Parshas Vayera 5768

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

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The Torah describes Abraham’s love of kindness in great detail. Three days after Abraham had circumcised himself at the age of ninety-nine, he sat outside of his tent to see if there were any passersby in need of hospitality. G-d realized that, despite his weakened condition, Abraham was bothered by the lack of visitors, and He sent him three angels disguised as idolatrous nomads. Although these people represented an ideology antithetical to that of his own monotheistic belief, and despite his advanced age and weakened body, Abraham rushed to greet them and helped prepare a full meal for them.

Similarly, when G-d informed Abraham of His intentions to destroy the wicked city of Sodom, Abraham pleaded and bargained with G-d on the city’s behalf, knowing fully well that they represented a lifestyle far different than his own. However, once it became clear that there were not even ten men in the whole metropolis worthy of being saved, Abraham did not even try to save them any more. If G-d did not feel they were deserving of His compassion, Abraham did not feel any differently.

Abraham’s self-control is also seen later, when he was ordered to send away his concubine, Hagar, and her son, Ishmael. Sarah, Abraham’s primary wife, was concerned that Ishmael was exerting a negative influence on her own son, Isaac. She instructed Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away from his home. The Torah says that this was a very difficult decision for Abraham, as he loved Ishmael very much. Yet, when G-d concurred with Sarah’s suggestion, Abraham immediately ordered them out of his house with a little food, but no money. Here too, Abraham controlled his natural compassion and love to conform to G-d’s instructions.

This devotion proved itself most when Abraham was commanded to bring his son Isaac as a sacrifice to G-d. Not only did this order contradict his instinctive paternal love for his son, it also contradicted everything Abraham had always professed to the world about G-d. He had always distinguished his G-d from all the idolatrous gods as a G-d of peace who despised human sacrifice. For the loving and compassionate Abraham to cruelly slaughter his own son as a sacrifice to G-d, would undermine his own credibility and that of his G-d’s. Yet, here too, Abraham showed that his devotion to G-d took precedence over his own emotions. Abraham’s good character was not merely a natural inclination, but rather an expression of his total devotion to G-d.

“...He said…please do not pass by your servant...I will bring you food” (Gen. 18:3-5)

Rav Elazar Shach once spoke to a group of students. “I have no doubt that if you were 99 years old, were just circumcised, and saw a few strangers coming in the distance; you would pick yourselves up and invite them in for some refreshment. After all, that’s what our forefather Abraham did! Yet, how is it that healthy young students sit down to eat in the dining room, when a new fellow student walks into the room, and nobody invites him to join them at their table? It’s not enough to read the Torah’s stories superficially. A person must learn to make their application to one’s own circumstances too.”

Did You Know...

Chesed (kindness) has many broad applications, outside of merely offering assistance when needed. Some examples cited by the rabbis include:

The numerals in one’s home address should be illuminated and large enough to be clearly seen by others, even at night. It is a chesed to spare others the bother of uncomfortably pulling into several driveways to check if the house is the right address.

Another example is writing clearly and neatly. Since letters and envelopes are meant for others to read, one should show consideration for the reader and make it easier for him to decipher what he is reading.

Parshas Lech L'cha 5768

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

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In the story of the Jewish people, Abraham is considered to be the first Jew because he recognized G-d on his own accord. Despite being scorned by the rest of society, and at great personal risk to his life, Abraham shared and spread his knowledge with everyone he met. It is for this reason that he was called “Avraham Ha’Ivri” ( “Abraham of the Other Side”). This would become the eternal role of the Jew, to spread the ideals of monotheism and morality throughout the world, despite great opposition.

Abraham and his wife Sarah had to endure ten challenges to prove, and to develop, their faithfulness to G-d. The Torah describes the various challenges at great length.

One of Abraham’s challenges was to uproot his family, leave his homeland, and travel to an unknown land, which would only be revealed to him later. This was meant to develop his complete trust in G-d, and also to allow him to make a total break from his past environments and influences.

