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Parshat Vayeira
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence In Our Holy Land
"And HaShem Appeared to Him in Elonei Mamreh"
"And build it [the Temple] soon in our days to be built eternally, and the throne of David Your servant establish speedily within it."
The throne of David was first established in Hebron and thereby (see Zohar p. Lech Lecha) moved to Jerusalem, where David prepared the building of the Temple. Similarly this week's parsha begins with Elonei Mamreh-Hebron, where Avraham greeted the angels, and ends with Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, place of the Binding of Isaac. These two episodes also highlight the development between the personalities of Avraham, the Father of Kindness, Lover of Guests in Hebron the City of Patriarchal Kindness, and Isaac, the Father of Judgment, Bound in Self Sacrifice in Jerusalem the 'City of the North (associated with judgment versus Southern kindness) of the Mighty [Just] King' (Ps. 48, 3).
Between Hebron and Jerusalem we see how, throughout the parsha, Avraham relates to numbers of locations in the Land of Israel, as if suggesting a type of spiritual development stemming from Hebron and leading to Jerusalem. Thus, the locations related to by Avraham between them represent the process between these two focal points. In the past we have already discussed how the cities of Gerar (around Gush Katif) and Beer Sheva act as 'bridges' in this process. Now we will discuss how Avraham's relating to Sodom and its related cities also acts as a type of 'bridge' between Hebron and Jerusalem.
There is only one place in the Torah where the letters of Sdom are used, when not referring to the place Sdom itself, the words of Yakov to his sons Shimon and Levi: 'In their unity - 'Sodom' - may my soul not enter, in their in-gathering may my honor not reside... cursed is their anger for it is brazen and their wrath for it is firm...' This verse suggests that Sodom has a connotation of fanatic unity based on anger which leads to an ideology of extreme judgment opposing kindness, just as the Midrash depicts Sdom as a city where kindness was severely opposed. It may be argued that Shimon and Levi's actions in regard to saving Dina were beneficial, however sources point to Yakov's rebuke as referring to the state of Shimon and Levi's internal anger in their battle in Shechem and not referring to their external anger (as like an actor) which was beneficial in destroying evil. It should be remembered that ultimately it was this 'united' internal anger which brought about Shimon and Levi's will to kill Yosef their own brother.
Even though Sodom was destroyed, we see from the words of the prophets who use the terms of Sdom and Amoroh time and time again that this type of collected anger and its behavior must be uprooted entirely. We see in the case of Shimon and Levi and in the case of Sodom and Amorah that this strong judgment may have initial potential as in fighting the evil of Shechem or in providing for Lot, respectively. However, in both these cases Shimon and Levi must be divided and Sodom and Amorah are destroyed to become the Dead Sea, standing in the Holy Land as eternal testament to the retribution upon evil. Nevertheless, the attribute of judgment associated with Sdom is not obliterated entirely. 'Mitzar', which means 'small' (as in zair or tzair - young) although deemed for destruction, is saved through prayer. This matter shows that a 'small' degree of judgment sweetened through faith and prayer is worthy of salvation. Indeed, this town - Mitzar or Tzoar, just south of the Dead Sea - continued to exist even in the era the Sages (circa Second Temple era).
Our Sages teach that the attributes of good and evil parallel each other. In other words we can say that it was through the positive unity of Hebron the City of Unity that the evil unity of Sdom was destroyed, just as the angel Gabriel went specifically from Hebron to Sodom in order to destroy it. Nevertheless, it seems that it is this very connection between Hebron, the City of Kindness, with Sodom, and the saving of Tzoar thereof, that bring about the gradual development of the cities more related to this attribute of judgment, Gerar and Beer Sheva, leading to Jerusalem, 'there lie the thrones of judgment, the thrones of the House of David.' (Ps. 122)
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #195
'I was in tremendous debt and I saw that there was no natural way of getting out of it. Then, I heard a lecture and a song about thanking God for everything even for what seems very difficult, with the faith that it's all God's Providence, and so I did. Soon after 'it turns out' that my father was able to receive lots of money due to the fact that he used to be in the Syrian prison. My father turned to me and said: 'here, my son, take this money and pay all your debts...'
Sources: Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer 25
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Parshat Lech Lecha
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence In Our Holy Land
"Bet El at the West and HaAi at the East"
"Blessed are You HaShem Our God King of the Universe Who erects the borders of the widow".
