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Weekly Reading Insights:
Lech Lecha 5780
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To be read on Shabbat Lech Lecha, 11 Cheshvan 5780/Nov.9, 2019
Torah: Genesis 12:1-17:27; Haftorah: Isaiah 40:27-41:16 (because
of 41:2-3, which alludes to Avraham's miraculous victory over the Four Kings'
armies)
Lech Lecha is the 3rd Reading out of 12 in Genesis and it contains
6336 letters, in 1686 words, in 126 verses
G-d tells Avram to leave his land. Avram left with his wife
Sarai, and nephew Lot. When they reached Shechem, G-d told Avram that He would
give the Land (of Israel) to his offspring. Avram built an altar there. Due
to famine, they to moved to Egypt. Avram told Sarai to act as his sister,
for she was beautiful, and the Egyptians might kill her husband to take her
to be Pharaoh's wife. Thinking him to be Sarai's brother, Pharaoh abducted
Sarah and was generous to Avram, but was suddenly struck with a plague. He
realized that Sarai was actually Avram's wife, and sent them away. Avram and
Lot went their separate ways, and Avram settled in Chevron. There was a war,
and four kings defeated five other kings. Lot was taken captive but was rescued
by Avram. G-d made a covenant with Avram, giving him the Land (of Israel).
Sarai's servant Hagar, bore Avram a son, Ishmael. G-d changed Avram's name
to Avraham and Sarai's name to Sarah. G-d made a covenant with Avraham, promising
him many descendants. He had a Bris Milah at the age of 99. G-d promised that
Sarah would bear him a son, to be called Yitzchak.
An
Essay from
Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, Director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
At the end of this week's Torah portion (Bereishit 17:1-15), G-d commands Avraham
to ritually circumcise himself and all the males of his family. It is one of
the tenets of Judaism, that happiness is the foundation of the fulfilment of
all of G-d's commandments. The Psalmist says (Tehillim 100:2), "Serve G-d
with happiness". Nevertheless, most people do not usually associate the
fulfilment of the commandment of ritual circumcision (brit milah) as
something happy. Because of the blood and surgery aspect involved and, of course,
the pain of the infant, this is not something easy. The parents have the merit
as though they brought their child as a sacrifice on the altar in the Holy Temple.
There is even a tradition to pray for what is really important to you immediately
after the cut is made, while the baby is still crying. The baby's suffering
opens up all the Heavenly gates. Nevertheless, the mitzvah of brit
milah (the covenant of circumcision) has a particular connection with happiness.
The Talmud (Tractate Shabbat 130a) says that this commandment was taken on by
ourselves with joy and, "is still fulfilled with joy". That is one
of the reasons that a festive meal is made as part of the event. Why does a
commandment that involves such great discomfort for a child have a special connection
with happiness?
Granted, it is an accepted and inescapable aspect of the human body, that when
you cut it, there is pain. The question then becomes, why did G-d make the body
in such a way and command such a commandment that it has to hurt? Putting on
tefillin or lighting Shabbos candles does not hurt. Or from a different angle,
cutting fingernails or getting a haircut does not hurt. Why does the first commandment
that an infant male has to experience be painful?
Furthermore, according to all those who decide Jewish law (poskim), in
order to fulfil the commandment properly there has to be pain. It is forbidden
to use any type of painkiller or anaesthesia so that child will not experience
pain. Why?
The first concept we have to accept is that the whole world was created by G-d
according to the Torah. Since the whole world was created according to the Torah,
you have to say that there is a reason why this first commandment has, as part
of its fulfilment, pain and discomfort. However difficult it is to accept, there
is some essential connection between pain and this very important commandment.
What is unique about this commandment is that is actually infuses Divinity,
G-dliness, into the physical flesh of the body.
The purpose of the whole creation of this world, where G-dliness is so hidden,
is to bring G-d into it, even into its most low places. The commandment of brit
milah accomplishes this with our body.
