There is a theme that runs through the beginning of the Torah, beginning with our Parsha, which connects us to the horrific events just experienced and guides us in how to respond. The atrocities touched Am Yisrael in its entirety, leaving us in a state of shock and fear. There are thousands of families who lost loved ones, and whose loved ones are in a perilous state of captivity. There are thousands of injured and the list keeps growing, Rachmana litzlan. Hundreds of thousands of reservists were called up to fight alongside active-duty soldiers on two fronts, and each has a family sitting at home worried. May Hashem watch over them all and lead them to success. Cities and towns across the country are being showered with rockets, and just as our period of dinim came to a close on Hoshana Rabbah, we witnessed the entire Tefilla of Rabbi Amnon of Magenza – וּנְתַנֶּה תֹּקֶף – in one moment. It is clear Hakadosh Baruch Hu is acting here.
It is important to recognize that our first job is to strengthen one another: רֵעֵהוּ יַעְזֹרוּ וּלְאָחִיו יֹאמַר חֲזָק. We must unify and show Hakadosh Baruch Hu just how connected we are – a trait which will no doubt help us in our mission just as it helped the generation of Achav, who despite being idol worshipers were victorious in battle due to their closeness with one another and how each treated their peer. With our achdut, may we speedily exit this darkness and see great light.
Chazal say that when something occurs in complete contrast to the Torah, it demands that we soul-search and determine what Hakadosh Baruch Hu is telling us and asking of us. David HaMelech says (Tehillim 119:85): כָּרוּ־לִי זֵדִים שִׁיחוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא כְתוֹרָתֶךָ׃ The insolent have dug pits for me, flouting Your teaching.
Chazal say (Yalkut Shimoni Nach 877:2), when you see something that conflicts with the Torah, and more specifically, when the actions of Hakadosh Baruch Hu do not match what is written in His Torah, it results in questions being asked by the angels. We ourselves are not permitted to ask questions of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, or to question His ways (and this is why we cover our eyes when reciting Shema – symbolizing our blind faith in Hakadosh Baruch Hu despite not understanding what occurs before our eyes). But the Midrash ask a question on the pasuk (Hoshea 10:14): בְּיוֹם מִלְחָמָה אֵם עַל־בָּנִים רֻטָּשָׁה. On a day of battle, when mothers and babes were dashed to death together.
How is this possible? Does this act not contradict the commandment of אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד – you shall not kill it and its young both in one day? Not only does the Midrash’s question apply today, but it can be strengthened. It was not a case of a mother with child but a mother with multiple children, all whose lives were taken in one shot! Pregnant women with their children! The powerful Midrash presents a few examples of conflicting elements:
Midrashic Contrasts
R' Yehuda b. Simai said, "It is written: 'But him and his son you shall not slaughter in one day'. But here, they sought to destroy, slay, and exterminate all the Jews, young and old, children and women, in one day. This is what is meant by 'he who is not like your Torah.'" R' Yehuda b. Simai continued, "It is written: 'And if a man of the house of Israel shall slaughter... And you shall pour out his blood and cover it with dust'. But here, they spilled their blood like water around Jerusalem, and were not buried. R’ Berechiah said, 'To the donkeys, burial was granted.' This refers to the Egyptians, as it is written, 'You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them', and the right hand is nothing but an oath, as it is stated, 'The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm'. So, the people did not receive burial. This is what is meant by 'he who is not like your Torah.'"
Chazal ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “אֵם עַל־בָּנִים רֻטָּשָׁה? You take a mother with her children? הָוֵי אֲשֶׁר לֹא כְּתוֹרָתְךָ! This is contrary to Your Torah!” These are the questions asked by the angels in the pamalya shel ma’ala, and they resonate strongly today, indicating Hakadosh Baruch Hu is screaming something to us.