This blessing is said when sighting a building newly settled by Jews in the Land of Israel (according to some opinions specifically a sanctuary), described as a 'widow' awaiting the 're-living' of her 'huband' - the People of Israel. Seeing the Land of Israel as a 'widow' waiting to be redeemed seems to be a constant theme throughout the generations, whether to a greater or lesser extent. This is so since in essence there is no end to the level the power of the Holy Presence in the Holy Land can be greatened and enhanced, and in this sense the Holy Land is always 'needy' of this 'enhancement'.
It seems that one of the locations in the Land of Israel indicative of this concept is the city 'HaAi', mentioned in this week's parsha in context of Avraham's first settlement in the Land of Israel. Similarly, this location reappears in Joshua's conquest and re-settlement of the Land after Israel's exile in Egypt. The reason this location indicates the 'neediness' of the Land of Israel is due to the literal meaning of the name HaAi meaning 'The Ruins' (Ai or I'im (plural) means ruins), suggesting ruins which 'need' to be re-built. Indeed, our Sages teach that it is at this location that Avraham prayed upon his descendants in the time of Joshua who he foresaw would 'need help' at this location. This 'need for help' at this location refers to the first lost battle in Joshua's conquest of the Land due to Achan's theft of Jericho's hallowed spoils. Due to this, Achan is exposed, Achan repents, and is stoned to death in atonement for this great sin, whereby HaShem warrants the successful conquest of HaAi.
Thus, the episode of the HaAi teaches us an important lesson in regard to connecting to the Land of Israel, i.e the 'need' of human effort, justice, 'sacrifice', and repentance in 'redeeming' this 'needing' Land. If, in contrast, everything would go easily by HaShem's kindness in attaining this Land, there would be a so-to-speak 'dishonor' to this Holy Land, as if this Divine Land can be treated 'light-headedly' with no serious respect and/or work on our parts, God forbid. This said, it seems that the Torah also wants us to balance this relationship of 'justice' towards our Land with the attributes of mercy and kindness. Thus, the Torah teaches us that Avraham camped between Bet El from the West and HaAi from the East. This passage may teach us that the 'justice' of HaAi must be balanced by the 'kindness' of Bet El, which means 'House of the Kind God' (God's Name 'El' refers to His attribute of kindness).
Indeed, this parallel seems very exact as the numerical value of HaAi is equal (85+1 ('hakolel') a very accepted gematria method) to the numerical value of God's Name of judgment - 'Elohim'. In addition, HaAi is said to be East of Avraham's encampment which suggests the balancing of the attribute of justice with the location of the rising sun in the East, signifying the attribute of mercy in the rising sun-light. In contrast, Bet El, signifying the attribute of kindness, is to the West where the sun sets, which signifies the attribute of justice and limitation by the dimming of sun-light.
All this said, it is crucial to remember that this whole episode is only an encampment on the way to Avraham's main settlement in Hebron a few verses later. Ultimately, by balancing the attributes of kindness and justice in regard to the Holy Land in the proper way Avraham and his descendants are able to settle the City of Unity, Hebron, which unites these attributes in a harmonious whole.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #194:
'I was hitchhiking from Hebron to Jerusalem in order to arrive in Jerusalem on time for a wedding. My wife was nervous that I wouldn't make it in time, since I left only an hour before, so she said a special prayer, formulated as a thanksgiving in past tense: 'thank You HaShem for the ride You gave my husband towards the wedding'. Just after this 'prayer' my wife received a text message from me saying that I had just caught a ride straight to the wedding by the Rabbi officiating the wedding, who would also take me back to Hebron...' Y.A
Sources: Joshua ch. 7
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Parshat Beresheit
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
And a River Departed from Eden...and Divided into Four Tributaries
"Like a deer calls upon springs of water so shall my soul call out to You, O God!" (Ps. 42)
This verse is the opening phrase of the chapter of Tehilim said in many congregations on the holiday of Succot. Indeed, both Succot and Shmini Atzeret, have a dominant emphasis on water, as the libation of water was and will be on Succot, and the mentioning of rain in our prayers begins on Shmini Atzeret. At this time we also begin the book of Beresheit, associated with the attribute of kindness (as some say on reciting tehilim on Hoshana Raba night), as our Sages teach that the world existed through God's kindness till the 'world' became more worthy by Receiving the Torah in the book of Shmot. This attribute of kindness is also associated by our Sages to water, the life-giving element on earth. The element of water naturally brings us to the four rivers from Eden (Gihon, Pishon, Hidekel, Prat (Euphrates)) mentioned in our title quote. Just as the Garden of Eden has four rivers associated with it, so too the Land of Israel, our present day spiritual 'Paradise' has four rivers according to the Sages: the Jordan, Yarmuch. Karmiyon, and Figa (Baba Batra 74b).
