Vayeira – Page 3 – Peninim on the Torah

וירא אליו ד' באלני ממרא והוא ישב פתח האהל כחם היום

Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. (18:1)

It was three days after Avraham Avinu’s bris milah, circumcision. The third day is the most painful. Yet, our Patriarch was sitting at the entrance of his tent during an unusually warm time of the day. Chazal teach that Hashem removed the sun from its protective casing in order to make it more powerful (and hotter), so that wayfarers would not travel. Thus, they would not inconvenience Avraham (by not creating an opportunity for him to serve them). When Hashem saw that Avraham was actually pained by not having the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim, welcoming guests,…

Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה את אברהם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

And it happened after these things that Hashem tested Avraham. (22:1)

Our Patriarch, Avraham Avinu, had been tested ten times by Hashem as a means of confirming his commitment and as a vehicle for proclaiming to the world his abiding devotion to Hashem. Hashem was now asking him to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved with a love that went beyond words. Actually, Avraham had already proven his commitment to Hashem, when he relinquished his life as he was prepared to die in the fiery cauldron of Uhr Kasdim. How often did Avraham have to prove his willingness to sacrifice on behalf of Hashem? Mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, is a spiritual…

Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

ותאמר לאברהם גרש האמה הזאת ואת בנה כי לא יירש בן האמה הזאת עם בני עם יצחק

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

So she said to Avraham, “Drive out this slavewoman with her son, for the son of that slavewoman shall not inherit with my son, with Yitzchak!” (21:10)

The Chazon Ish, zl, teaches that distancing a boy from yeshivah, sending him away, is a dinei nefashos, life and death, issue. A yeshivah that sends a student away due to its inability to deal with him is similar to a hospital who refuses to treat a patient whose illness is advanced. A maggid shiur in Yeshivas Porat Yosef approached Horav Yehudah Tzadaka, zl, Rosh Yeshivah, with a request that a certain student be asked to leave the yeshivah. Rav Tzadaka asked the rebbe, “Did you pray for him? Did you fast for him? First pray and fast for him…

Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד'

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem. (18:19)

The literal translation of yedaativ (reference to knowledge) is, “I know him.” Understandably, when one loves and cares for someone, he seeks to bring him close and know him better. Hashem loved Avraham because he did not keep His teachings to himself. When one believes in something, he wants to shout it from the rooftops, to reach out to whomever he can, so that he can share these verities with him. Interestingly, Avraham Avinu performed many mitzvos for which he achieved singular distinction. In addition, he kept the entire Torah even prior to its being given to Klal Yisrael. Yet,…

Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. (18:2)

Rashi explains that it was necessary to send three angels in the image of men because an angel performs only one mission. Thus, one angel came to heal Avraham Avinu; the second came to inform Sarah Imeinu of the impending birth of her son; the third came to destroy Sodom. Raphael, the angel who healed Avraham, went on to Sodom to save Lot form the conflagration that would destroy the city. The question is obvious: If an angel performs only one mission (at a time), and Rapahel had gone on to destroy Sodom to save Lot, would it not have been…

Home -> 5780 -> Vayeira

וירא אליו ד' באלני ממרא והוא ישב פתח האהל כחם היום

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. (18:1)

It was three days after Avraham Avinu’s bris milah, circumcision. The third day is the most painful. Yet, our Patriarch was sitting at the entrance of his tent during an unusually warm time of the day. Chazal teach that Hashem removed the sun from its protective casing in order to make it more powerful (and hotter), so that wayfarers would not travel. Thus, they would not inconvenience Avraham (by not creating an opportunity for him to serve them). When Hashem saw that Avraham was actually pained by not having the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnosas orchim, welcoming guests,…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeira

אל תשלח ידך אל הנער... כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5779

Do not stretch out your hand against the lad… for now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man. (22:12)

What was so special about “now”? What did Avraham Avinu do “now” that made such a strong impression, that so underscored his fear of G-d? The Malbim explains that actually Avraham had been tested twice. The primary objective of the nisayon, test, of Akeidas Yitzchak was to see whether Avraham would carry out the mitzvah purely for the sake of Hashem: Would this mitzvah be the execution of the will of the Almighty – or would Avraham perform the Akeidah for ulterior (regardless of how minute and insignificant) motives? Would the Patriarch have a personal agenda included in his act…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeira

ויקרא אליו מלאך ד'... עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה ולא תשכת את בנך את יחידך ממני

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5779

And an Angel of Hashem called to him… For now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me. (22:11,12)

The angel said to Avraham, “Since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me.” The Gaon, zl, m’Vilna, wonders what the angel meant with the words, “From Me”. If he meant Hashem, he should have said so. “Me” implies that he was talking about himself. Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, cites Maadanei Yosef, who explains that every mitzvah a person performs catalyzes the creation of an angel. The quality, perfection of this angel, depends upon the quality of the mitzvah. A strong mitzvah, ie, one performed solely for the sake of Heaven, with alacrity and the proper intentions,…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeira

וישלח אברהם את ידו ויקח את המאכלת לשחט את בנו

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5779

Avraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son. (22:10)

A dear friend who became observant late in life, after raising his children to be devoutly secular Jews with little or no Jewish identity, was told by his daughter, “What bothers me most about your commitment to Orthodoxy is that you care more about G-d than you do about me!” A powerful accusation – if one is not Orthodox. One whose life is wholly regulated by the Torah understands that it is all about G-d. He comes first. This does not in any way suggest that frum people do not have feelings for family. If anything, they place a higher…

Home -> 5779 -> Vayeira

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5779

Then Avraham ran to the cattle. (18:7)

The Baal HaTurim turns around the letters of the word, ha’bakar, so that it becomes ha’kever, the grave. The Yalkut Shemoni explains that the bakar, calf, that Avraham Avinu was prepared to slaughter ran away, and Avraham followed it into the Meoras HaMachpeilah, which then contained the graves of Adam and Chavah. When Avraham entered the cave, he saw a man and a woman lying there asleep. Next to them candles were burning, from which a pleasant odor permeated outward. This is why Avraham sought to make Meoras HaMachpeilah the place where he, too, wished to be buried. Interestingly, as…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> Vayeira ->

וירא אליו ד' באלני ממרא והוא ישב פתח האהל כחם היום

Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. (18:1)

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה את אברהם

And it happened after these things that Hashem tested Avraham. (22:1)

ותאמר לאברהם גרש האמה הזאת ואת בנה כי לא יירש בן האמה הזאת עם בני עם יצחק

So she said to Avraham, “Drive out this slavewoman with her son, for the son of that slavewoman shall not inherit with my son, with Yitzchak!” (21:10)

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד'

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem. (18:19)

וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו

He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. (18:2)

וירא אליו ד' באלני ממרא והוא ישב פתח האהל כחם היום

Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day. (18:1)

אל תשלח ידך אל הנער... כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה

Do not stretch out your hand against the lad… for now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man. (22:12)

ויקרא אליו מלאך ד'... עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה ולא תשכת את בנך את יחידך ממני

And an Angel of Hashem called to him… For now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me. (22:11,12)

וישלח אברהם את ידו ויקח את המאכלת לשחט את בנו

Avraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son. (22:10)

ואל הבקר רץ אברהם

Then Avraham ran to the cattle. (18:7)

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!