yisrael. What do I need me'artzecha umimoladetecha umibeis avicha? And says Rav Druk, because this is the formula of personal growth. And not only is it a formula that these are the three steps, these are the three steps specifically in this order. We have to go in this order. Don't change the order. If you change the order and you don't go from little to big, if you're not adding, if you try to go too fast, you will flop and you will fail. B'sod zeh yesh l'faresh gam kein es haGemara b'Maseches Sotah. And with this he explains the Gemara in Sotah. Tanya hayah Rabbi Meir omer. The Gemara in Sotah says that Rabbi Meir used to say, Ma nishtanah techeiles mikol minei tziv'onin. Why was the color תכלת techeiles chosen to be on ציצית tzitzis? Thanksgiving night, this year on Thanksgiving night, after you fill your belly with turkey, you can fill your נשמה neshama with Torah. Thanksgiving night, after the סעודה s'udah, we're going to have a special evening of learning. We have הרב שכטר שליט\"א HaRav Shachter shlit\"a, הרב אריה ליבוביץ HaRav Aryeh Leibowitz, and הרב ד\"ר שבתאי HaRav Dr. Shabtai is going to do a presentation all about תכלת techeiles. We'll see the history, the science, the chemistry of תכלת techeiles. הרב שכטר HaRav Shachter will talk about his view of תכלת techeiles. הרב ליבוביץ HaRav Leibowitz will contrast the different views of תכלת techeiles. So the Gemara in Sotah says why was תכלת techeiles, this turquoise, this bluish color, bluish greenish color, why was it chosen? So says the Gemara, Rabbi Meir teaches, why? Mipnei she'hatecheiles domeh l'yam v'yam domeh l'rakia v'rakia domeh l'kisei hakavod. Because this magnificent color is similar to the sea and the sea reminds us of the heavens and the heavens reminds us of the throne of glory. U'chvar niskashu rabim. And many ask, im hatecheiles domeh l'yam, if the תכלת techeiles is similar to the sea and the sea is similar to the heavens and the heavens to the כיסא הכבוד kisei hakavod, why don't we just skip the middle steps? Why don't we just say that תכלת techeiles was chosen why? To remind us of the כיסא הכבוד kisei hakavod. Just skip the middle steps. Ela habiur hu al pi darkeinu. Says Rav Druk, this fits exactly with the insight he's been building. Shegam b'zeh ba'u Chazal l'horos lanu es hayesod hagadol, i efshar likpotz dargos b'avodas Hashem. You cannot skip steps in personal growth. Ein efsharus l'hagia me'hatecheiles yashar el kisei hakavod. You cannot go straight from the תכלת techeiles to the כיסא הכבוד kisei hakavod. You have to go תכלת לים ים לרקיע רקיע לכיסא הכבוד techeiles l'yam, yam l'rakia, rakia l'kisei hakavod. There's an order, there's a formula, there are steps to take. Lachen tzarich laleches b'hadra'ga me'hatecheiles el hayam, u'me'hayam el harakia, v'az ka'asher avodah zo na'asis b'mesirus u'v'hadra'ga hamachshavis, efshar l'hagia l'madreiga ha'elyona la'amod lifnei kisei hakavod. Zeh ma sheba'ah haTorah l'lamdeinu b'nisayon shel Avram Avinu. And that's what the Torah is communicating to us. Gam hitzliach la'amod banisayon al yedei shekilkel es tza'adav b'tvuna. How do you get to the destination? You put one foot in front of another. And if you try to jump, if you try to skip, if you take steps that are too big, you will fall and you will fail. You have to take steps one foot in front of the other and you will get to where you are meant to go. That is the first insight, Rav Druk on לך לך Lech Lecha. Let's stick with Rav Druk. Let's stick with Rav Druk on לך לך Lech Lecha. Pasuk says, Vayomer Hashem el Avram, lech lecha me'artzecha mimoladetecha mibeis avicha el ha'aretz asher areka. And the pesukim go on. V'e'escha l'goy gadol. God says, I'm gonna make you a great nation. V'avarechecha, and I'm going to bless you. V'agadla shmecha, and you're going to have a great name. Vehyeh bracha. And vehyeh bracha. We mentioned last year, I'm not reviewing last year, but we mentioned last year many interpretations, the Ramban, the Sforno. What are these words vehyeh bracha? He just said, he's about to say v'avarcha mevarachecha. He just said v'avarechecha. V'avarechecha v'agadla shmecha v'heyey bracha. So we saw many interpretations of what it means, but my favorite was of Rav Hirsch. And Rav Hirsch says, what does it mean vehyeh bracha? Vehyeh bracha, it doesn't say v'hayisa nisbarech, be blessed. It says vehyeh bracha. Our mission in life is to be a ברכה bracha, be a blessing for others. Wake up every day and look at your family and friends, your coworkers, your community members, your neighbors and say, והיה ברכה vehyeh bracha, how can I be a blessing to them today? That is our mission. That is our job. And then of course, the pasuk, 4:12, all non-Jews, at least all 12:4 rather, all non-Jews know this. I shouldn't say all non-Jews, evangelicals know this. V'avarcha mevarachecha, those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed. And we wish, we only wish that Jews believed in this pasuk as much as evangelical Christians do. That that others can earn their destiny through their relationship and interaction with the Jewish people. Now notice, it is not descriptive, but it is prescriptive. It says, what does it say? That people will be blessed through us if we earn it. It's not an entitlement, it's a responsibility to live a life in which we'll earn that bracha. Rav Druk wonders here, he quotes the רמב\"ם Rambam in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos and he quotes רבנו תם Rabbeinu Tam in his ספר הישר Sefer HaYashar, who both say this is the first test that אברהם Avram endured. Why is the רמב\"ם Rambam commenting in פרקי אבות Pirkei Avos? Because in Ethics of our Fathers, it says that אברהם Avram endured 10 tests. But the רמב\"ם Rambam and the רבנו תם Rabbeinu Tam say of the 10 tests that אברהם Avram, our forefather, our patriarch, Abraham endured, this was the first of the 10. That הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Almighty told him, get up, rise up, don't just be the composite result of everything around you, but journey to you, discover who you are. And that is the first test. However, in פרקי דרבי אליעזר Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, the Medrash it says, הניסיון השלישי, תילתולו מבית אביו ומארץ מולדתו Hanisayon hashlishi, tiltulo mibeis aviv u'me'eretz moladto. ותו קשה לאדם יותר מכל V'hu kasheh l'adam yoser mikol. This was not the first, but it was the third test. ומניין שתילתולו, שלא נאמר ויאמר השם אל אברם לך לך U'minayin she'tiltulo? Shelo ne'emar vayomer Hashem el Avram lech lecha. וכן הוא מדרש רבי אליעזר אומר, עשרה ניסיונות נתנסה אברהם אבינו ועמד בכולם V'chein hu Midrash Rabbi Eliezer omer, asara nisyonos nisnasah Avram Avinu v'amad b'chulam. Avram was tested 10 times and he surpassed, he persevered with them all. And this is the third test, that at the moment that he was challenged to get up and rise up and don't just be the composite result of what he heard at his table and what he heard in school and what he sees on his social on his smartphone. And this is the hardest of all the tests, the hardest of all the tests. ועם כל פי כן לא איחר אברהם לצאת V'af al pi chein lo icher Avram lotzeis. Avram didn't delay and Avram didn't hesitate and Avram didn't demur. He got up courageously and tenaciously and he stepped one