Parsha Pearls
When is the first time in Rashi’s commentary on the Torah do we see a description of a Torah abiding Jew? In this week’s parsha. Based on the Midrash, Rashi writes:
”אֲשֶר־עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן “ - שהכניסן תחת כנפי השכינה, אברהם מגייר את האנשים, ושרה מגיירת הנשים, (פירוש רש“י בראשית יב:ה)
“and the souls they had acquired in Haran” - whom he had brought under the wings of the Shechinah. Abraham would convert the men, and Sarah would convert the women (Rashi’s commentary to Bereishis 12:5)
Rashi describes the converts that Avraham and Sarah converted in Charan as “those whom they brought under the wings of the Shechina (Divine Presence).
What message is Rashi/Midrash trying to convey to us by describing the converts in such a way?
The message is that a Torah abiding Jew is someone who is under the wings of the Shechina.
Remember this when you wake up each morning. As you open your eye and say Mode Ani, think to yourself for a moment, “I am a Jew and I keep the Torah! That means that I am always under the wings of the Shechina!”
