Transcript
Okay, may it be a good morning for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, for עם ישראל Am Yisrael, for ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, should be a good morning, it should be a good day, it should be a good week. We should have only בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות besorot tovot yeshuot v'nechamot.It's good to be back in person and back finding our חזק chizuk, our strength, insights and perspectives for today from the פרשה parsha. I want to thank as always our generous sponsors, Becky and Avi Katz and family, who sponsored the פרשה parsha series in memory of David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנוש l'ilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manush. This morning's פרשה שיעור parsha shiur is also sponsored by Robin and Eric Fruchman in commemoration of the יארצייט yahrzeit of Harold Deboate, צבי הירש בן יונה דב Tzvi Hirsch ben Yonah Dov, and by Elaine Trachtenberg, Andrea and Alan Lieberman, Doren Hill Leftkowitz, in memory of חיים צבי הירש בן בנימין Chaim Tzvi Hirsch ben Binyamin on his 10th יארצייט yahrzeit. His נשמה neshama should certainly have an עליה aliyah.Two reminders. One is right at the end of our פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, we'll divide up the תהילים Tehillim, and we'll finish all of ספר תהילים Sefer Tehillim on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Israel, the IDF who are engaged in heavy fighting right now deep in Gaza. Certainly they're in all of our thoughts and prayers, our hearts, all of the זכיות zechuyos of our learning should be in their in their merit. But please stay after, it'll take just a few minutes. If we divide up all of Tehillim among us, it'll go very quickly. Also, we ordered, believe it or not, it's very hard to find, but we ordered and custom made Israeli flags to put on your car, to proudly display, to show we're not embarrassed, ashamed, hiding, afraid. They're $5, proceeds go to the soldiers. They're available in the lobby right afterwards. So please feel free to participate in this effort.פרשת וירא Parshas Vayeira appears on page 78 in the Artscroll חומש Chumash. וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא והוא ישב פתח האהל כחם היום Vayeira eilav Hashem b'eilonei Mamre v'hu yoshev pesach ha'ohel k'chom hayom. Last week's פרשה parsha we were introduced to אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, and even though that was perhaps mid-story, we spoke last שבת Shabbos morning about the episode of the כבשן האש kivshan ha'eish that Avram already endured a test even before we came to know him when he survived the fiery furnace. Our enemies try to destroy us, all they do is give birth to a new us, a better version of us. We became a nation, we began again. They tried to incinerate and obliterate and exterminate Avram. He comes out of that fiery furnace, למעלה מן הטבע l'maalah min hateva, he supersedes nature, he transcends nature, he's bigger, stronger, more driven, more focused on his mission than ever. And the story continues in this week's פרשה parsha. Avram just had his ברית מילה bris milah. וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא Vayeira eilav Hashem b'eilonei Mamre. Hashem appears to Avram in אלוני ממרא Eilonei Mamre.I got a new ספר sefer. Our dear teacher and friend Rav Druk, Rav Yisrael Meir Druk שליט\"א shlita. We learned through his איש תמיד Ish Tamid for several years. He's coming out with a new series on פרשה parsha called להבות אש Lahavos Eish. להבות אש Lahavos Eish is along the same lines, but a new series, a continuation of the איש תמיד Ish Tamid. So he quotes Rashi, וירא אליו ה' Vayeira eilav Hashem, לבקר את החולה l'vaker es hacholeh. Why did Hashem come? Why does Hashem appear before Avram? We all know, we're all taught from a young age to visit the sick. Avram is recovering from surgery at an advanced age, the third day, the most precarious, the most painful day. So Hashem appears לבקר את החולה l'vaker es hacholeh, to visit the sick. אמר רבי חמא בר חנינא Amar Rabbi Chama bar Chanina, יום שלישי למילתו היה yom shlishi l'milaso haya, it was the third day. ובא הקדוש ברוך הוא ושאל בשלומו uva Hakadosh Baruch Hu v'sha'al b'shlomo. And Hashem came to inquire as to his well-being. Hashem came to see how he's doing. And wonders Rav Druk, יש להעיין yesh l'ayen, מה המקור לדברי חז\"ל שתכלית התגלותו של הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם היתה בשביל לבקר את החולה Mah hamakor l'divrei Chazal she'tachlis hisgaluso shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Avraham haysa bishvil l'vaker es hacholeh?Torah just tells us that Hashem appeared before him, and that Avram is sitting outside. And the next thing you know, Avram raises his eyes and sees these three what he thinks are wanderers. Of course, we know the story, they're angels. And then the conversation with Hashem, whatever it was, is abruptly interrupted because Avram pivots, and he shifts to go now practice his signature quality, הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim. So, what was, why did Hashem visit? How did חז\"ל Chazal know? Where do they see in the פסוקים psukim that the purpose of this visit is ביקור חולים bikur cholim? And moreover, וירא אליו vayeira eilav, לבקר את החולה l'vaker es hacholeh, Rashi says he jumps the gun. He's gonna quote חז\"ל Chazal, Rabbi Chama bar Chanina, that it was the third day after surgery, and he came to ask Avram how he's doing. But Rashi jumps the gun and before quoting חז\"ל Chazal says, he came to visit the sick. As it's taught, he came to visit the sick. So Rashi, what'd you add? Just quote the חז\"ל Chazal. He came to visit Avram and ask him how he's doing. What did Rashi add? לבקר את החולה L'vaker es hacholeh as it says, he came to ask him how he's doing. הלא רבי חמא בר חנינא הוא זה שאמר שהקדוש ברוך הוא Halo Rabbi Chama bar Chanina hu zeh she'amar she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu, he's the one who told us that. What did Rashi add? And listen to what Rav Druk says. הביאור בזה הוא Habiyur b'zeh hu, שעד כאן בכל הפרשיות עד עתה מצינו שנאמר ויאמר ה' אל אברם, וירא ה' אל אברם, וה' אמר אל אברם she'ad kan b'chol haparshiyos ad ata matzinu she'ne'emar vayomer Hashem el Avram, vayeira Hashem el Avram, v'Hashem amar el Avram. Until now, Avram's name is used. Hashem spoke to Avram, Hashem appeared to Avram, and Hashem said to Avram. אם כך יש לעיין במאי פרשתנו לשון הפסוק הוא וירא אליו Im kach yesh l'ayen b'mai parshaseinu lashon hapasuk hu vayeira eilav. Where's Avram? The parsha begins and he appeared to him, pronouns. All of a sudden we forgot names? Forgot Avram's name? Last week's parsha, Hashem appeared to him, Hashem spoke to him, Hashem said to him, to Avram, to Avram, to Avram. And now, וירא אליו ה' vayeira eilav Hashem. He appeared to him, Hashem. Why not say וירא ה' אל אברם vayeira Hashem el Avram? Why do we change to אליו eilav instead of invoking Avram's name? So says Rav Druk to answer all these questions. על כרחך יש לפרש Al karchacha yesh l'faresh שהקדוש ברוך הוא לא התגלה לאברהם אך ורק מחמת מעשיו, ענק שבענקים she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu lo hisgaleh l'Avraham ach v'rak machmas ma'asav, anak she'b'anakim. Why did Hashem visit Avram? Because Avram is a big influencer? Hashem wanted to get a selfie with Avram that Avram would post on his page, he's a big influencer, everyone would see millions would follow. He was visiting Avram because he was the גדול הדור gadol hador, the ענק שבענקים anak she'b'anakim, the giant of all the giants? No. הקדוש ברוך הוא בא אליו בכדי לקיים מצוות ביקור חולים, ולגבי ביקור חולים כולם שווים Hakadosh Baruch Hu ba eilav b'chdei l'kayem mitzvas bikur cholim, ul'gabei bikur cholim kulam shavim. גדול כקטן, עשיר כרש Gadol k'katan, ashir k'rash.שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch place states explicitly, in fact in שמחת החיים Smichas Chaim, we just began a new זמן zman with the הלכות ביקור חולים halachos of bikur cholim, we learned this הלכה halacha, I think it's in שין למד ה Shin Lamed Heh, comes from a גמרא Gemara in נדרים דף מ' Nedarim daf mem. אמר רבנן אמר רב מניין שהשכינה שרויה למעלה ממטתו של חולה שנאמר ה' יסעדנו על ערש דוי Omar rabbanan, omar Rav, minayin she'hashchina shruya l'maalah m'mitaso shel choleh, she'ne'emar Hashem yis'adenu al eres dvai. The Gemara there learns the story that the great Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Akiva left the בית מדרש beis medrash to go visit a תלמיד talmid. What do you mean? Let Rabbi Akiva send a שליח shliach. Let Rabbi Akiva send a text, a WhatsApp message. Let Rabbi Akiva write a note, send a telegram. Rabbi Akiva, the great Rabbi Akiva left the בית מדרש beis medrash to go visit a simple student. And שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch quotes from the גמרא נדרים Gemara Nedarim, you see that when it comes to visiting the חולה choleh, there is no hierarchy, there's no standing on ceremony, there's no greater and lesser, there's no superior and inferior, there's no richer and poorer, there's no smarter and less smart. Everyone's equal. Every חולה choleh deserves support and a visit. רומז כאן שהשכינה שרויה למעלה מראשותיו של כל חולה Romez kan she'hashchina shruya l'maalah mei'rashosav shel kol choleh. And in fact, it's above the head of every sick person that the presence of Hashem can be found most intensely. That is the tradition that we have. That's why you don't fulfill the מצוה ביקור חולים mitzvas bikur cholim unless you offer a תפילה tefillah. You could give a sponge bath, you could smuggle into the hospital a pastrami on club with mustard, Russian dressing, whatever you prefer. You could mop the floor of the hospital room, you could wet the lips, you