Transcript
Maybe a good morning for us, for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. It should be a good morning, a good day, a good week. We should hear ישועות ונחמות yeshuos v'nechamos, sweeping victory and salvation. Everyone should be brought home. Our soldiers should come home. And our learning continues to be in the merit of those hostages, of our precious soldiers, of all of our brothers and sisters in Israel.פרשה Parsha series is generously sponsored by our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנוש l'ilui nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manush. We remain very grateful to them for their sponsorship this morning. שיעור Shiur is also sponsored by Silvia Brody. Thank you, Mrs. Brody, in commemoration of the upcoming 21st יארצייט yahrzeit of her beloved husband, Arnold Brody. His נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. Thank you for your generosity as well.Also, a couple quick reminders. Right after שיעור shiur, we will continue to divide all of תהלים Tehillim and complete all of ספר תהלים Sefer Tehillim. If 30 of more people remain, it will take just a few minutes. So please stay and please stay and say תהלים Tehillim. We still have more ציצית tzitzis to tie. If you've become a proficient expert at tying ציצית tzitzis, even if you are a novice, we need your help. Please stay and tie ציצית tzitzis as well. And there are flags available in the lobby. Put them on your car, show your pride, show that we're not scared, stand tall as a proud Jew. פרשת תולדות Parshas Toldos, page 124 in the ארטסקרול Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם V'eilah toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. These are the offspring of Yitzchak, the son of Avram. And then the Torah seems to offer an unnecessary repeat, a redundancy. If Yitzchak is the son of Avram, then obviously and clearly, Avram begot Yitzchak. He begot. It's the only time we ever use the word begot, פרשת תולדות Parshas Toldos. He gave birth, he begot Yitzchak. So what is it telling us? רש\"י Rashi famously tells us, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak, על ידי שכתב הכתוב יצחק בן אברהם al yedei shekasav hakasuv Yitzchak ben Avraham, הוזקק לומר אברהם הוליד את יצחק huzkak lomar Avraham holid es Yitzchak. רש\"י Rashi's bothered by the כפל לשון kefel lashon. רש\"י Rashi's bothered by the double language. At first it says אלה תולדות Eilah toldos, these are the offspring, the progeny of Yitzchak, the son of Avram, and then Avram gave birth to Yitzchak. So רש\"י Rashi goes on and tells us, we all know the famous story, לפי שהיו ליצני הדור אומרים מאבימלך נתעברה שרה l'fi shehayu leitzanei hador omrim me'Avimelech nisabra Sarah. There were scoffers and cynics of the generation of every generation. There are the haters and the cynics and the scoffers and the conspiracy theorists who theorized that in fact, Yitzchak was not the son of Avram, but rather the son of Avimelech, that Avimelech was with Sarah when they went down to Egypt, שהרי כמה שנים שהתה עם אברהם ולא נתעברה הימנו sheharei kama shanim sha'asa im Avraham v'lo nisabra heimenu. Because after all, Sarah and Avram lived together for many years and they did not succeed in procreating and having a child. מה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא mah asa haKadosh Baruch Hu? So how did השם Hashem respond? What was השם Hashem's response to these scoffers and cynics, to these haters? מה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא mah asa haKadosh Baruch Hu? צר קלסתר פניו של יצחק דומה לאברהם tzar kalaster panav shel Yitzchak domeh l'Avraham. השם Hashem made יצחק Yitzchak be the spitting image of Avraham. They looked exactly the same. There was no doubt who Yitzchak's father was. והעידו הכל אברהם הוליד את יצחק v'heidu hakol Avraham holid es Yitzchak. And everybody could look at יצחק Yitzchak and simply by looking at יצחק Yitzchak, you would testify, that's Avraham's kid. Looks exactly like Avraham, spitting image of Avraham. וזהו שכתב כאן v'zehu shekasav kan, and that's why אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם Eilah toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham and אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. But there's more understandings. First of all, you see here the power of the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador because רש\"י Rashi quotes חז\"ל Chazal telling us that a miracle was done. יצחק Yitzchak looked like the spitting image of Avraham. Spitting image. Why would השם Hashem intervene, intercede, why would השם Hashem do a miracle? Because you see how pernicious, you see how dangerous, you see how destructive the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. Every generation has cynics and scoffers and conspiracy theorists. Every generation has haters. They look at those who are trying to change the world and they throw their hate at them. And it's so dangerous, it's so real, it can be so destructive that השם Hashem is determined to have to answer himself. He doesn't ignore. One might have said ignore, who cares? Just ignore. But the answer is it can be dangerous. It can be destructive. So much so that השם Hashem feels he has to response. But the לב אושר Lev Osher of רב דרוק Rav Druck we've been going through his brand new ספר sefer, gives us another explanation. Why the redundancy? יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avraham, אברהם הוליד Avraham holid. He says לשון הוליד שייך רק גבי אישה שהיא מולידה בפועל Lashon holid shayach rak gabei isha she'hi molida b'foal. אך כלפי האב לכאורה אין מקום לדבר בלשון הולדה ach klapei ha'av lichora ein makom l'daber b'lashon holada. שרה Sarah might have a few things to say about the fact that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak. Sarah's no longer here. That was last week's פרשת חיי שרה Parshas Chayei Sarah. If she were still alive, she might object. She might have a different opinion. Is it accurate? Is it fair to describe אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avram holid es Yitzchak? Did Avram give birth to Yitzchak, or in fact, did Sarah give birth to Yitzchak? א\"כ נראה לבאר שלשון לידה הנאמרת כלפי אברהם al kein nireh l'va'er she'lashon leida ha'ne'emeres klapei Avraham, הכוונה ללידה רוחנית hakavana l'leida ruchanis. Now, when we talk about giving birth, we often think physically, who went through the labor pains, who had the contractions, who has the stretch marks to show that they were pregnant for nine months. It wasn't Avram. It wasn't Avram. So how could you say אברהם הוליד Avraham holid? says רב דרוק Rav Druck, because the word הוליד holid does not only mean biologically and physically to give birth, it means spiritually, in the world of רוחניות ruchanius, who molded, who shaped, who created the value system, who gave birth? לשון לידה הנאמרת כלפי אברהם הכוונה ללידה רוחנית lashon leida ha'ne'emeres klapei Avraham, hakavana l'leida ruchanis. אברהם אבינו בנה את מהותו של יצחק Avraham Avinu bana es mahuso shel Yitzchak ואת פנימיותו ברוחניות v'es pnimiuso b'ruchnius. Because it's true that Sarah gave birth physically, but Avram partnered with Sarah in giving birth spiritually. Yitzchak was not just the heir to the genetics of Avram and Sarah, but also to the spiritual DNA. והם ירדו ליו בבני מידת הגבורה ומסירות נפש v'hem yirdu l'Yav b'bnei midas ha'gvurah u'mesiras nefesh. Avram passed 10 tests. Sarah, כולן שוום לטובה kulan shavum l'tova. Sarah, her incredibly optimistic and faithful demeanor, they passed that on. So therefore לכן אברהם הוליד את יצחק lachen Avraham holid es Yitzchak, נתן לו חיים אמיתיים nasan lo chaim amiti'im, כי זכה אותו לחיי עולם הבא ki zikah oso l'chayei Olam Haba. There are those who give life in this world and there are those who train and mold and shape and inspire and enrich who give life in חיי עולם chayei olam. Life in perpetuity. Life in נצח נצחים netzach netzachim. כפי שאמרו חז\"ל k'fi she'amru Chazal, the גמרא סנהדרין Gemara Sanhedrin says דף צ\"ט daf tzadi tes, כל המלמד בן חבירו תורה kol hamelamed ben chavero Torah, מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו ילדו ma'aleh alav hakasuv k'ilu yelado. Anyone who teaches someone תורה Torah, it's as if you have given birth to them. Because a person void of תורה Torah, a person whose life is searching and yearning and looking for meaning and purpose but doesn't have the tools, doesn't have the compass, can't navigate what the mission is all about, such a person is living in this world but they can't tap into eternity and immortality. But when we arm someone with the tools of תורה Torah, when we give someone access to a compass to navigate this world most meaningfully, when we give someone, when we give someone the capacity to earn immortality, you haven't given them life in this world, you've given them life forever. And that's why we say someone who teaches someone תורה Torah, כאילו ילדו k'ilu yelado. It's as if you taught them. It's as if you taught them. שלמה קלוגר Shlomo Kluger says this הלכה למעשה halacha l'maaseh with פרו ורבו pru u'revu. The גמרא שבת Gemara Shabbos tells us that, רב דרוק Rav Druck doesn't quote this, but the גמרא שבת Gemara Shabbos tells us that when a person passes away and they come upstairs, they're asked a series of questions. Did you do your business dealings faithfully? Did you set aside time consistently for Torah study? A series of questions. And one of them is, עסקת בפריה ורביה asakta b'priyah u'reviyah. Did you occupy yourself with promulgating and filling the world with