Shortly after they reached Canaan, a famine struck the land. Abraham and Sarah were forced to leave and travel to Egypt, where Pharaoh abducted Sarah. Afterwards, Abraham’s nephew, Lot, parted ways with his uncle, choosing to live in Sodom, among people whose ideology was the very antithesis of Abraham’s. Yet when Lot was captured in war, Abraham risked his life to protect his nephew. Despite all these difficulties, Abraham and Sarah did not become disillusioned and maintained their faith.

Abraham and Sarah were childless for many years, despite G-d’s promise to Abraham that he would father a great nation. This was also a challenge to Abraham’s faith. Another one of Abraham’s trials was the mitzvah of circumcision, which was given to him at the age of ninety-nine years old. G-d made a covenant with Abraham that if he walked perfectly in His ways, G-d would bless him with children and give him the land of Canaan for his children. G-d commanded Abraham to seal this covenant on his body through the circumcision.

This mitzvah was given for all future generations too. Every Jewish male must be circumcised, as an eternal sign between G-d and the Jewish people of His covenant with Abraham. Circumcision has remained the hallmark of the Jew, distinguishing him from the rest of the world.

“...and the souls that they made in Charan…” (Gen.12:5)

Rashi cites the Midrash that Avraham and Sarah brought people closer to G-d throughout their travels, thus “making souls.” The Ponovezher Rav loved all Jews, and on his many travels around the world he would encourage estranged Jews to embrace their heritage. He would often say, “Certainly I want Jews to behave 100% Jewishly, but I will not settle for anything less than 100% of the Jews to behave as such, either. Just as no Jew may ever despair of G-d, G-d, too, never despairs of any Jew’s connecting with Him.”

Did You Know...

The Talmud says that children, one’s livelihood, and life are dependant upon good fortune and not on one’s merits. This seems to contradict the very idea of prayer and mitzvos, where requests are made of G-d for these very things. The classic commentators suggest two answers:

1. Although fortune may determine these areas initially, prayer and deeds can change the outcome of the original decree.
   
2. Upon the Jewish people in general, prayer and deeds can determine livelihood, children, and life; but how this affects the individual depends upon one’s good fortune.

Parshas Noach 5768

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

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In the succeeding generations after Adam, immorality, theft and strife became rampant throughout society. The corruption was so widespread that it polluted the very environment, and G-d decided to send a flood to purify the whole world and destroy all the evil.

Only one righteous person existed, Noach, who walked in the ways of G-d. G-d instructed Noach to build an enormous ark to spare him and his family from the flood. G-d wanted Noach to involve himself in this tedious and time-consuming task in order to attract the attention of others, and warn them that the world would be destroyed if they did not change their evil ways. Unfortunately, Noach did not exert much influence on his contemporaries, and nobody’s behavior changed.

As a result of man’s degeneration, the animal life also degenerated, and G-d set out to destroy them, too. Noach was ordered to take pairs of all the different species of animals and birds into the ark to protect them from extinction. Heavy rains poured down for forty days and nights, flooding the entire earth. Noach, his family, and all the animals remained in the Ark for a year before they could emerge to rebuild the world.

As a reassurance to Noach and all future mankind, G-d sent the rainbow as proof of a covenant that He would never again send a flood to destroy the world.

Unfortunately, the experience of the flood did not seem to have much of an effect on Noach’s grandchildren. A few generations later, the society again began to slide, albeit in a more sophisticated manner. Man began to deny G-d’s authority by building a great tower as a monument to his own strength, power, and independence.

This time too, G-d showed them the folly of their actions by thwarting their plans. He confused the people’s communication with each other, thereby preventing them from working together. This was the source of a single society becoming fractured into different nations and languages. Because unity had been the cause of their sin, G-d caused them to become dispersed.

...Shem and Yefes took a garment…covered their father…their faces were turned away and they did not look at their father’s nakedness... (Gen. 9:23)

Sensitivity towards another person’s shame is an important attribute. Rabbi Menachem Feiffer related the following incident:

On the morning of Shabbos during Sukkos, two men were sitting in the synagogue near an open window. To their surprise they saw a young man climbing the steps to the synagogue carrying his lulav and esrog. Either he had forgotten it was Shabbos, or he did not know that that one does not take the lulav on Shabbos. One of the men quickly shut the blinds so nobody else would see the young man, and his friend hurried outside and led the young fellow to the coatroom, where he could put down the lulav without being seen, thus sparing him any embarrassment.