could change out the IV. But if you leave the room without saying יהי רצון yehi ratzon, Hashem give my good friend the רפואה שלימה refuah shleima, you've not fulfilled the מצוה ביקור חולים mitzvas bikur cholim. Why? Cuz Hashem is in that room. He's above the head. He's right there present with the sick person, and you're not going to turn to him, you're not going to ask him, you're not going to דאווענען daven to him? One has to דאווענען daven, you don't fulfill the מצוה mitzva. לפי זה יש לדקדק L'fi zeh yesh l'dakdek says Rav Druk, that's why וירא אליו ה' vayeira eilav Hashem, because the Torah wants to communicate to us that Hashem didn't visit because Avram is a high profile dignitary, prominent, prestigious person. Why did Hashem visit? Because Hashem is present at the head of every חולה choleh. Those you've heard of and who are famous and those you've never heard of. ולא נאמר וירא ה' אל אברם V'lo ne'emar vayeira Hashem el Avram, כי סיבת התגלותו של הקדוש ברוך הוא לא היתה מחמת מעלתו אלא אליו ki sibas hisgaluso shel Hakadosh Baruch Hu lo haysa machmas ma'alaso ela eilav. He was a pronoun. Generic, ambiguous, אליו eilav. He was אליו eilav, just a simple person. שהיה חולה shehaya choleh. הקדוש ברוך הוא מגיע כל חולה Hakadosh Baruch Hu magia kol choleh. כמו כן מדקדק היטב לפי זה רש\"י וירא אליו לבקר את החולה K'mo kein m'dakdek heitev l'fi zeh Rashi, vayeira eilav l'vaker es hacholeh. Rashi jumped the gun before quoting חז\"ל Chazal to say, וירא אליו vayeira eilav, אליו eilav without using Avram's name, לבקר את החולה l'vaker es hacholeh because Hashem does that for everybody. Oh, חז\"ל Chazal also tells us that Hashem knew it was the third day after Avram's ברית bris, so he came to Avram specifically to ask how he's doing. But they're two separate statements. One is that Hashem came to Avram, knowing it's Avram, and Avram gave himself a ברית bris at an advanced age, and it was the third day, and he came. But even before then לבקר את החולה l'vaker es hacholeh because אליו eilav, Hashem does that to each and every one. And so should we. Our concern and our care is not just for high-profile, famous, for those with whom we have a closest relationship. Every חולה choleh deserves our care, our attention, our support, our love. And I will tell you having been in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael, in Israel for three days last week, we focus on casualties, 1400, 1500, unimaginable, continuing to even still identify bodies and get gruesome reports. Yesterday, עם ישראל, כלל ישראל Am Yisrael, Klal Yisrael learned of the fate of Luke, that young woman, German-Israeli, what happened to her. We won't even mention. But the casualties are not the only concern. We have 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 of injured. Those חולים cholim, every one deserve our דאווענען davening, our attention, our care, our love, our support. וירא אליו Vayeira eilav. It's not just the ones who went famous, who went viral, who a video appears, but every name. וירא אליו Vayeira eilav. Every person Hashem visits, Hashem is found at the head of each and every person, and we too have to care for each and every חולה choleh from this war and in our lives.Torah tells us what happens, וישא עיניו וירא vayisa einav vayar. Avram raises his eyes and he sees, והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו v'hinei shlosha anashim nitzavim alav. And there are three angels standing over him. וירא וירץ לקראתם Vayar vayaratz likrasam, he goes and he runs to greet them. מפתח האהל Mipetach ha'ohel from the opening of the tent where he's found. וישתחו ארצה Vayishtachu artza and and bowed toward the ground, bowed toward the ground.Okay, we got a lot to say on this פסוק pasuk. We're gonna make it fit past the second פסוק pasuk, but we got a lot to say. The יקר דקלא Yikar Dekala wonders. We know that the angels each came to fulfill their own שליחות shlichus. Because an angel who's really an extension, an emissary, a spark of the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam is how Hashem is expressing and manifesting in the world a particular purpose, a particular mission. And each one doesn't repeat, they came for that reason. So three angels, they came, destroy סדום Sedom, and tell שרה Sarah she was going to get pregnant, save לוט Lot and so on. So מה באו שלשה מלאכים אצל אברהם אבינו שהרי אותו מלאך שבא לרפאות את אברהם הלך אחר כך להציל את לוט Mah ba'u shlosha malachim etzel Avraham Avinu sheharei oso malach sheba l'rap'os es Avraham halach achar kach l'hatzil es Lot. One doubled up on their mission. The one that came to inquire as to Avram's well-being, to wish him a רפואה שלימה refuah shleima, the same יברך חולים yevarech cholim for him, is the same angel that went to save לוט Lot. למה דוקא אותו שבא לרפאות את אברהם הלך גם לשליחות אחרת להציל את לוט Lama davka oso sheba l'rap'os es Avraham halach gam lishlichus acheres l'hatzil es Lot? First of all, what happened to the rule? What happened to the principle? Angels don't double up. Each one is a unique distinct mission. Number one. Number two, why these, why the same one who gave the רפואה שלימה refuah shleima, why not the one who came to tell Sarah she's pregnant? ובכלל יש לעיין מה הצורך להביא מלאך לרפאות את אברהם ולאחר שבשעה שבא הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם כבר ריפאו לגמרי U'v'chlal yesh l'ayen mah hatzorech l'havi malach l'rap'os es Avraham v'l'achar she'b'sha'ah sheba Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Avraham kvar rip'o l'gamrei. Moreover, when Hashem visited Avram, is there a better doctor? Every Jew wants to get into the best doctor in the world. Best hospital, the best doctor, the greatest מומחה mumcheh. Jackie Mason על השלום alav hashalom had his whole routine, 'My doctor's so good, you can never get into see him.' He had his whole routine. So there's no greater doctor in the world, the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam himself came to visit Avram. So, someone out, then the angel came afterwards? First the doctor came, then the resident. The world's greatest מומחה mumcheh, the world's greatest doctor came, and then the first year medical stool, then the kid who's taking chemistry in high school came in. Hashem himself visited Avram, then a מלאך malach came and said רפואה שלימה refuah shleima. That's going to accomplish more than Hashem accomplished? The רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam came. What do you need a מלאך malach then for the רפואה refuah?So listen to what the אגדת הדקלא Agada Dekala says. מובא בדין לוט לא היה לו זכות עצמו להיווצא ממסדום Muva b'din Lot lo haya lo zechus atzmo l'hivase'a mi'Sedom. We don't really understand this section properly. Did Lot deserve to be spared or saved from סדום Sedom? No. כיון שהתרחק מאברהם והלך לגור אצל הרשעים בסדום ולמד ממעשיהם Kevain she'hisrachek mei'Avraham v'halach lagur etzel harsha'im b'Sedom v'lamad m'ma'aseihem. We all know the story, it's further in our פרשה parsha. Lot separates from his uncle Avram, Lot chooses to place his lot, pun intended, not with his righteous uncle Avram, but Lot puts his lot with the people of סדום Sedom. He wants to go live in this hedonistic, morally corrupt, decadent society. That's what appeals to him. That's what he wants to be part of. That's what he lives with. So he doesn't deserve to be spared or saved after all that's where he put his lot. Their fate is his fate. Their consequence is his consequence. הרי הוא רשע והולך אחרינו Harei hu rasha v'holeich achareinu. That's who he choose to live with. כשאמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם שהוא הולך להפוך את סדום K'she'amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu l'Avraham she'hu holeich l'haf'och es Sedom. But what happened when Hashem said, המכסה אני מאברהם Hamchaseh ani mei'Avraham? Could I possibly conceal, could I possibly deny Avram to know what I'm going to do? What happened? When Avram heard what was going to happen to סדום Sedom, what happened? נצטער מזה אברהם אבינו צער רב Nitzta'er mizeh Avraham Avinu tza'ar rav. Avram felt a great pain. Avram was agitated. You're gonna destroy a whole city? How could it be? שלא עשה כך כל כך הרבה בעד לוט Shelo asa kach kol kach harbeh ba'ad Lot. But Avram was also further, it was compounded, and my nephew לוט Lot's among them. You're gonna destroy the whole city of סדום Sedom and לוט Lot? Do you know what I put into that kid? I paid for his whole Jewish education. That's like $5 million dollars. I clothed him, I sent him to camp, that's another $5 million dollars. I had to constantly upgrade his phone, that's like another $5 million dollars. But he says, you know what I put into this kid לוט Lot? I educated him, I was patient with him, I taught him, I invested in him, I risked my life for him. מלחמה כנגד ארבע מלכים הכל היה רק בשביל לוט Milchama k'neged arba melachim hakol haya rak bishvil Lot. The war, the four kings, the five kings, Avram says I only got involved in that war to liberate my nephew. Do you know what I put in, do you know what I risked, do you know what I gave up for this kid לוט Lot? And now you're gonna destroy סדום Sedom and you're gonna destroy לוט Lot with it? כי לקחו עמו בכל כניסתו ויציאתו Ki lekacho imo b'chol knisaso v'yetziaso, I've taken him with me everywhere I went, I had to get him his own hotel room. ועתה יהרג v'ata yeihareig, and now he's going to get killed? על כן כדי שלא יצטער אברהם אבינו שלח הקדוש ברוך הוא מלאך להציל את לוט Al kein k'dei shelo yitzta'er Avraham Avinu shalach Hakadosh Baruch Hu malach l'hatzil es Lot. Hashem didn't save לוט Lot because of לוט Lot. Why did Hashem save לוט Lot? Because אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. ולכן דוקא אותו מלאך שבא לרפאות את אברהם הלך אחר כך