Weekly Reading Insights: Lech Lecha 5767

 

Overview of the Weekly Reading, Lech Lecha 

To be read on Shabbat Lech Lecha - 13 Mar Cheshvan 5767 /November 4

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, 3rd out of 12 in Genesis, 3rd overall, 23rd out of 54 in overall length.

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.
 


FROM THE MASTERS OF KABBALA (K:0367/LechLecha)

From the holy Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Z:0367/LechLecha)

A person who does not succeed in one place should pick himself up and go to another place where he may be successful, just like one waves a glowing log so that it will burst into flame.

For the full article, click to the "Weekly Holidays" section on our KabbalaOnline site.

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From the holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed (A:0367/LechLecha)

These are the kings [mentioned in this episode of the parasha], Amrafel and his allies plus the king of Sodom and his allies. This is why they are divided into two groups: the four kings of Amrafel's alliance are the dross of the four root-letters of the aforementioned name Havayah, while the five kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, etc. are the dross of the five letters used to spell out this name Havayah, i.e. Ban, spelled out with the letter hei. This is the mystical meaning of the verse, "...four kings against the five".

For the full article, click to the "Weekly Holidays" section on our KabbalaOnline site.

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From Rabbi Chaim (ben Moshe) Ibn Atar (S:0367/LechLecha)

G-d may have wanted to explain to Abraham that if the gift of a son was something intended only for Abraham, it would suffice to grant his prayer and assist Ishmael to become worthy. However, there was another person to be considered, his wife Sarah. Inasmuch as Sarah was destined to bear a son, he, Abraham, had no right to waive the gift of a son by Sarah in order for Ishmael to grow up worthy of his father.


For the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline site.


FROM THE CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:0367/LechLecha)

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old the L-rd appeared to Abram." (17:1)

Our forefather Abraham fulfilled all of the Torah's laws even before it was given. Why, then, did he not circumcise himself until he received an explicit command from G-d? The answer is that before then, circumcision was forbidden, as the Torah prohibits the shedding of blood. The mitzva of mila overrode this prohibition.

(Likutei Sichot) (from L'Chaim #590)


A MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE

from the Chabad Master series, produced by Rabbi Yosef Marcus for

www.ascentofsafed.com and www.kabbalaonline.org


MOSHIACH THIS WEEK (M:0367/LechLecha)

"That nation whom they serve will I judge, and afterward they will go out with great substance." (Gen. 15:14)

Just as those Jews living during the previous exiles in Egypt and Babylonia who put their faith in the nations and their kings for their salvation were proven wrong, so too will those who, in our present exile, think that we must rely on the nations of the world for our continued existence and redemption. When Mashiach comes and G-d judges all the nations, the Jews will see that their faith in them was misplaced. At that time we will also "go out with great substance," the greatest riches of them all - the ultimate Redemption.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)


An essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent

(for a free weekly email subscription, click here) (W:0367/LechLecha)

Lech Lecha is the first portion of the month of Cheshvan, the month following Tishrei and the High Holidays. It teaches us that arriving "in the Holy Land" is only by leaving our own intellectual limitations. Not only will G-d reward us by bringing us to our destination, but, also, "I (G-d) will make your name great". This means that G-d's Name will be made great and divinity will be revealed in the world, through the ultimate revelation of Mashiach!

After describing the Flood, last week's Torah portion ends with quite a lengthy discussion of the Tower of Babel - how the people after the Flood tried to build a city and a tower and how G-d undid their plan.

Especially since many important commandments are only hinted to in the Torah, why is the story of the Tower of Babel written in such length and detail? The Lubavitcher Rebbe answers that when we consider how only a handful of people were saved from the Flood, we can see that our generation is also based on those that survived the "flood" of the past century. The Torah is teaching us that after a tragedy like the "flood", the survivors must avoid acting like the generation after Noah, thereby preventing the unpleasant consequences that resulted. Looking more deeply into the actions of the people from Babel, they wanted to "make a name for themselves" - to not let themselves become dispersed. Why was this so terrible?

When people gather for only one reason - themselves - without any higher purpose, the problem is not only the simple fault of selfishness. When selfishness is the basis, the means used to attain that end are often far from being just and proper. This holds true all the more so when such intentions follow a catastrophe like the flood, which came as a result of inappropriate behavior.

What is the teaching? Instead of building a city and tower to protect ourselves, we are being told that we must build cities and towers of holiness. Our towers must be our synagogues, and our cities must be places that teach and spread Jewish values.

It is into this setting that we welcome our forefather Abraham. Even before going to Israel, Abraham was a unique individual, totally in control of himself and spiritually conscious, having reached the highest level he could on his own. Then came the command of "Lech lecha" - "go to yourself" - to reach a higher level. But this could be attained only after circumcision. From this, we can understand how high a level the covenant of circumcision brought him to.

Everything Abraham accomplished before the circumcision was attained using his own abilities as they were in relation to the finite world. However, his circumcision brought a completely new dimension of connecting to G-d. It reached a level of drawing down divine energy from a plane superceding the created universe.

Just as circumcision removes the foreskin, so too, on a spiritual level circumcision allows a Jew to remove obstacles in order to experience divinity. When the body becomes the vessel and interface for spirituality, all the parameters change. This is such a happy situation that it not only affects the week following the Torah reading, but brings happiness into the entire year, just as Simchat Torah does.

This is the meaning of the first words of Lech Lecha. In order to reach this very high level of divine consciousness, the Torah tells us that more than selflessness which we learn from Noah, it is imperative to realize and then leave our own limitations which our environment imposes upon us and that blind us to our higher mission. This only happens with a firm and unbending commitment to Jewish life and values.

Shabbat Shalom, Shaul

P.S. Please also read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.

(for a free weekly email subscription, click here)


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