Did You Know...

The Torah obligates all mankind to observe seven basic laws of morality:

1. Believe in G-d
2. Do not blaspheme G-d
3. Do not murder
4. Do not commit adultery or incest
5. Do not steal
6. Set up a judicial system to legislate and enforce interpersonal law
7. Do not tear a limb off a living animal to eat, showing unnecessary cruelty.

Although the first six of these laws were already obligatory upon Adam and Eve, the seventh law was not given to Adam and Eve, because man was not allowed to consume meat until after the Flood and it did not have much practical appplication. The laws are called the Noachide Laws, because of the seventh law which was given to Noah.

Parshas Bereishis 5768

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

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The Torah begins with the creation of the world. Although the narrative itself is incomprehensible to the human mind, as the human being cannot imagine anything preceding time and space, the Rabbis nonetheless explain that there are practical lessons to be learned from the various parts of creation.

G-d created the world in stages, beginning with light and darkness on the first day. On the second day the heavens were created, and the seas, dry land, and vegetation were created on the third. On the fourth day the sun, moon and stars were placed in the sky, and the fish and birds were created on the fifth day. On the sixth day, the animals and the human being were created. On the seventh day, Shabbos, G-d created “rest.”

Although G-d could have created everything in one day, He stretched it out over a week. The lesson in this is that we cannot hope to achieve everything, or even to develop our own character, at one time. It took G-d time to create the Universe, and man too can only build and accomplish in small increments. We must not become disillusioned when things don’t always work right away. Some commentators explain the passage, “G-d said, 'Let Us make man' ” to mean that building man is a process involving both G-d and the person himself.

There was a very clearly defined order to Creation, everything emerging in its own special time. This was to make us realize that there is a plan and a purpose to the world. The world itself is not the goal, with nature running its own course. Every blade of grass, every star, and every insect serve a unique role in the overall scheme of the Universe. The inanimate part of Creation, such as the earth, water, and sun, fulfills its purpose by giving life to vegetation, which in turn gives life to the animal kingdom. The animal in turn serves the human being, the ultimate creature, allowing him to achieve spiritual fulfillment by serving G-d, the raison d’être of all Creation.

This is also the reason why the human being was originally created without a mate, unlike the lower forms of life that were all created in pairs. G-d wanted Adam to feel unfulfilled, that he needed a partner to help him achieve his spiritual fulfillment. Marriage reminds us of our constant responsibilities towards others, and that we cannot achieve satisfaction thinking only of ourselves.

“...G-d saw all that He created and behold it was very good....” (Gen. 1:31)

Rav Elazar Shach engaged a well known cardiologist in conversation. “How recently did you purchase your car?” the Rosh Yeshiva inquired.

“This year,” the doctor replied.”

“What was wrong with the old car?”

“Nothing,” he replied, “I get a newer model every few years. They’re always coming out with newer improved models.”

“When do you think the improvements will finally be completed?” Rav Shach asked.

The doctor smiled. “They’ll never end. Man is always making greater improvements.”

“Tell me: if you could improve on the human heart, what would you do?”

The doctor thought for a few minutes and said, “I really don’t think I would change anything. The heart is most amazing just the way it is.”

“Aha!” exclaimed the Rosh Yeshiva, “That is the difference between G-d’s works and man’s works. G-d’s works are perfect, while man’s works are by their very definition imperfect, and must constantly be improved.”

Did You Know...

It is prohibited to eat any form of insect. Certain fruits and vegetables, and especially during certain seasons, are known to have infestation problems.

Although in Jewish law non-kosher food generally loses its identity in a mixture containing sixty times the volume of the prohibited food, this often will not apply to insects, since a complete creature never loses its identity. In certain instances of frozen, chopped, vegetables, the law of losing the identity may apply.

Some fruits and vegetables may be washed and checked carefully for infestation, while others may be too difficult to check. Rabbinic guidance should be sought for preparing specific foods.