foot in front of the other לך לך lech lecha, he began this journey. And wonders Rav Druk the question that I hope is bothering you. יש לעיין מה היה הניסיון בדבר Yesh la'ayin ma hayah hanisayon badavar. What exactly is the test here? Not only do these others characterize this as the third test, not the first, but they say of all the 10 tests, this is the hardest. This is the hardest? What's the test? God didn't say to him, I want you to leave all your material possessions behind and I want you to go live in a cave and I want you to live a life of poverty. What does God say to him? He says to him, ואעשך לגוי גדול v'e'escha l'goy gadol, I'm going to make you a great nation. And I'm going to bless you and I'm going to make your name great. You're going to win the lottery. You're going to make millions and billions of dollars. You're going to have more followers and friends, your reputation will be big, and everybody's going to want to be like you. What exactly is the test? I want you to get up and leave your father's home and buy a lottery ticket that you are going to win. You will make millions and billions and the world will admire you and want to follow you and be like you. What exactly is the test? וביותר הדבר תמוה, הרי אברהם לא היה לו זרע U'v'yoser hadavar tamua, harei Avram lo hayah lo zera. ובודאי חשק מאוד בזרע U'vadai chashak me'od b'zera. Avram had no children at this time. And of course Avram wanted nothing more than offspring. He wanted nothing more than progeny. And God says to him, ואעשך לגוי גדול v'e'escha l'goy gadol. So not only does he is he promised material wealth, he's promised offspring, a legacy, which what he so desperately wants. He's 75 years old. פשוט וברור שיעשה כל השתדלות שיהיה לו זרע Pashut u'varur sheya'aseh kol hishtadlus she'yihyeh lo zera. Of course he'll do everything. People have done much more. Fertility treatments, they've gone far above and beyond to try to have children. And what's Avram's big test to have children? Get up, rise up, set on a journey. I'll tell you where you're going, but here's the promise, you'll be rich and you'll have children when you get there. What does it mean? ובוודאי אם הזוג הערירי שאומר להם חכם גדול לנסוע לחוץ לארץ ושם יזכו לבנים U'vadai im hazug ha'ariri she'omer lahem chacham gadol linsoa l'chutz la'aretz v'sham yizku l'vanim. If somebody went to an expert doctor who told them you need to travel to another destination and there you'll have children, of course they're going to go. So what's the big deal here? How is this not only a test at all, how is it considered by some to be the biggest test? עוד יש להוסיף בתמיהה על ניסיון זה, מה שכתב בספר אבי עזרי על ניסיון העקידה Od yesh l'hosif b'tmiha al nisayon zeh, ma shekasav b'sefer Avi Ezri al nisayon ha'akeida. והלא השם נגלה אליו ודיבר עמו ואמר לו במפורש לך לך מארצך. ופרש לו המפרש שכל מקום לטובתו. V'halo Hashem niglah eilav v'diber imo v'amar lo b'meforash lech lecha me'artzecha. U'peresh lo hamfaresh shekol makom l'tovaso. God tells you to do something, how could you hesitate? How could you pause? Of course Hashem is in charge, if he tells you to do it, it's to do his to do the best. So where is even the test? So listen to what he says. A very, very important lesson again, not just to understand the Parsha, but an important lesson for each and every one of us. נראה לברר בהקדם דברי השפת אמת Nireh l'varer b'hekdem divrei haSfas Emes. The great שפת אמת Sfas Emes, the Gerer Rebbe writes, מה שהבטיחו הקדוש ברוך הוא כל כך הבטחות, נראה כי היה להגדיל הניסיון, לראות אם יחזיק עבור השכר ma she'hivticho HaKadosh Baruch Hu kol kach havtachos, nireh ki hayah l'hagdil hanisayon, liros im yachazik avur hasachar. See, we misunderstand, it's a קלאץ קשיא klotz kasha. The assumption in the question was wrong, and that's why there's no question to begin with. Where is the assumption in the question wrong? We said Avram is promised all of these great things. Where's the test if you have all these promises? And the answer is the reason that there are all these promises is to distract from the test. Why would Avram be going on the journey? What was driving Avram? What was Avram trying to fulfill? Was he going because he was promised wealth? Was he going because he was promised reputation? Was he going because he was promised progeny? Or was he going because God said, get up and go. And when God says, jump, we say how high. וזהו שאמר הכתוב וילך אברם כאשר דיבר אליו השם V'zehu she'amar hakasuv vayelech Avram ka'asher diber eilav Hashem. רוצה לומר, שלא מחמת ההבטחה הרכה, אלא מחמת הדיבור הקשה Rotzeh lomar, shelo machmas hahavtacha haraka, ela machmas hadibur hakasheh. לא אמר לו כן אלא לנסותו Lo amar lo kein ela l'nasoso. That was part of the test. Giving him the promise of wealth, giving him the promise of of a reputation, that was all designed to be part of the test, part of the test. You see, when we go on our own personal journey towards God, when we are on our own journey towards spirituality, the question is, why are we doing it? Is it because we think that Torah or observing Judaism brings greater wealth, brings greater reputation? Is it it positions us for happiness in life? Or are we doing it because there is a master of the universe, there is a creator to whom we are accountable and to whom we have to report. I'll never forget, I once met with a woman who was a בעלת תשובה baalas teshuva. And she told me, I don't understand, I'm struggling financially and I'm struggling in my marriage, and my children with my נחת nachas. But you know, the רב Rav who was מקרב mekarev me, the rabbi who drew me close to a Torah way of life, told me that Torah will enrich my life. And if I just keep Torah, my life will be filled with blessing and everything will go well and smooth and be perfect. And I told her, I said, that rabbi should lose his סמיכה smicha. It's malpractice. What that rabbi told you was horrifilly wrong. We don't observe Torah and mitzvos, we don't embrace this lifestyle because it's filled with some guarantee. There are people who observe Torah who have health crises and who have financial crises and who have relationship crises and who struggle with infertility in every other area of challenge. And nevertheless, we do it anyway because it's the right thing to do, it's the correct thing to do. It's what we're asked to do. And of course, it is what also, come to our Wednesday morning אמונה שיעור emunah shiur, when we do it, it also gives us the tools, it gives us the strength, it gives us the courage and the faith to be able to endure and persevere through whatever challenge, crisis that we are being tested with. But ultimately, there's no guarantee that comes with it. We don't do it because it's supposed to come with an easy life. I've told you before my own personal suggestion that maybe that's what Yaakov is telling Paro, fast forward many parshios, when Yaakov comes down to Egypt and Yosef has the chance to introduce his father Yaakov, the leader of the spiritual world, to his mentor, Paro, the leader of the physical world. And they talk and they have a bizarre conversation. Paro says to Yaakov, how old are you? And Yaakov tells him, I'm an old man, but my life hasn't been easy. Why would Yaakov tell him that? That's the message? It comes across so, so miserable. Is that the