This Week In The Torah



Parsha Vayeira Bereishis/Genesis Ch18/1 - 22/24

A Study in Kindness
by Rabbi Yechezkel Fox

The beginning of the parsha takes place three days after Avraham's mila (circumcision). The first verse says:

G-d appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.

Rashi comments: The Holy One, Blessed is He, brought the sun out of its sheath (i.e. He made it shine intensely) so as not to trouble Avraham with guests (while he was recovering fron his mila). Because G-d saw Avraham aggrieved that there were no visitors coming, he brought the angels to him in the form of men.

Why was Avraham so aggrieved that he couldn't have guests? He should have been happy that he had some time to himself to study Torah (see Ch.26/5 that Avraham studied Torah). And this would have been serving G-d on a higher level than tending to guests, for Torah study is considered the equivalent of all the other mitzvot (commandments).

Rabbi Aaron Kotler explains that Avraham knew that the foundation of the Jewish nation had to be chesed (kindness). The stronger the foundation of chesed would be, the stronger the nation would be. For only with the attribute of chesed would they be able to accept the Torah at Sinai, which, as the Sages say, begins with chesed and ends with chesed. Therefore, every moment that Avraham couldn't do chesed was at the expense of his supreme undertaking---the building of The Jewish People!

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The Road to Perfection

The Maharal of Prague taught that a Jew must strive to perfect himself in three areas: with his fellow man, G-d, and himself. From the life of Avraham Avinu we can learn how to achieve this.

The Mishna in Pirkei Avos (5/22) identifies a disciple of Avraham as having three main character traits: generosity, humility, and control over his personal desires.

All these traits can be seen in our parsha:
Generosity: from the way Avraham treated his guests. According to Rashi (18/27), he slaughtered three cows just to obtain three tongues (with mustard!) to serve to three total strangers.
Humility: from the way he described himself as "dust and ashes" (18/17).
Control over his personal desires: from the way he sent away Hagar and Yishmael, even though he loved them very much (21/9 -14.)

A person whose generosity extends even to strangers can perfect himself with regard to his fellow man. A humble person who recognizes that his whole existence is from G-d can perfect his relationship with G-d. And one who can control his personal desires even when it concerns people he loves very much can attain self-perfection.

One of the purposes of the Book of Genesis is to identify these traits in Avraham and his descendants, and to integrate them into our own lives. In this way, we will be on the road to our own self-perfection.

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Insides and Insights

And Sarah laughed at her insides, saying,"After I have withered shall I again have clear skin? And my husband is old!"

Rashi comments: She stared at her innards and said,"Is it possible that these innards will bear offspring? That these breasts which have contracted will draw milk?"

Why was it necessary for Sarah to stare at her innards? Was it for dramatic effect?

In the last verse of the Book of Shemos it says: For the Clouds of G-d would be on the Tabernacle by day, and fire would be on it by night, for the eyes of all of the House of Yisrael throughout their journeys.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (author of the Zohar) taught that all forty years that the Jewish people were in the desert the Clouds of G-d not only shielded them from the hot desert sun but also lighted their way. In fact, the Divine light enhanced their vision to such an extent that they could see through solid objects. X-Ray vision!

Towards the end of next week's parsha, Rashi tells us that Sarah's tent had three unique features: A lamp would be alight continuously from Sabbath eve to Sabbath eve, there was a blessing in the dough, and a cloud hovered over the tent. Ch.24/67

The Maharal of Prague comments that this cloud was a Cloud of G-d, like the one in the desert. So when Sarah stared at her innards it was no mere theatrical gesture; rather she was using the Divine light to examine herself with a type of X-Ray vision.





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