Erev
Shabbos, I called up Rabbi Mimran Shlita to exchange blessings and greetings. I
mentioned things about the Parsha and would like to revise certain things with
new additions.
19:1 And the two angels came to Sodom at even; and
Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and
he fell down on his face to the earth;
He was hospitable like Avraham. He also wanted
to save them from the perverted ways of the city.
2 and he said: 'Behold now, my lords, turn
aside, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash
your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way.' And they said:
'Nay; but we will abide in the broad place all night.'
The Angels did not need either his protection
from the town’s people or his hospitality but it shows that he had some of the
good qualities of Avraham still despite the corrupt people of the town. In general, an Angel is assigned to one
task. There were three angels. One was to cure Avraham and Sara. The second was
to over-throw Sodom and the other cities. Some say the announcement of
Yitzchak’s birth was also a task. So saving Lot might not have been in the
original mission. Was it Avraham’s prayers or Lot’s hospitality that saved him?
Or the healing and birth announcement one task?
3 And he urged them greatly; and they turned in
unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake
unleavened bread, and they did eat.
Rashi reminds us that this was Pessach but Lot
was at this time a Goy in Sodom and 401 years prior to the Yitzias Mitzrayim.
This is probably the current Lafa Bread which is prepared quickly by heating an
oven and round stone or pottery mixing and baking. The restaurant where I go
weekly prepares this on the spot. It is known also as Iraqi Pita or Iraqi Bread
in Israel.
… 8 Behold now, I have two daughters that have not
known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is
good in your eyes; only unto these men do nothing; forasmuch as they are come
under the shadow of my roof.'
He knows that these “men” are holy. But what
was he thinking to be willing to subject his two virgin daughters to such
abuse. The fact that he offered this puts his thought process as dysfunctional.
Also why did he leave Avraham or choose Sodom in the first place. I am sure
that he could have ordered his servants to behave properly towards Avraham. His
fear of heaven is partially there from his education and family background but
it is quite weak.
… 30 And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the
mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and
he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
There is a spring of water with an aged tree
between the road towards Eilat and this junction a few miles south. This was
probably their water source if not some reservoir around the town. I assume
that Lot did travel with pack animals containing supplies and jewelry that he
could manage his affairs.
31 And the first-born said unto the younger: 'Our
father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the
manner of all the earth.
Were they born after Lot split from Avram? Did
they not think that he might be alive? After all it was customary for an uncle
or cousin to marry somebody from good stock. Now, what makes the oldest daughter sire the Moshiach? For one
Haran, the father of Lot, died on a Kiddush HASHEM. The second reason is that
she at this moment is interested in future of mankind by being fruitful and
multiply and this is for the sake of heaven.
32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and
we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.' 33 And they made their father drink
wine that night. And the first-born went in, and lay with her father; and he
knew not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the first-born said
unto the younger: 'Behold, I lay yesternight with my father. Let us make him
drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may
preserve seed of our father.'
Still
another possibility why the oldest daughter sired the Moshiach is that she
relinquished her own pleasure but shared the Mitzvah or repopulating the world
with her sister also for the sake of heaven.
35 And they made their father drink wine that
night also. And the younger arose, and lay with him; and he knew not when she
lay down, nor when she arose. 36
Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the first-born bore a son, and
called his name Moab--the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day.
She is so brazen as to call the child “from my
father”.
38 And the younger, she also bore a son, and
called his name Ben-ammi--the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto
this day.
From my people. All this story is for the root of
the Moshiach and the end of days. The Parsha then returns to Avraham.
… 24 And his concubine, whose
name was Reumah, she also bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah.
Rabbi
Mimran mentioned to me that this passage is read of Rosh Hashanah as the last
word stands for the initials of: Melech over the entire world (It is HaAretz in
Hebrew and it is usually translated ‘the land’ for Eretz Yisrael but in
relationship to Rosh Hashanah would be the entire world.)
Parsha Chayei Sara
An
era is coming to an end. The first Era from Adam until Noach was 600 years old
ended abruptly in the destruction of most of the living creatures on earth. The
era of all the nations speaking Hebrew ended when Avram was 48 with Migdal
Bavel (tower of Babel). The Parsha starts out with the passing of Sara Imaynu
(our mother) and ends with Avraham being buried by Yitzchak and Yishmael. I
have written so much over the years on chapter 23 that I prefer my readers to
check into the archives of the blogspot.