What are we being told immediately after the מַעֲרֶכֶת הַדִּינִים (judgement process) concluded? The Zohar says (Vayechi), judgement continues until Hoshana Rabbah, on which day the verdict slips are handed to the messengers. But, the Zohar says, we may wait until they depart on the morning of Shmini Atzeret. The horrific events took place exactly at that moment, just after the sun rose on the morning of Shmini Atzeret. What is the message? We have no Nevi’im and cannot know for sure, but what is certain is that if we had in our midst a Sanhedrin or Beit Din, according to the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 222) we would have recited the ominous bracha: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם דַּיָּן הָאֱמֶת. Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, the Judge of Truth.
The Gemara says (Berachot 60b), says one who receives bad news recites this bracha, and that would include anyone who learned about the death of over 1200 brethren in one day! The Mishna Berurah, however, says we do not recite this bracha frequently anymore, but such an event clearly qualifies. We should be declaring a fast day, as found in the words of the Navi (Yoel 2:15-16):
תִּקְעוּ שׁוֹפָר בְּצִיּוֹן קַדְּשׁוּ־צוֹם קִרְאוּ עֲצָרָה׃ אִסְפוּ־עָם קַדְּשׁוּ קָהָל קִבְצוּ זְקֵנִים אִסְפוּ עוֹלָלִים וְיֹנְקֵי שָׁדָיִם יֵצֵא חָתָן מֵחֶדְרוֹ וְכַלָּה מֵחֻפָּתָהּ׃ בֵּין הָאוּלָם וְלַמִּזְבֵּחַ יִבְכּוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים מְשָׁרְתֵי ה' וְיֹאמְרוּ חוּסָה ה' עַל־עַמֶּךָ וְאַל־תִּתֵּן נַחֲלָתְךָ לְחֶרְפָּה לִמְשָׁל־בָּם גּוֹיִם לָמָּה יֹאמְרוּ בָעַמִּים אַיֵּה אֱ-לֹהֵיהֶם׃
Blow the shofar in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those who suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her pavilion. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not Thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them: why should they say among the peoples, Where is their G-d?
We should be taking all the steps found in the words of the Nevi’im, the Gemara, the Rambam, and elsewhere, to determine what message is being sent our way. Perhaps it is not a message of anger and punishment, but rather one signaling that our redemption has arrived! We’ll read in next week’s Haftarah: בְּרֶגַע קָטֹן עֲזַבְתִּיךְ וּבְרַחֲמִים גְּדֹלִים אֲקַבְּצֵךְ׃ For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Perhaps Hakadosh Baruch Hu is telling us, “Look at what happens when My providence ceases for a mere instant, and then picture how wonderous it will be when with My great mercy I gather you.” We must then recognize that our strength and Avodah here is Tefilla. It is through Tefilla that we will reach the culmination of galut, and Tefilla is the recurring theme found at the start of the Torah and it will lead us to our main idea.
The Torah is an instruction manual for the world, in the words of Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin. Prior to all the instructions – i.e., the mitzvot and their details – relayed to us through Moshe Rabbeinu, there are a series of twelve Parshiot and a common thread uniting them. Sefer Bereishit has episode after episode, story after story, and lesson after lesson that pivot on Tefilla. The first, in our Parsha, relates to the plants and trees created on Day Three:
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱ-לֹהִים תַּדְשֵׁא הָאָרֶץ דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע עֵץ פְּרִי עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי לְמִינוֹ אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ עַל־הָאָרֶץ וַיְהִי־כֵן׃ וַתּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע לְמִינֵהוּ וְעֵץ עֹשֶׂה־פְּרִי אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ־בוֹ לְמִינֵהוּ וַיַּרְא אֱ-לֹהִים כִּי־טוֹב׃
And G-d said, Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind: and G-d saw that it was good.
All this greenery was created and deemed “Good,” yet in the next Perek we read:
וְכֹל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ וְכָל־עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִצְמָח כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר ה' אֱ-לֹהִים עַל־הָאָרֶץ וְאָדָם אַיִן לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה׃
No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet grown: for the Lord G-d had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the ground.
