Vayeira – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

ותצחק שרה בקרבה לאמר אחרי בלותי היתה לי עדנה ואדני זקן.

And Sarah laughed at herself, saying, “After I have withered shall I again have delicate skin? And my husband is old!” (18:12)

Is it possible that Sarah Imeinu questioned Hashem’s ability to produce a miracle? Certainly not! She simply did not believe that this was a Divine message. It was the courteous wish of a guest who was just being nice. Sarah had long passed her childbearing age. It would take nothing less than a miracle for her to give birth to a child. Had she known the true identity of these travelers, she would not have been so quick to laugh. Horav Mordechai Eliyahu, zl, has a different approach to the entire parsha, which I feel portrays Sarah in a positive…

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חלילה לך מעשות כדבר הזה להמית צדיק עם רשע והיה כצדיק כרשע חלילה לך השופט כל הארץ לא יעשה משפט

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5774

It would be a sacrilege to You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the righteous along with the wicked; so the righteous will be like the wicked. It would be a sacrilege to You! Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?” (18:25)

Certainly, everyone at one point or another has wondered about the continued good fortune of the hypocrite, a person who is a self-professed tzaddik, publicly acting like a righteous, virtuous Jew, while covertly carrying out activities that are ethically and morally depraved. He is living a life of sham and piety. His only concern is about putting on a good show so that he can fool people. In the privacy of his mind and behind closed doors, he is a different person. He has no problem cheating others – regardless of their financial standing or positions in the community –…

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ויזכר אלקים את אברהם וישלח את לוט מתוך ההפכה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5774

G-d remembered Avraham; so He sent Lot from amidst the upheaval. (19:29)

Lot was spared twice. First, he was taken captive by the four kings. From their perspective, he had a birds-eye view of Hashem’s miracles, as Avraham Avinu with his makeshift army was able to vanquish the four mighty, bloodthirsty kings. Avraham came either with his trusted servant and student, Eliezer, or he rounded up 318 of his students and went to war. In any event, it was clearly a miracle in the merit of Avraham. One would think that someone with a modicum of intelligence would realize this and repent. Not Lot. Forget about his sense of hakoras hatov, gratitude…

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קח נא את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5774

Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak. (22:2)

In the preface to his commentary to Meseches Shabbos, Minchas Asher, Horav Asher Weiss, Shlita, writes that in the above pasuk, Hashem is spelling out to Avraham Avinu the principals upon – and manner in which – the Akeidas Yitzchak should be executed. He focuses on what many of us conceive as being the state of mind that permeated the two giants who took part in the Akeidah. Avraham and Yitzchak must have been on such an incredibly lofty spiritual plane, completely divested of any physical, mundane emotions which would have run contrary to Hashem’s command to them. Throughout the…

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כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5774

For I know that you are a G-d-fearing man. (22:12)

This was the tenth test, following after nine tests which all had successful outcomes. Yet, only now, after the Akeidas Yitzchak, did Hashem ratify Avraham Avinu’s commitment as a yarei Shomayim, G-d-fearing. If this is the case, what is the meaning of yerei Elokim, G-d-fearing? Does committing to the Akeidah manifest a greater sense of fearing G-d than walking into a fiery cauldron? Horav Nachum Breslover, zl, teaches that one who does not possess an azus d’kedushah, a sense of resolute holiness, who is undaunted by those who stand in the way of his observance, who can transcend the taunts…

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ויקחו את לוט ואת רכושו בן אחי אברם וילכו והוא יושב בסדם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5773

And they captured Lot and his possessions – Avram’s nephew – and they left; for he was residing in Sodom. (14:12)

Upon reading the pasuk, one cannot help but note that the word rechusho, “his possessions,” is out of order. The way the pasuk reads is: and rechusho/his possessions, the son of Avram’s brother. Surely, rechusho was not Avram’s nephew! In his Shevilei Pinchas, Horav Pinchas Friedman, Shlita, cites the Arizal in Likutei Torah, who comments that the neshamah, soul, of the famous Amora, Rava, had its roots in the neshamah of Naamah ha’Amonis, descendant of Lot. Thus, Rava’s neshamah was held “captive” within Lot. If something were to happen to Lot, there would be no Rava. Hence, Avraham Avinu went…