In
the middle of our passage is the search for a good Shidduch for Yitzchak. There
is a lot to learn from this and the hidden ways of HASHEM that Eliezer requests
a sign and it comes through precisely.
23:1 And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven
and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 And Sarah died in Kiriatharba--the
same is Hebron--in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and
to weep for her. 3 And Abraham
rose up from before his dead, and spoke unto the children of Heth, saying: 4 'I am a stranger and a sojourner
with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my
dead out of my sight.' … 8 And
he spoke with them, saying: 'If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out
of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, 9 that he may give me the cave of
Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for the full price
let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying-place.'
In case you are wondering today where is the
cave? For today we see the large building that we enter and walk up and no cave
comes to view. But underneath is a small passage way that leads to the graves
of the fathers and mothers of Israel, the Ramban and perhaps others. The graves
that we see on the upper level are directly above that are in the same places
but not close to the bodies.
10 Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the
children of Heth; … 11 'Nay, my
lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it
thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee; bury thy dead.'
First is the political side of the deal take
any grave area and now the monetary part where Avraham pays an tremendous
price.
… 14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him: 15 'My lord, hearken unto me: a piece
of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee?
bury therefore thy dead.' 16 And
Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which
he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of
silver, current money with the merchant. 17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was
before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that
were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made
sure.
This is the first of three places in Eretz
Yisrael that were purchased that are in dispute today. The Machpelah with Chevron, the Temple Mount and Schem.aq
24:1 And Abraham was old, well stricken in age; and
the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
Our Rabbis interpret that Ba Kaul (everything)
means that Avraham also had a daughter from Sara.
2 And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder
of his house, that ruled over all that he had: 'Put, I pray thee, thy hand
under my thigh.
You are to swear by the Bris Kodesh and every
seed that I have to avenge me that you will act according to my instructions.
3 And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the
God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my
son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell. 4 But thou shalt go unto my country,
and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son, even for Isaac.'
You shall take a female from a good family in
the town of Haran or close to it. For the young ladies are of fine stock and
high qualities there. In Canaan or elsewhere the women are not very good
quality. This is the general rule: One should look for a mate aka Shidduch from
a good family, similar religious background and close to the same wealth so
that one will not marry the other for money. We will see from this Parsha that
initially ‘love’ is more infatuation and grows into mature love with time and
things in common between husband and wife.
5 And the servant said unto him: 'Peradventure
the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land; must I needs bring
thy son back unto the land from whence thou came?'
Yitzchak was Kodesh from the Akeida he cannot
leave Eretz Yisrael.
6 And Abraham said unto him: 'Beware thou that
thou bring not my son back thither. 7
The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the
land of my nativity, and who spoke unto me, and who swore unto me, saying: Unto
thy seed will I give this land; He will send His angel before thee, and thou
shalt take a wife for my son from thence.
Avraham has perfect faith and trust that G-D
will let Eliezer succeed despite the interest of the servant to have one of his
daughters married unto Yitzchak.
8 And if the woman be not willing to follow
thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only thou shalt not bring my
son back thither.'
Yitzchak will and must stay here.
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh
of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. 10 And the servant took ten camels, of
the camels of his master, and departed; having all goodly things of his
master's in his hand; and he arose, and went to Aram-naharaim, unto the city of
Nahor. 11 And he made the camels
to kneel down without the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the
time that women go out to draw water.
Strangers cannot take water from the city well
unless invited to do so.
12 And he said: 'O LORD, the God of my master
Abraham, send me, I pray Thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my
master Abraham. 13 Behold, I
stand by the fountain of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come
out to draw water. 14 So let it
come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher, I pray
thee, that I may drink; and she shall say: Drink, and I will give thy camels
drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy servant, even
for Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast shown kindness unto my
master.'
This means that it was already announced
before Yitzchak was born that he would one day marry Rivka, and that 40 days
before Rivka was born, it was proclaimed that she would later marry Yitzchak.