message you tell, you're meeting the emperor of the world, and that's what you say? And we've suggested previously, and it fits here exactly with this Rav Druk's understanding of this test of Lech Lecha, is that לך לך lech lecha, when we go on this journey to discover God and the implications and the consequences of discovering God, we don't do it because it promises us some guarantee of a life of happiness or a life of comfort, a life of convenience or a life of ease. We do it because it's right. And we do it because it's righteous and we do it because it's virtuous. And that's what Yaakov was telling Paro. He says, you know, you're impressed that I am such a spiritual being. You're impressed that I'm the גדול הדור gadol hador, so to say? Know that my life hasn't been easy. I live a spiritual life because it's righteous, not because it promises ease, comfort, or convenience. לך לך Lech lecha. God says, set out on this journey and set out on this journey because it's right and it's righteous, not because it's easy. And therefore, the promise, the promises of ואעשך לגוי גדול v'e'escha l'goy gadol, I'll make you a great nation. And the promise of ואברכך v'avarechecha, I'm going to bless you, you're going to be rich. And the promise of ואגדלה שמך v'agadla shmecha, you're going to have a huge platform, more followers and friends than anyone else, a big podcast and a big talk show. All those promises were not the test, they were the distraction from the test. The test was, would Avram go because of those or would Avram go because God said so? And very similarly, that is the test that we have in our own lives. When the rubber meets the road, when we hit the wall, when our Judaism seems incompatible with parts of our life, are we still on the journey of לך לך lech lecha? Do we walk away and do we abandon? Do we only stick with it when it all makes sense? Do we only stick with it when it comes comfortably and conveniently, or do we stick with it because it's true and it's right and it's righteous even when it's hard and even when it's difficult and even when those promises don't come. So God gave those promises not because he wasn't going to follow through. Of course, he was going to follow through. It's why he made those promises. But he gave those promises to see what would drive Avram. Was he really going for the right reason or not? You know, in in marriage you see that. Someone can fall in love and the girl or boy want to know, do you love me for who I am or do you love me because my family has wealth or my family has prominence? Or do you love me for some external reason? True, if you marry me, you'll have access to that comfortable life. True, if you marry me, you'll have access to that יחוס yichus which may open doors for you. But that shouldn't be why you're marrying me. Marry me because you love me. And God says, לך לך lech lecha. Yeah, ואברכך ואגדלה שמך, אעשך לגוי גדול v'avarechecha v'agadla shmecha, e'escha l'goy gadol, you'll have access to all those things. But now I want to know why are you on this journey towards a romantic marriage and love with me? Is it for the right reasons or is it for the wrong reasons? Okay, moving right along. So Avram, of course, we know, steps up and he passes the test. וילך אברם Vayelech Avram, he gets up and he heads out. כאשר דיבר אליו השם Ka'asher diber eilav Hashem, as Hashem told him, he takes Lot, and what else does he take? וייקח אברם את שרי אשתו ואת לוט בן אחיו Vayikach Avram es Sarai ishto v'es Lot ben achiv, takes his wife Sarai, and he takes his nephew Lot, את כל רכושם אשר רכשו es kol r'chusham asher rachashu, he takes all of his wealth, all of his material possessions and things, ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן v'es hanefesh asher asu b'charan, and he takes the souls that he made in Charan. ויצאו ללכת ארצה כנען ויבואו ארצה כנען Vayetzeu laleches artza Kna'an vayavo'u artza Kna'an. And they head out towards Canaan and they arrive in Canaan, which is bizarre. Why do we have to repeat they head out to Canaan and they arrive at Canaan? Listen to a previous פרשה שיעור parsha shiur because we've spoken about it. That is contrasting Avram's journey from Terach, his father. Terach set out on the same journey, only he failed. He got distracted by the nightlife of the metropolis that he ran into. But Avram kept on going from Charan and made it all the way to Canaan, whereas his father stopped in Charan and never kept going from there. But I draw your attention to the words, הנפש אשר עשו בחרן hanefesh asher asu b'charan. ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו Baruch atah Hashem Elokeinu melech ha'olam shehakol nihiyeh bidvaro.What does this mean, הנפש אשר עשו בחרן hanefesh asher asu b'charan? The souls, it literally translates to, the souls אשר עשו asher asu that they made. They made souls. You know, I hate that language. You ever hear a rabbi say, or a rebbetzin for that matter, or anyone, I made בעלי תשובה baalei teshuva. You know how many בעלי תשובה baalei teshuva I've made? You didn't make anything. Hashem is the only one who made people, and he made people with free will. And maybe you inspired them, and that's your job and the responsibility, but you didn't make anyone. That's one of those expressions that really, I have a pet peeve. I really have a little tolerance when people say, I made that person into a בעלת תשובה baalas teshuva, I made many בעלי תשובה baalei teshuva, I made countless בעלי תשובה baalei teshuva. You didn't make anything. Hashem is what makes people. They have free will. You offered them the inspiration that they took advantage of, and that is our job. So, interestingly, in the Artscroll, in the Rav Chumash, the OU Rav Soloveitchik Chumash, it translates a little bit differently. הנפש אשר עשו בחרן Hanefesh asher asu b'charan, translates the souls they had acquired in Charan. What's the difference between souls they made and souls they acquired? Souls they made and souls they acquired. Souls they acquired means that there were other individuals and souls who were exposed to the teachings of Avram and Sarah, and they were so inspired, they were so turned on by the teachings that they joined the mission. They joined the journey. They joined Avram and Sarah on this journey going forward. So listen to what Rabbi Soloveitchik writes here.In בהלכות עבודת זרה hilchos avodah zarah, the רמב\"ם Rambam provides the following narrative regarding Avram's early life. From the time this mighty person was weaned as a child, day and night, he started to wonder, how is it possible that this earth continually functions without a master? And who controls it? It's impossible for it to control itself. The earth has so many details, the minutia, the science, the physics, the metaphysics. How is it possible? Where did it come to be? Every building has an architect, every book has an author, every sculpture has a sculptor. So how could this magnificent earth, which is no less complex or sophisticated, how could it just come to be? Who is its designer? Who is its builder? These are the questions that Avram at a very young age was asking. That's what set him out on his journey. That's what he was thinking about. By the way, how was he able to think about that? Why was he able to think about