Lech Lecha

This week's Dvar Torah is in memory of Shoshana Kessler (nee Kalter), from Houston, Texas, who was suddenly taken away from us last week.

It was more than a shock to me and my family.  I have known her and her family for just over 30 years and have remained in contact with her throughout.  To those who did not know her; she did not have the easiest of lives, in many ways.  In past years, she was plagued with one medical issue after another, some not even related to the other.  And to those who did know her, well, most didn't know the extent of what she went through.  Not because she "hid it so well," but because she lived with it so well.

She was a person who never (at least to us) complained about her situation and always had a positive take on things.  And I don't mean one of those "fake frummy" positive takes, where it's clear the person is forcing a smile and pretending that they have emunah.  Her positive outlook in life was internal and clear, and you had no clue what pain she might have been going through at that very moment.  I certainly didn't.

In fact, her last two audio messages that she left us, left us with a memory which wrapped up her life.  First, she described how a possum invaded their home during Sukkos, and what they went through to get it out.  Then she described how they discovered a burst pipe, which left them without water for a time, and when the plumber came to fix it, he accidently cut an electric wire, leaving them without electricity for a while.  In the end, she laughed and said in her (yes) annoying New York accent, "Well, at least it's a beautiful day out, and heck… at least they aren't rockets!"   It was a comedic take on her life: one issue after another, yet still, she held a positive outlook throughout it all.

There are also many other aspects of her life that she and her family are known for, but I wanted to focus on that particular aspect which stood out.

There are people in this world who might not be well-known in the world, but nonetheless, are far bigger than many of those who are well-known; she was one of them.

I hope that her husband, children, parents, and siblings can find a way to continue without her, and hopefully, especially with the way things are going, we can see her again soon.

Okay, let's try to change gears a little bit.

Every year certain questions come up about the parsha that you think about and have no answer for.  Then, every once in while, you finally see an answer to one of those questions.

One of the most famous questions out there (in my mind, since I have never heard anybody else ask it), is thus: We all know that Avraham challenged Nimrod and his belief of the Divine.  Nimrod thought that he was "All Mighty," and the world followed him, and Avraham comes around and openly challenges this belief.  His reward?  He's thrown into a furnace.  And to everybody's surprise, he comes out alive.

Fast forward a couple of thousand years, you have Chananyah, Mishoel, and Azaria  who were similarly tossed into a furnace because they refused to bow to the idol Nevuchanezer built.  And they too were spared.

So the big question is: Why were they mentioned in the Torah (Daniel 3), while Avraham was not?  We only know this story through the Medresh, not the Written Torah!

Good question, no?  (That's because I thought of it.)

Finally, I found an answer thanks to the sefer "Yeshuos Malko."

The Gemara (Pesachim 118a) writes regarding the episode with Avraham, that when the angel Gavriel saw what was about to happen, he begged Hashem permission to go down and save Avraham.  Hashem replied, "Just as he [Avraham] is alone, it is proper that I, who am also alone, should save him."

Regarding Chananyah, Mishoel, and Azaria, however, their rescue was not done by Hashem, rather by angels.

Says the "Yeshuos Malko," the Torah was given to us for all generations.  It is the blueprint of our lives and it is to teach us how to interact with this world.  What Chananyah, Mishoel, and Azaria did, they did according to the Torah.  When given the choice to bow to an idol or to give up their lives, they followed halacha.  They chose death.  This is Torah and therefore is mentioned in the Torah.

What Avraham did, on the other hand, was something completely different.  He openly challenged and waged a war against idolatry.  He wasn't given a choice, bow or die.  He actually picked a fight!  And THIS is not Torah for the generations.  It's not anti-Torah, but it's not what is expected of us, and that's why it's not mentioned in the Torah at all.  We have no mitzvah to start up against the world and its forms of idol worship.  However, Avraham went above and beyond this and did so anyway.  Therefore, he is called "alone" and was deserved to be saved by Hashem who also is alone.

So, this not only answers an "age-old question," but also teaches us a small lesson as well.  When we go beyond what is expected of us, even if it goes against the trends of the time, if we have proper and true intentions, perhaps we will be worthy of receiving extra help from Hashem, directly.

With that, I wish you all a wonderful and quiet Shabbos.

My wife received this email that was sent to a group she belongs to:

"You won't believe this. My son in Tzanchanim (Paratroopers) 890 mentioned to me last night that every single boy in his unit has begun wearing tzitzit every day (even the most secular boys). In the last week, they've reveived visits from Rav Grossman shlita, Rav Zamir Cohen shlita, Rav Guetta shlita, and many more. Being that they've all experienced deep tragedy, but also seen great miracles, they're inspired, they're lit up, and...they're also scared. It's an emotional time, and they are turning to Hashem. My son also mentioned nonchalantly that there's a long line every morning to borrow his tefillin. He is one of only a handful of boys (out of 65) who owns tefillin. Does anyone know of an irgun or chesed organization that gives tefillin to soldiers? They want tefillin now more than cookies, cigarettes, and hot food. "

Somebody sent us a clip from one of the news sites on Israeli television.  In it, one of the hosts (I assume) was saying, "The Jewish nation does not run by nature, it is above nature … "  The woman herself was religious, but the fact that such a thing is being said on Israeli television says something.  Most notable to me though was the little icon for their station that was kept on the top left hand corner of the screen.