As Rashi mentions about her birth at the end of last week’s Parsha, she was
born as Yitzchak’s soul mate.
Avraham, being a prophet, as God told
Avimelech in last week’s Parsha, probably knew. Or, at least he suspected this,
another reason to send Eliezer eastward in search of Yitzchak’s wife.
But when Avraham instructs Eliezer, he
makes it sound as if it was not yet determined who Yitzchak would marry, as if
Eliezer would have to find out for himself. Thus, Eliezer also seemed to act on
this when he contrived his whole scheme to flush out Yitzchak’s “zivug.” While
it is true that the Talmud would not be written down for thousands of years, it
is more than likely that they were already aware of such concepts. So why did
they act contrary to what the Talmud would later say?
They didn’t. They just understood that
even though God decides all outcomes of events (Berachos 34b), He likes to
allow us to act as if we can play a role in them. This way God can reward us
for our contribution in whatever happens, and we can feel as if our decisions
made a difference. Or, if a person made it possible for something bad to
happen, they can be held responsible for it.
This is because, what counts in life is
not what we accomplish, because we can “fail” for reasons that go beyond our
own personal attributes or lacks. We’re part of some hugely bigger picture than
our own personal lives seem to indicate, and this takes precedence over our
idea of what is “fair.” Sometimes the moment needs us to fail, because a
larger history requires it.
But that’s okay. What counts the most in
life is our “ratzon,” or will. It’s what we decide to care about that gets
Heaven’s attention. It’s about what makes us feel good or what makes us feel
sad that reveals our true self, and what we’d like to do to make a situation
better. This is true regardless of whether or not we have the means to make
good on our will.
That’s the initial merit a person needs
to be plugged into God’s plan for good, or the demerit to be plugged into a
plan for bad. Then, if history allows it, a person might find themselves one
day actually in a position to make such a difference, for good OR for bad,
depending upon who they have become.
Aharon HaKohen’s grandson, Pinchas,
stands out as one of the perfect examples of this for good. Until he acted
zealously on behalf of God, he was a virtual nobody, not even a Kohen. But his
lack of position and fame did not stop him from looking at himself as a partner
of God, and when the right moment came, God plugged him in and he got both,
kahuna and fame.
Zimri, whom Pinchas killed on behalf of
God, did the same thing, but for bad. The Talmud speaks about whom he really
was and what kind of spiritual life he lived. Therefore, when the time came for
him to be plugged in, he became the person through whom Pinchas would sanctify
the Name of God.
History is pre-determined, as the
Midrash says. Certainly God has known everything that would happen since
Creation, and set it up so that it would. What about free will? That’s for
people to decide who they want to be, and what they want to accomplish, so God
can plug them appropriately.
One way or another, Yitzchak was
destined to marry Rivka, even before they were born. They were soul mates, and
they deserved each other. Eliezer was just fortunate enough to be the one
through whom God worked to make it happen, earning reward for doing so as if it
depended upon him.
15 And it came to pass, before he had done
speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of
Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her
shoulder. 16 And the damsel was
very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her; and she went
down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
She did not play around with men and somehow
keep her virginity but rather no man knew her in any way. Our Sages said that
what would have happened if it was a married woman, limping woman, partially
blind or deaf woman. Rather she was complete in her virginity and physical
appearance. For those who hold that she was three the whole thing seems easy
but if she was fourteen and in puberty the feat is harder.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said:
'Give me to drink, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher.' 18 And she said: 'Drink, my lord'; and
she hastened, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him
drink, she said: 'I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done
drinking.'
A miracle occurred and the water rose to greet
her. She said for your camels too. If we hold that she was 3-years old that is
some feat of service. If she was 14, then I would be relatively easy enough to
pour.
20 And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into
the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.
She hastened this shows that she was not a
slacker and could be steadfast in her mitzvos and observance.
21 And the man looked steadfastly on her; holding
his peace, to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. 22 And it came to pass, as the camels
had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and
two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels’ weight of gold;
He is very quick to take out gold to give
away. Two bracelets according to Rashi is the hint of the two tablets (Luchos)
and 10 Shekels are the Asera Dibros (10 sayings or commandments) on the Luchos.