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

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5773

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 angels had just recently informed Avraham Avinu of the wonderful news that Sarah would have a child. Yet, the Torah writes that Hashem loved Avraham for his parenting skills in imparting the way of Hashem to his offspring. Was this not a bit premature? Avraham did not yet have any children. The Patriarch was not yet a parent. Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, derives from here that one’s focus on how he will raise his children begins prior to marriage. Everything depends upon one’s purpose in marriage, what it means to him. If one’s goal is to increase kavod Shomayim,…

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ויגש אברהם ויאמר האף תספה צדיק עם רשע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5773

Avraham came forward and said, “Will you also stamp out the righteous along with the wicked?” (18:23)

Unlike his predecessor, Noach, Avraham Avinu prayed for the wicked people of his generation. The Torah makes a point of relating the Patriarch’s dialogue with Hashem to spare the city of Sodom. This was a community inhabited primarily by evil degenerates whose narcissistic desires towered over any sense of humanity they might have had. They were totally evil. Yet, Avraham prayed for them. Likewise, Moshe Rabbeinu prayed on behalf of those Jews who had sinned with the eigel ha’zahav, Golden Calf. The prayer was for the sinners to repent and the sins to be forgiven. This is the area in…

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וימהר אברהם האהלה אל שרה...ואל הבקר רץ אברהם...ויתן אל הנער וימהר אתו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5773

So Avraham hastened to the tent of Sarah…Then Avraham ran to the cattle…and he gave it to the youth who hurried to prepare it. (18:6, 7)

There seems to be an unusual amount of “hurrying” and “running.” Also, did Avrham Avinu have to serve his guests personally? The Alshich HaKadosh writes: “Avraham teaches us two proper courses of action in carrying out mitzvos. First, zerizus, alacrity. Second, whatever one can do personally is preferred.” The Patriarch ran personally to serve his guests. Zerizus is one of the fundamental attributes listed by Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair as leading up to kedushah, holiness. Indeed, alacrity/enthusiasm is a fundamental step in mitzvah observance and toward leading a productive life. One who acts with zerizus does not defer to tomorrow…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Vayeira, 5772

“And the men arose from there, and they gazed toward Sodom.” (18:16)

The Torah seems to place an emphasis upon the word “mishom,” from there, as if the place from which the men left had a special significance. Also, Chazal teach us that the word, “vayashkifu,” and they gazed, has a negative connotation indicating the detriment of that which is being gazed upon. Why would “gazing” from Avraham’s home be the precursor of something bad? Sforno explains that in contrast to what they observed in Avraham Avinu’s home, the men viewed a negative picture from his home. Horav Sholom Shwadron, z.l., explains that the punishment one receives for transgression is commensurate…

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ותצחק שרה בקרבה לאמר אחרי בלותי היתה לי עדנה ואדני זקן.

And Sarah laughed at herself, saying, “After I have withered shall I again have delicate skin? And my husband is old!” (18:12)

חלילה לך מעשות כדבר הזה להמית צדיק עם רשע והיה כצדיק כרשע חלילה לך השופט כל הארץ לא יעשה משפט

It would be a sacrilege to You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the righteous along with the wicked; so the righteous will be like the wicked. It would be a sacrilege to You! Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?” (18:25)

ויזכר אלקים את אברהם וישלח את לוט מתוך ההפכה

G-d remembered Avraham; so He sent Lot from amidst the upheaval. (19:29)

קח נא את בנך את יחידך אשר אהבת את יצחק

Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak. (22:2)

כי עתה ידעתי כי ירא אלקים אתה

For I know that you are a G-d-fearing man. (22:12)

ויקחו את לוט ואת רכושו בן אחי אברם וילכו והוא יושב בסדם

And they captured Lot and his possessions – Avram’s nephew – and they left; for he was residing in Sodom. (14:12)

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

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

ויגש אברהם ויאמר האף תספה צדיק עם רשע

Avraham came forward and said, “Will you also stamp out the righteous along with the wicked?” (18:23)

וימהר אברהם האהלה אל שרה...ואל הבקר רץ אברהם...ויתן אל הנער וימהר אתו

So Avraham hastened to the tent of Sarah…Then Avraham ran to the cattle…and he gave it to the youth who hurried to prepare it. (18:6, 7)

“And the men arose from there, and they gazed toward Sodom.” (18:16)

YEARS

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