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אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך שכרך הרבה מאד

Fear not Avram, I am a shield for you; your reward is very great. (15:1)

Hashem promises those who fulfill His mitzvos that they will be rewarded commensurate with their good deeds. We understand, of course, the rule of schar b’hai alma leka, “reward does not apply to This World.” The ultimate reward that one will receive will materialize in the World of Truth, Olam Habba. The Ben Ish Chai questions this rule. We are all aware of the Torah’s injunction that a Jewish worker be paid on the day that he completes his work. B’yomo titein scharo, if one is hired for day work, he must be reimbursed for his work at the end…

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ויאמר אברם אל לוט אל נא תהי מריבה ביני וביניך... הפרד נא מעלי

So Avram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between me and you… please separate from me.” (12:8,9)

Chazal teach us that maasei Avos siman labanim, “The actions of the Fathers are a sign for the sons.” The Torah is teaching us that the varied approaches to life’s challenges encountered by the Patriarchs serve as a portent and guide for their descendants to follow and emulate. They are teaching us the correct path to take upon confronting similar situations. Clearly, as in all “maps,” it takes the educated and discerning eye of a teacher to explain the meaning of various actions, the underlying reason for taking such action, and the lessons to be derived. This brings us to…

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לך לך מארצך

Go you from your land. (12:1)

Two Avos, Patriarchs, left their homeland – Avraham Avinu and Yaakov Avinu. The Torah uses “different” vernacular in describing their respective departures. Avraham is to lech lecha, leave, go, while concerning Yaakov, the Torah writes, va’yeitzei, “And he (Yaakov) went out.” Rashi comments that when a tzaddik, righteous person, leaves a place, it makes an impression. He impacts the city’s beauty, glory and luster. Why does the Torah choose to make Yaakov’s departure impactive, while Avraham’s departure seems more like an escape, as if no one really cared? The Chasam Sofer, zl, distinguishes between the communities that hosted Avraham and…

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לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך

Go from your land and your birthplace and from your father’s home. (12:1)

Hashem’s command to Avraham Avinu, instructing him to leave his present surroundings is “stretched” out a bit. The Torah emphasizes the various phases of his departure: his land, his birthplace, his father’s home. The Mizrachi suggests that the purpose in this emphasis was that the Patriarch would digest all that he was abandoning. It was not just his land; it was also his birthplace, and his father’s home. Uhr Casdim meant a lot to Avraham. To leave was to forsake a major part of his past. He had a history in Uhr Casdim. The purpose of this detail was to…

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לך לך מארצך וממולדתך... ואעשך לגוי גדול

Go from your land and your birth place… And I will make of you a great nation. (12:1)

The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b teaches that four things can nullify the unfavorable decree against an individual: Charity; prayer with tzeakah, crying out; changing one’s name; change of action, or changing his way of life. The Talmud cites a fifth possible way to overturn an evil decree: a change of place. They support this idea with the pasuk: “Go from your land,” which is followed up, “I will make of you a great nation.” This indicates that, in his new location, Avraham Avinu would finally be blessed with a son, the precursor of a great nation. Rashi quotes the Midrash…

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