23 and said: 'Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I
pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?'
After he gives away the gold he asks!
24 And she said unto him: 'I am the daughter of
Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore unto Nahor.' 25 She said moreover unto him: 'We have both straw and provender
enough, and room to lodge in.'
Many people look for the genealogy before
even thinking of a Shidduch. It once happened names withheld that the daughter
of a Chassidic Rebbe married a fellow who today is a Chassidic Rebbe of a large
dynasty. However, there were a few things lacking in the character of the
person at that time and the two got divorced. Later on she married somebody
with also good Yichus and he was worse for he demanded a large sum of money in
order to grant her a divorce. Finally, the Shamash (Beadle) of the Rebbe
married the daughter and as far as I know they are happily married for 40
years. So, it is the personality of the individual that counts.
What did Eliezer see in Rivka that he liked
her personality. Avraham had the Mida of Chessed. Rivka did not hesitate to
offer to give water not only to Eliezer and perhaps his men but also the large
amount that 10 camels drink. She volunteered thus showing her Mida of Chessed.
26 And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself
before the LORD. 27 And he said:
'Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who hath not forsaken His
mercy and His truth toward my master; as for me, the LORD hath led me in the
way to the house of my master's brethren.'
Eliezer might have been a non-Jew and a slave
or servant but he clearly saw the hand of HASHEM Yisborach. This is the way of
the truly righteous among the nations. Sometimes, they are capable of seeing
the hand of the L-RD quicker than an average Jew who takes things for granted.
28 And the damsel ran, and told her mother's
house according to these words.
Girls are modest, they tell their mothers
what is going on and do not involve the male authorities in the family.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was
Laban; and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the fountain. 30 And it came to pass, when he saw
the ring, and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the
words of Rebekah his sister, saying: 'Thus spoke the man unto me,' that he came
unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain. 31 And he said: 'Come in, thou blessed
of the LORD; wherefore stand thou without? for I have cleared the house, and
made room for the camels.'
There are two ways of interpreting this.
Lavan learned hospitality from his father and grandfather who learned from
Avram in Haran. The other way is what many of our Sages tell us. Lavan was
wicked and wanted to rob Eliezer of his gold and jewels. Why didn’t Bethuel
come to greet Eliezer? There are a number of possibilities. One is that he sent
his son as a messenger and the other in that he was old or busy that Lavan came
in his place.
32 And the man came into the house, and he
ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water
to wash his feet and the feet of the men that were with him. 33 And there was set food before him
to eat; but he said: 'I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.' And he
said: 'Speak on.'
The Medrash states that Lavan tried to poison
him but gave a small portion and Bethuel switched it with his larger portion
and died of poison. I believe this is not so and I will explain below.
34 And he said: 'I am Abraham's servant. 35 And the LORD hath blessed my master
greatly; and he is become great; and He hath given him flocks and herds, and
silver and gold, and men-servants and maid-servants, and camels and asses. 36 And Sarah my master's wife bore a
son to my master when she was old; and unto him hath he given all that he had. 37 And my master made me swear,
saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the
Canaanites, in whose land I dwell. 38
But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife
for my son. 39
And I said unto my master: Peradventure the woman will not follow me. 40 And he said unto
me: The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with thee, and prosper
thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my
father's house; 41
then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou come to my kindred; and if
they give her not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath. 42 And I came this day unto the
fountain, and said: O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now Thou do
prosper my way which I go: 43 behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to
pass, that the maiden that cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say: Give me,
I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher to drink; 44 and she shall say to me: Both drink
thou, and I will also draw for thy camels; let the same be the woman whom the
LORD hath appointed for my master's son. 45 And before I had done speaking to my heart, behold, Rebekah
came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the
fountain, and drew. And I said unto her: Let me drink, I pray thee. 46 And she made haste, and let down
her pitcher from her shoulder, and said: Drink, and I will give thy camels
drink also. So I drank, and she made the camels drink also. 47 And I asked her, and said: Whose
daughter art thou? And she said: The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom
Milcah bore unto him. And I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets upon
her hands. 48 And
I bowed my head, and prostrated myself before the LORD, and blessed the LORD,
the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my
master's brother's daughter for his son. 49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell
me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.'
