Weekly Reading Insights:
Lech Lecha 5780

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

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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.


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For last year's essay by Rabbi Leiter on this week's Reading, see the archive.


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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.

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