that? What did he have that we lack tragically and all too sadly? Avram was able to think about that because he didn't have a smartphone. He wasn't on social media. He didn't have something buzzing and beeping. He wasn't looking down and scrolling. He wasn't watching Netflix or keeping up on with FOMO on Instagram. Our great nature patriarchs, patriarchs, they were shepherds. They were wandering in the field. They were thinking. Even that young child, take the smartphone or the device out of the young child's hands and they just might start asking those questions. They just might start thinking in that way. So Avram from a young age is asking those questions. He had no teacher, he had no one to explain. He was rather mired in the environment of Ur of the of the חסדים Chasdim, among the idolaters, including his parents. And Avram worshipped along with them. But his heart was restless until he eventually grasped the truth and understood the righteous path through correct intellectual reasoning, and he understood there was one God. Everything I just read to you is from the רמב״ם Rambam, הלכות עבודה זרה Hilchos Avodah Zara, in the first פרק Perek, הלכה גימל Halacha Gimel. Avram, this is the Rav now. Avram reached his conclusions regarding the existence of God while combating the influence of his pagan environment and his own parents. God did not reveal himself and provided no help to Avram in his quest. Avram made his discovery entirely on his own. The רמב״ם Rambam continues, Avram was 40 years of age when he recognized his creator. And once he understood, he started to raise questions to the population of Ur and to arrange debates with them and say their path was not correct. Avram's belief in God's existence solidified when he was 40 years of age.Yet השם Hashem did not reveal himself to Avram until he ordered Avram to enter the land at the age of 75. During that long interim period, that means that Avram had a career of 35 years, 35 years in the rabbinate, that he attempted to defend his newly found faith. He, right? השם Hashem never revealed himself, means between Avram's discovery that there's a God, Avram's own intellectual conclusion that if there's creation, there must be a creator, and God actually appearing to him, there's a 30-year gap between those two. 35-year gap between 40 and 75 years old. In those 35 years, Avram didn't sit back passively and wait for God. What did he do? He got up and he went out, and he preached. He got up and he went out, and he advocated, and he taught, and he inspired, and he defended. His peers surely scoffed at him, derisively inquiring, \"Avram, tell us, you say there's a supreme being. Have you ever seen him? Have you ever spoken to him?\" Avram searched for God without his help, providing God's existence through nature. Avram could neither point out nor display miracles to prove God's existence. Yet, despite the obstacles, he built a loyal following who shared his religious vision. And these are the נפש אשר עשו בחרן Nefesh asher asu b'Charan. Avram went on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter. Avram went on YouTube. Avram got on a soapbox in the corner of every park, and Avram got up and said, \"I want to talk about my discovery called God. I want to talk about his vision for a world of ethical monotheism, of selflessness, not selfishness. I want to talk about why he created this world and how we can better serve him and we can live in his image.\" He didn't keep it to himself.And the רבנן Rabbanan here answers a fundamental question that often people don't realize. We talk about Avram as the founder, as the one who discovered or initiated or introduced monotheism, but it's just not true. It's inaccurate historically. Avram didn't discover it, and Avram didn't initiate it, and Avram didn't introduce it. Avram was the first to preach it and share it. In fact, the תורה Torah itself is filled with אדם Adam talks to God, and נח Noach talks to God. נח Noach's offspring talk to God. And נח Noach's son שם Shem has the ישיבה yeshiva, שם ועבר Shem v'Eiver. So we know that there were those who preceded Avram who knew God. So how could you accurately talk about Avram as the father of monotheism? Of course, and clearly, he's not. So what's his greatness? How is he אברם אב המון גויים Avram Av Hamon Goyim? How is he a patriarch? And what is his position of distinction if it's not as the one who introduces monotheism? That's what the רמב״ם Rambam is telling us. For 35 years, Avram didn't keep that secret to himself. All those who came before him knew God, and they kept it to themselves. It surely, it inspired and it enriched and it elevated their lives, but they kept the secret to themselves. Avram is the first who doesn't keep it to himself. He gets up and he goes out and he shares it. And listen to the רב Rav. To know God means to have a desire to share one's knowledge with others, to bring the message to the ignorant and insensitive, and to those unfortunate ones who have not had the opportunity to learn and to study. A real scholar cannot contain what he knows within himself. He or she explodes. Knowledge entails a dynamic element. The knower becomes restless. The truth cries out from the inner recesses of his personality, and he must tell others. רב סולובייצ׳יק Rav Saloveitchik is so beautifully describing that if you know God, you can't keep it to yourself. If you keep it to yourself, perhaps you don't really know God. You're not really in love with God. To know and to love God is to be unable to keep that secret to ourselves.רש״י Rashi describes these converts as being brought under the wings of the שכינה Sh'china, an expression חז״ל Chazal use many times to express conversion. A person without God, a person who denies God or negates him, who drifts from him or is alienated from him, such a person is homeless and uprooted. He can never rest or enjoy peace of mind. He never has a feeling of security, no matter how powerful or wealthy he may be. Complete security and peace, harmony, and serenity can be found only in God. That is why שכינה Sh'china is like two large wings that cast shade, and in that shade, a person finds a cool place and protection against the heat, fatigue, desolation, and loneliness. Modern man has been alienated from God for so long, he's like a leaf carried by the wind. Under the wings of the שכינה Sh'china has the connotation of restfulness, of peace, of serenity, of rootedness, and of being anchored. I love this insight of רבי סולובייצ׳יק Rabbi Saloveitchik. It too is a message, but more than that, it too is a mandate for all of us that if we claim to really know and to love God, it means that we have to share and spread that knowledge, to not keep it to ourselves. The moment we keep it to ourselves, it's a question and an indictment about how well we really know him and how much we really love him.