continuity? The מהרש\"א Maharsha already notes and wonders, why doesn't say קיימת kiyamta? Why doesn't it say, did you fulfill פרו ורבו pru u'revu? We know it's a מחלוקת machlokes בית שמאי בית הלל Beis Shammai, Beis Hillel. How do you fulfill פרו ורבו pru u'revu? Having a son and a daughter, two sons, we פסק pasak you need a son and a daughter in order to fulfill פרו ורבו pru u'revu. Why didn't the גמרא Gemara, why doesn't it tell us after 120, we ascend upstairs in the בית דין של מעלה Beis Din shel ma'alah will ask us, nu, קיימת פרו ורבו kiyamta pru u'revu? Did you have children? The גמרא יבמות Gemara Yevamos elaborates. Children, grandchildren, פרו ורבו pru u'revu to fill the world. Sadly, tragically, if a person's children predecease them, they've not fulfilled פרו ורבו pru u'revu, unless they have a grandchild who survives the predeceased child, because the purpose, the essence of פרו ורבו pru u'revu is to populate the world with the values of Torah. So if that's the מצוה mitzvah, why doesn't it say קיימת kiyamta, did you fulfill it? And the answer is because it's a מצוה mitzvah that's not in our control. The ערב שבת כלע Erev Shabbos Kodesh a few weeks ago we spoke about this. What is the nature of the מצוה mitzvah of פרו ורבו pru u'revu? The מעשה maaseh or the קיום kiyum? To attempt to fulfill פרו ורבו pru u'revu, for a husband and a wife to try to have children, naturally, or using fertility techniques, איי יו איי, איי וי אפ IUI, IVF and so on. So it's not in your hands, it's not in your control. A person can try, but ultimately it's up to Hashem. So how could we be asked, did you fulfill? We can only be asked, עסקת asakta, did you try? Did you try? But שלמה קלוגר Shlomo Kluger has a תשובה teshuva and he actually holds הלכה למעשה halacha l'maaseh that if one adopts a child, they fulfill פרו ורבו pru u'revu through adopting and raising that child. עסקת asakta, were you involved in continuity? Were you involved in spreading the message and the value system of Torah? Not only by biologically having children, but those who are in חנוך chinuch, those who support חנוך chinuch institutions and enable the education of children. We're going to announce soon our annual campaign for our Jewish education scholarship fund, because as focused as we are on Israel and we should be, and we should direct the majority of our giving to Israel, we still need Jewish continuity and Jewish children with Jewish values. We need those who are going to stand up and fight for Israel in the next generation. So, עסקת בפריה ורביה asakta b'priyah u'reviyah. Did we, so this is the same thing, כל המלמד בן חבירו תורה kol hamelamed ben chavero Torah, מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו ילדו ma'aleh alav hakasuv k'ilu yelado. יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avraham, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. True, Yitzchak was the son of Avraham, had his DNA, but also Avraham holid, it wasn't passive. Yitzchak didn't just emerge and become a Yitzchak. Avraham intentionally, strategically, thoughtfully, mindfully, he molded and shaped Yitzchak into who he was, into who he was. And that's why we have both parts of this, both parts of this פסוק pasuk. He then offers another interpretation, the לב אושר Lev Osher of רב דרוק Rav Druck. And he says the following. Yitzchak was, how old when he had Yaakov and Esav? 60. יצחק היה בן שישים שנה בעת שנולדו לו יעקב ועשו Yitzchak haya ben shishim shana b'eis shenoldu lo Yaakov v'Esav. As the פסוק pasuk says, ויצחק בן שישים שנה בלדת אותם v'Yitzchak ben shishim shana b'ledes osam. ומסתבר שבכל אותה עת umistaber sheb'chol osa eis, כבר נולדו כל הדור kvar noldu kol hador, בני גילם של אברהם ושרה ואבימלך bnei gilam shel Avraham v'Sarah v'Avimelech. Who are these ליצני הדור leitzanei hador? Who are the cynics and scoffers? If Yitzchak is 60 when he first has Yaakov and Esav, so, אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם Eilah toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. יש להבין מדוע נזכרו ליצני הדור לומר ליצנות זו מאבימלך נתעברה שרה דוקא כאשר נולדו ליצחק בנים yesh l'havin madua nizkeru leitzanei hador lomar leitzanus zo me'Avimelech nisabra Sarah davka ka'asher noldu l'Yitzchak banim. Where were the haters until now? Why do they first raise this accusation? Why do they first level this suspicious conspiracy theory now, when Yitzchak's going to have children, he's 60 years old? If the theory is that Yitzchak is not in fact the son of Avraham, if the theory is that Yitzchak is the son of Avimelech, when should that theory, when should that challenge, when should that cynicism have first been leveled? When? 60 years ago. When the shul sent out the email, מזל טוב mazel tov to Avraham and Sarah, huge מזל טוב mazel tov, שרה אמנו Sarah Imeinu, Avraham was already a father, but huge מזל טוב mazel tov, first time mother Sarah at an advanced age. So there should have been a response. First time it was posted online, all the haters should have commented, ah, probably not Avraham's, probably Avimelech's. They waited 60 years? They were probably gone. So who are these ליצני הדור leitzanei hador? כראי יכול לומר מאבימלך נתעברה שרה k'rai yachol lomar me'Avimelech nisabra Sarah, מפני מה דוקא רק כאן mipnei mah davka rak kan? says רב דרוק Rav Druck, נראה לבאר בזאת כי ליצני הדור לוקחים דבר nireh l'va'er b'zos ki leitzanei hador lokchim davar, מעוות ועושים אותו הם הראו עצמם כסנגורים me'uvas v'osim oso, hem her'u atzmam k'saneigorim, מליצי יושר meilitzei yosher. ואמרו כיצד יתכן שיצחק הצדיק בן אברהם הצדיק v'amru keitzad yitachen she'Yitzchak hatzadik ben Avraham hatzadik, הוליד בן רשע מרושע כעשו holid ben rasha merusha k'Esav. הלא גנאי הוא לאותו צדיק לומר שזהו נכדו halo gnai hu l'oso tzadik lomar she'zehu nechdo. אין זאת אלא כי אבימלך נתעברה שרה ein zos ela ki Avimelech nisabra Sarah, ומחמת כן יצא שורש פורה רוש זה של עשו u'machmas kein yatza shoresh poreh rosh zeh shel Esav. Listen to this fantastic פשט pshat by רב דרוק Rav Druck. Who are Yaakov's, who are Yitzchak's sons? Not a trick question. I know it's only Monday, not Tuesday, people, but wake up. Who are Yitzchak's sons? Yaakov and Esav. Yaakov is righteous, holy, W and H righteous, and and Esav, much less so. Esav is a רשע מרושע rasha merusha. So these ליצני הדור leitzanei hador who have been in the background, you know how ליצני הדור leitzanei hador operate? Listen to this great insight. ליצני הדור leitzanei hador operate like they are offering their cynicism, their skepticism, their hate, their trolling is presented in the guise of righteousness. Like they're fighting for a righteous cause. So they say these ליצני הדור leitzanei hador, oh boy, Yitzchak just had twins. One of them is a רשע מרושע rasha merusha, Esav. Ooh, it's a pasnish for אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu to have a grandson Esav. So, you know what? To defend the honor of Avraham, we'll spread a rumor that in fact, Avimelech is Yitzchak's father. Because, Avraham, אב המון גויים Av hamon goyim, אברהם הוא אבינו Avraham hu Avinu, אברהם הוא צדיק Avraham hu tzadik, he can't have a grandson like Esav. If there's an Esav, it must be Yitzchak came from Avimelech, not from Avraham. ליצנותם שיש בהם שמץ של הודאה בכך שבן זה עשו leitzanusam sheyesh bahem shemetz shel hoda'ah b'kach she'ben zeh Esav, בן יצחק ורבקה ben Yitzchak v'Rivka, אינו דומה אלא לאחי האם eino domeh ela l'achei ha'em, לבן הארמי הרשע Lavan ha'arami ha'rasha. It was easily explainable where Esav came from. You know where Esav came from? His uncle. Because Rivka had a brother, Lavan, ha'arami. So it wouldn't be a negative blemish on Avram's record that there's a grandson Esav. Thanks, but no thanks. Who needs the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador's help to defend Avram's honor? It wasn't necessary. You know, the גמרא בבא בתרא Gemara Bava Basra ק\"י kuf yud says, based on this, הנושא אישה hanosei isha, when you get married, you know, we got the resumes, picture, no picture, ניקס ת'פיקס nix the pix, resumes, references, you know what you should do, says the גמרא בבא בתרא Gemara Bava Basra? What are you asking so many questions about the young lady? הנושא אישה צריך שיבדוק hanosei isha, tzarich sheyivdok, באחיה b'acheha. A young man takes after his uncles. So look into the uncle. Look into the uncle. שרוב בנים דומים לאחי האם she'rov banim domim l'achei ha'em. Most boys will resemble or reflect their mother's brother, the uncle. Is he a funcle? Fun uncle? Is he an uncle? What kind of an uncle is he? What kind of an uncle is he? So רשעותו של עשו הרשע מכוח אחי אמו לבן הרשע rishuso shel Esav ha'rasha mikoach achei imo Lavan ha'rasha. Where do חז\"ל Chazal know that from? That you inherit the traits of your maternal uncle, uncles? They knew that from Esav. Esav was influenced by his uncle Lavan, Uncle Lavan, not by Avram. But what's amazing about this insight of רב דרוק Rav Druck is how accurate it is, that so often the haters, the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador, they, they don't come out and say, we're cynics and we're scoffers and we're haters. They say, this is a righteous and noble cause. We're saying what we're saying because nobody loves Avram more than we do. We're defending Avram's honor. But they lack the self-awareness to admit that in fact, they are, in fact, they are ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. I'll tell you another amazing insight. I want to thank Rav Moshe Press, who wrote up the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, two volumes, he