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Home -> 5785 -> Lech Lecha

ויגד לאברם העברי ויבא הפליט

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5785

Then there came the fugitive and told Avram, the Ivri. (14:13)

Avraham Avinu is given the appellation Ivri, which Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 42:8) explain that because the entire world was mei’ever echad, on one side, and he (stood his ground) on the other side.  Ivri is derived from ever, side.  Our Patriarch’s essence and greatness are based upon his readiness to stand apart from the rest of the world.  The entire world population served idols.  He refused to fall in line with popular thinking.  He did not care what the surrounding culture viewed as vogue.  He was prepared to suffer isolation, if necessary, in order to adhere to his beliefs.  The…

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Home -> 5785 -> Lech Lecha

ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5785

And the souls they made in Charan. (12:5)

Rashi explains that the word “souls” refers to those whom they converted to faith in Hashem.  Noticeably, the Hebrew word, nefesh, which is singular, is used to describe the souls, rather than nefashos, which is plural. In his commentary to Bereishis 46:27, where the Torah details the sixty-six souls that accompanied Yaakov Avinu as he descended to Egypt, Rashi quotes Vayikra Rabbah 4:6 where Chazal distinguish between plural nefashos used to describe Eisav’s family (ibid. 36:6) and Yaakov who ultimately entered Egypt with seventy nefesh.  They explain that Eisav’s sons are considered separate souls because they worshipped many gods.  Yaakov’s…

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Home -> 5785 -> Lech Lecha

ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5785

And I will make you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. (12:2)

In an alternative explanation of these three terms, Rashi writes: “I will make you into a great nation.” This is a reference to what we say (in the Shemoneh Esrai), Elokei Avraham; ‘and I will bless you,’ this is a reference to that which we say, Elokai Yitzchak; ‘and I will make your name great.’ This is a reference to that which we say, Elokai Yaakov.  Since all three Avos, Patriarchs, are mentioned in the first b’racha of Shemoneh Esrai, one might think that the chasimas ha’brachah, conclusion of the blessing, should include all of them. Ve’heyei b’rachah, ‘and you…

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Home -> 5785 -> Lech Lecha

לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5785

Go for yourself, from your land, from your relatives, and from your father’s house. (12:1)

Chazal (Pirkei Avos 5:4) teach that Avraham Avinu earned his distinction by successfully passing ten trials.  The first trial which the Torah elaborates, tested his ability to pick himself up, bid farewell to family and friends, and journey to a new land. Hashem was requiring him to start over and set up a new infrastructure for his outreach work.  No one will suggest that moving is not difficult, especially if one has spent his entire life in a particular place.  Leaving family and friends is equally challenging – for some more than others.  Nonetheless, why does the Torah make such…

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Home -> 5784 -> Lech Lecha

ויאמר אברם אל לוט אל נא תהי מריבה ביני ובינך ובין רעי ובין רעיך כי אנשים אחים אנחנו

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5784

And Avram said to Lot, “Please let there not be a fight between me and you and between my shepherd and your shepherds, because we are brothers.” (13:8)

Klal Yisrael is destined to experience various galusim, exiles. The last exile is America, a country that has been good to us, despite its permissive and pervasive society. We are allowed to practice our religion, build mekomos HaTorah, institutes of Torah – schools, shuls which follow their unique Torah traditions. We need not fear a pogrom. While this does not mean that everything is great, it just shows that, in comparison to the previous exiles in our tumultuous history, America is by far the easiest. Yet, it is called galus, because we must contend with an almost constant attack on…

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Home -> 5784 -> Lech Lecha

ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5784

And I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (12:2)

Rashi explains the three terms/blessings of this pasuk; “And I will make you a great nation”: we refer to this when we say in Shemoneh Esrai – Elokai Avraham, G-d of Avraham; “And I will bless you” – refers to Elokai Yitzchak, “And I will make your name great,” alludes to Elokai Yaakov. Rashi adds, “One might think that they conclude the blessing with all of them, i.e., Elokai Avraham, Yitzchak, v’Yaakov.” To teach otherwise, the pasuk says, V’he’yeih brachah, “And you will be a blessing.” B’cha chosmin v’lo ba’haem, “With you, Avraham, they conclude the blessing and not with…

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Home -> 5784 -> Lech Lecha

לך לך מארצך

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5784

Go for yourself, from your land. (12:1)

The purpose of the life of Avraham Avinu was to set the tenor for how a Jew should live. His life story begins with Lech lecha, “Go for yourself.” He was instructed to separate himself from the society at large and forge a new approach to living – the Jewish/Torah way of life. What best characterizes this way of life? Horav Moshe Eismann, Shlita, relates a short vignette which, by extrapolation, can serve as the guiding principle by which we are to live in the context of a society that is totally foreign (or should be) to our standard of…

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Home -> 5783 -> Lech Lecha

ותאמר שרי אל אברם חמסי עליך

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5783

Sarai said to Avram, “The outrage against me is due to You!” (16:5)

A perfunctory reading of the pesukim, which details Sarah Imeinu’s relinquishing her maidservant, Hagar, to Avraham Avinu for the purpose of establishing posterity, followed by her dismissing Hagar from her home, when her insolence became too much to overlook, is misguiding. So much depth is contained in these parshiyos, with every action of the Avos and Imahos, Patriarchs and Matriarchs, steeped in the highest esoteric meanings and secrets, that one is impelled to study every word, every lesson, every nuance, in order to simply scratch the surface of the narrative. Let us focus on one lesson as seen through the…

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Home -> 5783 -> Lech Lecha

והאמין בד' ויחשביה לו לצדקה

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5783

And he trusted in Hashem, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (15:6)

Avraham Avinu was rishon v’rosh l’maaminim, first and foremost of the believers in Hashem. Discovering on his own that this world did not just happen and that every moment of its existence – and the existence of every creation – is providentially guided by Hashem, he devoted his life to spreading this concept to a world to whom this idea was foreign. His descendants, the Jewish People, have maintained his teachings with emunah in Hashem, the pre-emanate foundation of our dogma. Throughout (what presented themselves as) the worst moments in our tumultuous history, we have continued and maintained our faith…

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Home -> 5783 -> Lech Lecha

אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך

Sruly Schnair
In Lech Lecha, 5783

Fear not, Avram, I am a shield for you. (15:1)

We are referred to as Bnei Avraham Avinu, children of the Patriarch Avraham, because we inherited from the father of our people a national character trait. The Chiddushei HaRim writes that the term Magen Avraham, shield of Avraham, is a guarantee from Hashem that the nekudah, characteristic, which defined Avraham would be bequeathed to each and every one of his descendants. The Patriarch was referred to as Avraham HaIvri, because he stood his ground on one eiver, side, while the rest of the world was on the other side. This applies to Avraham’s ability to withstand societal coercion, family pressure…

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