הנפש אשר עשו בחרן Ha'nefesh asher asu b'Charan. Avram and Sarah, because here רש״י Rashi by the way quotes that אברם מגייר את האנשים Avram m'gayer es ha'anashim, ושרה מגיירת את הנשים v'Sarah m'gayeres es ha'nashim. They were both powerhouses. Avram and Sarah were a power couple. She wasn't some meek רבנית rebbetzin hiding inside, but rather Sarah was Avram's equal, both preaching, teaching, advocating, both inspiring, both transforming the world around them. Transforming the world around them. A secret they were unwilling to keep to themselves. The greatest evidence of a love of השם Hashem was the fact that they put it out there, that they taught it. When you meet other human beings, other Jews, non-religious, observant Jews, you got to teach and preach God at the supermarket, in the gym, at work. You got to say, \"Please God,\" and \"Thank God,\" and \"with God's help,\" invoke God's name and talk God and share why you find your life is inspired by having God. That's what it means to be the progeny of Avram. That's what it means to walk in his way. That's what it means to be his children. There were those who came before Avram who knew God, but they didn't share it. Avram's the first to share, and we have to follow in his footsteps to be able to share as well.פרק י״ב, פסוק ג Perek Yud-Beis, Pasuk Gimel, moving right along. פרק י״ב, פסוק ט Perek Yud-Beis, Pasuk Tet, sorry, rather. It's pasuk says ויסע אברם הלוך ונסוע הנגבה vayisa Avram haloch v'nasoa ha'negba. Avram sets out and he journeys and he travels steadily. Where? ונסוע הנגבה v'nasoa ha'negba. He's going towards the south. God says get up and go. He goes and he goes to כנען Canaan. He's journeying throughout כנען Canaan, its width and its breadth. He starts to head south and all of a sudden, ויהי רעב בארץ vayehi ra'av ba'aretz, he encounters a famine. וירד אברם מצרימה לגור שם Vayered Avram Mitzraymah lagur sham, and Avram descends to Egypt to live there כי כבד הרעב בארץ ki chaved ha'ra'av ba'aretz. The famine is כבד chaved, it's heavy. And here the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the great אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim says the following. Last year we quoted some beautiful אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim in the פרשה parsha. Tempted to repeat them but I'm not going to. You can go back to the recording from last year. You know, we have a recording, we've done it so many years for every day of the week you could listen to another פרשה שיעור parsha shiur and and still have a few left over. So the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim says the following: ויסע אברם הלוך ונסוע הנגבה, ויהי רעב בארץ vayisa Avram haloch v'nasoa ha'negba, vayehi ra'av ba'aretz and so on. נתנסה אברם אבינו בניסיון העוני ובניסיון העושר Nisnasa Avram Avinu b'nisayon ha'oni, u'v'nisayon ha'osher. אברם אבינו Avram Avinu was tested in two ways. He's tested with the test of poverty and he's tested with the test of wealth. Both of those are tests. Now poverty, we know is a test, to live with faith and to live with courage and to live with values and virtue even when you're poor and struggling, that's a test. None of us want that test. The test of wealth, some of you might say, \"God, bring it on. Test me. I'm willing to take it on.\" The test of wealth though, make no mistake, is also a test. ועמד בשניהם V'amad b'shnayhem. And he observed, he surpassed both. נגבה Negba, the south, רומז לתורה romez l'Torah. כמאמר חז״ל, הרוצה שיחכים ידרים K'maamar Chazal, harotzeh sheyachkim yadrim. The גמרא בבא בתרא Gemara Bava Basra in דף כ״ה daf chaf hei says, הרוצה שיחכים harotzeh sheyachkim, a person who wants wisdom, ידרים yadrim, turn towards the south. The name of our שול shul's, the BRS Torah Journal is ידרים Yadrim. It's named ידרים Yadrim for this גמרא Gemara because the גמרא Gemara says you want wisdom, head south. Go to Boca Raton, Florida. That's where the wisdom is. I'm only half joking. In ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, the תלמידי חכמים Talmidei Chachamim were known to live in the south, and that's why they describe, you went south to gain wisdom. We today, it's a הלכה halacha of שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esreh. We think that we face east, but you know you're supposed to face sort of southeast. You face towards the south, that's where wisdom is. So הרוצה שיחכים ידרים harotzeh sheyachkim yadrim, that's why Avram was going הנגבה ha'negba towards the south. ויסע אברם הלוך ונסוע Vayisa Avram haloch v'nasoa, עלה תמיד מעלה מעלה הנגבה במעלות התורה הקדושה ala tamid mala mala ha'negba b'ma'alos ha'Torah ha'k'dosha. He was going south, he was growing in רוחניות ruchnius, he was growing in spirituality. אפילו כאשר היה ויהי רעב בארץ Afilu ka'asher haya vayehi ra'av ba'aretz. He was going הנגבה ha'negba, he was pursuing and learning and growing in תורה Torah even when ויהי רעב בארץ vayehi ra'av ba'aretz, even during a time of a famine. Even during a recession and a depression, even when the market was plummeting, even when he was struggling with his own resources. כשנתנסה בעוני ורעב ובנדודים והוכרח לרדת מצרים Kishe'nisnasa b'oni v'ra'av u'v'nidudim v'hochrach l'redes Mitzrayim. Even when he lacked resources and even when he was struggling financially, he was not struggling spiritually. He surpassed the test. ואברם כבד מאד במקנה בכסף ובזהב V'Avram kaved me'od b'mikneh b'kesef v'b'zahav. Later we read that Avram was כבד kaved. He was very weighty. He had a lot. He had a huge portfolio. He had amassed and accumulated an enormous amount of things, of wealth. Nevertheless, וילך למסעיו מנגב ועד בית אל vayelech l'masa'av mi'negev v'ad Beis El. He's still going south. So both when he was wealthy and when he was poor, he was always going south. What does it mean he was always going south? We use the term south in a pejorative sense. \"Things are going south for me. Everything's going south.\" For a Jew, going south is a good sign. Going south means it's going spiritually. South is synonymous with going spiritually. So the תורה Torah, not coincidentally, says the ויז׳ניצער Visionitzer says, says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, the תורה Torah says Avram was going south. He was going south when he was rich and he was going south when he was poor. He was always going south. It means he was always trying to grow spiritually. So we have to understand that part of the way that Avram is a mentor and a teacher for all of us is that Avram, no matter what in his life, was going south. It meant both when he was wealthy and when he was poor, he was always going south. Which is the harder test? Which is the harder test for Avram, being wealthy or being poor?So I saw an interesting פשט pshat. Fast forward to פרק י״ג, פסוק ב Perek Yud-Gimel, Pasuk Beis, ואברם כבד מאד במקנה בכסף ובזהב v'Avram kaved me'od b'mikneh b'kesef u'v'zahav. When Avram returns from this famine in Egypt, when he, when he's successful, he returns very wealthy, כבד מאד kaved me'od. Now, what word would I have expected the text to use? What word would I have expected the תורה Torah to employ? I would have thought it would say עשיר ashir. ואברם עשיר מאד V'Avram ashir me'od. Avram was extraordinarily wealthy, exceedingly wealthy. But it doesn't say that. It says Avram is כבד kaved. What does the word כבד kaved mean? כבד Kaved is the same word as כבוד kavod, honor. כבד Kaved means heavy. שהרכוש הרב הכביד עליו מאד She'ha'rechush harav hichbid alav me'od. So I saw this פשט pshat, I don't I don't know it doesn't say from whom, but it's quoted in a ספר sefer, a חסידישע ווארט Chasidisha Vart. There's two volumes, this is the second volume of a חסידישע ווארט