The "motto" of the war is "b'yachad n'nazteyach," "together we will be victorious."  It's everywhere.  Even the receipt at our local store has it printed on it.  It's a wonderful saying, very moving, and very powerful.  But it's missing one "small" ingredient.  And this station actually got it right.  Instead of printing it as their icon, they wrote, "b'ezras Hashem, b'yachad n'natzeyach," "with the help of Hashem, together we will be victorious."

I don't remember seeing these things in previous operations.

There are several places within the Gemara which speak about one's mazal, and the effect that each person's mazal has on them.  If you're born during this time, you will have these tendencies, if you are born during that time, you will have those tendencies.  And yet, in this week's parsha, we see that we're above mazal.  When Avraham told Hashem that he has no children to follow him, Hashem "took him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them'—continuing, 'So shall your offspring be.'"

A person's mazal is real.  A nation's judgement (on Rosh Hashana) is real.  However, we have the power to make a change in that and to lift ourselves above it.

The first is the power of davening. The Gemara (Baba Mezia 79a) states, "all the gates [to Heaven] are closed with the exception of the Gate of Tears."  When a person cries out to Hashem, whether in their regular davening in shul or at home, while sitting alone, the pain a person feels for whatever tragedy they are suffering from, has the power to change their situation.  And the opposite is true as well.  When we go to a simcha, we wish "mazal tov."  It's not simply a nice thing to say.  It's a real bracha!  When we wish them a "mazal tov" with true feelings, we are giving a real, live bracha that their mazal should be good.

Another is through Torah.  In the beginning of Shmuel I, we find that the sons of Eli HaKohen were misusing their positions as Kohanim in the Mishkan.  It caused great suffering and it desecrated Hashem's name.  Hashem put a curse on Eli's family, that none of his descendants should live long.  Yet, we see in the Gemara that his descendants, Rabba and Abaye, lived long lives.  When asked about how they can escape such a curse, they replied that Torah and kindness that they were constantly involved in, overpowered the curse.

Which also brings us to acts of kindness.  The Gemara (Baba Basra 11a) tells a story of Binyamin HaTzaddik, who was in charge of giving tzedakah from the communal funds.  Once, when a woman came with her children, asking for money since they were on the brink of starvation, he personally gave from his money to support them, since the communal funds were empty.  When it was his time to leave this world, the Gemara states, the Heavens erupted crying out, how could he die?  This is the same person who saved a family from death! Immediately, the decree was ripped up and he was granted another twenty-two years.

Through prayer, Torah, and acts of kindness, we have the power to make changes in not only the next world, but also this.  We are not on the level to see those changes (though sometimes we merit to see it), but we do have the Torah to testify for us, that they do indeed work.

In these times, the Jewish people are in real danger.  And if one thinks that it's only limited to those living in Eretz Yisroel, they are sorely mistaken.  Antisemitism is on the rise around the world and we have no place to run.  The only thing we can do is make a sincere effort to change the judgment we received not so long ago with these three tools at our disposal.

With that, I wish us all a very quiet Shabbos.

I had an interesting "Torah" thought this week, which my rav liked.

This week Halloween falls out the day before (yet another round of) Israeli elections.  What's the root of Halloween? From what I remember, it's the day that the dead would return to this world.  And in order to appease them, the living would give them gifts, so they would be left alone, until the dead return to their world.

What are Israeli elections?  The day politicians return from their world into ours.  And in order to keep them way from us, we appease them with gifts called "votes," so they too would return to their world and leave us alone.

What do you think?

Okay, on to more important things.

Oh, before that, I would like to thank those who donated to my son's yeshivah.  It was very much appreciated.

What I've seen and learned to appreciate about this particular yeshivah, is that you can see very clearly that all the money is being used toward the kids and making sure they are in an environment which is safe spiritually and physically.

Thankfully, they opened up on Sunday, and hopefully, they can stabilize their financial situation in a more permanent fashion.

We see in this week's parsha (Bereishis 14:13) that Avraham is called "Avraham HaIvri."  The Midrash explains that he is called this because the entire world was on one side (ever) and Avraham stood on the other side alone.

Rav Pinkus once told over the Midrash about Rebbe Shimon Ben Chalafta.  One erev Shabbos, he realized that he had no food or money to buy food.  So, he left the city and davened to Hashem.  As he finished davening, a beautiful jewel came down from Heaven, which he would be able to use to buy food.