sent me the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. One of the great parts of the Parsha shiur, it's been done wonders for my sforim collection. So the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. Who is the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel? The תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel is רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum. שמואל ברנבוים Shmuel Berenbaum was born in in Europe, learned in the מיר Mir under ר' ירוחם Reb Yeruchem, fled to שנחאי Shanghai with the מיר Mir, came to America. In America was part of the מיר Mir in Brooklyn, married the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, רב קלמנוביץ' Rav Kalmanowitz's daughter, and was the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva of the מיר Mir Brooklyn, שמואל ברנבוים Shmuel Berenbaum. So they collected his his thoughts and ideas on the Parsha, two wonderful volumes, תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. In fact, I opened it today and thought, it was so generous and kind for them to send it, I should find something to say. And then I ran into a problem. Everything in it I want to say. It's amazing. Beautiful, beautiful insights and so, so much to share. But let me just try to give you a sampling of some of them. תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum on the Parsha. He quotes אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם Eilah toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham, he also quotes our רש\"י Rashi, and צורך לעיון tzorech l'iyun, he asks the same question רב דרוק Rav Druck asked. למה עכשיו lama achshav, ליצחק כבר מלאו ארבעים שנה l'Yitzchak kvar mal'u arbaim shana, והוא הולך לישא את רבקה v'hu holech l'isa es Rivka. So unclear, when did these ליצני הדור leitzanei hador raise this suspicion? Last week's Parsha, was it at Yitzchak's אוף רוף aufruf? By the way, now אוף רוף aufrufs are filled with ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. It's one of the actual, we need רבנים rabbonim to speak out about this a little bit. It used to be at an אוף רוף aufruf, someone, the חסן chassan's friends said nice things about him, and offered him a ברכה bracha, and said admirable things about his family. Now every אוף רוף aufruf is a roast. Often inappropriately so. I've been to אוף רוף aufrufs, the parents are blushing, they're hiding under the table. It's embarrassing. Probably goes hand in hand with the amount and level of the לחיים lechaims at אוף רוף aufrufs today. It needs it needs work. It's a בושה busha, it's a בושה busha. An אוף רוף aufruf is not an opportunity to roast the חסן chassan. I don't mean that you can't have good humor and good fun, but it's not an opportunity to roast. So was it that at יצחק אבינו Yitzchak Avinu's אוף רוף aufruf, after he was introduced to רבקה Rivka, that's when the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador came out? He was 40? Was it when he had these twins, he was 60? But one thing we know is, it wasn't at his ברית bris. It wasn't at his שלום זכר shalom zachar. It wasn't when they announced his birth. So, רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum asks the same question as רב דרוק Rav Druck, nu, what took the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador so long? Was their keyboard broken? Was their interconnection down? What took the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador so long to comment? לכאורה היה על פרשת וירא l'chora haya al parshas Vayeira, ותהר ותלד שרה לאברהם בן v'tahar v'teled Sarah l'Avraham ben, שם היה לכתוב לומר sham haya l'chtov lomar, שאברהם הוליד את יצחק she'Avraham holid es Yitzchak. It should have said then, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak, because השם Hashem made a miracle that this little baby was the spitting image of his father, Avraham. It should have been last, in two weeks, ותהר ותלד שרה לאברהם v'tahar v'teled Sarah l'Avraham, אז אברהם הוליד את יצחק az Avraham holid es Yitzchak. וממילא לא היה פתחון פה לליצני הדור u'mimeila lo haya pischon peh l'leitzanei hador. The ליצני הדור leitzanei hador never could have gotten started. So why now? Listen to what he answers. יש לומר שכאשר נולד יצחק להוריו הזקנים yesh lomar she'ka'asher nolad Yitzchak l'horav ha'zkeinim, אברהם היה בן מאה שנה Avraham haya ben me'ah shana, ושרה בת תשעים שנה v'Sarah bas tishim shana, לא היו ליצני הדור מתקנאים בו lo hayu leitzanei hador miskan'im bo, כי חשבו לעצמם מה יצא מהבן הזה שיש להוריו זקנים ki chashvu l'atzmam mah yeyatzei mehaben hazeh sheyesh l'horav zkeinim. When Yitzchak was first born, you know what they said? We don't even need to be cynical. There's no reason to troll or hate on this kid. You know why? נבך nebach on this kid. נבך nebach on this kid, these geriatric parents. נבך nebach on this kid. They can't even wake up in the morning to, they wake up in the middle of the night to give him a bottle, to change his diaper. Their aid needs to help them get out of bed. They can't take care of a little kid. They're gonna take care of a little kid? Impossible. So ליצני הדור leitzanei hador said this 90-year-old and this 100-year-old, this kid's going to be neglected, the kid's going to amount to nothing. The parents are already old and over the hill. ועוד בדרך כלל אין אנשים מתפעלים מתינוק וילד v'od b'derech klal ein anashim mispa'alim mi'tinok v'yeled. ורק לאחר שהולך וגדל ורואים בהצלחתו v'rak l'achar she'holech v'gadel v'roim b'hatzlachaso, אז יש במה להתקנאות az yesh b'mah l'hiskanos. You know what they were waiting for? When they saw how successful Avram and Sarah were in raising Yitzchak. When they saw who Yitzchak emerged to be, now there was something to hate upon. בלידת יצחק גופא לא היה מי שאמר שהתינוק זה הוא אסופי b'leidas Yitzchak gufa lo haya mi she'amar shehatinok zeh hu asufi. ומה הוא בנם לשון רבים u'mah hu b'nam lashon rabbim, ביום המשתה הביאו עשרות בניהם עמדו וניקו אותו b'yom hamishteh hevi'u asaros b'neihem amdu v'niku oso. אבל לא היו מתקנאים בו aval lo hayu miskan'im bo. אבל עכשיו שגדל יצחק והלך לישא את רבקה הצדקת aval achshav shegadel Yitzchak v'halach l'isa es Rivka hatzaddekes, ולבנות את בית ישראל על דרך אביו אברהם ואמו שרה v'livnos es Beis Yisrael al derech aviv Avraham v'imo Sarah, אז נתקנאו ליצני הדור על הבן המוצלח az niskan'u leitzanei hador al haben hamutzlach. הו הא u'ha, now they see Yitzchak is a winner. He landed the great Rivka, the בעלת חסד ba'alas chessed. His parents are שרה ואברהם Sarah v'Avraham, legends, legends. Yitzchak is a winner and an incredible trajectory of success. ומרוב קנאתם רצו להשפילו ואמרו מאבימלך נתעברה שרה u'meirov kinasam ratzu l'hashpilo v'amru me'Avimelech nisabra Sarah. They weren't after him when he was a baby. The ליצני הדור leitzanei hador had nothing to say about him at his bar mitzvah. When he looked like he'd be a nothing, amount to nothing, they were silent. When did the haters come out? When they see success. So therefore, על כל פנים יש ללמוד מכאן חיזוק גדול al kol panim yesh lilmod mikan chizuk gadol. Listen to what רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum says. A great insight. All of his insights touch on the human psyche, the human condition. You can get a great חיזוק chizuk here. שאם אדם רואה שהשני מנסה להשפילו she'im adam ro'eh she'hasheini menaseh l'hashpilo, if you suffer, there are haters online who attack you, people who hang posters about you, people who go after you, you know what that means? ידע שזה סימן שהוא איש מצליח yeda shezeh siman she'hu ish matzliach. It means you're succeeding. Nobody goes after you if you're invisible. Nobody goes after you if you're failing. Nobody knocks you down or tries to knock you down a few rungs when you're not having an impact or an influence. You know when they try to knock you down? You know when they try to bring you down? When they see you're successful. That's when they hate. רק משום שמקנא בהצלחתו הוא רוצה להשפילו rak mishum shemekanei b'hatzlachaso hu rotzeh l'hashpilo. So people who are envious or jealous, that's who they try to take others down. It's a big חיזוק chizuk. Wherever you are in life, whatever business you're in, your competitors are going after you, whatever committee you're running, it's a challenge, it's hard to get good lay leaders. I was talking to someone this morning about עסקנים ועסקנות askanim v'askanus. Why can't we get עסקנים askanim here, people who problem solve, who take כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael on the shoulders, who solve problems? It's hard. You know why? Because when you're a public person, you invite and you welcome all the hate, criticism, negativity. It's hard. It's easier to just blend in. It's easier to just do your thing. It's easier to be in the background and write your check. You're gonna be the head of the committee, the president of the organization, you're going to volunteer to be the spokesperson, you're going to try to transform the world. If you're failing, no one has anything to say. When you're succeeding and making a big difference, everyone could tell you how they could have done it better, everyone competes to take credit, everyone tries to knock you down a few rungs and says, okay, maybe they solved this crisis, maybe they changed that, maybe they founded this mosad, but they're really, you know, do you know about them? They try to knock you down because you're מצליח matzliach. And that's what happened here. What a great pshat. Where were the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador when Yitzchak was born? They were