Avraham had just given himself a brit milah at the age of 99, and it was the third day since the brit, the day that the pain is the most intense. Still wishing to perform the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim (hosting guests), Avraham sat outside of his tent. Hashem Himself wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of bikur cholim (visiting the sick), so He sent three angels to visit Avraham. Each had a separate job: one had to heal Avraham, one had to tell Sarah that she would finally give birth to a son, and one had to tell Avraham that Hashem was planning to destroy the city of Sodom. Sodom was a city that adopted a morally corrupt code - the first example of legislated immorality.
        Avraham pleaded with Hashem to spare Sodom from utter destruction by pointing out that Hashem would be destroying both the righteous and the wicked. Hashem agrees to hold back for the sake of 50 tzaddikim (righteous people), then 40 tzaddikim, 30, 20, and 10: ten was as low as Avraham could go, because Noach's generation was destroyed despite this number of worthy people. However, the city of Sodom lacked even 10 righteous people. Hashem sent an angel to help Lot, Avraham's nephew, and Lot's family escape.
Avraham and Sarah moved to the kingdom of Avimelech, and once again Avraham tried to protect Sarah by pretending that she was his sister. Avimelech seized her, but Hashem appeared to him in a dream and threatened to kill him if he did not return Sarah. Hashem afflicted Avimelech and his people with the closure of all of the holes in their body, and Avimelech returned Sarah. Avraham prayed for Avimelech, and Hashem healed him.
        After hearing Avraham's compassion for Avimelech, Hashem miraculously made Sarah conceive (she had no womb). Yitzchak, the future of the Jewish nation, was born on Pesach. On the day that Yitzchak was weaned, Sarah realized that Hagar's son Yishmael was a bad influence on Yitzchak and had Avraham send them away. Hashem promised that Yishmael, too, would be the father of a great nation.
        The final incident in this parsha is Avraham's tenth and final test, Akeidat Yitzchak (the binding of Yitzchak). This test demonstrated Avraham's complete willingness to follow to Hashem's will, as he was commanded to sacrifice the future of his nation, Yitzchak, and Avraham willingly complied. Just before the sacrifice at Har HaMoriah, an angel appeared to Avraham and stopped him, instead commanding him to sacrifice a ram. The Akeida is a great source of merit for Bnai Yisrael.
 

RIGHTEOUS IN THE LAND OF THE WICKED
Stanley Peterburgsky – GSB

       In this week’s parsha, Hashem informs Avraham that He is about to destroy the city of Sodom because of their utter immorality. When one reads the verses that follow, a number of questions arise. Firstly, why does Avraham initially pray to save just the righteous people of Sodom, and then changes his request asking for the whole city of Sodom to be spared? Secondly, why is it necessary to send angels to remove Lot from Sodom? If Lot didn’t deserve to die, why couldn’t he just sit at home and weather the storm?
       The Talmud (Tractate Taanis 21b) states that there was once a plague in Sura, the city where Rav lived. However, in Rav’s neighborhood, miraculously, there was no plague. People assumed that the plague didn’t enter Rav’s neighborhood because of his merit. It was revealed to them in a dream, however, that Rav’s merit was much greater than necessary for the neighborhood to be saved from the plague. Rather, the deliverance came about in the merit of a local resident who would lend his digging tools for burials. The Sefat Emet notes that although Rav’s merit would’ve protected the community in this situation as well, his merit was so great that he would have been spared even if his community had been struck by the plague in a different situation. The significance of stating that the neighborhood was protected because of the merit of the other man, is that in order for the man to have been saved, the entire neighborhood had to have been saved along with him, since his merit was not great enough for him to have been singled out for salvation while everyone else would have been dying.
       This may explain the sequence of Avraham’s prayer on behalf of Sodom, and the necessity of removing Lot from the city. If we take the view that Avraham was primarily concerned with saving Lot, Avraham’s initial request was that Lot should not be punished because of the sins of the wicked residents of Sodom. When Avraham realized that Lot did not have the necessary merits, (of Rav in the Gemara) to be spared in a situation where his whole community would be punished, he began to pray that the whole city of Sodom should be saved in the merit of 50-45-40-30-20-10 “tzadikkim” (whose merits are like that of the local man in the Gemara), and thereby Lot would be saved as well. However, there weren’t 10 righteous people in Sodom, so that constituted the second strike against Lot. However, because Hashem’s ultimate plan was that Lot should be saved, He sent angels to drag Lot out of the city. Had he remained in Sodom, he would have been killed.
(Based on a dvar Torah by Rabbi Leibie Sternberg)
 