We have mentioned in the past that Ma'arat HaMachpela is identified as the 'Threshold of the Garden of Eden', and with the same token is strongly associated with the Land of Israel, being synonymous with the term Zion, according the Arizal. These two concepts come beautifully together when we ponder the fact that Hebron has four names (Hebron, Kiryat Arba, Mamreh, Eshkol), four saintly couples, and is also called the 'City of Four'. Interestingly, there are also four neighborhoods adjacent to Maaras Hamachpela today (Avraham Avinu, Beit Romano, Beit Hadasa, and Admot Yishai). The dominance of the number four here seems to be no accident, as the number four is indicative of the Tetragrammaton.
Just like the rivers of Eden and the Land of Israel water and represent kindness to all, so too Hebron, Beacon of the Holy Land and Threshold of Eden, waters all with its spiritual light and kindness - 'And He remembers the kindness of the Patriarchs and delivers a redeemer to their descendants for His Namesake with love.'
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #192
'I once went to the municipality of my town in order to advance a hesed project I had begun about 40 days before. It turns out that the very same day I came to the municipality, the office of the municipality made efforts to call me as well, for the first time in these 40 days.'
Sources: Baba Batra 74b, Bamidbar Raba Shlah
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Parshat Noach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence In Our Holy Land
"The Land Dried"
"To HaShem is the Land and all its contents, earth and all its inhabitants. For He has founded it upon seas, and upon rivers He has established it" (Ps. 24)
This famous hymn of Tehilim is also coined 'the Prayer of Sustenance' in context of the prayers of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Interestingly, however, not even one word in this psalm mentions 'sustenance', wealth, or the like. Rather, the topic of this psalm is clearly the Majesty and Honor of God, Who owns all possession. In essence, by 'giving Honor' to God so-to-speak in this psalm we evoke God's Honor upon us, as it says, 'for those who honor Me I (God) will honor'. This honor bestowed upon us is strongly tied to the manifestation of wealth and sustenance from Above, as it says 'at its (the Torah's) left is wealth and honor'. Also, on a simple earthly level it is understood that wealth brings honor. Ultimately, the ideal motive of asking God for sustenance and/or wealth should be to give honor to God, i.e to have a sound mind to serve and honor God and also to sanctify God's Name before all so all will say, 'this is the worthy honor and wealth deserved by the servants of God'.
The opening verse of this psalm which talks about 'the Land and all its contents' is interpreted by our Sages to specifically hint to the Land of Israel (even though the entire Earth's contents also belong to God of course). They explain that this Holy Land is 'founded upon' seven seas and 'established upon' four rivers. Last week we discussed the 'four rivers' of the Land of Israel, the 'four rivers' of the World emanating from the Garden of Eden, and how these rivers are evoked in Hebron. This week will shall discuss this same parallelism in context of the 'seven seas', since this week's parsha discusses how the seas were once again distinguished from the dry land after the Flood.
The 'seven seas' of the Land of Israel discussed in the Talmud (Baba Batra 74b) are: 1. Lake Kineret ('sea' in this context refers to a large body of water even of freshwater), 2. The Dead Sea, 3. The Red Sea, 4. 'Hilta' - The Antioch Valley/Lake (apparently dried today in Lebanon - according to the Kaftor Vaferach), 5. 'Sivchi' - The Hula Valley Lake/Swamp (today it is dried), 6. 'The Spanish Sea' - this is the most obscure, but it probably refers to the part of the Mediterranean Sea directly opposite Spain and set apart from the 'Regular Mediterranean' by the protruding port of Sidon (the Phoenicians sailed from Sidon's port to Spain), 7. The ('Regular') Mediterranean. On a worldly level, famous are the seven oceans that encompass our globe (mentioned in the Midrash as well).