nowhere to be found. Where were they? They were silent because they thought Yitzchak would be a nobody. But once Yitzchak is מצליח matzliach, now they got a lot of hate. Now they've got a lot to say. Again, the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, fantastic insight. He has a second pshat, the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel. And he says the following. נראה ליתן עוד טעם למה כפל הכתוב ב' פעמים nireh l'tein od ta'am lama kafal hakasuv beis pa'amim. Another insight. Why יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avraham, we're going to get past the first pasuk. We're going to get past the first pasuk. I don't know how much further past, but we're going to get past the first pasuk. Why the redundancy? יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avraham, Yitzchak is the son of Avraham, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. דהיינו ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם d'hainu v'eilah toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham, פירושו שיצחק נולד לאברהם והוא מציאות בנו peirusho she'Yitzchak nolad l'Avraham v'hu metzius bno. ואחר כך מוסיף הכתוב ואברהם הוליד את יצחק v'acharei kach mosif hakasuv v'Avraham holid es Yitzchak. דיצחק לא רק בן d'Yitzchak lo rak ben, אברהם הוליד Avraham holid. Again, the same idea that he molded and he shaped. This is a fulfillment of why השם Hashem said he loved Avraham. Do you remember when השם Hashem was debating, this internal debate, should I tell Avraham what I'm about to do to Sdom? And he says, yeah, yeah, I've got to reveal. I can't hold it back. המכסה אני מאברהם hamchaseh ani me'Avraham? Am I going to cover up what I'm going? No, I've got to tell him. And why? Why does Hashem conclude I have to tell him? Why? למען אשר ידעתיו l'ma'an asher yidativ, למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו l'ma'an asher yetzaveh es banav v'es beiso acharav, ושמרו דרך השם לעשות צדקה ומשפט v'shamru derech Hashem la'asos tzdaka u'mishpat. You know why? השם Hashem says, you know why I love Avraham? Not because of נפש אשר עשו בחרן nefesh asher asu b'Charan. השם Hashem doesn't say I love Avraham because of how he's transforming the world, how many followers and friends he has online, how many listens to his שיעור shiur and his podcast, how many readers to his article. השם Hashem says that's all lovely. It's nice. That's not why I cherish and love. It's not what I like about Avraham. You know what I love about Avraham? It's not anything happening on the outside. כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ki yidativ l'ma'an asher yetzaveh es banav, ואת ביתו אחריו v'es beiso acharav. His children. Because his children, he's putting in the time and the energy and the love and the focus that his children, his children will follow his footsteps, will grow after him. That's what matters. That's what counts. יצחק היה בנו ותלמידו של אברהם Yitzchak haya bno v'talmido shel Avraham. So the reason the Torah is telling us, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak is because that is the very fulfillment of what Hashem said he loves about Avram, the כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה ki yidativ l'ma'an asher yetzaveh. This is the fulfillment of ושננתם לבניך v'shinantam l'vanecha. And רש\"י Rashi in פרשת ואתחנן parshas Va'eschanan tells us, ושננתם לבניך v'shinantam l'vanecha, teach your children, אלו התלמידים eilu hatalmidim. מצינו בכל מקום שהתלמידים קרויים בנים matzinu b'chol makom she'hatalmidim kru'im banim. Again, this is the similar idea רב דרוק Rav Druck said about the גמרא סנהדרין Gemara Sanhedrin. that students are like children. כי עיקר שם בניך הוא כשמלמדם תורה ki ikar shem banecha hu k'shemlamdam Torah, ולא רק מה שהוא בנו במציאות v'lo rak mah shehu bno b'metzius. רב ברנבוים Rav Berenbaum has a very powerful insight. He's saying, if someone biologically descends from you, if you give birth to a child, that makes them partly your child. That makes them your child in this world, in this world, in the here and now. But if you want them to be your child for eternity, for eternity, you have to teach them Torah. Teach them values. Teach them to be a proud Jew. Teach them to stand for Jewish values. You have to mold and shape אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avraham, that was just the result of a moment of love between a husband and wife and procreation and fertility and nine months of gestation and birth. That resulted in יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avraham. Beautiful, nice. It's continuity. But that's not the same as having a child for eternity and immortality. אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak, forever and ever and ever, that is only by teaching Torah. So it means, ושננתם לבניך v'shinantam l'vanecha, we think about it in the opposite direction. רב דרוק Rav Druck focused it, focused, from the גמרא סנהדרין Gemara Sanhedrin, that when you have students, they're like your children. But רב שמואל ברנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum is quoting רש\"י Rashi, when you have children, you have to make them your students. When a person teaches students, it's like they're his children, her children. But when you have children, you also have to bring an attitude that they're your students. They are. ושננתם לבניך v'shinantam l'vanecha is incumbent on parents. חנוך Chinuch is a מצוה mitzvah on the father. We happen to not be so good at it today, so we outsource, we pay a third party, the חנוך chinuch system. But that's בדיעבד b'dieved. That's בדיעבד b'dieved, that's not the way it's meant to be. We are supposed to take responsibility, and we still have to complement and supplement what our children get. We have to teach. We have beautiful learning program, מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, אבות ובנים Avos Ubanim, אבות ובנים Avos Ubanim, mother-daughter learning. This past מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos, I had the great זכות zechus, I don't take lightly. I said it to my grandson, we were four generations at אבות ובנים Avos Ubanim. My father, me, my son, and grandson. And four generations learning together. I said to my grandson, who's a little over three years old, so he didn't know what I was talking about, but I felt good anyway, I said it. I said, אריה Aryeh, do you know how few people in all of history got to sit and learn with their great-grandfather at a program? Anyone, the raffle this week. And it wasn't fixed. It's unbelievable. So, when you sit with your child and your grandchild and your great-grandchild, then you are fulfilling ושננתם לבניך אלו התלמידים v'shinantam l'vanecha eilu hatalmidim. We have to turn our students into our children, but we also have to turn our children into our students, into our students. רב שמואל קמינצקי Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, שליט\"א shlita, he says, we all say in בנשינג bentsching, הרחמן הוא יברך את Harachaman hu yevarech es, אבי מורי, אמי מורתי Avi mori, imi morasi. Why do you say my father, my teacher, my mother, my teacher? If your father's a businessman, your mother's a lawyer, a doctor, they're not a teacher, why do you refer to them as אבי מורי אמי מורתי Avi mori, imi morasi? Because a mother and a father, primary responsibility is to be a teacher. It's to be a teacher. It's the most important teacher in your life. It's the teacher not with a textbook and a curriculum and tests and spitback. It's the teacher who you watch and you you observe and you grow up and you listen to and you see who you דאווענען daven next to and you sit at the שבת Shabbos table of. הרחמן הוא יברך את אבי מורי ואת אמי מורסי Harachaman hu yevarech es avi mori v'es imi morasi. So our students are our children, but our children also have to be our students. עיקר שם בנך כשמלמדם תורה Ikar shem banav k'shemelamdam Torah. And that's what we say in אבות Avos, says Rav Shlomo Barenbaum, העמידו תלמידים הרבה haamidu talmidim harbeh. Have many students. לא רק ולמדו Lo rak v'limdu. Why does the Mishna formulate it as העמידו haamidu? What does the word העמידו haamidu mean? Establish. Establish, set up many students. Establish. What are you talking about establish? Say teach. Teach a lot of students. It's not what it says. כי תפקיד הרב להוציא את הכוח של התלמיד מהכוח אל הפועל, שיתקיים בידו שגם כי יזקין לא יסור ממנה. Ki tafkid harav l'hotzi et hakoach shel hatalmid me'hakoach el hapoal, sheyitkayem b'yado shegam ki yazkin lo yasur mimenah. עד שיעמוד על רגליו בדרך הישר בחוזק Ad sheya'amod al raglav b'derech hayashar b'chozek. A teacher and a parent's job is to mold and shape and help the student stand on their own two feet. Is to inspire them, inspire their self-confidence in them, to see the greatness in them, to understand their potential. And that's what it means, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. אברהם הוציא והוליד את גדולתו של יצחק Avraham hotzi v'holid et gedulaso shel Yitzchak. And that's what they say about רבי עקיבא איגר Rabbi Akiva Eiger. שהשקיע בתלמידיו כוחות עצומים shehishkia b'talmidav kochos atzumim. Rabbi Akiva Eiger taught his students how to think. He didn't teach them how to memorize. He didn't download information. Rabbi Akiva Eiger taught his תלמידים talmidim how to think. עד כדי כך שפעם אחת השקיע בשיעור כל כך הרבה כוחות להסבירם עד שהתעלף Ad kedei kach shepa'am achas hishkia b'shiur kol kach harbeh kochos l'hasbiram ad shehisalef. He used all of his energy to be העמידו תלמידים הרבה haamidu talmidim harbeh, to mold and shape