Chasidisha Vart. So this is a חסידישע ווארט Chasidisha Vart, but I don't know from whom. I don't know which חסיד chasid said this חסידישע ווארט chasidisha vart. That why doesn't it say עשיר ashir? Why doesn't it say that Avram returns wealthy? It says he's כבד במקנה בכסף ובזהב kaved b'mikneh b'kesef v'zahav because what the text, what the תורה Torah means to tell us is that he's weighed down by his wealth. Avram is very worried about it. כי לגבי אברם אבינו, ניסיון העושר גדול ומכביד אף יותר מניסיון העוני Ki l'gabei Avram Avinu, nisayon ha'osher gadol u'machbid af yoser mi'nisayon ha'oni. The test and the challenge of wealth was even greater than the test and the challenge of poverty. He was worried. He was worried that the wealth would corrupt him. He was worried that the wealth would distract him. He was worried that the wealth would inflate his ego or his honor, or it would give him a bigger appetite for more things, or make him lose his sense of spirituality. כבד Kaved, it weighed on him. It was כבד מאד kaved me'od, it was very weighty, and it weighed on him a lot. It's interesting that word כבד kaved is used both the רעב ra'av כי כבד הרעב בארץ ki kaved ha'ra'av ba'aretz, and then כבד במקנה בכסף kaved ba'mikneh ba'kesef. He was that word כבד kaved is used in both contexts, both with the poverty and with the wealth, because כבד kaved means weighty. כבוד Kavod, honor is weighty. What do we show כבוד kavod to? What do we give weight to? What do we treat as being weighty? That's why it comes from the exact same word. We said ויהי רעב בארץ vayehi ra'av ba'aretz, there was this famine in the land. רבי סולובייצ׳יק Rabbi Saloveitchik has a comment here that I want to share with you. ויהי רעב בארץ Vayehi ra'av ba'aretz. Why did God cause a famine to develop in the land? He just told Avram, \"Get up and go to כנען Canaan, to the land of Israel.\" That's where you belong, that's the land I gave to you, that's the land I'm giving your children. So if you just got Avram, get up, and you just had him pass the test where he went to the land, why now are you reversing course? Why are you sending him back to Egypt? רש״י Rashi says the reason was לנסותו l'nasoso, to test Avram. How would he react to Egyptian culture and civilization? Would he be overwhelmed and succumbed to Egyptian society, to its ideals, its philosophy, its views? Or would Avram resist and emerge triumphant, keeping his faith? Avram had to go to Egypt to see what Egypt was. It was fascinating at that time and very attractive. God later repeated the test twice more. יעקב Yaakov went to חרן Charan and יוסף Yosef went to Egypt. To show that a Jew can live in exile and still retain his spiritual identity, either in poverty, as a day laborer or shepherd, or in riches, in luxury as the prime minister of a foreign country. תורה Torah describes how God tested the patriarchs because these tests were characteristic and indicative of the destiny of their descendants. מעשה אבות סימן לבנים Ma'asei avos siman l'banim. Avram came out of Egypt not only retaining his identity, but even more powerful spiritually. What a fantastic insight.So throughout ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis, throughout the book of Genesis, our patriarchs and matriarchs go live in foreign lands. Avram goes on this detour to Egypt. יעקב Yaakov goes on a detour to חרן Charan. יוסף Yosef goes on more than a detour back to Egypt. Why? To tell us that a Jew and Judaism, a life of monotheism, a life of תורה Torah, a life of God, is not only reserved for in the land of Israel, the land of our destiny, but wherever a Jew finds himself or herself, wherever we are and wherever we wind up, we can live richly and must live richly Jewish lives. It's not reserved for כנען Canaan or ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael for the land of Israel. And not only can the Jew live in exile, not only must the Jew succeed and thrive in exile. It means even no matter what our state in exile. Sometimes in exile, we're in a place of wealth and prominence. Sometimes in exile, we're in a place of poverty and persecution. We have examples of both among our patriarchs and matriarchs. They lived in both conditions, both in exile as a model for us, as a source of strength for us, as a precedent for us to tap into and to draw strength from and to realize that we too can live in that in that way.Okay, skip ahead. פרק י״ד, פסוק י״ד Perek Yud-Dalet, Pasuk Yud-Dalet. We're skipping right now. Avram and Sarah. Avram tells Sarah, I want you to tell them you're my sister. You're so beautiful. I didn't even notice it until now. Why didn't he notice it until now? And why does he first notice it now? What does that say about their marriage? Not for now. How could he tell her to lie? Isn't that against everything we believe? Why is that ethical? Moreover, I saw a question. Momentarily, Avram endures a fight of the kings. He rises up in order to liberate his nephew Lot. Why was he willing to fight for Lot, but he didn't fight for his wife? When it came to his wife, he says, \"Pretend you're my sister, I'm afraid, I don't want them to kill me.\" He wasn't willing to fight for his wife's dignity. He wasn't willing to rise and fight to defend the honor of their marriage. \"Pretend you're my sister.\" And with Lot, he was willing to fight. Why the difference between the two? These are all great questions, and they're your homework. I had to give you something to think about. But we're not going to cover them right now. He returns to Israel. Avram and Lot part ways. And why do they part ways? Because his nephew Lot is not really embracing his life. His nephew Lot, they both have livestock and there's enough room. Avram is not competing financially. He's very happy for his nephew to succeed, but his nephew, his livestock is eating that which doesn't belong to him. And that's stealing. He's a thief. And Avram cannot be identified or associated with such a חילול השם chillul Hashem, with such behavior. So Avram tells his nephew Lot, \"We've got to go two different directions. It's time to break up. We got to take two different paths. Which way you want to go, I'll go the opposite way.\" Why Lot chooses the way he chooses and why he's drawn where he's drawn and the contrast to Avram, we've discussed in previous years and I encourage you to check it out. It brings us to chapter 14, which is the war of the, the war of the kings. ויהי בימי אמרפל Vayehi b'mei Amrafel, the war of the kings, in the days of Amrafel. So go to פרק י״ד, פסוק י״ד Perek Yud-Dalet, Pasuk Yud-Dalet. It's on the bottom of page 62. The bottom of page 62 in the ArtScroll חומש Chumash. וישמע אברם כי נשבה אחיו Vayishma Avram ki nishba achiv. Avram heard that his kinsman was taken captive, his brother. וירק את חניכיו Vayarek es chanichav, he armed his disciples who had been born in his house, ילידי ביתו yelidei beiso, שמנה עשר שלש מאות וירדוף עד דן shmonah asar shlosh meos vayirdof ad Dan. So Avram right now gets ready, he secures his army, he's going to liberate, he's going to free, he's going to redeem his nephew, he's going to enter the fray of this fight of the kings. What is going on over here? Let's spend a few minutes on this.I want to share with you a few insights. First from רב סולובייצ׳יק Rav Saloveitchik. The רב Rav says the following. When Avram heard that Lot was taken captive, a normal reaction on his part would have been to say, \"What would you say?