Thursday, November 1, 2012
Kiddush Hashem
12:52 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By
Rav Moshe Sternbuch
Trusting Hashem
“And
Hashem said to Avram, "Go from your land” (12:1) Rashi: for
your benefit and for your good
This commandment was one of the ten
trials enumerated by Chazal with which Avrohom was tested. If Hashem
assured Avrohom that this move would be for his benefit, why was it was it
considered to be a test?
In Choron Avrohom Ovinu not
only lived in physical luxury like a king, but he and his wife also thrived on
the spiritual plane, having been successful in drawing myriads of people closer
to Hashem. It seemed to make little sense to uproot himself and emigrate to the
unknown territory of Kna’an. To believe wholeheartedly in Hashem's assurance
that this step would be for his good instead of saying: "please Hashem, I
would rather do without these benefits and stay right where I am” required
complete emuno, and
Avrohom’s unquestioning faith is therefore considered to have been one of the
ten trials.
For this reason too it says in the parsha of the akeido (the binding of Isaac) “Go [lech lecho] to the land
of Moriah”. This phrase too indicates that the instruction was for Avrohom’s
benefit and for his good, even though it seemed contrary to logical
considerations. What would happen to the promise of descendants through
Yitzchok and how could he continue to fight against child sacrifices? The akeido
was the ultimate trial, and only someone like Avrohom who had internalized the
fact that only Hashem knows what is best for us, could have withstood it.
On the possuk "And Avrom
took Sarai his wife” the Medrash says that Avrom had to convince his wife
to move with him to Kna’an. Why should she have needed to be convinced to move
together with her husband? Avrohom had received direct divine reassurance that
the requirement to move immediately would be for his benefit, but she had not
been told anything by Hashem, and so she might have thought this instruction
did not apply to her and felt that she specifically should remain in Choron and
continue her important for work of bringing people closer to Hashem. Hence she
needed to be convinced.
MOre on OUTREACH CANDIDATES
“And
you shall be a blessing” (12:2)
The
Medrash reads brocho as breicho (pool) - just as a pool (mikveh)
purifies the impure, so shall you purify those who are far removed from Hashem.
The Avnei Nezer zt”l comments
on this that not only does a mikveh purify, but it also does not receive
any tumoh. Similarly, someone engaging in outreach work must be like a mikveh:
not only must he possess the ability to bring others closer to Hashem, but he
must also be completely immune to the pernicious influences that are usually
prevalent in the environments in which he is forced to engage in this holy
activity.
It
is true that someone who sacrifices his ruchniyus for the sake of
drawing others closer to avodas Hashem will not decrease, but in fact increase,
his share in the world to come, and he will also receive His blessings in this
world (a lesson we learn learn from Avrohom Ovinu himself), this only
applies if the person’s character and own spiritual level are sufficiently high
to be impervious to any external influences. Sacrificing one’s own ruchniyus
in the sense of slowing down our spiritual growth, by reducing the amount of
time spent in accumulating Torah knowledge, for example, is one thing, but to
engage in outreach work at the cost of actual encroachments on our current level
of avodas Hashem is something that must be avoided at all costs.
DIVORCE
“Please
say that you are my sister, in order that it go well with me because of you,
and that my soul may live because of you” (12:13) Rashi: They will give
me gifts
We
know that Avrohom kept the whole of the Torah, so why did he say about his wife
that she was his sister, thereby exposing her to the danger of immorality
which, according to some opinions, even females must give up their life for rather
than transgressing it?
Before
matan Torah (the giving of the Torah) divorce was effected by a mere
expression of will on the part of the husband to separate from his wife,
followed by an act of separation. Avrohom was therefore saying that if they
would take her she should say that she was his sister. That constituted a
conditional act of divorce, and the condition was fulfilled when Soroh made
this statement and was taken away. She was therefore no longer a married woman,
but Paroh was still punished, because taking Soroh away forcibly and forcing
her to be his maidservant, constituted an act of theft.
Avrohom
was interested in obtaining the gifts subsequently, not because of a desire to
become enriched, but in order to publicise the greatness of the Creator, in
that Paroh who had intended to steal Soroh had not only been prevented by
Hashem from doing so, but had even presented Avrohom with an abundance of
gifts, and sent guards to watch over Avrohom and Soroh. This kiddush Hashem
would help
Avrohom in his efforts to draw people closer to Hashem.
Ma’aser
“And
he gave him a tithe from all” (14:20)
Rashi
cites the Medrash that Avrohom gave Malkizedek a tithe from all the
spoils that he had taken, because he was a priest. He probably did so because he
did not want to benefit from the property of the wicked, since no success comes
from such assets. The Ohr Hachayim Hakodosh zt”l comments that although Avrohom
was entitled to waive his right to the spoils of the war in favor of the King
of Sedom, as soon as someone gains possession of property, the obligation to
separate ma’aser in favour of the poor comes into play, and the ma’aser
acquires a quasi-hekdesh quality, which is incapable of being “renounced”
by the owner of the property: even if he returns the property to the original
owner, he must still separate the ma'aser¸ because it has been acquired
by the poor.
Although
it is forbidden to give a present or return a lost object to an akum, the
Rambam rules that is it is permitted to return it if his intention is to create
a sanctification of the divine name, and since Avrohom intended to publicize
the fact that he had not waged war for the purpose of monetary gain but only to
save lives, it was permitted, and in fact a mitzvah, to return the
spoils.
Cost of miracles
“Fear
not, Avrom; I am your Shield; your reward is exceedingly great” (15:1)
Chazal say that Avrohom was worried about
losing part of his portion in the world to come. This seems surprising since he
had already demonstrated self-sacrifice and been the beneficiary of miracles, for
example in the fiery furnace in Ur Kasdim. However, when Hashem changes the
course of nature and reveals Himself through open miracles, this calls for
correspondingly superior behaviour on the part of the beneficiaries of such
miracles, and, in the absence of such behavior, the punishment can be very
severe.
That was also the motive of the meraglim
who did not want to enter Eretz Yisroel: they knew from personal
experience that Hashem was perfectly capable of performing any miracle to
ensure their continued survival even in the most hostile surroundings, but were
worried that the nation was not on a level to live up to the standards required
of the beneficiaries of the miracles that would occur, were they to enter Eretz
Yisroel.
Countering Yishmoel
“And
Yishmoel his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised of the flesh
of his foreskin” (17:25)
The descendants of Yishmoel continue to practice milo (albeit without perioh) and the Zohar notes that the merit of
this act is sufficient to provide them with the right to dwell in Eretz
Yisroel for a long time, and gives them the ability to persecute us in the
last generations before moshiach.
Since their power
stems from
the bris milo we are able to counteract their influence by observing our
own bris, by guarding our eyes and keeping away from printed or
electronic media, which purvey immorality. Strengthening the sanctity of the os
bris provides us with the ability to weaken the power of Yishmoel’s
descendants, and even if other nations join them to wage war against us, we will
be in position to subjugate them. May it happen speedily in our days.
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