and put them on their own two feet, that he got so tired he passed out. לקיים את המאמר העמידו תלמידים הרבה L'kayem es hama'amar haamidu talmidim harbeh. So we saw two insights of Rav Druck, two insights of the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, Rav Shlomo Barenbaum. We're not done with the first פסוק pasuk. We're just getting started. Rav Volbe has another insight on the first פסוק pasuk. Rav Volbe says the redundancy in the פסוק pasuk. רש\"י Rashi says the cynics, the scoffers. After all, Sarah was married for all these years, no procreation came out of it, and to squelch the claims, Hashem made Yitzchak look exactly like his father, a chip off the old block, spitting image of his father. And therefore אלה תולדות יצחק Eleh toldos Yitzchak, these are the offspring of Yitzchak, who was clearly the son of Avram, since his facial features bore testimony to the fact that אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. It's astounding, says Rav Volbe, זצ\"ל zatzal, that although אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu was one of the greatest people in history, there were still ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is a legend. אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu is a great philosopher, a great theologian. He's the top of the Forbes 400. He's a billionaire, trillionaire, among the wealthiest, molding and shaping the world, has the admiration and reverence of the world. And despite that, there are ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. Why? So we already saw Rav Shlomo Barenbaum said, because when you're successful, that's when the haters come out, try to knock you down a few rungs. But Rav Volbe has a different insight. He says this phenomenon is rooted in the very creation of the world. Whenever Hashem created קדושה kedusha, holiness, he created the potential for the opposite. Every generation has spiritual giants, and every generation has ליצני הדור leitzanei hador to counteract the holiness of these giants. Everything Hashem made in this world, he made the opposite corresponding with it. There's יצר הטוב yetzer hatov, there's יצר הרע yetzer hara. There's light, and there's darkness. There's good, and there's evil. There's always the opposite corresponding. That's the only way we have free will. It's the only way that we have choice. So one looks at the great, the גדולי הדור gedolei hador, and you look at the column called the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador, and you have to express your בחירה bechira, your free will, where do you put your lot? Who are you and how do you want to be counted? Who do you follow and what are you a fan of? Whom do you repost? Whom do you retweet? The גדולי הדור gedolei hador? Or the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador? Why are there ליצני הדור leitzanei hador? Because time immemorial, since creation itself, Hashem created קדושה kedusha, created holiness, and created the opposite of it to offset it. And what's the opposite of קדושה kedusha and גדולי הדור gedolei hador? ליצני הדור Leitzanei hador. The מהר\"ל Maharal writes in גבורות השם פרק י\"ט Gevuras Hashem perek yud tes that even in the generation of משה ואהרן Moshe and Aharon, there were דתן ואבירם Dassan and Aviram, to ensure spiritual equilibrium. This balance is imperative in order to have בחירה bechira. If the integrity and goodness of the righteous were blatantly obvious, who would choose not to follow them? It has to be that you have to think about who's more געשמאק geshmak, who's more fun to follow? אברהם Avram? Or the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador? משה ואהרן Moshe and Aharon? Or דתן ואבירם Dassan and Aviram? In every generation, you have to make that choice. Who do you want to follow? Who's your crew? Who do you want to hang out with? Who's going to be your influence? Who are your influencers? Are your influencers the גדולי הדור gedolei hador? Or are your influencers the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador? You have to choose and you have to choose wisely. That's not coincidence or by accident. It's part of the very design of the world, says, says Rav Volbe, זצ\"ל zatzal.Okay, last, certainly not least, the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shmuel Alter, שליט\"א shlita, who was just here last week, last Monday. We're still basking in the light, the beauty of the inspiration. If you want to watch, if you go to my YouTube page, you could see the whole evening, the singing, his דברי חזוק, דברי התעוררות divrei chizuk, divrei hisorirus. There's English subtitles underneath it. Even if you were there but didn't fully understand it, watch it again with the subtitles. He's fantastic. And he says the following, the beautiful, the דרשה drasha that he gave me a copy of. כתיב אלה תולדות יצחק, ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה בכחתו את רבקה. Ksiv, eleh toldos Yitzchak, vayehi Yitzchak ben arbaim shana b'kachto es Rivka. רש\"י Rashi brings a חשבון cheshbon. רש\"י Rashi brings a חשבון cheshbon. כשבא אברהם מהר המוריה נתבשר שנולדה רבקה. Keshe'ba Avraham me'Har Hamoriah nisbaser she'nolda Rivka. These are the story of יצחק בן אברהם Yitzchak ben Avram, and now we're moving on to פסוק ב' pasuk beis. Or פסוק כ' pasuk chof, I should say. The second פסוק pasuk of our פרשה parsha. We're moving super speed now. Hold on to your chairs. ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה Vayehi Yitzchak ben arba'im shana, Yitzchak is 40 years old, בקחתו את רבקה בת בתואל הארמי מפדן ארם b'kachto es Rivka bas Besuel ha'arami miPaddan Aram, when he married Rifka, the daughter of Besuel, the sister of לבן הארמי Lavan Ha'arami, לו לאשה lo l'isha, he took her as a wife. 40 years old. How do you know he's 40? How do you know he's 40? זאגט רש\"י Zogt Rashi. רש\"י Rashi brings the חשבון cheshbon. He was 60 when he had his children, he was 40 when he got married. How do you know he was 40? רש\"י Rashi brings the calculation. כשבא אברהם מהר המוריה, נתבשר שנולדה רבקה Keshe'ba Avraham me'Har Hamoriah, nisbaser she'nolda Rivka. When Avram returned from the עקידה Akeidah, he found out, he caught up on his Constant Contact emails, he saw the message, מזל טוב mazel tov, the birth of Rifka. How old was יצחק Yitzchak at the time? 37. שהרי בו בפרק מתה שרה, משנולד יצחק עד עקידה שמתה שרה ל\"ז שנה. Sheharei bo b'perek meisah Sarah, min she'nolad Yitzchak ad Akeidah she'meisah Sarah lamed-zayin shana. ובת צ' היתה כשנולד יצחק U'vas tzadi hayta k'shenold Yitzchak. How old was Sarah when Yitzchak was born? 90. And Sarah died when Yitzchak came back from the Akeidah, who was 37. And Sarah, sorry, when Sarah died, she was how old? 127. So Sarah was 127 when she died. She was 100 when Yitzchak was born. She died as a result of the Akeidah. From here you know, how old was Yitzchak at the Akeidah? 27. Her Yitzchak, sorry, 37. הרי ליצחק ל\"ז שנה Harei l'Yitzchak lamed-zayin shana. ובאותו פרק נולדה רבקה, המתין לה עד שתהיה ג' שנים. U'vo b'perek nolda Rivka, himtin lah ad she'tihiyeh gimel shanim. He had to wait for her to be three years old. We spoke about that last week. My good friend Rav Mendy sent me this morning, the אברבנאל Abarbanel who was equally as bothered by my daughter Tamar, how you could suggest that Rifka was three. If you say things that don't make sense, nobody will listen to you about anything else you say. So we don't have to promote the things that don't seem to make sense. What does it mean? Yes, there's one מדרש medrash, but we saw last week, אוצר פלוס התורה Otzar Plus HaTorah, there's other מדרשים midrashim, she was 14, she was older. Anyway, קשה Kasha, wonders Rav Shoel. Wonders the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva. מה הצורך בפירוט החשבון כאן? Mah hatzorech b'peirut hacheshbon kan? הלא בדרך כלל רש\"י מברר חשבון כשהפסוק סותם בכותבו ימים רבים, או היכן שלכאורה החשבון שבפסוק נסתר ממקום אחר. Halo b'derech klal Rashi mevarer cheshbon k'shehapasuk sosem b'kosvo yamim rabim, o heichan shelichora hacheshbon she'bapasuk nistar mimakom acher. כמו שבני ישראל שישבו במצרים שלושים שנה. U'Moshe u'Vnei Yisrael she'yashvu b'mitzrayim shloshim shana. When does רש\"י Rashi normally kick in with the math? That's when I kick out. But when does רש\"י Rashi normally kick in with the math? When from the פסוק pasuk you can't figure out or calculate what's going on. So רש\"י Rashi tells us if you want to get to the bottom line, if you want to know the number, here is the number, and here's how I got there. But wonders the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, what do I need רש\"י Rashi for here? After all, the פסוק pasuk itself tells me, ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה בכחת את רבקה. Vayehi Yitzchak ben arba'im shana b'kachto es Rivka. Yitzchak was 40 when he took Rifka. שוין Shoin. I've got the bottom line. I got the age, I got the number. How to backtrack and calculate and figure it out? When does רש\"י Rashi give you the whole calculation, when he needs to give you the total. But we have the total. So why do we need the whole calculation? Why do we need the whole calculation? וכבר עמד על זה המזרחי, שהרי אין המקרא צריך סעד לדבריו. U'chvar amad al zeh ha'Mizrachi, sheharei ein hamikra tzorech sad l'dvarav. He says, go see the מזרחי Mizrachi, the super commentary on רש\"י Rashi. The מזרחי Mizrachi was bothered by this question, since the Torah itself gives us the total, why do I need the calculation? Go see what the מזרחי Mizrachi answers. Rav Shoel is going to give his