\" Your nephew Lot, who you were only good to and you raised and you paid his tuition, you gave him his first job, you took care of him, you took him on all your vacations, and you took him away on the פסח Pesach program. You did everything in the world for this nephew Lot. And despite everything you did, he rebelled against you and he became a thief and he became a robber and he lived morally corrupt and then he went to live in a morally corrupt place. And in that morally corrupt place, he met his match. He was taken captive. What would someone else have said, a lesser person? They'd say, \"It serves him right. I warned him not to cast his light with Sodom. I told him, don't go to Sodom. You're going to assimilate and you're going to intermarry, you're going to be in grave spiritual and physical danger. Don't go to Sodom.\" And what happens in Sodom? What happened in Sodom? So if you were a lesser person than Avram, what would you say? \"Serves you right, told you not to go.\" Lot rejected Avram's demanding of God, preferring a pleasure-seeking society. Yet Avram did not react this way. Lot is referred to here as, what does the פסוק pasuk describe? He's referred to as Avram's brother. כי נשבה אחיו Ki nishba achiv. Avram heard that his brother. Is Lot his brother? No, Lot's not his brother. Lot is his nephew. And yet Lot is referred to not as his nephew, but as his brother to tell us that a Jew must feel a duty to save his brother even if his brother has departed from the righteous path. No matter where your brother is and no matter what they're doing, you have to save a brother. It's a beautiful project of רבי ליפסקער Rabbi Lipsker from Bal Harbour, called the Aleph Institute, a חב״ד Chabad project that takes care of Jews in prison. I've worked closely with them on many cases and you know, sometimes you hesitate and you say a Jew's in prison. What a חילול השם chillul Hashem, what did they do wrong to deserve being in prison? Maybe once a Jew has engaged in such behavior that they end up in prison, they should lose the right to the support of the Jewish community. Why are we helping them? But I've never come to that conclusion and I admire the Aleph Institute for the hard work it's done. The Aleph Institute never tries to excuse or never tries to rationalize the behavior of the people they're helping. What they're saying is, אחיו achiv, כי נשבה אחיו ki nishba achiv. That even when your brother has done something wrong, even when they're choosing a different path, their own path, you never abandon them. You have to help them. Avram rescued Lot not only because of love for a nephew, but because of a prophetic insight into the destiny of Avram's progeny would be intertwined with Lot's. That משיח Mashiach would emerge from Lot's daughters. He went to go rescue Lot. But the message for us, says רב סולובייצ׳יק Rav Saloveitchik, is that we too, a Jew is a Jew and a Jew is a brother and a Jew who needs help, don't defend their behavior and hopefully you support them in rehabilitating themselves from that behavior. But when a Jew needs help, you step up and you support that fellow Jew who is a brother, as you would your own brother, even if you don't identify with all their choices, but nevertheless, you step up for a brother and we too step up for each and every brother. Now the פסוק pasuk here said, says that when Avram goes to fight, how is it described? וירק את חניכיו Vayarek es chanichav. He arms. Whom does he arm? He arms his disciples. וירק את חניכיו Vayarek es chanichav. What does it mean that he arms his disciples? He arms his disciples. That's a very funny word. He arms his disciples. חניכיו Chanichav. So look at רש״י Rashi, חניכיו chanichav. Who is this he's arming? Who is his posse? Who is his gang? Who is his army? Who is he, who is he charging to be able to go and take this on? So רש״י Rashi says, חניכיו כתיב זה אליעזר Chanichav k'siv ze Eliezer, Eliezer, his loyal servant Eliezer. והוא לשון V'hu lashon, ready? Listen very, very carefully. This is what רש״י Rashi says. הוא לשון התחלת כניסת אדם או כלי לאומנות שהוא עתיד לעמוד בה Hu lashon haschalas knisas adam o kli l'umnus she'hu asid la'amod ba. רש״י Rashi describes the root of the word חניכיו chanichav is חנך chanech, which means to initiate a person or tool into the craft in which it is destined to remain. בכן חנוך לנער, חנוכת המזבח B'chein chanoch l'na'ar, chanukas ha'mizbeach. רש״י Rashi here is defining for us the whole term חינוך chinuch. We use the term חינוך chinuch to describe education. What is a role and what is the mission of parents and teachers in חינוך chinuch, in educating our children? What is חינוך chinuch? רש״י Rashi here so succinctly and so beautifully defines for us what the term, what the word חינוך chinuch means. You know what חינוך chinuch is? חינוך Chinuch is initiating a person or tool into the craft in which it is destined to remain. Identifying the mission of why that person or thing is here, and then to be מחנך m'chanech it means to inaugurate it. חנוכת הבית Chanukas ha'bayis. A person builds or buys a new home and they invite in normal times people over to celebrate. They host what we call a חנוכת הבית Chanukas ha'bayis. They are trying to utilize and channel that home for the purpose for which they have purchased it or built it. Similarly with children, חינוך chinuch is trying to draw out from within the child the very goal, the very potential for which that child is created. רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe comments on this רש״י Rashi, and he says, this is the mission of חינוך chinuch, of Jewish education. And he points out the following. Very interesting insight. You know it says, רש״י Rashi quotes חז״ל Chazal, when a child learns how to speak, the parent must teach them תורה צוה לנו משה Torah tziva lanu Moshe. And from here we derive that that's the הלכה halacha, that a father, the first words when a child learns to speak should be לשון הקודש lashon kodesh, should be Hebrew. And the first words the child speaks should be תורה Torah. תורה צוה לנו משה Torah tziva lanu Moshe, that God commanded the תורה Torah to משה Moshe. And if you didn't do that, say חז״ל Chazal, it's like you buried the child. That's pretty harsh if you ask me. If you didn't do that, if the first words you taught, I've been trying to teach my grandson זיידע zaideh, unsuccessfully so far. I think more successfully than others who listen. I think he's saying זיידע zaideh. But the first word you're trying to teach your your child, your grandchild have to be תורה צוה לנו משה Torah tziva lanu Moshe, Hebrew. And if you don't succeed in doing that, it's as if you buried a child. As if you buried a child. It's very harsh. So listen to what רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe says. He says the first moments of speech are the time to plant אמונה emunah in a child. Agriculturally, there are specific times for planting. If a person waits until after the rain to plant, nothing's going to grow. And the opposite's also true. If you plant prematurely, the seeds will not sprout because the ground is not properly prepared. Parents