HaMaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Vayera Volume VI/Number 4 (238) 18 Marcheshvan 5752/October 26, 1991 Parasha Summary The Parasha opens with the statement: "And Hashem appeared ('Vayera') to Avraham," but we are not told what He said to the patriarch. R' Chaim Yishayahu Hadari, Shlita, explains (based on the teachings of R' A.Y. Kook, the Shem Mishmuel, and others) that nothing was said. Rather, our pasuk is teaching that following Avraham's circumcision (at the end of last week's Parasha), he reached a new level of prophecy on which he did not need each and every insight spelled out for him. Instead, he was now able to see events and understand their significance on his own (Shabbat U'Moed Bashevi'it, p.144). Avraham's clarity of vision is alluded to repeatedly throughout the Parasha. Avraham looked out over the valley of S'dom "and he saw the pillar of smoke rising there" (19:28). Avimelech, King of Gerar, is told by an angel that Avraham will pray for him "because he is a prophet" (20:7). Yishmael's troubles "were bad in Avraham's eyes" (21:11). Most importantly, at the time of the Akeidah, we are told that "Avraham saw the place from a distance" (22:1), and he did not have to be told that there he should offer his son. Later, when he was told not to slaughter Yitzchak, Avraham "saw the ram stuck in the bushes" (22:13), and understood that it was meant to replace his son. Finally, Avraham refers to the place of the Akeidah - the future site of the Bet Hamikdash - as the place where Hashem sees and will in the future appear to his nation. R' Shmuel of Sochatchov writes that just as there was a person who achieved a special level of revelation (Avraham), and there was a place where one could experience such vision (the Temple Mount), there is also a time set aside for achieving such understanding. This is the Shabbat (Shem Mishmuel: Vayera 5671). Here we see one connection between our Parasha and the Haftara (Melachim II 4:1-37 for Ashkenazim; Sefardim stop after verse 23), for our Haftara is the source of the Halacha that one should visit his teacher on Shabbat and Yom Tov (see verse 21). Ramban notes that Shabbat should be more than just a day off from work; it should be a time for visiting sages and prophets, and learning from them (quoted in Rinat Yitzchak on this pasuk). Perhaps this is given a deeper meaning by what has been said above. One can learn from sages and prophets at any time, but on Shabbat one can understand more. The beginning of the Haftara tells of the plight of the prophet Ovadiah's widow. There Ovadiah is described as one who was "Yerei Hashem" - in awe of Hashem. R' Yonatan Eyebschutz explains that a "Yerei Hashem" does not serve G-d Elokim"), but because he recognizes Hashem's greatness and loves Him (Ahavat Yehonatan). Avraham could thus be called a "Yerei Hashem", for as mentioned above, he achieved a level of prophecy where he understood not just details of Hashem's plan, but much of the all-encompassing "big picture." This enabled him to truly appreciate G-d's greatness and to love Him. In fact, some commentaries note that the word "Reiyah" (vision) is related to the word "Yirah" (fear). [This is possible because, unlike modern Hebrew scholars who speak of three- letter roots of words, many Tanach commentators look for two-letter roots.] "Yirah" is a trait which we usually associate with Yitzchak (in contrast to Avraham who reminds us of "Chessed".) However in the Parasha in which Yitzchak is born and consecrated on Hashem's altar, Avraham, too, achieves "Reiyah" and "Yirah" (see Kedushat Levi; Bedibur Echod). ************************************ "I [Hashem] will go down and see if [their evil is as bad] as the shouts that have come before Me." (18:21) The Midrash writes: R' Shimon bar Yochai said, "This is one of ten times that 'going down' is referred to in the Torah." R' Abba bar Kahana, the Midrash continues, says that Hashem left open the possibility that the people of S'dom would repent. R' Chaim of Volozhin explains that the two sages of the Midrash are saying one thing: Hashem prefers man's repentance to his destruction, and He therefore lowers Himself, so-to-speak, to a level where He is closer to man and appears more approachable. This is precisely the possibility of repentance that Hashem opens before us. (Iturei Torah) ************************************ Several laws of "Tefilah" are learned from Avraham's prayer for the welfare of S'dom. Ironically, that prayer was unsuccessful, for in the end, S'dom was destroyed. Nevertheless, one may not despair. One must pray and have confidence that sooner or later, in one way or another, he will be answered. Although Avraham could not save S'dom, Lot was rescued in Avraham's merit. From Lot, a survivor of S'dom, came David Hamelech, the ancestor of Mashiach. (R' Tzadok Hakohen) ************************************ "And Avraham sent forth his hand to take the knife with which to slaughter his son." (22:10) Why does the Torah report this detail? Would we have thought that Avraham planned to slaughter his son without a knife?! The Torah means to praise Avraham. Avraham had "trained" his body to do Hashem's will. However, when faced with an opportunity to act in a way that contravened G-d's desires, Avraham's body felt weak and lethargic, refusing to do wrong. Hashem never intended that Avraham