If Rivka will be Yitzchak’s wife that will be
wonderful but if she wants nothing to do with him, please send me to somebody
in the family who is worthy to be his bride.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said: 'The
thing proceeds from the LORD; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
The Sages interpret that Lavan speaking
before his father because his father was poisoned. However, I see this more
like is what is happening in the Saudi Kingdom today. The crown price is
learning to take over from his father and running a lot of things and is
managing the affairs of the country with his father stepping in from time to
time for damage control.
51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and
go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.' 52 And it came to
pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to
the earth unto the LORD. 53
And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment, and gave them to Rebekah; he gave also to her brother and to her
mother precious things. 54
And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all
night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said: 'Send me away unto my
master.' 55 And
her brother and her mother said: 'Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at
the least ten; after that she shall go.'
Lavan was a trickster and just as in our life
time we saw Saddam Hussein murder his two sons in laws via a third party so too
Lavan would have done the same thing to Eliezer if he had waited 10 days.
56 And he said unto them: 'Delay me not, seeing
the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.' 57 And they said:
'We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.'
I am a Shliach Mitzvah (a messenger for doing
an important Mitzvah) so delay me not.
58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her:
'Will thou go with this man?' And she said: 'I will go.'
She knew who her brother was and also saw bad
qualities in Esav that the pure Yitzchak could not imagine existed in man.
Yacov learned how to deal with Esav so he survived.
Devorah will be faithful and live a very long
life as she raised Rivka and then her children and grandchildren from Yacov
until Benyamin who was born a few days after she passed away.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her:
'Our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed
possess the gate of those that hate them.'
A celebration of her betrothal and their
gifts to her were their blessings.
61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they
rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebekah, and
went his way. 62
And Isaac came from the way of Beer-lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the land of the
South. 63 And
Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide; and he lifted up his
eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.
Avraham established the Shachris prayer.
Yitzchak established the Mincha pr
64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she
saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel. 65 And she said unto the servant: 'What man is this that walketh
in the field to meet us?' And the servant said: 'It is my master.' And she took
her veil, and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 And Isaac brought
her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife;
and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted for his mother.
25:1
And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah.
In Beresheis chapter 2:18 it states “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a
help mate for him.” Avraham was still young enough
compared to Terach, Shem or Ever that he expected to live much longer even if
he was 140 when Yitzchak got married.
2
And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and
Shuah. … 5 And Abraham gave all
that he had unto Isaac.
Yitzchak is to inherit the land.
6
But unto the sons of the concubines, that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts; and
he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the
east country.
The gifts were money, jewelry and
education in meditation, astrology, family purity to some extent and perhaps
prophecy.
7
And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred
threescore and fifteen years. 8
And Abraham expired, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years;
and was gathered to his people. 9
And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field
of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; 10 the field which Abraham purchased
of the children of Heth; there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And it came to pass after the death
of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son; and Isaac dwelt by Beer-lahai-roi.
Even though Yishmael
was not to inherit Avraham, he was given vast lands, oil in Arabia and water of
the Nile in Egypt. Yishmael was a Baal Teshuva and therefore was in contact
with Yitzchak by the Akeida and afterwards.
12
Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the
Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bore unto Abraham. 13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names,
according to their generations: the first-born of Ishmael, Nebaioth; and Kedar,
and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 and
Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa; 15
Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedem; 16 these are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by
their villages, and by their encampments; twelve princes according to their
nations. 17 And these are the
years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years; and he
expired and died; and was gathered unto his people. 18 And they dwelt from Havilah = Africa unto
Shur that is before Egypt, as thou goes toward Asshur: over against all his
brethren he did settle.
Against his brethren as his hand was on
everything as stated in the prophecy.