CHESED AND ITS REWARDS
Yitzi Greenbaum – SEAS ‘06

       The obvious connection between this week's Parsha and its Haftorah is the image of the barren women who miraculously bore sons. However, there are many other connections as well:
•Both Sarah and the Shunamite were promised a child under similar circumstances. The angel tells Avraham, "I will surely return to you at this time next year, and behold Sarah your wife will have a son" (Bereishit 18:10), and the prophet Elisha tells the Shunamite woman, "At this time next year you will be embracing a son" (Melachim II 4:16).
•The two women did not believe that the miracle would occur. It says about Sarah, "Sarah laughed at herself, saying, 'After I have withered shall I have again delicate skin?'" (18:12), and the Shunamite says to Elisha, "Do not disappoint your maidservant." (4:16)
•Both women almost lost their sons. Sarah almost lost Yitzchak in the Akeidah, and the Shunamite's son died and was revived by Elisha.
       However, there is an additional, subtle, connection between the parsha and the Haftorah -- the idea of chesed (kindness). Our parsha is that of the great chesed of Avraham, the man of chesed ("Give chesed to Avraham"). This is expressed in the beginning of the parsha, in the story of Avraham's supreme hospitality with the angels, and in the continuation of the parsha, in Avraham's prayer on behalf of Sodom. But whereas the parsha is explicit about the chesed in the simple meaning of the psukim, in the Haftorah the acts of chesed and their reward are found the Midrashim of Chazal. In each of the two parts of the Haftorah, the miracle of the jar of oil and the resuscitation of the boy, we will note both the reward of doing chesed and the punishment of withholding it, as found in the Midrashim.
       1) The miracle of the oil was done to "One woman from among the wives of the prophets' disciples" (4:1) whose husband died, and she was left with no source of sustenance. The dead husband was the prophet Ovadia (cf. Targum, Rashi and Radak), who sustained one hundred prophets with bread and water during the years of drought in the time of Achav. This supreme act of chesed was done against the command of the king. By highlighting the fact that the husband of the woman was among the "prophets' disciples," the Tanach seems to hint that the miracle of the oil was done in the merit of Ovadia's fear of G-d, and in the merit of the extraordinary act of chesed that he did.
       2) In contrast to Ovadia, the creditor symbolizes people who act in the opposite manner. His cruelty is expressed in the words of the woman, "The creditor has come to take my two sons to be his slaves." (4:2) Chazal, the Rabbis, identify the creditor as Yehoram, son of Achav. It says about his death, "Yehu ... hit Yehoram between his arms; the arrow protruded from his heart." (9:24) Chazal comment: When the famine came, [Ovadia] borrowed on interest from Yehoram, son of Achav. Why "between his arms; the arrow protruded from his heart?" Since he hardened his heart and stretched out his arms to take interest. (Shemot Rabbah 31:4, Rashi and Radak)
       3) Regarding the Shunamite woman we can see, as well, the clear connection between the chesed that she did with the prophet Elisha and the double chesed that was done with her through the birth of her son and his resuscitation. Chazal comment: "Anyone who opens his door to his friend -- he is obligated to honor him more that his father and mother ... Elisha should have gone to his father and mother and revived them just as he revived the son of his host! Rather, he showed complete dedication to his host." (Shemot Rabbah 4:2) So great is the reward of chesed and the obligation of gratitude that flows from it!
       4) It says about Elisha in the Haftorah, "He is a holy man of G-d," and Chazal comment, "He is holy and his servant (Gehazi) is not holy." (Brachot 10b) Among the negative traits of Gehazi was that of stinginess, which is a result of lack of chesed. "Gehazi was a bold man of Torah, but he had three bad traits: He was stingy, immodest, and he didn't suscribe to the resurrection of the dead." (Yerushalmi Sanhedrim 10:2) His punishment, as known, is that the leprosy of Na'aman stuck to him and his descendents.
       Thus, for good and for bad, the trait of chesed and withholding it, ties together the Haftorah from beginning to end and teaches us that "The world will be built through kindness." (Tehillim 89:3)
Taken from a dvar torah by Harav Avraham Rivlin, shlita of Kerem B’Yavneh

