Weekly Reading Insights

Overview of the Weekly Reading

To be read on Shabbat Lech Lecha, 8 Cheshvan 5771/Nov. 5

Torah: Genesis 12:1-17:27; Haftorah: Isaiah 40:27-41:16 (because of 41:2-3, which alludes to Avraham's miraculous victory over the Four Kings' armies)

Lech Lecha is the 3rd Reading out of 12 in Genesis and it contains 6336 letters, in 1686 words, in 126 verses

G-d tells Avram to leave his land. Avram left with his wife Sarai, and nephew Lot. When they reached Shechem, G-d told Avram that He would give the Land (of Israel) to his offspring. Avram built an altar there. Due to famine, they to moved to Egypt. Avram told Sarai to act as his sister, for she was beautiful, and the Egyptians might kill her husband to take her to be Pharaoh's wife. Thinking him to be Sarai's brother, Pharaoh abducted Sarah and was generous to Avram, but was suddenly struck with a plague. He realized that Sarai was actually Avram's wife, and sent them away. Avram and Lot went their separate ways, and Avram settled in Chevron. There was a war, and four kings defeated five other kings. Lot was taken captive but was rescued by Avram. G-d made a covenant with Avram, giving him the Land (of Israel). Sarai's servant Hagar, bore Avram a son, Ishmael. G-d changed Avram's name to Avraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. G-d made a covenant with Avraham, promising him many descendants. He had a Bris Milah at the age of 99. G-d promised that Sarah would bear him a son, to be called Yitzchak.

The end of this week's Torah Portion speaks about the circumcision of Avraham. The verse (17:26) says, "On that very day, Avraham was circumcised." The question is, who circumcised him? The Medrash (Shimoni 17:82), part of the Torah's oral tradition, says that when the time came, he was ready to do the circumcision himself, but when he checked, it was already done! How can we understand this?

If we look in the Zohar (Vol 1, 145b) it says that the snake who in its arrogance thought it knew better than G-d, infected Chava with a certain kind of filth and impurity and this was the spiritual source of the male foreskin. Not only do we have a commandment to remove it, we also are instructed by the Zohar (v.3 44a) to immediately place it in the earth to show its connection to the snake about whom it says (Yeshaya 55:25), "and the snake, dirt is its bread."

On a human level, the primordial snake's expression translates into pride and arrogance, as the snake says, (Bereisis 3:5) (that if you eat from the Tree of Knowledge) "you will become like the Lord, knowing good and evil." Further, the Talmud says (Sotah 4b) that one who is arrogant denies G-d. On the other extreme, Avraham demonstrated the opposite attributes, as we learn from his description of himself (18:27), "I am earth and ash." Avraham's whole reality was to nullify the foreskin and the arrogance that it represents. This is the inner dimension of the words of the midrash, "he checked himself." He checked to see if he had any of the infection of snake, any even little bit of arrogance in him, and he found himself already circumcised, completely pure, physically and most important, spiritually.

This can also answer another interesting question in the Midrash (Tanchuma Tazria 7). There is an argument between the evil Roman dignitary Tornosrofus and Rabbi Akiva. Tornosrofus - who ultimately sent Rabbi Akiva to his torture and death - asked: if G-d wants people to be circumcised why is a child born with a foreskin? Rabbi Akiva answered that G-d gave the Jewish people the commandments so that they will improve themselves with them. But we can see from here another answer. Someone on Avraham's level can rid himself of his foreskin naturally, and so he was in fact created perfectly and is not in need of G-d's commandment. For the rest of us, G-d commanded us to do circumcision, to purify ourselves from the filth of the snake. In fact, with the commandment of milah, circumcision, we purify all of our organs not just the organ of reproduction, as the verse says, one who come to purify himself a bit from below, is helped a lot from on high. (Toras Hamagid of Zlotshuv, p. 12)

The Lubavitcher Rebbe looks at the same verse and the midrash's explanation differently. If Avraham checked and found himself circumcised, did he feel pain or not? The midrash (Rabah 47:9) says, of course! But why is it important for the baby (or the adult) to feel pain when circumcised? Because the purpose of the bris is that the covenant between G-d and the Jewish people not only permeate the body, but actually be stamped on the flesh of the Jewish male. Really such a covenant should be a cause of great joy. But since the body is on such a low spiritual level it feels pain instead of joy. However, we see that the covenant between the Jewish people and G-d is so strong, it can even permeate to the lowest levels of human physical reality and not be neutralized. Avraham, as the first to be circumcised, had to also experience this pain.