להציל את לוט V'lachen davka oso malach sheba l'rap'os es Avraham halach achar kach l'hatzil es Lot. The same מלאך malach that was concerned with Avram's well-being, that came for the רפואה שלימה refuah shleima of the ברית bris, is the same מלאך malach that was concerned with Avram Avinu's well-being to save לוט Lot. They weren't two separate missions, they're not two separate purposes, they're one and the same. זה זעלב זאך Ze zelb zach. Avram Avinu's well-being. Hashem loves Avram, and he's concerned about Avram. So in Avram's merit, for Avram's righteousness, he comes to heal him from his ברית bris, and he comes to spare לוט Lot because of what that would have done to Avram. כי זה גופא שהלך להציל את לוט היה לצורך רפואת אברהם Ki zeh gufa she'halach l'hatzil es Lot haya l'tzorech refuas Avraham. שהיה לו מחלת לב מדאגת מיתת לוט She'haya lo machalas lev m'd'agas misas Lot. Sometimes a person has a physical element, sometimes a person is שבור לב shvur lev, has a broken heart. He's broken hearted. He's broken hearted. וזה שאמר הכתוב ויזכור אלקים את אברהם וישלח את לוט V'zeh she'amar hakasuv vayizkor Elokim es Avraham vayishlach es Lot. That's why the פסוק pasuk formulates it later, פרק י\"ט פסוק כ\"ט Perek Yud Tes, Pasuk Kaf Tes. Hashem remembered Avram, וישלח את לוט vayishlach es Lot. The whole effort, the whole intervention to spare לוט Lot was not because of לוט Lot. לוט Lot was undeserving cuz לוט Lot put his lot with סדום Sedom. Why did he do it? For Avram. And that's why it's the same מלאך malach who goes and spares both because לוט Lot only survived in the merit of Avram. And here too, there's a message for us. The people we're דאווענען davening for, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, they're not לוט Lot. חלילה chalila, to put them in the same category or to describe them that way. But you see that when we say to the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, I'm not דאווענען davening and don't intervene and don't spare and don't care about others, they merit, they don't merit. But I'm in pain. I'm in anguish. It hurts me. My heart is broken. My heart is broken. So רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, whatever merit I might have, I'm cashing it in. Because my heart is broken over the thought of those young men, of those young soldiers on the front line. My heart is broken on those families who are grieving. My heart is broken over a nation and a people that are worried and anxious. So רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, whatever few merits, whatever זכיות zechuyos I might have, my broken heart, I'm incomplete unless they're complete. My life is interrupted as long as their life is interrupted. We see from the precedent of לוט Lot. And that's what he talks about in the footnote here in the אמרות טהרות Amaros Teharos, I quote the עקר הדקלא Ikar Dekala. You see this notion of תפילה tefillah that because why would Hashem spare somebody else because of you? We spoke about this in Siddur snippets last week or two weeks ago, two weeks ago. The חתם סופר Chasam Sofer. חתם סופר Chasam Sofer wonders, how does it work? You daven for someone else who is sick, רפאנו refaeinu. The ברכה bracha of רפאנו refaeinu, and so we're up to ברך עלינו barech aleinu, but two weeks ago we're up to רפאנו refaeinu. So, you say to Hashem רפאנו ה' ונרפא refaeinu Hashem v'neirafeh. יהי רצון yehi ratzon, the little יהי רצון yehi ratzon, you could insert in the middle of רפאנו refaeinu, you דאווען daven for the other person who is sick. Hashem says, 'Buddy, mind your own business. When you're sick, daven for yourself. Why should I change the other person's fortune, decree, because of you? You're davening.' What does one thing have to do with the other? So the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer references a מהר\"ל Maharal, and quotes a רמב\"ם Rambam, that the core of דאווענען davening, of תפילה tefillah is that a person asks for ישועה וצורךם שהוא צורך בהן yeshua v'tzorcham shehu tzorech bahen. You ask for the things, but you don't just say a script, you don't just recite a template, you don't just deliver what appears in the סידור siddur, שהוא צורך להן shehu tzorech l'hen. You have to communicate to Hashem, 'I need this. I'm incomplete without it. My heart is broken.' שהוא צורך להן shehu tzorech l'hen. When you daven for someone else, it's not just a יוצא זיין yotzei zayn. I got an email, I'm on a WhatsApp group, I saw a פתק petek hanging in the בית מדרש beis medrash, so I daven for so-and-so. It's not just a יוצא זיין yotzei zayn, 'I did it.' It's got to be, it's got to be a צורך שהוא צורך בהם tzorech shehu tzorech bahem. It has to be that you genuinely, so Hashem, 'My heart is broken.' My heart is broken, and I'm screaming out in pain. 'Aye, they're not my children.' They're all our children, they're all our family. But aye, it's not directly related. It's mine, I'm part of עם ישראל Am Yisrael, I'm part of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. We go together. Avram, Lot was spared because Avram said, 'This hurts me.' It's got to hurt all of us. If the left foot is injured, the right foot doesn't say, 'I work fine, I'm good to go.' The left foot is injured, the right foot says, 'It hurts me. I'm wobbly, I can't walk straight.' We can't walk straight until everyone's home, until the captives are all home, until the soldiers are all home, we כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael can't walk straight. You see the the mechanics of how this works from Avram and from Lot and from this insight.Avram raises his eyes. וישא עיניו Vayisa einav. He raises his eyes in order to be able to see. What is this notion, וישא עיניו vayisa einav? So again Rashi. וישא עיניו וירא Vayisa einav vayar. He raises his eyes and he sees. מהו וירא וירא שני פעמים Mah hu vayar vayar shnei peamim in this פסוק pasuk? It says Avram saw, and it uses the word וירא vayar twice. וירא Vayar, he sees three men, וירא Vayar and he sees them and he runs towards them. Okay, we got it. He saw them. He raised his eyes and he saw them. Should say, he raised his eyes, וירא vayar, he saw והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו v'hinei shlosha anashim nitzavim alav, three men, וירץ לקראתם vayaratz likrasam and he ran to go greet them. Why is it have to say a second time, he raised his eyes and he saw, he saw and he ran to greet them. What is וירא vayar the second time? So Rashi says הראשון כמשמעו והשני לשון הבנה harishon k'mashma'o v'hasheini lashon havana. First time means literally. He was looking down, he wasn't scrolling or texting, but he was looking down. והשני V'hasheini the second time is הבנה havana, came to understand. הסתכל שהם נצבים במקום אחד והבין שלא רוצים לטרוח Histakeil shehem nitzavim b'makom echad v'heivin shelo rotzim litroach. He saw that they were hesitating. They didn't want to bother him. ואף על פי שידעו מה שהוא יוצא לקראתם, עמדו במקומם לכבודו להראות שלא רוצה לטרוח V'af al pi sheyad'u mah shehu yotzei likrasam, amdu bimkomam l'chvodo l'har'os shelo rotzeh litroach. And even though they saw him coming out to greet them, they remained where they were because they didn't want to disturb him. שכן כתב הוא רץ לקראתם Shekein kasav hu ratz likrasam. So, so says Rashi, וירא vayar twice. First, he noticed them, and the second time he noticed about them that they weren't coming close because they didn't want to bother him. And that's why he ran to them to be able to help. וירא Vayar twice.Back to the להבות אש Lahavos Eish, Rav Druk's new ספר sefer. He says וירא וירא vayar vayar why twice? האבות הקדושים לא עמדו והסתכלו בכל עת במה שקורה בעולם Ha'avos hakdoshim lo amdu v'histaklu b'chol eis b'mah shekoreh ba'olam. The אבות avos, you know there are those people, you ever go out with someone, you're at a restaurant, you're having coffee, you're trying to talk to them and you notice they're looking around, they're taking it all, and you're like, 'Hi, yo, over, over here.' 'Over here.' You know those people, they're just, they're just need to know everything going on. They're watching, they're listening, they're observing. The ינטעס yentas who are just focused on everything around. So supposedly you're having coffee, supposedly you're having lunch, but you have to be like, 'Yo, hi, over here.' When you go out with them, you always have to make sure they're taking the seat facing the wall, you could face out. Strategic seating. You have to have strategic seating in the restaurant, otherwise they might as well go out by yourself. You lost them. So says Rav Druk, the אבות avos were not ינטעס yentas. גדולים Gedolim are not ינטעס yentas. They're present, fully immersed, and present in whatever they're doing. They're looking down. They're looking down and they're present in whatever they're doing. בכל עת היו עיניהם מושפלות כלפי מטה ורק כאשר הצטרכו לדבר מה הרימו את עיניהם אל אותו דבר, תמיד היו עיניהם כלפי מטה B'chol eis hayu eineihem mushpalos klapei mata, v'rak ka'asher hitztarchu l'davar ma heireimu es eineihem el oso davar, tamid hayu eineihem klapei mata. They're always looking down and they're always focused, they're present, fully immersed in what they're doing. When do they look up? When there's a reason to look up. When there's something to notice. So your head's in the גמרא Gemara, somebody's standing opposite you, you look up and you greet them. There's a reason to look up. They're not ינטעס yentas that need to follow everything in the world. They look up when they need to look up. So with Avram Avinu, וישא אברהם את עיניו וירא vayisa Avraham es einav vayar. וישא אברהם את עיניו vayisa Avraham es einav, right when do we have it? וישא אברהם את עיניו וירא את המקום מרחוק Vayisa Avraham es einav vayar es hamakom meirachok. Later at the עקידה akeidah. וישא אברהם את עיניו וירא והנה איל Vayisa Avraham es einav vayar v'hinei ayil. Then he looks up and he sees there's a ram. יצחק ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה, וישא עיניו וירא והנה גמלים באים Yitzchak, vayetzeh Yitzchak lasuach basadeh, vayisa einav vayar v'hinei gemalim ba'im. He goes in the field and he's דאווענען davening. So when he's דאווענען davening, he's not who's שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei's longer, who said יעלה ויבא Ya'aleh v'Yavo already, three seconds before I took my third step forward. Who has, who's the חזן chazzan for מוסף Mussaf, who's the... No. ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה, וישא עיניו Vayeitzeh Yitzchak lasuach basadeh, vayisa einav. He only noticed והנה גמלים באים v'hinei gemalim ba'im because he lifted his eyes. יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu the same way. וישא יעקב עיניו וירא והנה עשיו בא ועמו ארבע מאות איש Vayisa Yaakov einav vayar v'hinei Eisav ba v'imo arba me'os ish. So when it comes to the אבות avos, it never tells us they saw, it tells us they lifted their eyes and they saw. Why? Because they weren't ינטעס yentas, they weren't looking around all the time, they weren't distracted by the world, they were focused, they were present, they were mindful, they were immersed in wherever they were. So much so that when there was something to see, וישא עיניו vayisa einav, first they had to lift their eyes in order to be able to see.So now, לפי זה L'fi zeh says Rav Druk, according to this, the Torah's coming to teach us, אברהם אבינו שמח במצוה שהזדמנה לידו להערך אורחים Avraham Avinu sameach b'mitzva she'hizdamna l'yado l'hareach orchim. Avram Avinu is very happy. Wow. Avram Avinu, nothing makes him happier than hosting guests. וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו Vayisa einav vayar v'hinei shlosha anashim nitzavim alav. And when he saw that they weren't coming, מיד וירא וירץ לקראתם miyad vayar vayaratz likrasam. רץ עליהם מהלך ריצתו שהמשיך להסתכל עליהם ולא הסיח דעת מהם Ratz aleihem mehalach ritzaso shehimshich l'histakel aleihem v'lo hesiach da'at mehem. So says Rav Druk, you're reading the פסוק pasuk wrong. It doesn't repeat the word וירא vayar twice. He lifted his eyes and he saw them. He saw them and he ran towards them. No. He lifted his eyes and he saw them. וירא וירץ לקראתם Vayar vayaratz likrasam. He didn't move his eyes off of looking at them the whole time he ran towards them. They now became his new focus. A moment ago he was looking down at the גמרא Gemara, but once he saw them, וירא וירץ לקראתם vayar vayaratz likrasam. Now he ran while looking at them the same time. שהתמיד במבטו ולא הסיח דעתו מהם למעלה אלא אם לסיבה מסוימת She'hismid b'mabato v'lo hesiach da'ato mehem l'maala ela im l'siba mesuyemes. כאן כיוון שראה הוא את האורחים המשיך להסתכל עליהם ולא הסיח דעתו מהם במשך כל ריצתו כי ראה את דבר המצוה מול עיניו Kan, keivan she'ra'ah hu es ha'orchim, himshich l'histakel aleihem v'lo hesiach da'ato mehem b'meshech kol ritzaso, ki ra'ah es davar hamitzvah mul einav. So says Rav Druk, in the way of the גדולי ישראל gedolei Yisrael, in the way of the גדולי האבות gedolei ha'avos, they were not ינטעס yentas looking all over. They were always fully present, focused, whatever they were meant to be doing right then. So וירא vayar, first it means he lifted his eyes, 'Oh, I have an opportunity, הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim.' Now as he ran, וירא vayar again, this is all he saw. Whatever he was meant to be doing, that's all he saw. You go to the park, somebody's pushing their children, their grandchildren on the swing while they're scrolling, while they're texting. They're not there. They're absent-present. Not the אבות avos. וישא וירא Vayisa vayar. No, when you're on the swi- you're pushing the kid, when you're on the floor playing with the child, you're playing with the child. When you're at the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur, you're at the פרשה שיעור parsha shiur. Whatever we're doing, we're fully immersed in what we're doing, to the point that וישא, וירא vayisa, vayar, you'd have to lift our eyes in order to be able to shift us, in order to be able to, in order to be able to see.וישא עיניו Vayisa einav. You have to lift the eyes. Okay. The רמב\"ן Ramban understands the same פסוק pasuk, וישא עיניו vayisa einav. טעם נצבים עליו Ta'am nitzavim alav. It's a very funny לשון lashon in this פסוק pasuk. He lifts his eyes and he sees the three men are נצבים nitzavim... What word is peculiar in this פסוק pasuk? They are נצבים nitzavim... עליו alav. What, they're standing on his head? Sitting on his shoulders? עליו Alav means on him. What is the word והנה נצבים עליו v'hinei nitzavim alav? Standing over him. Leave out the word, we would have understood the פסוק pasuk the same way. וישא עיניו Vayisa einav, he lifted his eyes, וירא vayar and he saw והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים v'hinei shlosha anashim nitzavim. You could leave out the word נצבים nitzavim too. What do we care about their posture? He lifted his eyes and he saw that there were three men, וירא וירץ לקראתם vayar vayaratz likrasam, and he ran to go greet them. So the רמב\"ן Ramban understands, טעם נצבים עליו ta'am nitzavim alav, שהיו עומדים לנגדו מסתכלים shehayu omdim l'negdo mistaklim. ולפי שהוא יושב והם היו עומדים ורואים בו אמר עליו ul'fi shehu yoshev v'hem hayu omdim v'ro'im bo amar alav. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, it's descriptive. You know, a good author who draws you into a novel, the more adjectives, the more they depict the scene, the more they draw you in to what was happening, the more connected you feel. So says the רמב\"ן Ramban, the Torah is trying to paint the picture, wants you to understand the scene. Avram is sitting. He's in recovery, he's recovering from the surgery. They just walked up, they're standing. So נצבים עליו nitzavim alav, they're standing and looking, Avram is sitting, so it says they stood over him. They want to see Avram is looking 'Oh, welcome, שלום עליכם shalom aleichem.' He's sitting and he sees them, they're standing. That's all. That's the רמב\"ן Ramban. Rashi understands they were standing not over Avram, but עליו alav is an expression of respect to the מלאכים malachim. Why עליו alav means they're superior? Human beings are fallible, human beings have בחירה חפשית bechira chofshis, we have free will. Human beings make mistake, human beings are מהלכים mehalchim. מלאכים Malachim are עומדים omdim, מלאכים malachim are perfect, so in that sense, they're נצבים עליו nitzavim alav. Says Rashi, ooh-ah, the מלאכים malachim stand over him in the sense that to a degree, they're superior. It's respect, show respect. עליו Alav, over him. The רד\"ק Radak and the ספורנו Sforno explain the angels stood still. They were looking and waiting for instructions from Avram what to do next. They show up, וניצבים עליו v'nitzavim alav, they're standing over him silently. Waiting, 'Nu, say something. What's next? Where does this story go?' ספורנו Sforno writes, כי המתינים אצל אדם לדבר עמו יקראו ניצבים עליו ki hamamtinim etzel adam l'daber imo yikra'u nitzavim alav. You know, if you were ever trying to get someone's attention, they're looking down at their phone, they're looking down, their eyes are immersed in the גמרא Gemara, and you're trying to get their attention, you're ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav. You're standing there over them waiting for the person to look up and engage you. So a lot of different interpretations of what ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav means.But I want to share with you from the שבט אפרים Shevet Ephraim, my friend Rabbi David Silverberg quoted this. Who was the שבט אפרים Shevet Ephraim? Rav Ephraim Wald of Satmar, the שבט אפרים Shevet Ephraim. And he says a very, very powerful and important idea. He says the following. There's a concept in social psychology that works as follows. A person is driving on the on the highway, and there's a car accident. But someone keeps driving. You didn't call the police. You're walking to שול shul and there's garbage on the path, there's garbage in the parking lot. What did you do? Keep walking. Don't bend down and pick it up. שול shul says, 'We need a volunteer. Who's willing to?' The שבעה מינין shiva minim are short too, can anyone please go? Everyone looks down. Why does that happen? Why didn't someone pick up the phone and call the police? Why don't you pick up the garbage? Why don't you volunteer? So it's called in social psychology, diffusion of responsibility, or they call it the bystander effect. Sometimes it happens in large groups, sometimes it's a committee, but when it's more than one person, everyone assumes someone else will take care of it, someone else is running with it, someone else will do it. It it's a very dangerous phenomenon. It leads to groupthink and disengagement or risk-taking behavior because the whole committee just assumes it's someone else's problem. Someone else will do it. Someone else will take the responsibility. Says the שבט אפרים Shevet Ephraim, what does it mean, they're ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav? What does it mean that they're standing over him? Why doesn't it say they were standing לפניו l'fanav, before him? Why does עליו alav, over him? Because Avram Avinu never was compromised. Avram Avinu never was vulnerable to the phenomenon of the diffusion of responsibility or the bystander effect. Avram Avinu felt whatever task there is to get done, ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav. It's weighing on him, it's standing on him. It's for him to do.אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu knew how to take אחריות achrayus. He didn't point fingers. He didn't assign or delegate. He didn't wait for others. He didn't assume someone else would do it. Whatever task there was to get done, whatever responsibility there was, it was ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav. It was on his shoulders. It was standing over him.He's sitting at פתח האהל pesach ha'ohel. The שבט אפרים Shevet Ephraim understands, what is פתח האהל pesach ha'ohel? It means the beginning of his spiritual journey. אברהם Avram is humble and modest. He sees himself in his purpose of being of service to others. So what happens? He jumps up to get involved. Why does he jump up to help? Because it's ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav. This is his job. It's his אחריות achrayus. It's his responsibility. It is sitting on him. It's weighing on him. It's weighing on him. That's the attitude that we have to have.Somebody needs, there's a חולה choleh that needs to be visited. There's an אבל avel that needs נחמה nechamah. There's money that's needed to be raised for displaced people in Israel. It's not someone else's problem. Don't wait for someone else to collect the supplies or pack the duffels or shlep them to the airport. It's on each and every one of us. We are the progeny of אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, and to be the children of אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu means to know how to take אחריות achrayus. It means to know how to live with this sense of ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav. It's weighing on me. I'm not waiting for someone else. Jump up, jump in, say עלי alai. אחרי acharai. It's on me, follow me, I got it. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is teaching us and that is part of the legacy that he leaves us and gives us to be the children, the בני אברהם, יצחק ויעקב Bnei Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov, is to know how to live with an attitude of ניצבים עליו nitzavim alav. No bystander effect, no diffusion of responsibility, no waiting for someone else to do it. You walk by garbage, you pick it up. You saw something, you need to call a call the police. Someone needs a visit or support. Here I am. Here I am. הנני Hineini, as we see from אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu later in the פרשה parsha as well.What does אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu offer them? What does he offer them? He says, יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim. פסוק ד׳ Pasuk daled. Please, take some, take some water. יקח נא מעט מים Yukach na me'at mayim. Take some water.ורחצו רגליכם u'rchatzu ragleichem and wash your feet והשענו תחת העץ v'hishanu tachas ha'eitz, and lean against the tree. ואקחה פת לחם וסעדו לבכם אחר תעבורו v'ekcha pas lechem v'sa'adu libchem achar ta'avoru, and I'll go get a meal for you. In the meantime, we'll get you all situated, we'll get you all set. So what's the first thing that אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu does? Have a little water, why? ורחצו רגליכם u'rchatzu ragleichem, and wash your feet. Why, why a little water?Wonders רב דרוק Rav Druk in לב וזש Lev O'Zesh. רש״י Rashi tells us ורחצו רגליכם u'rchatzu ragleichem, what was the purpose of the water? Was this like Covid was spreading? So he was Purell? Put on your mask, Purell your hands, don't come in my tent until you test. Are you vaccinated? Well, why is he giving out water? יקח נא מעט מים Yukach na me'at mayim. זאגט רש\"י Zogt Rashi, כסבור שהם ערבים שמשתחווים לאבק רגליהם והקפיד שלא להכניס עבודה זרה לביתו kasavar shehem aravim she'mishtachavim l'avak ragleihem v'hikpid shelo l'hachnis avodah zarah l'veiso. He thought these were Arab nomads, wanderers, idolaters, and he said don't come into my tent with your idolatry. Wash that idolatry off your feet. Okay. So first of all, what a very powerful image. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, the same person who's about to דאווענען daven for סדום Sedom. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is the king of הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim, welcomes all guests, Jewish, non-Jewish, recognizes them, they're complete strangers. But what does he not do? Despite this incredible love, generosity, selflessness, he does not risk compromising his own home. So he says, I love you, I welcome you, I want you, but you got to leave the עבודה זרה avodah zarah at the door. Wash off the עבודה זרה avodah zarah. Don't bring the images, the icons, the ideas, the influences into my house. Leave it outside. You're welcome. You're invited to the שול shul, to my home, into our schools. But the influences, the images, the icons, the idolatry, wash it off. You gotta wash it off, you can't bring it in. So lest we think that אברהם Avram is just extreme welcoming, it also is tempered by a healthy balance of you got to wash off the foreign influence before you come in.But wonders רב דרוק Rav Druk here in his לב וזש Lev O'Zesh, we know when it comes to הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim, is אברהם Avram stingy? Everything אברהם Avram does, he does how? בשפע b'shefa, generously, in abundance. אל הבקר רץ אברהם ויקח בן בקר רך וטוב El habakar ratz Avraham vayikach ben bakar rach v'tov. The גמרא Gemara says he gave, we have three לשונות של חרדל leshonos shel chardal. He gave three types of of tongue. Tongue and mustard. Happens to be, I don't eat tongue. I have a policy. I don't taste anything that tastes you back. You see that tongue, you see the taste buds. You ever see tongue? With the taste buds, it looks, I don't eat anything that still looks like the way it looked when it was on the animal. Okay, that's my hangup. My wife loves tongue. So the people who love tongue, honey mustard tongue, tongue with mustard, it's a real delicacy. If you really love the guest for יום טוב Yom Tov, you splurge, tongue. If you really love me, pastrami, corned beef. If you really love me, I'll give you a whole list of other things. But anyway, אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu was a tongue guy, so he, the מלאכים malachim were tongue people. So what does the פסוק pasuk describe? In abundance. Not one tongue, not half a tongue, not the tongue on sale, not the tongue in the freezer. Three types of mustard tongue. שחט אברהם כל אחד בן בקר שלם כדי להאכילם החלק המשובח שהוא לשון Shachat Avraham kol echad ben bakar shalem kedei l'ha'achilam ha'chelek ha'meshubach shehu lashon. He slaughtered three, how do you get three tongues? You didn't find the cow that had three tongues. If you have three tongues, what does it mean? You slaughtered three animals. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is incredibly generous, magnanimous, everything is in abundance. Except for when it came to the water to wash off the עבודה זרה avodah zarah, יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim. A שטיקל shtickel, a ביסל bissel, a little bit of water. All of a sudden he became stingy? All of a sudden he holds back? So says רב דרוק Rav Druk כי המים ההם היו מיועדים לרחיצת רגליהם מאבק של רגליהם ki hamayim hahem hayu meyu'adim l'r'chitzas ragleihem me'avak shel ragleihem. אברהם חשד בהם שמשתחווים לאבק רגליהם, רצה אברהם ללמדנו כלל חשוב שאין מספיק בביטול כל דת לבד עבודה זרה כמו ברמב\"ם Avraham chashad bahem she'mishtachavim l'avak ragleihem, ratzah Avraham l'lamdeinu klal chashuv she'ein maspik b'vitul kol das l'vad avodah zarah kemo ba'Rambam. Such a beautiful idea. You know, we sometimes think that if you're going to transfer, you're going to purge עבודה זרה avodah zarah, you're going to get rid of those foreign ideas and influences and thoughts, we're going to purge, we're going to כשר kasher ourselves, we're going to become more pure in our worship, in our service of השם Hashem, it's going to take an enormous amount. You know what it takes? מעט מים Me'at mayim. To get rid of all that עבודה זרה avodah zarah, it can get washed off with a little bit of water. מעט מים Me'at mayim. He doesn't say it here, but I'll add, אין מים אלא תורה ein mayim ela Torah. חז״ל Chazal tells us אין מים אלא תורה ein mayim ela Torah. So maybe יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim, to get rid of even a whole lot of עבודה זרה avodah zarah, go wash it away with even a little bit of Torah. Sitting in the בית מדרש beis medrash for one hour, you could cleanse and purge all those contaminating ideas. A lifetime of mistakes, of confusion, of idolatry. A little bit of Torah, יקח נא מעט מים, אין מים אלא תורה yukach na me'at mayim, ein mayim ela Torah, maybe it only takes a little bit, a little bit. Just takes a little bit. Then he goes on, he has another explanation. But I want to share with you something else. רש\"י Rashi, the חזקוני Chizkuni says יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim, when did this happen? רש\"י Rashi says it's to get rid of the עבודה זרה avodah zarah. The חזקוני Chizkuni has a different interpretation. The חזקוני Chizkuni writes, this all occurred during the season of the desert winds known as the שרף sharaf. השם Hashem made that day incredibly hot, so the feet of the travelers would be soaked in sand and sweat. So this had nothing to do with עבודה זרה avodah zarah. The חזקוני Chizkuni understands כפשוטו k'pshuto, they came in, their feet were sweaty, disgusting, sand was sticking to their sweaty feet. I was in Ofakim last week, the south of Israel, it's almost November, it was hot as anything. Where אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu was sitting, it was a sauna. So יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim was, here's a hose, rinse your feet off. Sarah doesn't like it when