While they were created, or perhaps seeded and sprouted, they did not grow further or produce their end product. Rashi says, this is because there was no one to recognize the utility of rain, but when Adam was created, however, he realized that it was necessary for the world, and he prayed for it. Rain then fell and only then did the trees and plants spring forth, with fruit and vegetation following. Tefillah – שֶׁבַּלֵּעֲבוֹדָה – was a key ingredient and it was missing. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to hear Adam’s voice call out, “Please deliver rain!” The Ben Ish Chai breaks down the name אָדָם. By spelling out each letter and taking the remaining letters that complete each word (מִלּוּי) – פלא', תל ד', ממ' – we are left with an amazing result: מִתְפַּלֵל! The milui, or completion, of man’s creation is Tefilla. Man was brought into the world to daven!
The Gemara (Bava Kama 2a) opens with a listing of the four primary categories of damage: The ox, the pit, the maveh (מַּבְעֶה), and the fire. There is a debate as to the meaning of maveh, with Shmuel saying it is a tooth and Rav saying it is a person. The Gemara then cites the pasuk (Yeshayah 21:12): אָמַר שֹׁמֵר אָתָה בֹקֶר וְגַם־לָיְלָה אִם־תִּבְעָיוּן בְּעָיוּ שֻׁבוּ אֵתָיוּ׃ The watchman said, The morning comes, and also the night: if you will inquire, inquire: return, come.
The terms tivayun and be’ayu, mean to inquire and refer to a person, who is able to inquire. Accordingly, maveh relates to an action performed by a person. Looking at the pasuk, Hakadosh Baruch Hu promises that if we request redemption, redemption will come. But we need to first ask. Tefillah is a key ingredient. Rain did not come before there was Tefillah.
Parshat Noach, too, contains reference to the role and power of Tefillah. Noach is given directions on exactly how to construct the ark, including an odd detail of creating compartments: קִנִּים תַּעֲשֶׂה אֶת־הַתֵּבָה. The word קִנִּים is an odd term to describe a set of rooms, and hints at קַן צִפּוֹר – a bird’s nest. This is further puzzling because a nest doesn’t seem to fit the ark’s housing needs. There is not ample space to bring two zebras, two giraffes, or fourteen cows into bird nests. If the intent is rooms, as Rashi explains, why not say rooms? Why say kinim? The Midrash says (Bereishit Rabbah 31:9): מַה הַקֵּן הַזֶּה מְטַהֵר אֶת הַמְצוֹרָע, אַף תֵּבָתְךָ מְטַהֲרָתְךָ. In the same way that a Metzorah (someone stricken with tzara’at) begins his purification process with two birds, the purification process here shall begin the same way.
This leads us to ask, what purification process is this? Noach was a tzaddik – why did he need atonement and purification? Rav Eliashiv expands on several Midrashim in addressing this question. The Zohar says, when Noach opened the door to leave the ark, he saw the earth devastated and destroyed. He asked Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “Why did you not have compassion for the living beings of the world? It is desolate!” The response was harsh (Zohar Chadash, Noah 110):
Hakadosh Baruch Hu responded: You foolish shepherd! You’re asking me now for mercy on My creations? When I told you 121 years ago that I planned to destroy the world, all you asked was about your own fate. You accepted my direction to save yourself in an ark and went on your way without asking for mercy or offering any prayer. And now you ask why I destroyed the world!”
Upon being told to exit, Noach stood at the ark’s door overlooking the bodies of all who died in the flood. Bodies were strewn everywhere. This is not dissimilar to the atrocities we are now witnessing in the kibbutzim and towns around Gaza, where our brethren were slaughtered and their bodies left scattered on the ground, Rachmana litzlan. At that moment Noach finally woke up, and his actions – or inactions – became clear. He needed to be merciful towards his brethren! Why did he have no compassion for them?
Some acts of sin are not actual murder but considered tantamount to murder. For example, anyone who humiliates another in public, it is as though he were spilling blood (Bava Metzia 58b). Another example that is tantamount to idol worship is anyone who becomes angry is regarded as one who worships idols (Shabbat 105b). Rav Eliashiv says the flood would have been averted if Noach had davened upon being told of the plans. As such, Noach’s silence is tantamount to causing the flood and he required atonement and purification.