own answer. זאגט דער הייליגע ראש ישיבה Zogt der heilige Rosh Yeshiva. יש לומר שהחשבון של רש\"י אינו חשבון של שנים. Yesh lomar she'hacheshbon shel Rashi eino cheshbon shel shanim. רש\"י Rashi was not giving us a calculation of years. א היסטארישע חשבון A historische cheshbon. You like my Yiddish? א היסטארישע, אלא א לעבן חשבון, חשבון של חיים. A historische, ella a leben cheshbon, cheshbon shel chayim. איך זוכים לזרע כשר? Eich zochim l'zera kosher? רש\"י Rashi wasn't trying to give us the formula or the calculation, the arithmetic about how to add up to get to that Yitzchak was 40. He wasn't giving us historical math, he was giving us life calculation. What's the life calculation? מובא בספרים הקדושים, שפת אמת Muvah b'sfarim hakdoshim, Sfas Emes. שכל עובדא של האבות היה הוראה של בנים. Shekol uvda shel ha'avos haya hora'ah shel banim. כי מעשה אבות היה הכנה לבנים, שכל מעשיהם שינהגו, גם אנחנו יכולים להיות עושים כמעשיהם. Ki ma'aseh avos haya hachanah l'banim, shekol ma'aseihem she'yinhagu, gam anachnu yecholim l'hiyos osim k'ma'aseihem. We know from the רמב\"ן Ramban, it's a big theme in the שפת אמת Sfas Emes, מעשה אבות סימן לבנים ma'aseh avos siman l'banim. What our matriarchs and patriarchs endured, what they did, what they went through, was portending, was foretelling us what we would endure, what we would go through, the strength that we would need. וזה בא רש\"י ללמדנו, אם רוצים להעמיד זרע כשר, יעקב אבינו שמטתו שלמה, י\"ב שבטי קה. V'zeh ba Rashi l'lamdeinu, im rotzim l'ha'amid zera kosher, Yaakov Avinu she'mitaso shleima, yud-beis shivtei kah. If you want to give birth to a יעקב Yaakov, and יעקב Yaakov merited to have מטתו שלמה mitaso shleima, what does that mean? אברהם Avram had יצחק Yitzchak but he had ישמעאל Yishmael. יצחק Yitzchak had יעקב Yaakov but he had עשו Eisav. יעקב Yaakov had his, he was full, his family was full, complete. שבטי קה Shivtei kah, all twelve tribes. צורך לזה הכנה Tzorech l'zeh hachana. You don't arrive at a יעקב Yaakov on your own. How do you get there? מסירות נפש של אברהם אבינו בהר המוריה Mesirus nefesh shel Avraham Avinu b'Har HaMoriah, ומסירות נפש של שרה אמנו שפרחה נשמתה u'mesirus nefesh shel Sarah Imeinu she'parcha nishmasa. ורק על ידי מסירות נפש דשניהם, יכולים להקים דורות עם זרע כשר. V'rak al yedei mesirus nefesh d'shneihem, yecholim l'hakim doros im zera kosher. You know why רש\"י Rashi was bringing this whole calculation? Not for the math. He was reminding us, אברהם Avram, עקידה Akeidah, שרה Sarah died because of the עקידה Akeidah, מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. This is not a historical calculation. This was a life calculation. And what was the life calculation? The Torah is telling us, you know how you get to a יצחק בן אברהם, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Yitzchak ben Avram, Avram holid es Yitzchak? You know how you arrive there? Only through מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. The מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh of אברהם אבינו Avram Avinu who was willing to do the עקידה Akeidah, and the מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh of שרה Sarah that she died as a result of the, of the עקידה Akeidah. פרק כ\"ה פסוק כ' Perek kaf-hei, pasuk kaf. Second pasuk, we're still on that, now pasuk chof. Still on the second pasuk. Bear with me. Says again the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, Rav Shlomo Barenbaum. It's a wonderful new ספר sefer. Fantastic. רש\"י Rashi is bothered. וכי עדיין לא נכתב שהיא בת בתואל אחות לבן מפדן ארם? V'chi adayin lo nichtav she'hi bas Besuel achos Lavan miPaddan Aram? Why did the פסוק pasuk here have to again tell us Rifka's יחוס yichus? Yitzchak was 40 when he married Rifka, in case you forgot, the daughter of Besuel, the sister of לבן Lavan of the ארמי Arami. Why? Why do we have to repeat this? So רש\"י Rashi tells us, להגיד שבחה l'hagid shivcha, to tell us her praise, שהיתה בת רשע ואחי רשע she'haysa bas rasha v'achi rasha. She's the daughter of a wicked, evil person, the sister of a wicked, evil person, ומקום אנשי רשע u'mkom anshei rasha, and she comes from a wicked, evil community, ולא למדה ממעשיהם v'lo lamda m'ma'aseihem, but she did not learn from their deeds. Wonders Rav Shlomo Barenbaum, תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, יש להבין למה המתין הכתוב להזכיר שבחה של רבקה עד כאן ולא הזכיר זאת אלא בפרשת חיי שרה. Yesh l'havin, lama himtin hakasuv l'hazkir shivcha shel Rivka ad kan v'lo hizkir zos ella b'parshas Chayei Sarah. You want to say such a געשמאק geshmak, nice praise of of Rifka? Her father was miserable, her brother was miserable, her community was miserable, and she came out a gem, a diamond. Despite those negative influences, where should the Torah have first introduced this wonderful praise of Rifka? Where would you have expected it? Last week's פרשה parsha, חיי שרה Chayei Sarah. אליעזר Eliezer comes to the well, he meets the שדכן shadchan, he says, \"What do you got?\" Says, \"Oh, these resumes, those resumes. Let's look through all the resumes.\" We look through all the resumes. You know, the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer, last week's פרשה parsha. Says, ואברהם זקן בא בימים, וה' ברך את אברהם בכל. V'Avraham zaken ba bayamim, v'Hashem beirach es Avraham bakol. Avram got old, and Hashem blessed Avram with everything. וה' ברך את אברהם בכל Hashem beirach es Avraham bakol, so רש\"י Rashi quotes, what's בכל bakol? גמטריא Gematria, what is בכל bakol? בת Bas. Avram had a daughter. The כתב סופר Ksav Sofer says, and that's why he got old. When he had sons, he stayed young. When he had a daughter, it aged him. Why? Because the credit card, the Amazon account? Yes. But why did it age him? So listen what the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer says. The כתב סופר Ksav Sofer says, 'cause when you have a son, so Avram's sons are gonna be מצויינים metzuyanim. The other side is going to support them 100%, buy them the apartment. So Avram could stay young, he had nothing to worry about. But once you have a daughter, and you got to put up the dowry, and you got to pay for the young man to learn full-time, Avram aged quickly. That's the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer. I would adapt it to this day and say, when you have sons, you know they're going to have a pile to the ceiling of resumes, no problem, they're going to go out, they're going to find a girl, it's gonna be easy. But once you have a daughter, and you have a daughter in שידוכים shidduchim, אוי ואבוי oy vavoy, you're going to grow white, you're going to lose your hair, you're going to get old very quickly. אברהם זקן בא בימים Avraham zaken ba bayamim, because וה' ברך את אברהם בכל Hashem beirach es Avraham bakol. Once he had a daughter in שידוכים shidduchim, now it aged him very quickly. But anyway, so I just want to tell you that bonus from last week's פרשה parsha. So Avram comes to meet the שדכן shadchan, and אליעזר Eliezer comes to meet the שדכן shadchan, and wouldn't you have expected that that's where, that's where it should say, \"Oh, Rifka, psshh. Her father's a lowlife, her brother's an ice varfer, her community a bunch of רשעים rishaim, and yet she emerges to be a Rifka.\" Wonders the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, why do you wait till our פרשה parsha? אז בשעה שנשא יצחק את רבקה ורש\"י מקשר, מה טעם יוסף להגיד שבחה. Az b'shaah shenasa Yitzchak es Rivka v'Rashi mekashair, mah ta'am yosef l'hagid shivcha. When Yitzchak married Rifka, and Rifka came into his tent and resembled the mother, Sarah, so that's when it should have told us this praise. או היה לו הכתוב להזכיר שבחה כשאליעזר עבד אברהם סיפר ליצחק כל הדברים אשר עשה. O haya lo hakasuv l'hazkir shivcha k'she'Eliezer eved Avraham siper l'Yitzchak kol hadvarim asher asah. Or when אליעזר Eliezer came back and gave the report of the שידוך shidduch to Yitzchak, that's when report what a fine girl she is. Why until now? ונראה V'nireh, says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, כשהכל הולך כשורה ורואה אדם הצלחה בענייניו. k'shehakol holech k'shura v'ro'eh adam hatzlacha b'inyanav. Now you'll see why I love this, I just fell in love with this ספר sefer today. His insights, every one of them, they're great. He says because when all is going well and good, and a girl, a young woman is a צדקת tzadekes, everything's well and good in her life, what's not to be a צדקת tzadekes about? But what happens now? כשאין הדברים הולכים כרצונו, וישנן צרות רחמנא ליצלן, אז זה נסיון להתנהג בצדקות גדול יותר. K'she'ein hadvarim holchim kirtzono, v'yeshnam tzaros rachmana litzlan, az ze nisayon l'hisnaheg b'tzidkus gadol yoser. ואז יכול להיות הנהגת האדם בשעת צערו, קורא מבחן לדעת אם הוא צדיק גמור או לא. V'az yachol l'hiyos hanhagas ha'adam b'shaas tza'aro, korei mivchan lada'as im hu tzadik gamur o lo. What happens in the beginning of our פרשה parsha? Rifka's dreams are crushed. She's desperate for children. But she's barren, she's struggling, she's waiting. She's, it's a hard time. Now, when life is not going as you planned, now, when you confront hard times and hardship, now we see what someone's made of. So when Rifka was growing up, she's the valedictorian of her girls' school, she's sought after in the community, she's beloved, she's praised for how pretty she is. And so she דאווענ'ס davens with her תהילים Tehillim. So it's easy to דאווענ'ן daven like a צדקת tzadekes when you're getting all the praise and you have all the success and everything is flowing so smoothly, and you're chosen to star in the production, and