the guests get the carpet dirty. So I don't want to get in trouble with שרה Sarah. In a minute we'll see, everything she tells me, I have to listen to. One of the things she told me is you could have all those guests, make sure they wipe their feet at the door. So יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim is, there's a little mat, wipe your feet at the door, אזוי זאגט דער חזקוני azoy zogt der Chizkuni. רש\"י Rashi quotes גמרא בבא מציעא Gemara Bava Metzia, פו peh vav, שהם ערבים שמשתחווים לאבק רגליהם shehem aravim she'mishtachavim l'avak ragleihem, and so on. של\"ה הקדוש Shelah HaKadosh in תורה אור Torah Ohr wonders, what kind of idolatry is this? שמשתחווים לאבק רגליהם She'mishtachavim l'avak ragleihem. Here's a little water, wash off your feet because these are idolaters, and what's their form of idolatry? What do they worship? אבק avak means the dust of רגליהם ragleihem. Now you're not allowed to worship anything but השם Hashem. הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu is the omnipotent, all-powerful only. השם אלוקינו השם אחד Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. It's ridiculous to worship anything. I don't understand even the הוה אמינא hava amina to worship the sun and the moon and the stars, to worship celebrities and athletes, to worship money and power. We don't even begin to understand it, but maybe a little bit. But to worship dust of the ground, dust of the feet, what kind of, what kind of worship is that?So I saw רב שאול אלתר, הגאון רבי שאול אלתר Rav Shaul Alter, ha'gaon Rabbi Shaul Alter, who אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, mark your calendar, one week from last night, Monday night, November 6th, the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe is coming to a טיש tish for men, 8:30. The היכל הגרער רבי Heichal ha'Gerer Rebbe of the Gerer Yeshiva. Very special, very wonderful. He's coming, he'll be here right in this spot, in person, next Monday night. He quotes the דברי יחזקאל Divrei Yechezkel. The דברי יחזקאל Divrei Yechezkel is a שינובר רב Shinever Rav. And he says not only is it not lunacy, not only is it not absurd, not only is it not ridiculous, we all worship the same עבודה זרה avodah zarah. הייליגע שינובר Heilige Shinever, we worship the same עבודה זרה avodah zarah? I never took off my shoes and bowed down to them. I never took the map filled with dust and started worshiping it. What does it mean? Says the שינובר, הדברי יחזקאל Shinever, the Divrei Yechezkel, these idolaters were merchants, business people. They traveled and they ran around and they did business selling their wares, growing customers, marketing. They were constantly on the run, constantly full of activity, constantly busy. You know what it means that they bow down to אבק רגליהם avak ragleihem? It means they worshiped at the altar of busyness. They constantly needed to feel busy, busy, busy, running, running, running, doing, doing, doing, going, going, going. They were worshiping their own effort, worshiping their own initiative, worshiping their own כוחי ועוצם ידי kochi v'otzem yadi. They were obsessed and addicted to running around, to staying busy. They were always kicking up the dust. Just sit. Sit. The ירושלמי Yerushalmi says, he doesn't quote this, but the ירושלמי Yerushalmi says that תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim are בבחינת שבת כל השבוע b'vchinas Shabbos kol hashavua. The righteous, they look like שבת Shabbos all week. What does that mean? It means we, all week long, we're running, running, going, going, doing, doing. שבת Shabbos, we sit, we breathe, we can experience serenity and peacefulness. מעין עולם הבא Me'ein olam haba. But the תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, the righteous, they're able to the entire week, this connects to what we saw about אברהם וישא עיניו וירא Avram, vayisa einav vayar. The תלמיד חכם talmid chacham, the righteous, they're calm, they're serene, they're tranquil. They're not running, running, running, busy, busy, busy, whatever they're doing is what they're meant to be doing in that moment, calmly, serenely. But we, many of us, were running, running, running, busy, busy, busy. We're worshiping at the altar of our effort, of our initiative, of kicking up dust, of thinking that our success directly correlates to our activity. You know why I do well? You know why I was successful? Because I was so busy. Busy, busy, busy. Busyness today is a commodity. You meet people, you say, how are you? Before the war. How are you? How am I? Crazy busy. Psycho busy. Insanely busy. Wow, you must be important, you're busy. You must be special, you're busy. You must be superior because you're so busy. We think busyness is a commodity. What's really the best and the holiest is to say, how are you doing? Peaceful. Managing, fully present in whatever I'm doing. That's what's more impressive. How are you doing? I'm great. I'm fully present in this conversation with you. Are you crazy busy? No, I do what I need to get done, and I'm fully present in whatever it is at that moment. And whatever happens is up to השם Hashem. My success, my productivity. We confuse, we confuse busyness with productivity. Being super busy does not equal being super productive. But we are a generation addicted to and worshiping busyness, kicking up the dust, that's idolatry. People tie their self-worth to how busy they are. Crazy busy, psycho busy, insanely busy, so busy. I don't sleep. Do you know how little I sleep? We're supposed to be impressed by that? That's not impressive, that means you don't have your life all together. Get it together and get enough sleep, and you'll be more productive, less busy and more productive. אברהם Avram says to his guests, רחצו רגליכם rachatzu ragleichem. Wash your feet. Stop kicking up so much dust. Stop being so busy and be more productive. With the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe, רב שאול אלתר שליט\"א Rav Shaul Alter shlita adds, the משנה in אבות Mishnah in Avos, פרק א משנה ד perek aleph, mishnah daled, says יוסי בן יועזר איש צרידה אומר Yose ben Yoezer ish Tzaireidah omer, יהי ביתך בית ועד לחכמים yehi beischa beis va'ad l'chachamim. Our home should always be open to great חכמים chachamim like the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe. והוי מתאבק בעפר רגליהם v'hevei misabek b'afar ragleihem, and sit in the dust of their feet. והוי שותה בצמא את דבריהם v'hevei shoseh b'tzama es divreihem. Why did חז\"ל Chazal specifically draw the image, the picture, of sit at the dust of their feet? Make your home welcoming and open. Our community ברוך השם baruch Hashem welcomes tremendous righteous men and women, תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, scholars. We invite them, we welcome them, and then we sit at the dust of their feet, and we drink in their words with thirst. Simple understanding is that the Rebbe, the teacher used to sit in a chair, students would sit at the floor, so you were at the dust of their feet. But then the משנה Mishnah, why didn't the משנה Mishnah say so explicitly? Connect making yourself dusty with the dust of their feet means sit at their feet and learn, go to every שיעור shiur, every opportunity. So based on the שינובר, הדברי יחזקאל Shinever, the Divrei Yechezkel, רב שאול אלתר Rav Shaul Alter suggests maybe the משנה Mishnah means if you're going to attach yourself to busyness, let it be noble activity and movement. If you're going to not be sleeping, let it be because you're working on behalf of the מצב בארץ ישראל matzav b'Eretz Yisrael day and night. If you're going to be running and kicking up dust, be kicking up the dust of repairing the world, redeeming the world, making the world a better place, caring about others. Don't kick up dust because you're trying to earn more money, own more things. Nothing wrong with that. Do well and enjoy the things that השם Hashem has given us, nothing wrong with that. But if you're going to be kicking up dust, if you're going to worship at the altar of being busy, make your living, but kick up dust and be busy with the עפר רגליהם afar ragleihem of running to the next שיעור shiur, the next חסד chesed opportunity, the next volunteering, the next how we can influence the מצב matzav in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. So what's the antidote to worshipping the altar of busyness? Says the שינובר Shinever, where did אברהם Avram tell him to go? יקח נא מעט מים Yukach na me'at mayim, it just takes a little Torah, אין מים אלא תורה ein mayim ela Torah. Wash off all that עבודה זרה avodah zarah. Wash up, wash off the busyness and kicking up dust. And where should you go? והשענו תחת העץ v'hishanu tachas ha'eitz, and go sit, lean on the tree. What's a tree? עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה Etz chaim hi l'machazikim bah. The tree of Torah. You want to be busy with something? Be busy with Torah. Be busy with Torah. Be busy with Torah. That's your job. השם Hashem wants you to be successful, you'll be successful. Stop being so busy. והשענו תחת העץ v'hishanu tachas ha'eitz, which עץ eitz? Which tree? עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה Etz chaim hi l'machazikim bah, the tree of Torah, the tree of יידישקייט Yiddishkeit, that should be our only form and our only sense of of busyness. What an incredible שינובר Shinever. What a beautiful insight of the גערער רבי Gerer Rebbe on the שינובר Shinever. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik says יקח נא מעט מים yukach na me'at mayim, we're looking at the רב'ס חומש Rebbe's Chumash. The cruelty of סדום Sdom is portrayed in terms of cruelty to guests and strangers. In contrast, אברהם's Avram's kindness expressed itself particularly in הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim. There are many ways to practice kindness. Why is הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim, welcoming guests, so emphasized here? So says רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik, הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim is often for the poor. A rich man is in no need of hospitality, he can find an inn or a place to stay. הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim differs from צדקה tzedakah or material help to others on a crucial way. Giving צדקה tzedakah demonstrates sympathy. הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim demonstrates full human equality, the belief that every being has dignity and is just as important as any other. It's much easier to give someone money and send them away than invite him under your own roof. If I invite him in, it means no matter what the situation in life, I'm treating him with respect as an equal. הכנסת אורחים Hachnasas orchim is symbolic of our personal relationship, the understanding that all Jews are בני מלכים bnei melachim, princes, regardless of differences in wealth or knowledge. That's why the Torah gives us this picture of אברהם Avram. It doesn't, we know that אברהם Avram becomes, he fulfills the ברכה bracha of השם Hashem, he becomes very wealthy. But it doesn't say אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu was a big גביר gvir. He sat and he wrote checks and the line went out of his tent and he just wrote checks. He was a big גביר gvir. The רב Rav says, you know, it specifically tells us אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, הכנסת אורחים hachnasas orchim, because that's the חסד chesed where you really have to be selfless, and that's the חסד chesed where you're really making other people feel they're your equal. Equal seat at the table, equal presence and opportunity in the home at your house.They're described as the kingdom, but we'll skip this one, the לב וזש Lev O'Zesh. רש\"י Rashi quotes two sides of a coin were minted, the young אברהם Avram and שרה Sarah, and the other, the older אברהם Avram and שרה Sarah. Why was the minted coin their young age and their older age? What does that mean? We'll come back to, I guess, next year.פרק י\"ט, פסוק י\"ז Perek yud tes, pasuk yud zayin. Moving far along, we're skipping. סדום Sdom is destroyed. I was thinking about, I'm going to write my article. סדום Sdom is destroyed. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu teaches us the righteousness of standing up for someone, for something, to protest, to object. You see what's happening on college campuses? Where are all the people who started the Me Too movement? Where are all the people with Black Lives Matter? Where are the people who supposedly stand up for underdogs, who stand for justice? Where are all these movements and the hashtags? As Jews on college campuses have to hide in there, I want to know what the world would do if Black students were told that the Black Student Center is being closed down because we can't protect you there, and Black students are being warned, stay in your room. What would happen if LGBT students were told, the LGBT student center is closed because we can't protect you? What would happen on Cornell and Cooper Union and Columbia and Harvard? What would the world's reaction be? What would the messaging out of the White, what would what would it be? If Black students, gay students, what would happen if Muslim students were told the Muslim student center is being closed because we can't protect you and Muslim students stay in your room because we're worried for you to go out? You tell me what the world would look like, it would be turned upside down. But the Jew, for the Jew? A press conference, we put out a press release, criticizing antisemitism, Islamophobia, all forms of hate. It's scary. It's very scary. It's very scary. But I have to tell you, it's also a powerful message to us. How many of us when others were being hated raise our voice? When while we are the target and the victim and the painful silence and indifference of too many in the world should also remind us that the next time there are other victims, we should raise our voice. You know, yesterday I came out of my house and the landscaper was cutting the lawn in front of my house, and on his lawn mower were Israeli flags. Now again, Montoya Circle, it's not super courageous to have Israeli flags on your lawn mower. You know, he's cutting all of his customers, our block, but but he's not, my my my landscaper is not Jewish, I'm fairly confident. But you know what? For a minute, I was like, wow, thank you. I want to give him a hug. It means something. Are we willing to fly the flag literally or figuratively of other peoples when they are targeted? The experience we're going through right now should also remind us next time someone else is hurting that we, the Jewish people, should be the most vocal in flying a flag. I'm not even giving a description of who they are, who they were, who they will be, whoever they are. Unfortunately, in this world, that opportunity will present itself. If we're really the progeny of אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, even if they're סדום Sdom, we should speak up on their behalf because אברהם Avram protests even for the people of סדום Sdom. You don't have to read my article, I just practiced it on you. That's what I'm going to, if I have a few minutes, that's what I want to write.פרק י\"ט Perek yud tes, פרק י\"ט, פסוק י\"ז Perek yud tes, pasuk yud zayin. 19:17. So סדום Sdom is destroyed, move over to פרק י\"ט perek yud tes. לוט Lot, לוט Lot is saved and when לוט Lot is saved, he's told אל תביט אחריך al tabit acharecha, don't look back. ואל תעמוד בכל הכיכר v'al ta'amod b'chol hakikar. ההרה המלט פן תספה hahara himalet pen tisapeh. Don't look back, don't turn around, flee the mountain lest you be swept away. Why can't he turn around? אל תבט Al tabet, don't look back, why not? And what happens to his wife? She turns into a pillar of salt. So in לב וזש Lev O'Zesh, רב דרוק Rav Druk says מדוע אשת לוט שהביטה לאחריה נענשה בכך madua eshes Lot she'hibita l'achoreha na'ansha b'chach? ותבט אשתו מאחריו ותהי נציב מלח Vatabet ishto me'acharav vatehi n'tziv melach. רש\"י Rashi says she כימצה ולא הביאה מלח לאורחים she'kimtza v'lo hevi'a melach l'orchim. You know why she turned into a pillar of salt? Because she was cheap and stingy. And when the guests said, could I have a little salt? Nah, not sharing my salt with you. Maybe she was insulted that her food needed salt. That's always not so פשוט pashut. How do you sneak a little salt without the whoever made the food noticing? Unless you're the chef, then you can put salt on whatever you want because you made the food. That's one of the kindnesses a hostess can do. They could say, you know, the soup could use a little salt. I'm adding anyone else could add too. Even then it's not wise if you're married to the hostess. You say, no, no, no, no, it's delicious, it's perfect, it doesn't need anything, I'll take it just the way it is. So אשת לוט eshes Lot wouldn't share her salt. So she turned into a pillar of salt because she wouldn't share her salt. אזוי זאגט רש\"י Azoy zogt Rashi. But says רב דרוק Rav Druk and others, you know why she turned into a pillar of salt when you turn around? What does salt do? It's a preservative. Salt is a preservative, it preserves, it freezes, it makes stay exactly at that moment. So when Lot's wife turns around, what is she looking at? She says, I I I want to be with the people of סדום Sdom. I had good times in סדום Sdom. A lot of nostalgia about סדום Sdom. I love סדום Sdom. סדום Sdom is where I'm from, סדום Sdom is who I am. I miss סדום Sdom. What happened? You miss סדום Sdom? You're nostalgic for סדום Sdom? סדום Sdom is where you're from and who you are? You're now a pillar of salt. You are now permanently sealed with סדום Sdom. You are preserved through salt with סדום Sdom. That's one interpretation. But רב דרוק Rav Druk has another interpretation. And he says, when you survive destruction, when a person survives destruction, they need to not look back and get stuck at what happened. They need to forge forward and rebuild what needs to be built. When one suffers destruction, they should learn from it, they should grieve and mourn it, but not perseverate on it and get stuck in it, because you need to rebuild. The Trip family had a Nofra for Jonah a few weeks ago, and it was tough to make a שמחה simcha during this trying time. But Benji spoke. His parents were survivors, and he mentioned, I've never heard this theory before, many survivors didn't share their story for not years, decades. They didn't share with their children, they only would share it with their grandchildren. Why was that? There are a lot of theories. They didn't want to deposit it onto the second genera, there's a lot of theories. He offered an interesting theory. And his theory was, until they secured a future, survivors weren't ready to talk about the past. So it took 30 or 40 or 50 years. And their children weren't enough. Until it could be a grandchild they were telling the story to, they knew there was a continuity and there was a future. Until they knew and saw a future, they couldn't even talk about or address or focus on the past. And says רב דרוק Rav Druk, that's what's going on here. סדום Sdom went up in flames, סדום Sdom was destroyed. But before you get turned around, before you get stuck looking at and thinking about the past, the destruction that you endured, turn to the future, build that future. What's the next chapter? What's the next phase? October 7th, we'll never forget. We're constantly looking back at, and there's a lot to look at. I just saw today online, they produced a map of October 7th, where you can go see all the cities and there's a dot for every casualty. You could see exactly how far they went. It's haunting, haunting, haunting. We'll never forget October 7th. But you hear the army, you hear the Prime Minister, you hear what comes out of Israel, we'll never forget October 7th, but right now we're looking forward to getting rid of the perpetrators who did it, to the next chapter of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, of אחדות achdus and אמונה emunah, to come together, to bring משיח Moshiach. We don't forget the past, but we don't get stuck turning around. We don't get stuck looking behind us. We have to forge forward the next chapter and what's next.