When he returned home, his wife questioned where he received this jewel.  When he told her what happened, she refused to allow him to sell it or use it.  She knew that this jewel was part of his reward that he was to receive in the next world, and if he used it here, he would be lacking "later."

Rebbe Shimon went to Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi and explained the situation.  Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi told him to tell his wife not to worry; anything that Rebbe Shimon is lacking in the World to Come, Rebbe will give from his share.

When Rebbe Shimon returned to his wife and told her what Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi said, she still refused, saying, "Is it not true that in the next world, each Tzaddik is in his own world with Hashem and doesn't share it with others.  If so, Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi can't give over any of his share!"

At that point, Rebbe Shimon conceded to his wife's wisdom and returned the jewel.

Rav Pinkus said that we learn from this that in the next world, when Hashem gives over reward to each individual, He will give it over only according to what that person did in this world, but not according to what others did .

This is what Rebbe Shimon's wife was saying to Rebbe Shimon: The only reward that you will receive will be based not on what others do, but what YOU do.

Even though the Torah puts a lot of emphasis on the community, in the end, a person stands alone.  His life in the next world is based solely on what HE does in this world.

Sometimes the community gets … distracted about things in the world that it shouldn't get distracted about.  In America, it could be local sports.  In Israel, local elections.  And when those in the yeshivah or the beis medresh are busying themselves in such conversations, and you decide to sit and learn, you are emulating Avraham HaIvri.

When levels of modesty in the community are going down, and certain women decide not to follow suit, despite the looks they might receive from others, they too are emulating Avraham HaIvri.

Standing alone in this world can be difficult, since you are not only standing alone against the non-Jewish world, which is hard enough, but sometimes you need to stand alone against the Jewish world.  But in the end, just as you stood alone, you will be rewarded alone.

With that, I wish you all a wonderful Shabbos!

I just spoke to my rav in Yerushaliyim, to wish him a Happy Halloween (some holidays he beats me to the call, especially May Day, but I’m usually quicker than he is regarding Halloween).  We were discussing technology and its usage regarding work.  When is what appropriate and so forth.  Somehow, we got off topic a bit and spoke of spammers.  His wife finally got a computer and email nearly a year ago, so they don’t know much about it.  However, he said forty years ago his father’s boss, a man who built a company from scratch, a man with a big head on his shoulders, received an official letter from the Prince of Nigeria, informing him that he has to run for his life, and needs a bank account, etc. etc., you know the rest.  I was shocked that such a thing, especially with the same “person” and country involved, went back so far.  When I told him that it’s a famous email scam as well, HE was shocked that it would still be going on.  He asked me if I ever responded to one.  I told him that I was tempted to, but I just don’t want to go there.  He then suggested that next time, I write back saying, “Hey!  I’M the Prince of Nigeria!  How dare you steal my identity!” and see where it goes from there.  He suggested that I send a picture of my (white) self to add extra bait.

It is tempting….

When Avraham entered Canaan, he “offered up korbonos to Hashem with Bais-El to the west and Ai on the east” (Bereishsis 12:8).

Rav Avigdor Miller asks why is the location so important?  Does it really matter where exactly he did it?

Then, when Avraham returned to Canaan, after a brief stay in Egypt, he went back to that first location, near Ai and Bais-El, and brought offerings a second time in the same location.

The reason for this, says Rav Miller, was to show that a person should always look back at the more idealistic times in his life, to give him strength during times which do not feel so “inspired.”

As a person gets older, he gains experience.  He sees things that he could not see in his youth.  Much of what he has learned could have been positive, but for many, the idealism of youth slowly frays away.  Somebody once told me that you will see many people who were very liberal in their youth become more conservative in their older age, but very rarely will you see somebody very conservative become liberal.  Liberals (I’m not talking far-left) tend to be more “inspired” and “hopeful,” while conservatives tend to think, “let’s be real here.”

But in truth, we need to have a nice balance.  We need the experience in life to grow and to protect ourselves.  But, we must also do our best not to lose the inspiration and hope that we had in our younger years.  Going through life without any “fire” is simply going through through the motions…and what a waste of 120 years, if that’s how we spend it.

Ten points if you can identify the source of this week's dvar Torah title without using Google :)


Last Shabbos night, we took the kids for a walk after the meal.

As we were walking down the street, the kids were guessing the companies of the cars, based on the symbols they saw.  Nothing is more painful to the ears of an American than Israelis pronouncing cars in “Hebrew” (read: completely wrong).

So, as we were walking, my soon-to-be 14-year-old daughter says, “Oooh, that’s a nice car.  We should steal this one!”

I looked at my wife, with tears swelling in my eyes, “That’s MY girl!  That’s EXACTLY what I teach them we should do when we want something we cannot afford!”  I was so, so, proud of her…

Ahh...the joys of educating the next generation!

The hard part of saying over dvrei Torah from Rav Shlomo Brevda is that he took over an hour and I have only a few paragraphs.

Basically, he asks the same question regarding two places in this week’s parsha and one place in the parsha in a few weeks.