The Guru and the Chassid by Sara
Yoheved Rigler
http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=138118898§ion=/sp/so or http://www.aish.com/sp/so/The_Guru_and_the_Hasid.html
The stranger-than-fiction true story of
Swami Vijayananda:
One sweltering day in the summer of
2008, near Hardwar, India, the pilgrimage city at the headwaters of the Ganges,
an incongruous scene unfolded. Amidst the dhoti-clad men and sari-clad women,
two Hasidic men from Israel, with long peyot and black kippahs, strode quickly
through the crowded streets. When they reached their destination — the ashram
of Anandamayi-ma, India’s most adulated woman saint of the 20th
century — they hesitated at the entrance to the courtyard. Idolatrous statues
dotted the courtyard. As religious Jews, they wondered whether they were
permitted to enter.
Standing there, they saw the guru, Swami
Vijayananda, garbed in the ochre robes of a monk, exit from one of the
buildings. He took his seat on a stone bench in order to receive the long line
of waiting devotees. One by one, they approached the 93-year-old guru, bowed on
their knees, and took the dust of his feet — a Hindu gesture of honor, whereby
one touches the guru’s feet with one’s hand, and then one’s own forehead. Each
devotee had barely a minute of the guru’s attention to ask or utter a few
words. Then, still kneeling, the devotee found a place on the ground some
distance away to continue to bask in the presence of the guru.
The two Hasidic men were Eliezer Botzer
and his friend Natti, heads of the Bayit Yehudi, Jewish Home, a chain of
Jewish centers situated throughout India in locations such as Hardwar and Goa,
where thousands of post-army Israelis congregate. Although Eliezer and Natti
spent a lot of time in India, standing there at the entrance to Anandamayi-ma’s
ashram they were as out of place as a klezmer clarinet at a sitar concert.
After a few minutes, the guru noticed
the two religious Jews. The next devotee at the head of the line was about to
approach the guru, but he stopped him. He gestured to the two attendants who
flanked him to block the line. Then the guru beckoned to the two religious Jews
to come to him. While the long line of devotees, many of them Europeans, looked
on in surprise, Eliezer and Natti directly approached the guru. No bowing, no
taking the dust of his feet, no kneeling on the ground. The guru motioned for
them to sit beside him on the bench.
Eliezer’s question was different than
that of the devotees who asked Swami Vijayananda about the purpose of life or
the way to higher consciousness. Looking directly at the guru, Eliezer asked,
“I heard that you’re a Jew. Is it true?”
The guru smiled. Yes, he had been born
into a Hasidic family in France. Although his grandparents were Lubliner
Hasidim, his parents were more modern, but still fully observant. He had gone
to Heder (Talmud Torah) and had been raised with all the devout trappings of
Judaism. In his twenties, he told Eliezer and Natti, he abandoned Jewish
observance. He became a doctor. Then the Holocaust descended. He told them
about his Holocaust experiences, and about how he gave his Tefillin away to a
religious fellow because he wasn’t using them anyway.
“Why did you come to India?” Eliezer
asked him.
The guru related that, after the war, he
was on a ship bound for the nascent State of Israel. A woman on the ship asked
him why he was going from one war to another. “Where should I go?” he asked
her. She suggested India, a place of peace, with no anti-Semitism.
In India, in 1951, at the age of 36, he
met Anandamayi-ma. Already at that time, hundreds of thousands of Indians
venerated her not only as an enlightened soul, but as an Incarnation of the
Divine Mother. He became her faithful disciple, taking on the monastic name of
Swami Vijayananda. After her passing in 1982, many Indians and Westerners gravitated
to him as their new guru.
Looking at Eliezer and Natti, he said,
“There are two levels of spirituality: a lower level and a higher level. The
lower level is religion; the higher level is the recognition that everything is
one.”
Eliezer looked back at him and rejoined:
“There are two levels of love: a higher level and a lower level. There is love
for every person in the world, and there is love for your own wife and family.
If you’re not able to love your own family, your love of the whole world is
fake.”
“I agree,” nodded the guru.
“So,” continued Eliezer, “You’re Jewish.
Before you go out and love the whole world, you should practice loving those
who are closest to you, the Jewish People.”
The guru laughed. That started their
discussion. As the attendants looked on nervously and the many devotees in the
line fidgeted restlessly, the guru and the Hasids sparred back and forth for a
long time. “He was trying to show us that we were wrong,” remembers Eliezer,
“that religion is not the Truth.”
With neither side conceding to the
other, Eliezer suddenly switched gears. He asked, “What did your mother call
you when you were a child?”