should kill Yitzchak. Although Avraham was not conscious of this, his prophetic instincts told his body to resist. Avraham therefore had to exert special effort as he "sent forth his hand to take the knife." Avraham thought that his lethargy was the work of the evil inclination, and he therefore exerted that extra effort, until Hashem sent an angel to inform him of the truth. (R' Leib of Rimanov) ************************************ Shem (son of Noach) called the place "Shalem". Avraham called it "Yir'eh". "Therefore," said G-d, "I will call it 'Yerushalayim', a combination of the two." (B'reishit Rabbah) Shem was one of the passengers on Noach's ark, and participated in feeding and sustaining all of the animals who sailed with Noach's family. Hashem's intention was that Noach and his family, through their kindness to the animals, would make up for all of the cruelty and theft which had led to their generation's destruction. The name "Shalem" means "complete," and represents the lesson that Shem learned on the ark, and later taught to others: All of creation is one unit. Each man, animal, and plant is but one part of the whole. Avraham's brought an additional message to mankind. "The creator has not abandoned this world in the hands of nature. G-d can intervene in man's life, and He does so constantly." "Yir'eh" (meaning "he will see") alludes to Avraham's prayer that man be able to see and recognize G-d's intervention in nature. Yerushalayim, holy city, is built on these two ideals. There one can learn good deeds and character traits such as those Shem exemplified, and there one can purify his thoughts and achieve greater understanding of Hashem. These two aspects of man's personality - his deeds and his thoughts - are what Chazal alluded to when they said, "One should always enter two gates before praying." i.e. one should prepare himself for prayer by performing good deeds and clarifying his thoughts. [We are reminded of this when we pray facing Yerushalayim.] (R' Meir Hakohen: Meshech Chochmah) ************************************ R' Chaim of Volozhin Born in Volozhin in 1749, R' Chaim studied with the two prominent sages who served as the town's Rabbis in his childhood. These were R' Refael Hakohen Hamburger and R' Leib Ginzburg, author of Sha'agat Aryeh. From age 19 R' Chaim studied under R' Eliyahu, the "Vilna Gaon". By this time, R' Chaim was already an accomplished scholar - his two earlier teachers were among the greatest sages of the 18th century - yet he remained as R' Eliyahu's student for 28 years. Though R' Chaim was appointed Rabbi of Volozhin in 1783 (and held that position for all but one of his remaining years), he still spent considerable amounts of time with his teacher, hearing lectures in Talmud, Halacha, and Kabbalah, and presenting questions that had arisen in his own studies. R' Chaim was the primary heir of the Vilna Gaon, not only because his Yeshiva popularized the Gaon's method of Torah study (more on this next week), but because every aspect of his behavior was patterned after R' Eliyahu's teachings. Like the Vilna Gaon, R' Chaim was the leader of the "Mitnagdim"" (opponents of "Chassidism") in his generation. R' Chaim's best known work, Nefesh Hachaim, is a treatise on the "proper" (i.e. the Mitnagdim's) way of serving Hashem, and is implicitly a response to the Chassidic movement. (Essentially, the difference between two approaches is in the relative weight assigned to Torah study versus prayer, and also in the content of one's study. A Mitnaged places greater emphasis on Halacha; a Chassid, on Mussar (ethics) and Kabbalah. Today, many of the most serious differences between two groups have disappeared.) Ironically, all but a handful of pages of R' Chaim's Talmudic and Halachic writings have been lost. Besides Nefesh Hachaim, his only complete extant work is Ruach Chaim, a commentary on Pirkei Avot (i.e. a Mussar work). R' Chaim also wrote forewords to many of the Vilna Gaon's works. In 1802, R' Chaim founded the famous Volozhin Yeshiva. This academy has been called "The Mother of Yeshivot," not only because it was the first, but because most later Yeshivot based their approach on Volozhin's. Volozhin's students included R' David Tevele of Minsk (author of Nachalat David), R' Yaakov of Karlin (Mishkenot Yaakov), R' Isser Zalman Meltzer, R' Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, R' Baruch Ber Lebowitz, and R' Chaim Ozer Grodzenski, and among its most illustrious teachers were R' Yitzchak of Volozhin (R' Chaim's son), R' Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the "Netziv"; R' Yitzchak's son-in-law), R' Yosef Ber Soloveitchik (the "Bet Halevi; R' Yitzchak's nephew), and R' Chaim "Brisker" (R' Yosef's son; Netziv's grandson-in-law). ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Daily Mishnah Tamid 3:2-3 (Learn two Mishnayot every day) Daily Halacha Orach Chaim (Mishnah Berura) 316:1-3 (Learn three paragraphs each day) Daf Yomi Yoma 84 (Learn two sides of a page each day) Shmirat HaLashon: 5:1 or Guard Your Tongue: Chapter 10:6-8 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this week's HaMaayan is sponsored by: Rochelle and Chayim Dimont, Sahra and Yale Ginsburg and family, and Yocheved and Jonathan Neuman in memory of Chana Dimont Sarah and David Maslow in memory of Archie Maslow (18 Cheshvan) and Samuel Holstein (25 Cheshvan)