When Hashem tells Avraham to leave his home and move to Canaan, he is told “Lech Lecha.” Rashi explains that this means “Go for your sake” and is Hashem’s way of promising Avraham that if he goes, he will be rewarded greatly.

A line later, the Torah writes that Avraham “took” his wife, rather than the standard “left” with his wife.  The Zohar explains that he “took” her with words, explaining to her the importance of moving.

When Yaakov is told to leave his father-in-law and return to Canaan, he first speaks to his wives about why he needs to leave.

The one question that covers all of these things is, “Isn’t a direct commandment from Hashem Himself good enough for them to say, ‘Okay, let’s go!’”?  We’re talking about Avraham, Sarah, Rochel and Leah.  One would think that Hashem’s commandment is good enough.  Why does Hashem need to persuade Avraham that moving will be for his benefit.  And why does Avraham need to persuade Sarah?  And why does Yaakov need to persuade Rochel and Leah?

Halachically speaking it is forbidden for a man to force his wife to move from one country to another country, since it is such a difficult transition.  He can only move if she agrees.  Regarding moving to Eretz Yisroel, there seems to be an argument, since moving to Eretz Yisroel will entail more and better performance of mitzvos.  The Zohar holds that it is forbidden for a man to force his wife to move, even to Eretz Yisroel.  When a person has his or her place, it is very difficult to move from it to something less familiar.  I’ve been here for 15 years, and in many ways it is still unfamiliar because I did not grow up here;  what my children have experienced, I have not.  So yes, Avraham, Sarah, Rochel and Leah would have most certainly moved without any persuasion.  However, we are to learn something from their behavior.

Rav Brevda applies this to a person’s personal growth and how he educates his family.

When dealing with his children, or potential returnees to Judaism, one should never force a move upward.  A person is naturally comfortable on his spiritual level.  Any movement must not be done by force, but rather but a desire.  You can force children to follow halacha, but if they are not taught the "why's," explained the rewards, and taught in a positive manner, then when they leave the house, they will leave their parents ways.

Similarly when a husband or wife wants to make some spiritual change in the house, it cannot be forced upon the spouse.  Only when the spouse is convinced that this change would be for their benefit can they enact such changes.

And, of course, this also deals with how we deal with ourselves.  We too should not force changes in our lives.  Only when we feel that such changes will be to our benefit should we do so.  Any time we force something on ourselves, and it pains us to do so, we will suffer from it in the long-term.

Moving, whether physically or spiritually, is a painful experience and very stressful.  It is important that when we do move, we do it with happiness and conviction that we are doing the right thing, and moving in the right direction.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

The entire nation is facing local elections right now, which is a pretty big deal.  For us, it means we will be having a new mayor for the first time in 30-something years.  Each city has a mayor to vote in along with a city council, which is party-based and is determined by what percentage of the vote each party receives.  In our city we’re not running anybody for mayor, since we are a minority, but we do have our own party, which has 3 seats in a 15-seat (I think) city council.  For the kids, this is fun, since they go out and put up posters and stickers and whatnot.  They’re also up-to-date on what’s going on with whom, what and where. 

The leading mayoral candidate has been working hard.  We’ve seen him around trying to win votes, always followed by two lackeys to do his bidding.  When I say "bidding," I mean it.  The night after Simchas Torah, there was additional dancing and music, and he came to join for a bit to try to get the religious vote.  My son had the "honor" of holding his hand in the dancing and saw him say to one of his minions, “Massage,” and he immediately got a quick shoulder massage.  I tried that later at home with my wife . . . it didn’t work.  I guess I’m not mayor material.

Famous question that always bothers me in this parsha:  When Avraham went down to Egypt, Sarah was taken to be Pharaoh’s wife, then was released, and Avraham was sent away with tons of riches.  After the war with the Kings, Avraham returns and the King of Sodom offers him presents, which Avraham refuses, lest the King of Sodom takes credit for enriching Avraham, instead of Hashem's doing it.

It seems rather contradictory, no?

Thankfully, I saw an original answer from Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein.

When going down to Egypt, Avraham realized what was going to happen when they saw how beautiful Sarah was.  Therefore, he asked her to say that she was his sister, “that it may go well with me for your sake.”  “For YOUR sake . . .” is the key phrase.  In the end of the story we see that pasuk says, “He treated Avram well FOR HER SAKE.”  Rashi points out that it should have said, “Pharaoh treated Avram well . . .,” instead it said, “He treated Avram well . . . .”

Regarding Egypt, Avraham wanted to teach a very important lesson.  “R’ Chelbo said, ‘A person should always be careful of his wife’s honor, for there is no blessing in a person’s home except in the wife’s merit, as it says: ‘And He treated Avram well for her sake’” (Bava Metzia 59a).