The bottom line is that even though we, as Jews, are prohibited from intentionally causing ourselves pain, still when we speak about fulfilling our mission to make the world a G-dly place, even if it will be painful, a person is not allowed to hold himself back. Even more, we learn from the mitzvah of milah, that this is the way to fulfill the mission in the best way.

Finally and most importantly, when a person uses all of his strength and does not hold back, no matter what the consequences or difficulties, then the Almighty will give him the strength (as he did with Avraham) to fulfill the commandments in the best possible way, even with joy and a glad heart. (Sichos 10/47)

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For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.

FROM THE CHASSIDIC REBBES

"For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and your descendants for ever." (13:15)

Rashi points out that "He gave the Land of Israel to the Children of Israel as a gift and not as an inheritance." An inheritance is given irrespective of whether the inheritor is worthy or unworthy. A gift, however, is given only to one who deserves it. The Land of Israel is a gift, and Israel has to prove worthy of it.

(R. Moshe Yehiel Epstein)
From "Hasidim in Israel" by Tzvi Rabinowicz (Aronson).

For more than a decade of "From the Chasidic Rebbes" on this Weekly Reading, see our archives

MOSHIACH THIS WEEK

"The sun came down, and Abraham fell into a deep sleep." (Gen. 16:12)

According to the Midrash, the sun represents Moshiach and Abraham represents the Jewish people. The meaning of the verse, then, is that the Jewish people will be in a deep spiritual slumber before Moshiach comes and Moshiach will awaken us all from this sleep.

(Torah Shleima)
(from L'Chaim 991)

For nearly a decade of "Moshiach This Week " on this Weekly Reading, see our archives

From the Kabbalah Commentaries on the Chumash ("5 Books of Moses")

13th century - "RambaN" - Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman

14th century - "Bachya" - Rabbi Bachya ben Asher

16th century - "Alsheich" - Rabbi Moshe Alshech of Tsfat

18th century - "Ohr HaChayim" - Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar

a sample for this week:

RambaN

"...And behold, a smoking furnance, and a flaming torch...." (15:17)

It appeared to Abraham as if the furnace was all smoke and in its midst a flaming torch was burning, similar to a great smoke, with a fire flashing up. The "smoke" mentioned here is the cloud, and thick darkness mentioned at the giving of theTorah, and "the flaming torch" in its midst is "the fire" mentioned there: "Thou didst hear His works out of the midst of the fire"; and it is further written: "The appearance of the glory of the Eternal was like devouring fire," etc. Thus the Divine Glory passed between the parts of the sacrifices, and this is the covenant which He made with Abraham forever. This is the meaning of the verse, 'the Eternal made a covenant with Abraham,' as the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself carried through 'the covenant of between the parts,' The student versed in the mysteries of the Torah will understand.

(adapted from the 13th century classic by the illustrious scholar, philosopher and defender of the faith, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman-known as 'RAMBAN' or 'Nachmanides', a master kabbalist in his own right and a major link in the transmission of Jewish mysticism-based on the excellent annotated English translation by Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel)

For the rest of "The Masters of Kabbala and Chumash" on this Weekly Reading; for "The Masters of Kabbala and Chumash" on other Readings, see our archives

A MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE

Specifically, for an overview of the recommended articles in the columns:
Holy Zohar, Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary Kabbalists, and more,
click to Lech Lecha

The Sages say that Lot had become involved in immorality, and therefore Abraham preferred that they live separately. But Abraham rescued him afterwards from the four Canaanite kings because of the soul of King David who was within Lot at the time.

King David narrates over and over again how humble his life experiences have made him. Whether he is being pursued by Saul, or fighting Goliath, or repenting over his sins, he is the most humble and self-effacing of men.

But, Lot saw himself as the heir to Abraham, and indeed, as the father of the world. It was his haughtiness and arrogance which qualified him as the fourth and worst of the negative forces. King David's soul had to be clad in Lot's arrogant body in order for King David to undergo the necessary purification and emerge as the humble King of Israel from whom Mashiach would come.

For another taste of recommended Kabbalah articles on a variety of subjects,
click to the our weekly Kabbalah magazine

Thursday night is already 7th of Cheshvan on the Jewish calendar,
when we Jews here in the Holy Land begin the prayers for rain in Israel. (Abroad, not until December 5.)
This signifies our return to everyday life after the "month of festivals."
The last four of this issue's seven articles directly relate to the weekly Torah reading.

"Abram then continued on his way, moving steadily toward the south." (Gen. 12:9)

Moving steadily: Or, literally, "going and traveling." Allegorically, this refers to the spiritual process of "running and returning" (ratzo vashov - see Ezek. 1:14), the two interdependent yet opposing thrusts that must constantly and successively occur in order for life to continue and for physical and spiritual growth to take place.