ULTIMATE DEVOTION
Zev Wiener – CC ‘06

       From the pogroms of Kishinev to the fires of Auschwitz, the concept of martyrdom is, unfortunately, all too familiar to the Jewish people. As such, many commentators wonder: what was the uniqueness of Akeidat, or the binding of, Yitzchak? After all, millions upon millions of Jews have allowed themselves and their families to be murdered rather than violate the commandments of G-d. What distinguishes Avraham’s commitment from that of any other Jewish martyr?
       Reb Elchannan Wasserman, HY”D, explains that for a person on a high enough spiritual level, martyrdom does not constitute such a formidable challenge. Indeed, when a person chooses death over the desecration of G-d’s name, he trades this world, the temporal and transient world, for the World to Come, a world of eternity and true pleasure. The martyr knows that he will be rewarded sufficiently for his sacrifice. However, if a person hypothetically valued something in this world more than he valued the World to Come, the prospect of martyrdom would indeed present tremendous difficultly. And indeed, in Genesis 15:1, Avraham Avinu seems to express such a sentiment. Hashem consoles Avraham, informing him “Anochi Magen Lach, Secharchah Harbeh Me’od” – “I am your shield, your reward shall be exceedingly great.” Many commentators understand the first clause of the sentence, “I am your shield,” as referring to this world, while “your reward shall be exceedingly great” serves as a reference to the bountiful rewards which await Avraham in the World to Come. However, despite this generous assurance, Avraham responds to Hashem, “Mah Titen Li, v’Anochi Holech Ariri” – “What will you give me, seeing I go childless?” Avraham states quite clearly that the World to Come is worth nothing to him if he dies without children to continue his legacy.
       Avraham’s tremendous desire for progeny stemmed from a will to continue spreading the name of G-d throughout the world. He feared that without children, G-d’s name might be forgotten. Such a prospect was more dreadful than the loss of his portion in the World to Come. Yet, despite his strong emotion, Avraham submitted himself completely to the will of G-d. He negated his own instincts and intuitions, recognizing that Hashem ultimately knows best.
       It is important to note, however, that despite his awesome zeal in performing the Akeidah, Avraham never abandoned his characteristic trait of chesed, or kindness. The Chidushei HaRim states that throughout the Akeidah, Avraham’s eyes “shed tears of fatherly pity for his son, while his heart simultaneously delighted in the opportunity to serve Hashem.” The Akeidah did not transform Avraham into an inhumane murderer. Rather, he took joy in the opportunity to serve G-d, but not in the act of murder itself. A Jew, no matter how eager he is to fulfill the will of G-d, never expresses delight in the act of killing. May we all merit to learn from the steadfast devotion of Avraham to Hashem, and may Hashem bring an end to Jewish martyrdom.
 

          This week's Haftorah is taken from the fourth chapter of Melachim II, which describes the greatness of Elisha the prophet by showing his great compassion for others. The Haftorah cites two episodes, which exemplify this virtue of kindness. The first story involves a poor widow who can't afford to pay the creditor who threatens to take her children as slaves. When she presents herself before Elisha for assistance, Elisha performs a miracle by causing all of her and her neighbors' vessels to fill with oil that she could sell to pay her debt. The second episode involves a wealthy Shunamite woman who has no children. This woman shows great hospitality to Elisha and as gratitude to her, he blesses her that she should have a son. When the young child passes away suddenly, Elisha comes to the rescue. He prays to Hashem and proceeds to revive the child. This Haftorah mirrors the parsha by emphasizing the attributes of compassion, mercy, and kindness in Elisha that are also quite evident in Avraham Avinu.
 

        Last week we wanted to know how many years Avraham’s life overlapped with Noach. The answer is 59 years. Noach lived from 1086 -2006, and Avraham lived from 1948 – 2123.
        Kudos to STANLEY NACHAMIE for getting the answer.
        This week’s question: What do Lot, Eliezer, Yoseif and Moshe have in common?

 

        Where does the name Haftarah come from?
        Rabbeinu Tam believes that Haftarah is related to peter as in peter rechem - to open. This would be so because unlike during the reading of the Torah, one may "open" one's mouth to speak words of Law (devar Halacha).
        Rabbi David Abudraham posits that the word Haftarah stems from the word patur - to be exempt. He explains that the Haftarah was instituted in lieu of Kriat HaTorah (reading from the Torah) due to the persecutions forbidding the public reading of the Torah. The sages thus instituted that a portion, thematically similar to the censored Torah portion, be read from the Prophets. By reading the haftarah, one exempts himself from Kriat HaTorah.
Source: Samuel N. Hoenig