Regarding Pharaoh, Avraham had no problem taking gifts, since he was teaching the importance of the bracha of Shalom Bayis (peace in the house) and of honoring one’s wife.  It wasn't a case of Pharaoh giving Avraham gifts; it was Hashem's repaying Avraham for giving honor to his wife. With the King of Sodom, there was no lesson to be learned, so there was no need to take his gifts.

With that, I wish you all a great Shabbos!  I have to go do the dishes now . . .

Michael Winner

Last week, we had a few days where the kids were in school and I was still off from kollel. So, of course, most of the time was spent taking care of things that needed to be taken care of.  On the last day though, my wife and I treated ourselves to a half-day trip to the Golan Heights.  Specifically, Gamla.

Gamla was a city destroyed by Vespian on his march to Yerushaliyim.  It put Vespian in rather a bad mood, since, due to its natural defenses, it was hard to conquer.  The interesting thing about Gamla though, is that it was discovered only 50 years ago.  We KNEW of Gamla, but we had no idea where exactly it was.

My wife and I went to the museum in Katzrin, over a year ago, which had a lot on display from Gamla, and introduced us to the story.  So, when we finally got there, we had a better understanding of what occurred.  Two things really stood out.  One was standing in the shul that they uncovered.  It’s quite amazing to say Tehillim in one of the world’s oldest shuls.  Especially when you know that 2000 years ago, it was packed with Jews saying the same Tehillim.  The second is that if you look carefully, as my wife did, you can still find fragments of pottery strewn about.

One of the amazing things of living in Eretz Yisroel is the ability to SEE history and to live it, rather than simply reading it in books.

Okay, on to Torah!

Throughout this week’s parsha, in fact, throughout most of Sefer Bereishis, we see Hashem promising Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov that their children will inherit Eretz Yisroel.  This seems to be a bit odd, since nowhere does He promise that their children will be heavily involved with Torah and Mitzvos.  It seems that Eretz Yisroel is the main promise.  Yet this seems strange, since the Jewish nation has been in exile from Eretz Yisroel for 2000 years.  And even now that we have the opportunity to live here, the amount of land that the Jews control, seems to diminish all the time.  We see that it hasn’t been Eretz Yisroel that has held us together for so long, but only Torah!

Rav Shimshon Pincus answers that question for us.  When a couple gets married, we bless them that they should build a “faithful, Jewish house.”  This is the big bracha?  That they should have a house?  We know that it’s certainly possible for a couple to rent from a hotel and raise their children there if needed.  What does it mean that they should have a “house”?

Obviously, when we say “house,” it does not mean literally a “house.”  A house is four walls and a roof.  It has a door, which is kept closed not only to keep people out, but to keep the privacy of the couple in.  It is a place where the couple can be alone without outside distractions, to raise their children accordingly, and to grow and nurture each other.  Eretz Yisroel, says Rav Pincus, is the Jewish house that we have with Hashem.

Yes, Torah and Mitzvos ARE the central part of Judaism.  You can have Judaism without Eretz Yisroel, but you cannot have Judaism without Torah.  And just as a house without commitment between the husband and wife, is not really a house, Eretz Yisroel, without commitment between the Jewish people and Hashem, is not really Eretz Yisroel.

When Hashem is promising Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov Eretz Yisroel, He wasn’t simply promising some piece of real estate.  He was promising a land where the Jewish people can work on their relationship with Hashem, without any outside distraction or influence.  The bracha of Eretz Yisroel is really twofold.  Not only does it include Eretz Yisroel, but it includes the ability to live Torah inside of Eretz Yisroel! 

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Michael Winner

Okay everybody! Let’s be honest, now. Is there even ONE real believer in Zionism left? Does anybody truly believe that if we have our own State and our own army, we would be treated as equals by the rest of the world and we would be able to defend ourselves from anti-Semitism?

Yeah . . . I didn’t think so.

My Rosh Yeshiva once commented that ever since 1967, Hashem has slowly taken away more and more of Eretz Yisroel from the Jews. Whether it was given over to other entities, such as Jordan, Egypt, or the PA, or by the simple fact that it’s too dangerous to go there. Now, it’s only getting worse.

Thankfully, it’s been relatively quiet over here, however, last night I had to go to the local shopping center down the block. While there were Jews shopping, the restaurants were empty of Jews, and only Arabs felt comfortable sitting down and eating. Our former neighborhood is far worse. Even the parks are empty, and three times over Shabbos, their children ran into their homes crying from the teargas that wafted in from the nearby Arab neighborhoods.

I heard that Netanyahu gave a passionate speech in the UN concerning Iran and their desire to wipe Israel off the map. I heard he gave them a “Chuck Norris” stare for 45 seconds just to make his point. Perhaps it was a good speech. Perhaps it was logical and powerful. However, you know that they were all sitting back and thinking, “You’re right, but so what.”