We must daven for one another! It is incumbent upon us to daven for all those who are wounded and ill. Each one of us must daven for the three thousand plus who were injured this week – a wave that is just growing and growing – and for those who fall ill upon hearing news about their loved ones, or who are in unimaginable pain waiting to learn the fate of their loved ones in captivity. We must storm the gates of Heaven and ask for a complete and speedy recovery for each and every one!
When Moshe Rabbeinu’s hands became heavy during the battle against Amalek, they placed stones underneath to help prop them up. Could they not find him a nice, padded chair? Would that not have been easier than positioning large rocks? Moshe Rabbeinu said, “Am Yisrael are in battle and I’m expected to sit down?!?” He rested his arms on rock! We must each make that effort! Dedicate 15 minutes of Tefillah to our brethren. Reciting Tehillim is certainly important – each chapter and chapter. But Tefillot are also needed! Piles of Tefillot! For those wounded, for those in captivity, for their families, for our soldiers. We should not stop pouring out these Tefillot for a single moment! Who knows when there will be an עֵת רָצוֹן – a moment of favor before Hakadosh Baruch Hu – and the prayers will be answered.
In Parshat Lech Lecha we read: וַיַּעֲבֹר אַבְרָם בָּאָרֶץ עַד מְקוֹם שְׁכֶם עַד אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי אָז בָּאָרֶץ׃ And Avram passed through the land, to Shechem, unto the Elon Moreh. And the Kena‘ani was then in the land.
Rashi says, he went there to daven on behalf of Yaacov’s sons, anticipating the time when they would come to fight against Shechem. It would be 150 years later, but it required Avraham, at age 75, to stand in prayer right then and there, pleading with Hakadosh Baruch Hu that his grandchildren would not be harmed. From there he traveled east of Beit El, built an alter, and offered a korban. Why? Rashi says, through the gift of prophecy he saw his descendants would stumble into sin there, through Achan’s transgression (Yehoshua 7). Therefore, he prayed for them, some 450 years before the incident even occurred. The Gemara says (Sanhedrin 44b):
Rabbi Elazar says: A person should always offer up prayer before trouble actually arrives, as had Avraham not anticipated the trouble with the prayer he offered between Beth El and Ai, there would have been no remnant or refugee remaining of Israel.
Every one of Yehoshua’s soldiers would have been decimated had it not been for Avraham Avinu’s Tefillah (hundreds of years earlier). This discussion in the Gemara stems from a pasuk in Iyov (36:19): הֲיַעֲרֹךְ שׁוּעֲךָ לֹא בְצָר וְכֹל מַאֲמַצֵי־כֹחַ׃ Will your limitless wealth and riches help you? All the forces of your strength?
Iyov was challenged. When he had it all, did he ever stop and daven for the health and safety of his wife and children? In good times, did he beseech Hakadosh Baruch Hu that all he has should remain with him? Did he daven? No, he didn’t. Avraham Avinu did, 450 years ahead of time. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants our prayers right now! What are we waiting for? Are we scheduling them for a later date or trying to determine the best timing? The only optimal time for Tefillah is the present! Don’t wait for trouble.
I will bring one more instance from Parshat Lech Lecha and we can then shift to our shiur’s primary focus.
When Sarah Immeinu recognized she was firmly planted in Eretz Yisrael but still unable to have children, she turned to Avraham Avinu and offered her maidservant Hagar, the daughter of Pharoah and one of the parting gifts given to Sarah after she was abducted and subsequently released by Pharoah and his officers. Hagar immediately became pregnant, and Sarah reacted:
וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל־אַבְרָם חֲמָסִי עָלֶיךָ אָנֹכִי נָתַתִּי שִׁפְחָתִי בְּחֵיקֶךָ וַתֵּרֶא כִּי הָרָתָה וָאֵקַל בְּעֵינֶיהָ יִשְׁפֹּט ה' בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶיךָ׃
And Sarai said to Avram, “The wrong done to me is your fault! I myself gave you my maid; now that she sees that she is pregnant, I am lowered in her esteem. The Lord decide between you and me!”