everything is so perfect. And then, what happens? What happens to the little מיידל meidel who was the star of the production, the valedictorian of her class, and is the most popular girl in her school, and who everybody talks about and praises, and wants her to be the מדריכה madricha and the head in in the working in the youth department? And now all of a sudden, and she gets married so quickly, first in her class, she gets married to יצחק Yitzchak, to the גדול הדור gadol hador. And then, she struggles to have children. Now you see what someone's made of. Does she still open the תהילים Tehillim and the סידור siddur? She still have such unconditional אמונה emunah and faith in Hashem? אם גם אז היא מתנהגת על דרך הטוב וצדקות, הרי זה שבח גדול ומורה על צדקות באמת. Im gam az hi misnaheges al derech hatov v'tzidkus, harei zeh shevach gadol u'moreh al tzidkus b'emes. It's a greater praise when the person runs into the wall, and for the first time experiences failure, and his dreams that are crushed, and they stick with their צדקות tzidkus. They still דאווענ'ן daven with כוונה kavana, and they still have tremendous אמונה וביטחון emunah and bitachon. That is the greater testament to who the person is. And that's why the Torah waits until now to tell us this about Rifka. Would it have been true last week when אליעזר Eliezer finds her? Absolutely. Would it have been more appropriate when אליעזר Eliezer reports to יצחק Yitzchak? Sure. Why does the Torah wait until now? Because now it's much more impressive about Rifka that even though she's struggling and even though she ran into this wall and even though she's experiencing this failure, now you see what she's really made of. Now you see that she's טאקע taka a tremendous, tremendous צדקת tzadekes. He elaborates on this point, but we want to go ווייטער weiter. פרק כ\"ה פסוק כ\"א Perek kaf-hei, pasuk kaf-alef. Oh, third פסוק pasuk. ויעתר יצחק לה' לנוכח אשתו כי עקרה היא. Vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem l'nochach ishto ki akara hi. So Yitzchak, a good husband, what does he do? He דאווענ'ס davens for her, because he sees that she's barren. ויעתר לו ה', ותהר רבקה אשתו Vaye'aser lo Hashem, vatahar Rivka ishto. And Hashem allowed himself to be convinced, allowed himself to be entreated, and his wife Rifka conceives. His wife Rifka conceives. Back to Rav Druck in the להבות אש Lahavos Eish. ויעתר יצחק לה', יש להתבונן Vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem, yesh l'hisbonen. The פסוק pasuk is in the wrong order. What should it have been? כי עקרה היא Ki akara hi, Yitzchak finds that Rifka's barren, struggling, not having children, 20 years. They go to fertility specialists, they go to doctors, they test ovulation, they do all kinds of treatments. So what does he then do? It should have said עקרה היא akara hi, she's barren, so ויעתר יצחק לה' לנוכח אשתו vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem l'nochach ishto. So he דאווענ'ס davens. It's out of order. Out of order. Why is it in the wrong order? Says Rav Druck, נראה בביאור הדברים על פי מה שאמרו במדרש שיר השירים. Nireh b'veiur hadvarim al pi mah she'amru b'Midrash Shir HaShirim. מפני מה נתעקרו האימהות, בשביל שהקדוש ברוך הוא מתאווה לשמוע שיחתן. Mipnei mah nisakru ha'imahos, bishvil she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu mis'aveh lishmo'a sichasan. The reason it's in the wrong order is to tell us that the hardships were done because Hashem loves the תפילה tefilla of צדיקים tzadikim. Hashem wants that relationship, wants that closeness, wants that connection. And he says, \"Hello down there. I can't get your attention when everything's smooth and everything's going well. I can't get you to look up and notice me.\" So a little roadblock, a little stumble, a little struggle, so we look up and start having a conversation with him. So that's why it's out of order. ויעתר יצחק לה' לנוכח אשתו, כי עקרה היא. Vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem l'nochach ishto, ki akara hi. The reason, כי עקרה היא ki akara hi, was because Hashem wanted them to דאווענ'ן daven to him. That's why it is out of order. That's the first פשט pshat he says. Then he continues. רש\"י Rashi here writes, ויעתר... what does it mean ויעתר יצחק לה'? Vaye'aser... what does it mean vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem? ויעתר Vayetar, it's an unusual word for דאווענענ'ן davening. What is ויעתר vayetar? רש\"י Rashi says הרבה והפציר בתפילה hirbah v'hif'tzir b'tefilla. He, on and on, over and over, davened abundantly. ויעתר לו נתפצר ונתפייס ונתרצה לו, אמר אני כל לשון הפצר וריבוי. Vaye'aser lo, nispatzar v'nispayes v'nirtzah lo, amar ani kolashon af'tzar v'ribui. It means to elaborate, to dwell, in abundance, in abundance. ויעתר לו ה' Vaye'aser lo Hashem, and that's why Hashem responds, not coincidentally, with the same word. ויעתר יצחק, ויעתר לו ה'. Vayetar Yitzchak, vaye'aser lo Hashem. Means, Yitzchak entreated God, Yitzchak abundantly, relentlessly davened to Hashem in order to appease him. ויעתר Vaye'aser, and Hashem was appeased. דינו, כשם שתפילתו של יצחק קרויה על שם הריבוי ויעתר, כמו כן קבלת התפילה is called ויעתר. Dayno, k'shem she'tefilaso shel Yitzchak kruya al shem ha'ribui, vayetar, k'mo kein kabalas ha'tefilla is called vaye'aser. יסוד נפלא למדין מכאן Yesod nifla l'meidin mikan. Says Rav Druck, we learn an incredible idea or principle about דאווענענ'ן davening from here. What is it? על צרה וכל דבר אחר, הרי התפללתי על צרה זו כמה וכמה פעם. Al tzara v'chol davar acher, harei hispalalti al tzara zu kama v'kama pa'am. So you'll say on October 7th, I davened. I davened. I'll never forget for the rest of my life coming to שול shul early October 7th morning, שמיני עצרת Shemini Atzeres for us morning, and being greeted by somebody who had heard from the guard what had happened in Israel. I'll never forget the pit in my stomach, all of us, how our hearts sank when we first learned. I'll never forget the number when we first heard was 50 casualties. 50, we thought? 50 casualties from a terror attack? How could it be? And then that throughout that day and the days that followed, we saw that number rise. And that afternoon, שמיני עצרת Shemini Atzeres afternoon, you had to close it off, you couldn't get into this room, it wasn't safe, it was packed with so many people, as we had a mass תהילים Tehillim gathering that afternoon. We did it again the next afternoon, שמחת תורה Simchas Torah. We've done it every day since. So you'll ask, why? Why isn't it reasonable if somebody says, \"Rabbi, enough with the תהילים Tehillim?\" Every שיעור shiur you give, you divide up תהילים Tehillim and finish תהילים Tehillim afterwards. שחרית, מנחה, תהילים, ערב שבת Shacharis, Mincha, Tehillim, Erev Shabbos we come 10 minutes early, תהילים Tehillim. Enough. I went to a תהילים Tehillim on October 7th, and I never took it back. So that תהילים Tehillim should just carry forward. I davened once and I said, \"השם Hashem, let no one else die, let no one else be murdered or killed, let the hostages come home, let the soldiers succeed.\" שוין Shoin. I said it once. Now it sits. Why do I have to keep davening? Why do I have to repeat myself over and over and over again? Says Rav Druck, of course, not talking about this מצב matzav, but in general, when a person runs into a צער tsar, כמה וכמה פעמים ואף על פי כן לא נושעתי, אם כן איזה סיוע יש דווקא בפעם תפילה נוספת. Kama v'kama pe'amim v'af al pi kein lo noshati, im kein eizeh siua yesh davka b'pa'am tefilla nosefes. So you'll say, \"I'm not answered.\" What's it up to? 42, רחמנא ליצלן Rachmana litzlan, soldiers? It's too much, it's 42 worlds that were ended, 42 families that are forever affected. Enough, שוין shoin, גענוג genug, enough, no more. No more. So why are we davening? He's not listening, he's not answering, you'll say. מלמדת אותנו התורה כי טענה זו בטעות יסודה. Melamedes osanu haTorah ki ta'ana zu b'ta'us yesodah. This is a gross error. יש מעלה עצומה בריבוי התפילה, יצחק Yesh ma'alah atzuma b'ribui ha'tefilla, Yitzchak did not give up. Yitzchak and Rifka got a no. So what did he do? ויעתר יצחק לה'. Vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem. Over and over and over again. ריבוי, הרבה והפציר בתפילה Ribui, hirbah v'hif'tzir b'tefilla, over and over and over. Because there's a type of appeasing Hashem. ויעתר לו ה' Vaye'aser lo Hashem, when ויעתר יצחק vayetar Yitzchak. Sometimes Hashem says one please isn't enough, one ask doesn't do it. I want to see כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael come together over and over and over again. Daven and daven and daven like you mean it, like you believe it. Don't stop, don't slow down, keep going. You're seeing this incredible התעוררות hisoreros in כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. You're seeing. You know, we had the ציצית tzitzis campaign. Our שול shul committed to tie 2,000 pairs of ציצית tzitzis this week. We're well on our way, but we still need help. Soldiers in the field all want ציצית tzitzis. So yeah, on שבת Shabbos I gave that דרשה drasha, and I said all the soldiers, it's part of their body armor, it's part of their tactical gear, they're desperate for it. I knew it and I meant it. But I posted a picture מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos of the, we had to open both walls, it came all the way in. If you weren't here, you missed something special, the energy in that room, amazing. On our family WhatsApp, and my niece whose husband is in Gaza said, her husband, she said, \"אבי Avi, you know,\" I said, \"it's true.