And now, we have a “Stabafada,” which started with the PA starting rumors that the Israeli government was going to change the status quo concerning the Temple Mount (now it’s been changed to “it WAS changed”). The world acknowledges that this is nothing but lies. HOWEVER, they now either want international presence to oversee the Mount (“just in case the PA was telling the truth”), or have it completely turned over to the Arabs, have attacked Israel for encouraging her citizenry to defend themselves, and made Kever Rochel (Rachel’s Tomb), an official Muslim Heritage site (what’s the connection between the Muslims and Rochel? I have no idea)!

Yes, they know the truth, but they don’t care. And for every “round” that the Arabs start in the international community, Israel loses more and more friends, credibility, and power to defend herself. It’s so mind-boggling and illogical, that you clearly see Hashem’s hand in things.

The Zionist dream is dead. Time to turn back to Torah.
“The angel of G-d said to her, ‘You are pregnant, and will give birth to a son. You must name him Yishmael, for G-d has heard your prayer. He will be a rebel. His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand will be against him…” (Bereishis 16:13).

In this week’s parsha we are introduced to Yishmael, the father of the Arabs. His name is composed of “Yishma” and “El,” or “Hashem will hear.” The Zohar (if I remember correctly) explains that in the future “Hashem will hear the cries of the Jewish people from Yishmael.”

It’s known that there are five “exiles” in Jewish history. The first four are well-known: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The fifth is that of Yishmael, which is to be the hardest. What are the two strengths of the Arabs? Faith and prayer. We see that the Arabs, religious or not, have faith in G-d and what will be in the next world. And we also see that they have prayer. They pray five times a day, no matter where they are, and without any embarrassment. Also, prayer is what brought Yishmael into this world and saved him from an early death. In fact, the whole concept of prayer is his own name!

In order to properly defeat the Arabs, we must overpower them. Not by guns, settlements, speeches at the UN, but by overpowering their power of prayer.

Rashi, in relation to the splitting of the Red Sea, describes prayer as “the Jewish people’s occupation.” I recently heard an interesting point about this Rashi. If a person owns a store and decides to open up at 11 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. every day, would he not be successful in their business? If we treat our “business” just as lightly, by coming late and leaving early, we will certainly be unsuccessful.

If we started to show a true interest in working on our prayer, by showing up early to shul so we can be ready to start on time, by not talking during davening, and by trying to daven with concentration, we can overcome Yishmael. In fact, speaking to Hashem even outside of shul is considered prayer, and should be encouraged.

We know that there are many similarities between our exodus from Egypt and that of the Final Redemption. We see concerning Egypt, “The Jews were still groaning because of their subjugation. When they cried out because of their slavery, their pleas went up before G-d. G-d heard their cries and He remembered His covenant with Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov. G-d saw the Jews, and He was about to show concern” (Shemos 2: 23).

If prayer is what started the redemption in Egypt, so too will it start the Final Redemption. By treating prayer with the respect it is due, and acknowledging its inherent power, we can bring an end to the Exile of Yishmael.

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

Does anybody know anything about lemons?

We had to repaint our home two years ago (had several leaks) and the painter had to cut a lot of our lemon tree. Since then, it has produced one whole lemon, which is still hanging there. Just yesterday, I went out and found three more lemons. I could have sworn that before Rosh HaShanah, those lemons were not there. Usually, lemons don’t start growing during this time of year, nor do they usually grow so quickly. Had it been any other year, it wouldn’t have bothered me, but now, I have an interesting situation.

Since its a shmittah year, any fruits the begin to grow on the tree after Rosh Hashanah, have the status of shmittah fruit, and have to be treated with special care. Plus, one is not obligated (nor allowed) to take trumah and maiser (tithes) from it. However, if it began to grow before Rosh HaShanah, it has no special holiness to it, and is obligated for trumah and maiser.

I took some pictures of the lemons and will be finding a frum professional gardener to tell me what he thinks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started growing only a month ago, since Shmittah stories like this happen quite often.

Okay, on to Torah!
Last week, we spoke about the two different levels of Noach and Avraham. Noach represents the concept of strengthening and shielding oneself from the outside world, while Avraham represents the concept of going out and helping others in the world. We concluded that in order to properly reach Avraham’s level, we first need to perfect Noach’s level, which is no easy feat.

With your permission, well, frankly, even without your permission, we’ll discuss a little bit about the level of Avraham and how it can be applied safely, by all of us, even before perfecting the level of Noach.

After last week’s dvar Torah, Rabbi Gershon Seif emailed me the following on Rav Hirsch’s “take” on Avraham:

“Rav Hirsch writes that while Avraham Avinu did a lot of outreach, he actually did it while keeping his distance. He went ‘between the mountains’ never living within the cities he was reaching out to. He lived in the outskirts of town. People had to come to him where he was busy calling out in the name of Hashem.”

We see that even Avraham, who challenged the world’s belief system, did so in the spiritual protection of his own home.

My Rosh Yeshivah was very much against the idea of people learning in kollel for a few years and then heading out into a spiritual wasteland with his family to do outreach. The dangers of the negative effect on the individual and the family were too great and too risky. However, when my friend accepted an offer to work in an outreach beis medresh in a frum neighborhood, whose focus was to work with those who are beginning to learn about Judaism, my Rosh Yeshivah was happy. He was happy that my friend was going out to help other Jews, all while being able to live in a healthy Jewish environment.