Sarah said: חֲמָסִי עָלֶיךָ – you have stolen a Tefillah from me! וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס... and כִּי־מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס מִפְּנֵיהֶם... Hamas!
Avraham asked why that was, and Sarah answered it was because at Brit Bein HeBetarim he davened to Hakadosh Baruch Hu: מַה־תִּתֵּן־לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי – what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless. Sarah was disturbed he used me rather than we - including only himself. Had he said they were both childless, Hagar bearing a child wouldn’t be an option on the table. One Tefillah can make the difference.
When someone forgets to say מַשִּׁיב הָרוּחַ וּמוֹרִיד הַגֶּשֶׁם and instead says מוֹרִיד הַטַּל, they do not repeat their Amidah. There is no curse involved in having dew arrive in the winter. But come springtime, if that scenario is flipped and they mistakenly say מַשִּׁיב הָרוּחַ וּמוֹרִיד הַגֶּשֶׁם, they must start over. What is the big deal? It’s only one person! Someone who was likely distracted or got mixed up as they davened. What damage is caused by this tiny slip-up? The Taz says, we have no appreciation for just how powerful one Tefillah from one confused Jew is! That one checked-out Jew can bring down rain at the wrong time!
When Hagar became pregnant, she drew the immediate conclusion that she was the righteous one in the picture and not Sarah. Rashi says, based on the Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 45:4), Hagar said, “Sarah’s conduct in private can’t possibly be like that in public; she pretends to be a righteous woman, but she cannot really be righteous since all these years she has not been privileged to have children, while I have.” Avraham gave Sarah the green light to do with Hagar as she pleased, and Sarah proceeded to chase her away. An angel spoke to Hagar, encouraging her to return and offering her comfort, and finally speaking about the son she’d have:
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה' הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל כִּי שָׁמַע ה' אֶל־עָנְיֵךְ׃ וְהוּא יִהְיֶה פֶּרֶא אָדָם יָדוֹ בַכֹּל וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ וְעַל־פְּנֵי כָל־אֶחָיו יִשְׁכֹּן׃
The angel said to her: Behold you will conceive and give birth to a son. You shall name him Yishmael, for Hashem has heard your prayer. He will be a wild, uncivilized man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him; and in the presence of all his brothers he will dwell.
Rabbotai, if the boy was to be named in honor of Hakadosh Baruch Hu having heard the voice of Hagar (כִּי שָׁמַע) then why is his name not שָׁמַע אֵל? The name יִשְׁמָעֵאל is future oriented: יִשְׁמַע אֵל – G-d will hear. Interestingly, when Avraham eventually named the child, he named him יִשְׁמָעֵאל without having heard from the angel earlier. His choice stemmed from Ruach HaKodesh. We’ll return to this question shortly. What did Hagar do after receiving the angel’s message? She thanked Hakadosh Baruch Hu for hearing her pleas and for giving her a wild and uncivilized son. The Maharil Diskin says, he was a פֶּרֶא אָדָם – not an אָדָם פֶּרֶא, but a פֶּרֶא אָדָם. The wild, uncivilized part of him would be dominant. It is not an adjective to describe a subject, but rather the subject itself. He would be a wild animal in the form of a human being. Seforno says, the word פֶּרֶא describes a wild donkey, an animal that has not been domesticated; and the angel told Hagar that her son would be similar in his character to a wild donkey, and this would be due to his having part of the genes of his Egyptian mother. These are the words of the Seforno, not mine. Furthermore, Rashi says יָדוֹ בַכֹּל means he'll be a thief and וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ means all will detest him and confront him. Quite the child Hagar is going to receive! How would most people respond to that proposition? They’d likely plead with the angel, or directly with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to upgrade their gift. They might not receive a handsome prince, but at least a child with some qualities to take pride in. And if not, they might just give up and say, “No thanks, send him to the safari instead.” But how did Hagar respond? With a smile and a thank you. Chikrei Lev