have to grab each opportune moment during the course of their child's education and make the most of them. And if they wait too long, they may very well have missed their chance. And if they try too early, the child will most likely not be ready to absorb the lesson. You have to catch the exact moment. And the same is true in חינוך chinuch with our children. There are moments where our children are more open, are more available, are more predisposed to listen. And as parents who are being מחנך m'chanech, it's חניכיו chanichav, we have to catch those moments. We have to plant and we have to water and we have to harvest all in the right time and all in the right moments. When the child first learns to speak, that's when you plant the notion of תורה צוה לנו משה Torah tziva lanu Moshe. That's when you put it inside them, and don't miss that opportunity because if not, you're accountable for missing the opportunity.The one who takes this רש״י Rashi and really does the most with it in my opinion that I've seen is the great פיאסצנה רבי Piaseczna Rebbe, whose יארצייט yahrzeit we just observed, the הייליגע איש קודש heilige Ish Kodesh, רב קלונימוס קלמן שפירא Rav Klonymus Kalman Shapira of פיאסצנה Piaseczna, השם יקום דמו Hashem yikom damo, murdered by the Nazis. The great פיאסצנה רבי Piaseczna Rebbe, in his monumental work called חובות התלמידים Chovos haTalmidim, which is a guide to students, a student's duty, a student's obligation, the introduction is not to students. The introduction is titled a discussion with teachers and parents. And here he defines the mission and the goal of חינוך chinuch. What is our job? What is our responsibility? What is it that we're trying to achieve in teaching children as parents and as educators? And he invokes this רש״י Rashi. It's well worth studying. I can't encourage you strongly enough. I'm going to read it. We have very little time left. I'm going to read it to you not in the original Hebrew. I'll read it to you, it's been translated. You can buy it. I think it was published by Jason Aronson, עליו השלום alav hashalom. Doesn't exist, that publishing house. I think it's been reprinted. It's called A Student's Obligation or A Student's Duty. And it includes this introduction. I'm going to read it to you from inside. He says the following. I'm not reading the whole thing, I'm just taking excerpts. The most essential task of education is to teach in such a way that the child will not stray from the path we have set for him, even when he grows older and is no longer under the parent's supervision. To truly educate is not just a matter of getting a child to follow your commands or even of accustoming a child to do good deeds. True education is much greater and more galvanizing process. Commanding and habituating children to a certain way of life are merely tools that may be used, but you have to do much more. He writes, in פרשת לך לך Parshas Lech Lecha רש״י Rashi gives a deep insight into the word חינוך chinuch in commenting on the word חניכיו chanichav. This word means, according to רש״י Rashi, he educated him towards the fulfillment of commandments. The root חינוך chinuch implies the initial entry of a person or an object into a trade or a path that is his destiny. The first we find the root חנך chanach referring to the education of a child, the consecration of the altar in the Holy Temple. There are strict parameters for the use of the word. One would not use it to refer to a craftsman who is beginning to work in a specific job, but was already an expert in his trade, or for a house that was just starting to be built. The proper usage of the word חינוך chinuch is for a person just beginning to teach himself a skill or for a building that has already been built and is just beginning to be used. רש״י Rashi is precise when he writes. The word חינוך chinuch is a special word that implies the realization of the already inherent capacity of a person or object, the actualization of a potential. This potential will remain hidden unless we bring it out. Our task is to cause the potential to emerge, to accomplish the חינוך chinuch that will transform the person into a skilled artisan, will cause the house or vessels to fulfill their functions, each room according to what it is best suited for, every vessel or instrument according to the task for which it was designed or prepared. When referring to the education of children, חינוך chinuch means stimulating the growth and development of what the child is suited by his very nature. Someone who's trying to educate through command and habituation need not pay attention to his child or student, to his nature, the way he thinks. And that's the wrong way to educate. We're not just trying to condition the child. We're not just trying to cause habits with the child. We're trying to inspire the child so the child embraces. And how do you do that? Only when you know the child. And that's what he describes. An educator, however, who wishes to uncover the soul of the child that lies hidden and concealed within him, who wants to help it grow and to ignite it so that it will burn with heavenly fire upwards towards the holy, so that the student's entire being, including his physical body, will increase in holiness and will long for God's Torah, such an educator must adapt himself attentively to the student, must penetrate into the mind of his limited consciousness and small-mindedness until he reaches the hidden soul, the hidden spark. I can't encourage you strongly enough to learn this and to read this. It is magnificent. And the great פיאסצנה רבי Piaseczna Rebbe here bemoans, he says too many of our educators, they're just teaching a curriculum, they're unloading information, they're teaching cookie cutter. They don't know their students. They don't know what makes them tick. They don't know who their students are. They don't know their students' background. They don't know their students' baggage. They don't know what inspires their students. They're just looking at what they see as one blur of all the students as if they are as one. And he says, a parent and a child and a teacher need to know the child if you're going to draw out the potential and bring it to reality, the חינוך chinuch, חניכיו chanichav, to initiate the exact root based on רש״י Rashi in our פרשה לך לך parsha Lech Lecha, then you need to know the child in order to be able to achieve that. Michelangelo put it well. Michelangelo said when he sees a block of marble, he sees already the statue, he sees the child in the statue, and his job is to chip away at the marble until it's revealed to the rest of the world. So it's not that he chips the marble until he creates the statue. He sees the statue in the marble and he chips away until the statue is revealed so the rest of the world can see it. A parent and a teacher have to chip away so the child himself can see it and the rest of the world can see it as well. There was much more to talk about. Oy, so much more in this פרשה parsha, but we'll have to save it for another time. Until next time, tomorrow morning, living with, we have Mrs. Shachman at 8:15, living with אמונה emunah at 8:45, and Behind the בימה Bima on location from Boca's new restaurant Roadhouse tomorrow night at 9:00. Stay happy.