My Rosh Yeshivah also pushed members of the yeshivah and the kollel to donate a certain amount of time per day to help out other members who are weaker in learning.

There are plenty of ways of “helping the world” while not putting oneself at risk. Perhaps it’s not as glorified, but there is no point in helping others while causing loss to ourselves and our families.

Another aspect of Avraham comes with the famous Medrash where Nimrod, the ruler at the time, threw Avraham into a furnace for his heretical beliefs. Hashem performed a miracle and saved Avraham. At that point, the entire world saw and understood, “Hashem – Hu HaElokim” (Hashem – HE is G-d). Hashem’s miraculous intervention made it clear that He was in charge and that He was with Avraham. This is why, according to halachah, one, at minimum, needs to have proper concentration during the first brachah of the Shemoneh Esrei. What is the first brachah? “Magen Avraham” (the shield of Avraham). When Hashem protects and keeps the Jewish people alive and acts as our shield, He is saying, “I am still with Avraham.”

When a Jew walks down the street wearing Jewish clothes, he is saying to the world, “We are still here, and Hashem is still with us.” I think about it nearly every day when I walk down the street in my hat and jacket. Despite the attempt of local or national politicians, we are STILL here.

Just by dressing and acting in public, like a Jew should, one is acting like Avraham, and showing the world “Hashem – Hu HaElokim.”

Have a great Shabbos!

Michael Winner

* Please continue to daven for Chaim Yosef ben Rus *

For those who did not hear (for some strange reason), Rav Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of most of Sephardic Jewry passed away earlier this week. He was escorted to his final resting place in Jerusalem by 850,000 people. A great loss for the Jewish people, and specifically Sephardic Jewry.

My Rosh Yeshivah said in the name of his rav, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, that there is a lesson to be learned from the first three parshos of the Torah. Not only is the world, and subsequently, the Jewish people built in these parshos, but they were also done by only three people: Adam, Noach, and Avraham. We are around because of these individuals. We see from here, the power that each individual has within themselves to create whole worlds, and to leave an everlasting mark on this one.

With the creation of the State of Israel, Sephardic Jewry in Eretz Yisroel took a major spiritual blow. The Sfardim were not prepared for the growth of Zionism and were certainly not prepared to defend themselves from the early government’s attacks on Torah and their way of life. They were … “encouraged”… to leave Torah at the threat of financial and physical harm. I won’t go into more details, but it was a very dark time for the Torah world and specifically the Sephardic world. There was work from the Ashkanazi world to help stem back the tide, most notably from Ponovitch Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, but a bulk of the Sephardic community in Israel took a real hit.

Rav Ovadia Yosef worked tirelessly to restore the crown of Sephardic Jewry. As Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, he spent most of his time travelling the country, encouraging Sephardim to send their children to Ultra-Orthodox schools, where they can learn Torah full-time. Because of his work, he made numerous enemies and endured many threats to his livelihood and even his life. But nothing stopped him from his work. He was known for being outspoken in his beliefs and never backing down from them. The Sephardic community needed his leadership and his gave it without pause.

He was close with many of the leaders of the Jewish world, and was respected greatly, where they were Ashkanazi, Sephardic, or Chassidic. Yet, he believed that the Sephardic world had to grow and had a lot to offer to the world. I was told that he was against integration of Sephardim into Ashkenazim schools, because he knew that those Sephardim, would become “Ashkanazisized”, and lose their Sephardic heritage. During a conflict, several years ago, when a Sephardic lawyer took an Ashkanazi school to the Supreme Court for “discrimination”, Rav Ovadia cursed out the lawyer, and then turned his guns on Sephardim who did not want to go to Sephardic schools. He yelled to the crowd, “Why do you want to go to Ashkanazi schools??? Do you want them to come out with Ashkanazi brains???” We (Ashkanazim) laughed. Why? Because we knew that he was right and that it was done out of love and not spite.

Throughout his life, he raised the bar of Sephardic Jewry to new heights. More and more Sephardim joined yeshivos because of him personally, his teachings, or the organizations that he helped found and support.

One man made his mark in the world and had an everlasting affect on hundreds of thousands of Jews (and their descendants) around the world.

What mark have you made?

Last winter we discovered several holes in the roof and walls, which resulted in some rain damage throughout the home. I contacted somebody here who I’m friends with and happens to know a lot about these issues. He told me that we will have to “repaint” the roof “plygog” to seal it up, and then repaint the entire place on the outside, with a special silicon-based paint. Needless, to say, it was going to be a hefty, yet necessary, expense.