\" And she wrote in capital letters, \"Everyone, every soldier wants ציצית tzitzis right now.\" There's an incredible התעוררות hisoreros. People who doubted God, didn't know if there was a God, never davened before, they're davening. Yesterday at the local rally, I wasn't, I was a little worried because the כינוס השלוחים Kinus HaShluchim was going on. So who's going to put תפילין tefillin on people? But the designated תפילין tefillin person left behind was at the rally. And there are people putting on תפילין tefillin who never put on תפילין tefillin. And I don't want to embarrass anyone, but last night we had ציצית tzitzis tying as well. And there was a person, there's a beautiful picture of all the people who filled the שול shul last night. I don't want to embarrass him, I don't know him. But there's a person who came to tie ציצית tzitzis last night, who has tattoos, he wasn't wearing a יארמלקע yarmulke, had a little earring, and he's sitting there tying ציצית tzitzis. Because the Jewish community said there's soldiers who need ציצית tzitzis. So a Jew comes, whatever our stereotypes, that a person without a יארמלקע yarmulke and an earring and tattoos, it's a pretty decent stereotype, wouldn't be tying ציצית tzitzis. But it's a, it's an incredible time of התעוררות hisoreros for כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. So we don't daven once and say, \"Ah, he said no.\" Over and over and over again. To tap into this categorical, different kind of תפילה tefilla that we've never said before. There's an אחדות achdus, unity around the world. There's a spiritual awakening around the world. And included in that spiritual awakening has to be, ויעתר vayetar. This type of תפילה tefilla called עיטור itur. Those who learned before מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim on Wednesday mornings, we used to do שערי בתפילה Sha'arei B'Tefilla. We finished all of רבנו פנחס Rabbeinu Pinchas of שערי בתפילה Sha'arei B'Tefilla. You can find the שיעורים shiurim online. And in the 13 synonyms for prayer, רינה, ביצור, צעקה, זעקה, פילול rina, bitzur, tza'akah, za'akah, pilul, there's a 13 synonyms for תפילה tefilla, for prayer. And one of them is עיטור itur, and it comes from here. And it's this type of davening which is הרבה והפציר בתפילה hirbah v'hif'tzir b'tefilla, over and over and over. Because Hashem says sometimes it's a no until you ask in the kind of way that I, I can't help but say yes. And what's the kind of way he's waiting for? ויעתר לו Vaye'aser lo, after a ויעתר vayetar. That's what Rav Druck is pointing out. A ויעתר לו vaye'aser lo after a ויעתר vayetar. He says he has a long essay here, we're running out of time and we did not get past the third פסוק pasuk. Criminal of me, I apologize. But משה רבנו Moshe Rabbeinu also had the same thing. ואתחנן אל ה' בעת ההיא לאמר Va'eschanan el Hashem ba'eis hahi leimor. How many times did Moshe daven? 515 times. Out of your mind? Hashem... he said, \"Can I go into Israel?\" Hashem says, \"No.\" \"Please can I go into Israel?\" \"No.\" \"Pretty please?\" \"No.\" \"Pretty please with a cherry on top?\" \"No, no, no.\" How many times would we... have you given up? Five? Ten? Fifteen? A hundred? Moshe makes it up to 515, and then Hashem is about to have to say yes. He says, \"Stop. Silent. Don't ask again, or I have to say yes. And I don't want to say yes.\" Why would he have had to say yes? Because there's a type of תפילה tefilla. ויעתר לו, ויעתר לו Vaye'aser lo, vaye'aser lo. There's a type of תפילה tefilla, הרבה והפציר בתפילה hirbah v'hif'tzir b'tefilla. There's a type of תפילה tefilla that we come so close to Hashem because we are relentless in putting our faith in him. Every time we daven and we say this תהילים Tehillim, what are we saying? We're saying, \"Hashem, our soldiers are incredible, their military superiority is incredible, their intelligence is incredible, the American support and partnership is incredible, but Hashem, in the end of the day, we know it's up to you. We know it's up to you, that's why we keep coming to ask. If we had another place to go, we'd go there. If we could ask someone else, we'd ask someone else. Why are we muchering and nudging and driving you crazy? Because you are the only address.\" And you know what Hashem says? \"I love that. That you know that I'm the only address, that's all I want in our relationship. That's אמונה וביטחון emunah and bitachon.\" So each time we keep coming back, הרבה והפציר בתפילה, ויעתר לו hirbah v'hif'tzir b'tefilla, vaye'aser lo, that's Hashem saying, \"You get it.\" We follow the, we follow the model of אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu. ואתחנן Va'eschanan 515 times. This is one of the types of תפילה tefilla that we have. Over and over and over, relentless, relentless pursuit of this תפילה tefilla of of Hashem. We'll do one of מראות הטהורות Maros HaTehoros. One רחמסטריווקא רבי Rachmastrivka Rebbe. This says on these words. ויבן שם מזבח ויקרא בשם השם ויט שם אהלו ויכרו שם עבדי יצחק באר. He built an altar there and he called in the name of Hashem, he pitched his tent there and Yitzchak's servants dug a well there.Says Rav Soloveitchik, when Hashem appeared to Yitzchak, Hashem identified himself as the God of Avram, not the God of Yitzchak. Yitzchak had not yet developed his own approach to Hashem the way Avram had done. And Yitzchak again dug the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father Avram, and the Plishtim had stopped them up after Avram's death, and he gave them names like the names of his father. This is more than a story about wells, said the Rav. Torah is teaching us that Yitzchak only drew water from the wells that his father had dug. He had not dug his own wells. He had not yet developed a unique religious approach. At this point, God promised Yitzchak and multiply his seed, but only for the sake of Avram. Yitzchak realized it was insufficient to reopen Avram's wells. He had to dig his own. At the moment that he built his own altar and called in the name of Hashem, developing an edifice and approach of his own, then Hashem was no longer merely the God of Avram. Later when Hashem appears to Yaakov, he identifies himself as the God of Yitzchak as well as the God of Avram. What's the Rav saying? When Hashem first appears to Yitzchak, he identifies himself as the God of your father Avram because at that point, Yitzchak had no independent relationship with Hashem. He simply redug the wells that his father had dug and gave them the same names that his father had given. He was simply a carbon copy of his father's יידישקייט Yiddishkeit. There was no creativity, no individuality. He didn't forge his own relationship and conversation with Hashem. He was emulating and imitating, he was simply following in the footsteps of his father, and therefore Hashem identified himself as the God of his father. It's only now in this pasuk, ויבן שם מזבח vayiven sham mizbeach, only now when Yitzchak builds his own altar, it means he builds his own relationship with Hashem. He has his own conversation with Hashem. He sees Hashem based on his talents and his skills and his predispositions and who he is. And that's why later, when Hashem reveals himself to Yaakov, he says, I'm the God of your grandfather Avram and the God of your father Yitzchak.The introduction to the עמידה Amidah is phrased אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק ואלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak v'Elokei Yaakov, and not simply אלקי אברהם יצחק ויעקב Elokei Avram, Yitzchak v'Yaakov. Said the Rav, this wording is meant to convey that Yitzchak and Yaakov did not merely reflect Avram's worldview, they broadened and deepened it. Though based on Avram's trailblazing, Yitzchak and Yaakov's individual approaches to Hashem were distinct. A beautiful insight of the Rav. He's telling us, it's not enough. We begin the עמידה Amidah, ברוך אתה השם אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו Baruch Atah Hashem Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu. It's not enough that you're the God of our forefathers. You have to be אלקינו Elokeinu. Yes, on the one hand, we imitate, we emulate, we walk in the footsteps of those who came before. He's the God of our forefathers, but he also has to be our God. We have to personalize and individualize and contextualize a relationship with Hashem based on who we are, what our lives look like, what we need. Too many people are just carbon copies. They're fitting into the mold. They just conforming to what's expected of them, but there's no energy or passion. There's no dynamism to their יידישקייט Yiddishkeit. Yitzchak at first was the carbon copy, and then he matures in his spirituality to develop his own relationship with Hashem. And every one of us have to be like אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avram, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov, אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק אלקי יעקב Elokei Avram, Elokei Yitzchak, Elokei Yaakov. Are there three separate gods? חס ושלום חלילה Chas v'shalom, chalila. There's only one God, there's one Hashem. So why do we mention it three times? Because each had their own relationship. Each of us have to have our own relationship. Please stay to say תהילים Tehillim, please stay to tie ציצית tzitzis. בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem it should be a day filled with בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות besoros tovos, yeshuos v'nechamos.
