Don't Give Up on Ruchniyus
In this week's parashah, Avraham Avinu comes to Eretz Yisrael, called Eretz Canaan. His father, Terach, also attempted to take his family to Eretz Canaan, but he stopped in the middle and settled in Charan. As stated at the end of last week's parashah (11:31), ויקח כנען ארצה ללכת כשדם מאור אתם ויצאו ...בנו אברם את תרח חרן עד ויבאו, "Terach took Avram his son [and the rest of his family] and went forth with them from Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan. They came as far as Charan and settled there."
Going to Eretz Yisrael signifies going to the kedushah. Many people desire to attain kedushah but inevitably encounter difficulties along the way and give up. This is what happened to Terach and his family. They came to חרן, which means anger. This alludes to the attribute of din, which attempts to stop people from achieving their spiritual goals.
When obstacles arise, most people give up and settle wherever they are. But Avraham pushed forward and reached Eretz Yisrael.
The lesson for us is to work to overcome all obstacles and continue trying. Yes, you will stumble, but you must get up and try again. If you remain stubborn in your goals, you will reach the kedushah you strive to attain.
The Kotzker zt'l (Siach Sarfei Kodesh, Inyanim Shonim, Avodas Hashem 43) teaches that there's a tall ladder going down from heaven to earth, and Hashem brings down neshamos to this world with this ladder. Then Hashem takes the ladder away and says, "Now, come back to Me." Some lose hope and don't even try. Some jump up and fall, and then they lose hope. But some jump repeatedly until Hashem has compassion on them and He brings them up to Him.
It states (13:18) ממרא באלוני וישב ויבוא אברם ויאהל, "Avram pitched his tent, and he came, and he dwelt in the plain of Mamre." The trop on ויבא and וישב is תביר. (It isn't so often that the trop תביר is found on two consecutive words.) The translation of תביר is broken. Avraham's specialty was that even when he broke, which means when he fell from his high levels, he continued. This attitude enabled him to reach ממרא אלוני and Eretz Yisrael.
When one falls spiritually, his reaction should be, "What should I do now?" Instead of moping over the past, think about what you can improve and accomplish in the future.
In Parashas Bereishis (Bereishis 2:20), we learn that Adam named all the animals. Then Hashem created Chavah, but the Torah only tells us that Adam named her Chavah after she ate from the Tree of Knowledge. It states (3:20) אם היתה היא כי חוה אשתו שם האדם ויקרא חי כל, 'Adam named his wife Chavah because she was the mother of all life," and this is written after the story of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (see Rashi, 3:20).
We derive from this a vital lesson. Chavah ate from the Tree and convinced her husband, Adam, to eat from the fruit, as well. This brought devastation and destruction to the world. What should Chavah do now, after committing such a severe sin? Should she fall into a depression and mope over the destruction she caused? Adam named her Chavah, meaning she must remember that all life will come from her. Every human being will be her descendant. With this name, he was telling Chavah to focus on the positive she could still accomplish in the world. The entire world will come from her!
There is no time to brood over the past. This is the only way to react to mistakes. Moaning over the past will stop us in our tracks. We should instead focus on improvement and the future.
The Ropshitzer Rav zt'l gives an innovative explanation to the words ...לך לך אביך מבית. Avraham's father was an idol worshipper. Avraham could have thought, "How can I serve Hashem? What yichus do I have? What importance do I have?" Furthermore, the Rambam says that as a youth, Avraham also worshipped avodah zarah. If he would focus on where he comes from and the aveiros he performed, he would feel broken and unworthy of serving Hashem. Hashem, therefore, told him לך לך, leave these negative thoughts and move on to greatness.
Many people suffer from similar negative thoughts. They think, how can I serve Hashem after I committed an aveirah? Hashem replies, לך לך, go away from those thoughts, focus on the future, and serve Hashem.
The pasuk states (Bereishis 3:21) אלוקים 'ה ויעש וילבשם עור כתנות ולאשתו לאדם, "Hashem made for Adam and his wife shirts of skin, and He dressed them." What is the uniqueness of this clothing? Rabbeinu b'Chaya writes, "Hashem made them honorable, good clothing... Perhaps it was made from the skins of the tachash, an animal that existed in Moshe Rabbeinu's time, which Moshe used to cover the aron and the utensils. The skins had many colors, as Unkelos tells us. Chazal say that the clothing that Hashem gave Adam and...