This is the dichotomy. That the beginning of the fulfilment of our mission to
imbue the world with G-dliness is by doing a mitzvah on a piece of material
reality, a piece of human flesh, that has no sense of the importance of the
commandment and even more, no sense of at all of Divinity and, even worse, that
it causes pain!
If thebrit was done in a way that there was no pain, then the inference would
be that G-dliness does not reach to the very core of the body's physicality.
This is why G-d created the human body in such a way that the brit causes pain
and discomfort, that the covenant will connect with the body as it truly is
with all its physical limitations. So that, on its most base level, the body
will be connected to Divinity.
Do not make a mistake, we are not only talking about brit milah here.
This is a paradigm that relates to our entire mission, every aspect of it, every
day of our lives. If it is important to you, then you are ready to sacrifice
for it. According to the effort is the reward (Talmud - Pirkei Avot 5:27) .
The physical body is a gift from G-d. A person has no right, for any mundane
reason, to do it any damage. We are forbidden to cause pain or bring discomfort
to our bodies without a good reason. A person should not look for ways to cause
himself distress. However, this only applies to our worldly activities. Once
a person has taken on their true mission, to bring light to the world and imbue
the world with Divinity, by performing any of the commandments, be it raising
a family, giving tzedakah or honouring one's parents, he or she has no
right to desist from fulfilling this mission, even if it will cause suffering,
pain and discomfort.
No one would argue that just jumping into a fire is a fool's activity. Everyone
would agree that jumping into a fire to save a child is the most sublime and
divine action there could be.
One has to remember always that the mission is so important that it is worth
the discomfort.
This is the great happiness of a brit milah. That an infant child, at
the very start of his life, is being introduced into the covenant and is being
given his life's mission. If it is important, it requires sacrifice. What could
me more joyous than that?
As we see in our everyday lives, that when we decide to make this total commitment
to fulfil our mission in the most complete way, G-d helps us in that it will
be done without any pain or suffering, rather with joy and good heartedness
and we will succeed in making the world into a dwelling place for G-d. (Translated
and adapted from Collected Talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, volume 10, page 47,
and as produced in Sichot Hashavua # 773)
The chassidic Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Rokeach of Belz (1781-1855 ), was once invited
to the celebratory meal that customarily follows every brit milah (covenant
of circumcision) ceremony. He was asked to speak and one of the things he said
was to the father of the baby. "Today you have completed your covenant
of circumcision." The father was a little surprised and responded, "My
circumcision???" The Rebbe explained, "To fulfill every commandment
in the most complete way there has to be the involvement of all of the levels
of our personal expression, our thought, our speech and our actions. The covenant
of circumcision that we fulfilled with the infant today was an action (and the
baby's crying - speech). But there was no involvement of thought because the
baby is not yet a bar-daat (someone who has attained knowledge / understanding).
Only when a person brings his own child to the covenant of our forefather Avraham,
does he complete the process with his own thought and intellect that was lacking
at his own circumcision." The Rebbe concluded, "This is the inner
meaning of the verse (Bereishit: 17/9), 'and you must observe my covenant, you
and your descendants'. Why do we have to say the word 'you' twice? Because as
we have explained, when a parent fulfills the covenant of circumcision for his
descendant, his own child, his own personal fulfillment of the commandment is
complete."
Shabbat shalom, Shaul.
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here)
For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading,
see the archive.
FROM
THE SAGES OF KABBALAH ON KabbalaOnline.org
Specifically, for an overview
of the recommended articles in the columns:
Holy Zohar, Holy Ari, Mystic Classics, Chasidic Masters, Contemporary Kabbalists,
and more,
click to Lech
Lecha
one sample:
Contemporary Kabbalists
Attaining
the Real You
From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe; adapted by Moshe Yaakov Wisnefsky
Only a small part of the soul enters the body and enlivens it. The greater part
of the soul, its root, remains above, transcending the limitations of the physical
world and experiencing Divinity as clearly and naturally as we experience materiality.
During our stay in this world, our challenge is to connect the earthly dimension
of our soul (whose physical perception has blinded it to Divinity) with its
transcendent root.
To continue, click
here.
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