I could have hired Arab workers to do it for cheaper, however, with them, they will demand higher pay at the end, steal things from your house, use inferior material, do an inferior job, etc… Thankfully, my friend offered to do it. He explained that he would be using the best (and most expensive) paints and he will do it properly. I gave him the key to our home and told him to get to work. He gave me a tour and showed me all the different places that needed extra attention, and how he plans to fix it, and worked extra hard to get it done before the rains came. Additionally, for the money I’m paying him, I demanded that he sings while he works (he has an amazing voice). So, several friends of my wife asked her on the phone, “Who’s signing in the background?”

Finally, one day before the rains started, he sealed the entire outside of our home I can now sit back, and truly enjoy the upcoming rains knowing that, hopefully, the home is sealed up. Now, we can bring on the winter!

On to Torah!
“And the land could not support them dwelling together” (Bereishis 13:6)

In this week’s parsha, Avraham and Lot were living together, each with their own herds. At one point, Avraham realized that the land was not big enough to support them both, and asked Lot to pick a place to be called his own, and Avraham would go in the other direction.

The Chasam Sofer asks an interesting question concerning this. It’s surprising that the land could not support both of them together, “because it is in the nature of the Land of Israel for the small to bear the large”. With this in mind, what kept Eretz Yisroel from supporting both herds together?

The Chasam Sofer answers that this only applies when everybody is living in holiness, “in which case, their money and their cattle will also be made holy… this helps us understand what Hashem told Avraham after Lot left him: ‘Raise now your eyes and look out… I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth…’ Avraham saw an amazing thing: From the place where you are, you will see something hidden… The place that you see is a tiny domain in the eyes of man; nevertheless, that tiny place will be sufficient for your offspring. Should they be as numerous as the dust of the earth, this little bit of land will be big enough for them because of their holiness”.

When the inhabitants of Eretz Yisroel live properly, the Land itself responds and supports them properly, no matter how many there are.

Have a great Shabbos!

In order to maintain connection with one of my rabbeim from my old yeshivah in Jerusalem, we have an unofficial custom to call each other on the secular holidays. This has been going on for a few good years now, and I for one, am happy about it. Being that we are both pretty clueless about the secular dates, since our lives run primarily off the Jewish calendar, there’s an extra little challenge to it.

A few nights ago I received such a phone call:

“Trick or Treat!”

“Rebbe, its October 30th.”

“That’s right. Halloween starts tonight.”

“No… that’s October 31st.”

“Right… but it starts the night before.”

“Noooooo… you have to take your head out of the Jewish world… Halloween is on the 31st, and trick or treating occurs on THAT night… not the night before.”

“Well…. I’m not calling back tomorrow.”

Okay… on to Torah! I’ve been saving this one for nearly a year, ever since I saw it in Nesfesh Shimshon by Rav Pincus. I’ll probably end up quoting him directly, since, quite frankly, I can’t word it better.
“Hashem said to Avram, ‘Go for yourself – from your land, and from your birthplace and from your father’s house – to the land that I will show you” (Bereishis 12:1)

From the simple meaning of this pasuk, it seems that Hashem told Avraham to go to Eretz Yisroel, for HIMSELF… not simply because Hashem said so, but to collect the good that was awaiting him. So, the question is why is it a mitzvah to go for one’s own benefit and good? Says Rav Pincus:

“Let’s say a person does an act of chesed. He gives a dollar to a poor person. There are two aspects to his act. First, there is the effect he had on the world: he helped a pauper obtain food with which to sustain his life. Second, there is the effect he had on himself: he built his personality and made himself into a ba’al chesed. Now he is a man of kindness.

“Which aspect is more important? What he contributed to the world at large, or what he contributed to his own personality?

“This is what our verse comes to teach us when it says, ‘Go for yourself’. Hashem is telling us that what a person does for himself to build his own personality is the more important aspect.

“The Rabbis say, ‘Who is a chasid? He who does chesed with his Maker’. In other words, they are asking how to do true chesed. The answer is: by doing chesed with Hashem. This is chesed at its best.

“There is one thing that Hashem does not have, so to speak, and only man can give it to Him. It is when man perfects his own personality. When a person corrects and perfects his own self, making himself into a better person, this is something that Hashem cannot do on His own, so to speak. If Hashem would try to make someone into a good person, the result would not be a good person. Perhaps it would be a good robot, or a good angel, but not a good person. Making a good person is the only thing that Hashem doesn’t have, and only we can give it to Him.

“When we give money to a hungry pauper, we believe that Hashem has decreed for this pauper to receive money. We are just the emissary. If we do not give him money, someone else will. Therefore, whatever we give the pauper is something he would have received anyway. This is not chesed at its best. True chesed is only the chesed we do for Hashem by making ourselves into better human beings.

“’Go for yourself.’ Here, Avraham was commanded to give Hashem something that Hashem cannot create on His own, so to speak. And THIS is the most precious thing to Him. This is the greatest kind of chesed.”

Fortunately, he continues to write more on this subject going more and more into depth. Unfortunately, we are limited in time and space 

I wish you all an amazing Shabbos!