Lech Lecha – Page 11 – Peninim on the Torah

“The woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.” (12:15)

Pharaoh’s palace has been recorded in Jewish history as a place of infamy. Sarah Imeinu was taken there. Years later, her great- grandson, Yosef Ha’tzaddik, was taken there. Moshe Rabbeinu was raised there. This home was a source of much weeping by Jewish leaders. For a kadosh v’tahor, holy and pure individual to be brought into the home of a heathen, a home which was a center of idol worship and immorality, was a tragedy. How do Chazal perceive this experience? Do they view it as negatively as we do? To respond to this question, let us go back in time…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5762

“And when Avram heard that his kinsman (his nephew, Lot) was taken captive, he armed his disciples who had been born in his house.” (14:14)

Empathy for another person is a character trait we should learn from Avraham Avinu. As soon as he heard that his nephew, Lot, was taken captive, he immediately assembled a small army and risked his life to save him. From a cursory perspective, it seems like the right thing to do. My nephew is in trouble – I go out to save him. Is that what we do? How often do we find a way to rationalize away our responsibility to our fellow man? Avraham had every reason to turn his back on Lot. It is not as if Lot did…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5762

“Her mistress was lowered in her esteem.” (16:4)

Aagar’s lack of emunah, belief, in Divine Providence, coupled with her insensitivity to others, resulted in her brazenness. She arrogantly called attention to the fact that she was able to conceive and bear Avraham’s child, while Sarah, her mistress, despite having been with Avraham for so many years, still had no success in bearing a child. Obviously, from her perspective, she was more righteous than Sarah. Her first reaction was to claim superiority. Never did she allow herself to entertain the notion that there was a reason for Sarah’s barrenness. It certainly could not have been Sarah’s lack of virtue. A…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5762

“At the age of eight days every male among you must be circumcised.” (17:12)

The mitzvah of Bris Milah is a critical mitzvah which inducts the young boy into the Jewish People. Throughout the millennia our people have been willing to sacrifice their lives, so that this mitzvah may be fulfilled properly. Many stories have been recorded detailing the selfless devotion our People have demonstrated to this mitzvah. I recently read a story that poignantly portrays the lengths to which one Jewish mother actualized her perception of the mitzvah of Bris Milah. This occurred in Soviet Russia at a time when the Communists were in power. Their disdain for any religion was overshadowed by their…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5761

“And he pitched his tent, with Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east.” (12:8)

Horav Aharon Kotler, z.l., would often cite Horav Yehudah Leib Fine, z.l., the rav of Slonim, who commented on the way the Torah depicts Avraham Avinu’s travels. The Torah records that Avraham pitched his tent with Beth-el on one side and Ai on the other. These were both large cities. Indeed, Ai even had a sovereign during the period in which Yehoshua conquered it. Avraham’s tent, on the other hand, was of a temporary nature, pitched on the crossroads. One would expect the geographical locus of the tent to be secondary to the major cities, i.e., the tent is located…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5761

“And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Avram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock…So Avram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between me and you.’” (13:7-8)

Rashi cites the Midrash that tells us the rationale behind the justification of Lot’s herdsmen for stealing. They were wicked and grazed their cattle in the fields of others. When Avraham’s shepherds rebuked them for their theft, they would respond, “The land has been given to Avraham. He has no heir, so Lot, his brother’s son, will inherit his estate. Consequently, it is not theft. Ultimately, it will all belong to Lot anyway.” Their mistake was, of course, that as long as the Canaanite and Perizzite nations dwelled in the land, Avraham did not yet possess it. Horav Shlomo…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5761

“Now the people of Sodom were wicked and sinful to Hashem, exceedingly.” (13:13)

Horav Yaakov Moshe Charlop, z.l., claims that the evil perpetrated by the inhabitants of Sodom was motivated by a philosophy of evil. This is the only way that this evil could have spread throughout the entire community to the point that there were not even ten righteous people to be found. When evil becomes a doctrine, when sin becomes a matter of principle, it is difficult to overcome. The more one speaks out against the evil, the more the evil- doer will adhere to his “convictions” and “beliefs.” There is no room for reason or logic. Horav Charlop attributes the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5761

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

Avraham Avinu exemplified emunah, faith, in Hashem. Many people believe in Hashem, but, how many actually live with emunah? To say that one’s faith and conviction in the Almighty is integral to one’s life is truly a strong statement. There are people, however, to whom this idea applies. Hashem tests us all of the time. As believing Jews, these nisyonos, tests/trials, are an evaluation of our degree of emunah. Ostensibly, the greater one’s emunah, the more difficult is the test. A while ago, I read in one of the Jewish periodicals about the reaction of secular Jews in Eretz Yisrael…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5760

“And he pitched his tent, with Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east.” (12:8)

Horav Aharon Kotler, z.l., would often cite Horav Yehudah Leib Fine, z.l., the rav of Slonim, who commented on the way the Torah depicts Avraham Avinu’s travels. The Torah records that Avraham pitched his tent with Beth-el on one side and Ai on the other. These were both large cities. Indeed, Ai even had a sovereign during the period in which Yehoshua conquered it. Avraham’s tent, on the other hand, was of a temporary nature, pitched on the crossroads. One would expect the geographical locus of the tent to be secondary to the major cities, i.e., the tent is located…

Home -> 5760 -> Lech Lecha

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Lech Lecha, 5760

“And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Avram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock…So Avram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between me and you.’” (13:7-8)

Rashi cites the Midrash that tells us the rationale behind the justification of Lot’s herdsmen for stealing. They were wicked and grazed their cattle in the fields of others. When Avraham’s shepherds rebuked them for their theft, they would respond, “The land has been given to Avraham. He has no heir, so Lot, his brother’s son, will inherit his estate. Consequently, it is not theft. Ultimately, it will all belong to Lot anyway.” Their mistake was, of course, that as long as the Canaanite and Perizzite nations dwelled in the land, Avraham did not yet possess it. Horav Shlomo…

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“The woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.” (12:15)

“And when Avram heard that his kinsman (his nephew, Lot) was taken captive, he armed his disciples who had been born in his house.” (14:14)

“Her mistress was lowered in her esteem.” (16:4)

“At the age of eight days every male among you must be circumcised.” (17:12)

“And he pitched his tent, with Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east.” (12:8)

“And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Avram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock…So Avram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between me and you.’” (13:7-8)

“Now the people of Sodom were wicked and sinful to Hashem, exceedingly.” (13:13)

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

“And he pitched his tent, with Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east.” (12:8)

“And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Avram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock…So Avram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between me and you.’” (13:7-8)

YEARS

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