שרה אמנו Sarah Imeinu gives אברהם Avraham a message and השם Hashem tells אברהם Avraham, everything שרה Sarah tells you, listen to her voice. כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה שמע בקולה Kol asher tomar eilecha Sarah shma b'kolah. Although the Torah and certainly the מדרש Midrash provide extensive information about the אבות avos, the אמהות' imahos' role is more obscure. In fact, however, שרה Sarah was an equal partner with אברהם Avram in the covenant. רש\"י Rashi here comments that אברהם Avram was actually inferior to שרה Sarah with respect to prophecy. When השם Hashem informed אברהם Avram that שרה Sarah was to bear him a son, he said but אבל aval, your wife שרה Sarah will bear you a son and you'll name him יצחק Yitzchak and I'll establish my ברית bris with him. The key emphasis is on the word אבל aval, but, which follows a reference to the fact that אברהם Avram already had a son from another wife. But, אבל aval, he's told, he will not be the son, the son to continue his legacy. The covenant continues specifically through יצחק Yitzchak because יצחק Yitzchak emerged from both אברהם Avram and שרה Sarah. There can be no covenant without שרה Sarah. There is no covenant without שרה Sarah. שרה Sarah is אברהם Avram. שרה Sarah is אברהם Avram. There is no אברהם Avram without שרה Sarah. In fact, we know from next week's פרשה parsha that once שרה Sarah dies, there is no... The רב Rav writes, it's interesting that although אברהם Avram survived שרה Sarah by 38 years, his historical role came to an end with שרה's Sarah's passing. יצחק Yitzchak leaves the stage together with רבקה Rivka. יעקב Yaakov relinquishes his role to יוסף Yosef with the untimely death of רחל Rachel. Without שרה Sarah, there is no אברהם Avram, no יצחק Yitzchak if not רבקה Rivka, no יעקב Yaakov without רחל Rachel. The אבות avos are insignificant, they become invisible once they lose the אמהות imahos. Who holds, who's the strength? It's the אמהות imahos. And don't tell me this is apologetics. We're the farthest thing from a misogynistic people. The Torah has an enormous gender bias. It's just biased against the men because the Torah tells us over and over how pathetic men are if not for their wives. 38 years אברהם Avram lives without שרה Sarah but you don't hear anything from him. He disappears from the stage of history because it's the זכות של הנשים צדקניות zechus shel hanashim tzidkanios. When we sat with the community last week of שלומית Shlomit of חלוצה Chalutza, who have been displaced to גוש עציון Gush Etzion, they talked about even the warriors who grabbed their gun to go fight to save their ישוב yishuv and others, they talked about their wives. It was all their wives who were the strength. Their wives who watched the children, their wives who went to the safe rooms, their wives who themselves took up a gun to protect their family. It was the זכות נשים צדקניות zechus nashim tzidkanios. It is the wives. And that's כל אשר תאמר לך שרה kol asher tomar l'cha Sarah, everything שרה Sarah says, שמע בקולה shma b'kolah, listen to her because שרה Sarah is the one. שרה Sarah is the one. עקידה Akeida, we didn't even get to the עקידה Akeida, the end of the פרשה parsha. השם Hashem calls אברהם Avram and he says הנני hineini, and he answers הנני hineini, here I am. ויאמר הנני Vayomer hineini. Here I am. But twice. פרק כ\"ב, פסוק א' Perek kaf beis, pasuk aleph. כ\"ב א' Kaf beis, aleph. ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלוקים ניסה את אברהם Vayehi achar hadevarim ha'eleh v'ha'Elokim nisa es Avraham. And it was after these things that Hashem tested Avram. ויאמר אליו אברם ויאמר הנני Vayomer elav Avram, vayomer Hineni. He called to Avram, he said here I am. Now later he's going to call him Avram, Avram. So why here does he call him Avram once and later he's going to call him Avram, Avram? Why twice? We have time for one last thought? Okay, one last thought.So, Rav Nachman, the holy Rav Nachman writes, Avram gets older, Yitzchak is born to him. Hashem turns to him and he says, I got one last test for you, the tenth test, the greatest of all the tests. Why is this test introduced אחר הדברים האלה achar hadevarim ha'eleh? And it was, it's like the narrator. The narrator of the חומש Chumash fills in and says, and it was, just picture the narrator's voice, and it was after these things. And then the story turns to, and Hashem calls Avram and he says, הנני Hineni, and he tells him to do the, why do you need a narrator? All of a sudden the Torah has a narrator between scenes? ויהי אחר הדברים האלה Vayehi achar hadevarim ha'eleh, and it was after these things.Says Rav Nachman, לכל אחד ואחד יש זמנים קשים לפעמים l'chol echad v'echad yesh zmanim kashim l'famim. Everyone has difficult times. Sometimes a person feels אחר הדברים האלה achar hadevarim ha'eleh. I'm done. After these things, I'm done. I'm finished, I'm toast, I'm spent, I'm exhausted, I got nothing left. I feel like I'm in a תקופה tekufah of אחר הדברים האלה achar hadevarim ha'eleh. Person goes through a challenge, a suffering, a loss, an anguish, a crushed dream. Person's tired. They're just older, they're tired. A person could be in a stage of life, said the, says Rav Nachman, a stage of life of אחר הדברים האלה achar hadevarim ha'eleh. After all this, after all these things, I'm done.So Rabbi Nachman says in ליקוטי מוהר\"ן חלק א' סימן נ\"ה Likkutei Moharan Chelek Aleph Siman Nun-Hey. Again this is from the ספר שולחן השבת Sefer Shulchan HaShabbos. He didn't say it explicitly in the פרשה parsha but it's derived from the teachings of Rav Nachman on the פרשה parsha. Person lives then with מוחין דקטנות mochin d'katnus. מוחין דקטנות Mochin d'katnus means very small mind, small vision. Person retreats and recoils into a small sense of self, small אמונה emunah. אחר הדברים האלה Achar hadevarim ha'eleh, I'm crushed, tired, I'm exhausted, I'm spent. I got nothing left to dream and to have vision and to go change the world.והאלוקים ניסה V'ha'Elokim nisa. But it's in those moments that Elokim ניסה nisa is מלשון נס milashon nes and דגל degel. The word ניסה nisa, the same word for test, also means a נס nes means a banner. A נס nes is a flag. תקעו בשופר גדול לחרותנו ושא נס T'k'u b'shofar gadol l'cheruseinu v'sa nes. What does it mean ושא נס v'sa nes? Doesn't mean a miracle. What does a נס nes mean? A banner, a flag. צריך לרומם להגביה את הטבע שבגימטריא אלוקים Tzarich l'romem l'hagbia es ha'teva she'b'gematria Elokim. וזה עושה באמצעות את אברהם v'ze oseh b'emtzaus es Avraham. דהיינו מידת אברהם אבינו שהיא מידת חסד dahaynu midas Avraham Avinu she'hi midas chesed. ויהי אחר הדברים האלה Vayehi achar hadevarim ha'eleh, when we feel like I'm crushed, I'm spent, I'm exhausted, I got nothing left, I'm done. והאלוקים V'ha'Elokim, אלוקים Elokim in גמטריא gematria is טבע teva. ניסה Nisa, you gotta lift the banner of what? את אברהם es Avraham, the Avraham in you.מגן אברהם Magen Avraham, we make a ברכה bracha every day. בך חסינו Becha chasinu, we invoke Yitzchak and Yaakov, but Hashem sealed the Avram in us. מגן אברהם Magen Avraham. There is a piece of Avram in each and every one of us. We have the ability like Avram that even after אחר הדברים האלה achar hadevarim ha'eleh, we can raise the banner. We're not done. We're not finished. We're not finished. We're not complete. There's more to do. There's more to do. How do you do it? What was the מידה midah of Avram? חסד Chesed. If we turn outward and we do and we care for others, we'll find in ourselves מוחין דגדלות mochin d'gadlus, not קטנות katnus. We're not finished, we're not done, we're not retired. Our best is yet to come. We're just getting started. There's so much more. There's so much more to impact the world. There's more for us to do.And how does Avram, a moment ago it says ויהי אחר הדברים האלה vayehi achar hadevarim ha'eleh. A moment ago, it's after all these things, and now it's הנני hineni. Avram says, I thought I was spent, I thought I was exhausted, I thought I was retired, I thought I was done, I thought my book was complete. But he went from an אחר הדברים האלה achar hadevarim ha'eleh to a sense of הנני hineni. Here I am. What needs to be done? Let's get it done.We didn't answer. First he calls ויאמר אליו vayomer elav, Avram. He calls him once Avram. But later when the angel calls, says ויקרא vayikra, he calls him Avram, Avram. Why does he say his name twice later? And here in the introduction to the עקידה Akeidah, he says his name once. I guess we'll leave that אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem for next year.Tomorrow we have מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, living with אמונה emunah. Until next time, may we hear ישועות ונחמות yeshuos v'nechamos. משיח Mashiach should come כהרף עין k'heref ayin.Thank you. Don't forget, please stay for תהלים Tehillim, we're gonna complete all תהלים Tehillim. Thirty people stay, it'll take five minutes, each person takes that day. If you want to get a flag for your car, five dollars.