We find numerous times that Hebron is tied to the concept of 'seven years', such as Kaleb's visit in parshat Shlach, and also in David's first rule in Hebron for seven years. The concept of 'year' in the Torah appears as a culmination point as in the term 'the Festival of Gathering (Sukkot) the culmination of the year'. Similarly, a sea is the culmination point and 'in-gathering' of the rivers that lead up to this sea, as is illustrated in the first verses of Ecclesiastes (read on Sukkot). Therefore, it follows that the 'seven years' of Hebron allude to the seven seas of the Land of Israel and of the World. On a deeper level, the Arizal teaches that during David's 'seven year' rule in Hebron he connected to the Holy Presence in Hebron associated with these 'seven years'. This Holy Presence is called the 'Honor of God' (see Onkelos Shmot 21, 21) as we have explained at length in the past.
Therefore, we can conclude that by connecting to Hebron we follow in the footsteps of King David, giving honor to our Godly Patriarchs, giving honor to God, and thereby channeling into the Source of Wealth and Honor of the Servants of God our King.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #193
'One time I prayed to receive/buy a computer that suited my needs for Torah study. Soon after, a friend of mine gave me a computer, without me asking him for such, free of any charge...' A.G
Sources: Baba Batra 74b, Shaar Hapsukim Shmuel II
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Shabbat Chol HaMoed Succot
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
You shall Dwell in Succot Seven Days
"Thank HaShem for He is Good, forever is His kindness!"
This verse is said numerous times on Succot when waving the Lulav. Indeed, thanking God is one of the dominant themes of the festival of Succot, 'our time of happiness', for thanksgiving is key to achieving true happiness. One of the reasons Succot is so connected to happiness is because Succot commemorates the tabernacles/clouds of Glory that were used on Israel's journey to the Land of Israel. This 'dwelling' of Israel used even in the Diaspora on the way to the Land of Israel highlights how one can already begin 'connecting to the holiness of location/dwelling', i.e to the Holy Presence of the Land, even 'on the way' to the Holy Land in the Diaspora. This realization that one is connected to the Holy Land even in the Diaspora gives one great joy, for ultimate happiness is in the Holy Land and especially in the Temple of Jerusalem, on which it says 'and you shall be happy before HaShem your God (in the Temple) seven days (of Succot).'
Indeed, the first place 'succot' is mentioned in the Torah is in context of the place Yakov rested and built shelters - 'succot' - for his livestock on his journey from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel! Nevertheless, the place Succot is not fully Diaspora, but rather is considered part of the Eastern Bank of the Jordan, which takes on the semi-holy status of the Land of Israel. Thus, we find the location Succot also in the books of Joshua and Judges in context of the Land of Israel. Interestingly, Succot is mentioned in the book of Judges in conjunction with Penuel, its neighboring city also mentioned in context of Yakov's journey to the Land of Israel. The name Penuel is explained explicitly in the Torah as Yakov proclaims: 'for I saw the angel of God ('el') face to face ('panim el panim') and my soul was saved'. This 'angel of God' is the angel Yakov fought throughout the night, the Angel of Esau, called 'Seir' (the 'hairy one'). Indeed, one of the main themes of Yom Kippur is sending the Seir (Goat) of Azazel, attributed to Esau, to the wilderness, thereby 'saving our souls'. In this way, Penuel corresponds to Yom Kippur, while location Succot corresponds to the holiday of Sukkot.
As we have mentioned before, the goal of Yakov's journey through Penuel and Succot was to settle in Hebron. This is Hebron, the City of Joyous Unity (hibur), which unites, as we unite the four species (representing time of harvest) with Hallel (said by people) on Succot(location), the elements of location (Succot, Penuel) with the elements of time (Succot, and Yom Kippur) with the elements and prototypes of our People, Yakov in specific, and all our Patriarchs and Matriarchs!
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Sample Prayer #5: 'Blessed... thank You for Hebron and Jerusalem (see previous issues), and thank You for the cities of Penuel and Sukkot. Thank You for granting us a Day of Atonement and thank You for the Festival of Sukkot! Thank You for the great joy emanating from our Holy Land and Temple, and thank You for granting me to say thank You!... "
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