Overview
of the Weekly Reading: Lech lecha
To
be read on 13 Cheshvan 5764 (Nov. 8)
Lech
Lecha is the 3rd Reading out of 12 in Genesis and 3rd
overall, and 23rd out of 54 in overall length.
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)
Pirkei
Avot: not till after Passover
(Genesis 12:1-17:27) G-d told Avram to leave his current location. Avram left
with his wife Sarai, and nephew Lot. Upon reaching Shechem, G-d promised to give
the Land of Israel to Avram's 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 Avram and make her Pharaoh's wife. Thinking Avram
to be Sarai's brother, Pharaoh abducted her 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 Avram rescued him. 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 promised Avram many descendants.
He was circumcised at the age of 99. G-d promised that Sarah would bear him a
son, to be called Yitzchak.
FROM
THE MASTERS OF KABBALA (K:03-64/Lech
Lecha )
From
the holy Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:03-64/Lech
Lecha )
Abraham
was the archetype of kindness, which is naturally susceptible to abuse. Since
he was the example of pure kindness in a dangerous world, G-d promised to shield
him from all who would try and have power over him.
For the full
article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From
the holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed
(A:03-64/Lech
Lecha )
Of
the three "brains" of the intellect, daat is subjective intellect, or
the ability of the mind to apply abstract comprehension to real life and make
it relevant. It is thus the focal nexus between intellect and emotion, where intellect
translates into emotional response.
For the full article, click to
the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
* * * * *
From
the Shelah, Shney Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz
(S:03-64/Lech
Lecha )
Abraham
was seventy years old when He received G-d's first assurance that his descendants
would possess the Holy Land. An allusion to this is found in the verse "He
establishes the boundaries of the nations" (Deut. 32:8).
For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM THE CHASSIDIC REBBES
(V:03-64/Lech Lecha)
"To
a land that I will show you." (12:1)
On a spiritual level, the "land
that I will show you" refers to the revelation of G-dliness that comes as
a reward for Divine service. This service of "going out" consists of
connecting the soul as it is invested in the physical body with its spiritual
source above, which can actually "see" G-dliness. When the lower soul
and its higher source are connected, the soul within the body benefits from this
vision.
(Ohr Hatorah)
"For their wealth was great, so
that they could not dwell together." (13:6)
Not poverty but wealth,
and the jealousy it engenders, is the cause of most of the dissension and conflict
in the world.
(Likrat Shabbat)
"Your reward will be exceedingly
great." (15:1)
The reward a Jew receives for doing mitzvot is vastly
out of proportion to the deed itself: a finite and limited action is rewarded
with an eternal and everlasting dividend.
(Lubavitcher Rebbe)
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE
from the Chabad
Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for
www.ascentofsafed.com
and www.kabbalaonline.org
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent 
(for a free weekly email subscription,
click here)
(W:03-64/Lech Lecha )
Parshat
Lech L'cha speaks entirely about Abraham, the first Jew, and G-d's commands to
him. Therefore, it is an archetypal portion that affects our entire year. Similarly,
it is a happy portion, more than rectifying the calamities recounted last week
in parshat Noach. It therefore behooves us, no matter what the circumstances,
to make a special effort this week at getting into Shabbat and at being happy.
Rabbi
Shalom Dov Ber of Lubavitch reveals a secret. From the moment that the Holy One
Blessed Be He said to our forefather Abraham, "Go out from your land"
and further where the Torah recounts, "…and Abram traveled back and
forth in the Negev", the secret of birurim, "extracting" began.
This refers to the common purpose each of us shares to extract the spark of G-dliness
hidden in exile within every physical thing.
Every move a Jew makes, every
experience or trial one faces, is according to divine direction. Each person is
sent to where those sparks that are supposed to be extracted by him are waiting.
The righteous, who have a special ability to see through the facade of the world,
merit to see where their sparks are found and go there on their own. For the rest
of us, the Almighty is the guide. He who is the Cause of all the causes, and the
Reason behind all the reasons, contours reality, causing a person to arrive at
that place he is needed to fulfill his task.
It is incumbent on parents
to not only raise their children properly but to try their best to provide for
their future. It is common, even among those that are religiously observant, to
put aside not only their physical needs but their spiritual development for the
sake of their children.
Unfortunately, it is also common that often a person
spends his entire life in that mode and ignores much of what G-d has required
of him personally. The children grow up, join the parents in their work efforts,
and yet the parents continue, not changing their behavior in the slightest. This
is one of the messages of last week's portion that begins with the words, "These
are the descendants of Noah, Noah...." (Gen. 6:9) The parents, instead of
working to provide for their offspring physically and spiritually, reveal by their
actions that they are truly working only for themselves.
As
the first Jew, G-d commanded Abraham not to act that way. The Shlah interprets
the opening words of the parsha, "Lech l'cha…", as "Go and
conquer the way for your children". Abraham's first journey led him and Sara
outside of Israel to Egypt, as an indication and future help for their children,
the Jewish people. Abraham opened the way not only physically, but spiritually
for his children. The bottom line is to ask ourselves, is what we are doing for
our children's sake, or is it really for our sake? And change our behavior accordingly.
Do
you think things were easy for Abraham? Let us not have any illusions. When the
Mishna (Avot, 5:3) says that Abraham was put through 10 trials, we are not talking
about holding back a temper tantrum, or not eating a 2nd chocolate donut. Just
as G-d wanted to test Abraham, so we as his descendants are also being tested.
And just as Abraham accepted the yoke with happiness, we must find our own way
to deal with our problems. There is a saying from the Breslever Chasidim that
no matter how difficult things are, always respond to the question "How are
things?" with the answer "Baruch Hashem, - great!" A person is
always led by the way he is going. If things are terrible, and we say "terrible",
G-d looks down on us and says, "If you think this is terrible, I'll show
you what's really terrible." If, on the other hand, a person answers that
things are great, G-d will look down and say, "If you think this is great,
let me really show you what is great!"
The were once two Chasidim;
one was a master of crying, and the other, a master of happiness. Reb Abraham
Ber explained their behavior like this: The first meditates about where the soul
was in the height of spiritual heights and where the soul has now fallen in this
world - and falls into depression. The second contemplates where the soul is now,
in this lowly world, and compares it to where it will be in the Future, with all
the accompanying revelations of the World to Come; he acknowledges that all is
dependent on our behavior now, and he automatically wells up with joy. Reb Abraham
Ber closed by saying that the master of happiness is spiritually greater.
Shabbat
Shalom, Shaul Leiter
(for
a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
For all our insights
for this parsha:
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