Tears came to the guru’s eyes, and he
murmured, “Avrimka. My name was Avraham Yitzhak. My mother called me Avrimka.”
Eliezer continued to probe: “Do you
remember a Shabbos table when you were a child?”
The guru closed his eyes. Then, from out
of hazy depths 70 years dormant, he started to sing “Eishes Hayil, A
Woman of Valor,” the song sung before Kiddush at every Shabbos dinner. With
tears streaming from his closed eyes, he sang the entire song, from beginning
to end. Electricity filled the air of the ashram courtyard, igniting a charged
atmosphere that reached both backward in time and heavenward in intensity.
The two attendants, who had never before
seen their guru cry, became afraid. They moved to eject the foreign men,
telling them that their time was up. The guru opened his eyes, suddenly back in
the present, and waved the attendants away.
Eliezer pulled out of his backpack a
Hebrew Bible and presented it to the guru.
With a wistful smile, the guru told him,
“I already have one, and I’ll tell you from where.” Relating the story like a
Hasidic tale, he told how, in the 1980s, an Israeli with a dilemma came to him
here at the ashram. The Israeli had been a soldier in the first Lebanon War.
Traumatized by the war and the ceaseless specter of more wars in Israel, the
non-observant ex-soldier had decided that he wanted to sever all connection
with Israel and with Judaism. He became a Christian, but he was unsatisfied and
unsettled. So he came to India and started to practice Hinduism. But here, too,
he felt unsatisfied. Coming to Swami Vijayananda, he complained, “Maybe the
reason I’m not finding myself in India, and I can’t get rid of this Jewish
feeling, is that I still have the Bible they gave me when I was inducted into
the Israeli army. Is it proper to throw it away?”
“No,” the guru replied, “don’t throw it
away. Give it to me.” He proceeded to tell the ex-soldier the story of Rabbi
Akiva, who, as the Romans were flaying him alive, recited the Shema. When his
agonized students asked him how he could perform the mitzvah of Shema while
being tortured, Rabbi Akiva replied that all his life he had yearned to get to
the place of serving God with his very life. “I told him,” related the guru,
“Do you know the difference between Rabbi Akiva and us? After all we went
through [in the Holocaust and the Lebanon War], we asked, ‘My God, my God, why
have abandoned me?’” The guru had been relating the story in English, but at
this point he quoted the line from Psalm 22 in its original Hebrew. Then he
continued in English: “’But Rabbi Akiva,’ I told the Israeli soldier,
‘understood that his suffering was not a punishment, but rather a path to the
highest spiritual state of attaining complete unity with God.’“ The guru peered
at Eliezer and Natti. “I don’t know where he is now, but I think he must have
come back to Judaism after what I told him.” (see below)
This was Eliezer’s opening. “Maybe it’s
time for you, too, to come back. You’re not young. Do you want to be cremated
and your ashes thrown into the Ganges? It’s time for you to come back to
Judaism.”
At that the attendants got agitated and
angry. “You’re trying to take our guru away from us,” they accused the Jewish
visitors.
Eliezer made one last try. “God loves
every Jew, and wants every Jew to return to Judaism.”
The attendants had heard enough.
Furiously, they evicted the two Hasids.
In April, 2010, Swami Vijayananda died
at the ashram in Hardwar.
Who Are Your
Attendants?
Every Jew has what is called a pintele
Yid, a Jewish soul-spark that can never be snuffed out. No matter how far a
Jew strays, no matter how vociferously he repudiates his Jewish roots or how
diffidently she ignores her Jewish soul or how many decades have elapsed
immersed in a different religion, the Jewish spark is always there, ready to be
ignited anew.
However, every Jew also is flanked by
“attendants” who assiduously work to keep the pintele Yid from being
ignited. Sometimes the attendant is fear, sometimes distraction, sometimes
egotism, sometimes complacency.
God repeatedly sends messengers into our
lives. They come in diverse costumes: sometimes a stranger who utters a
portentous, unsettling statement; sometimes a wake-up call in the form of a
tragedy or near-tragedy; sometimes a blessing so bountiful it reveals its
Source; sometimes an unlikely encounter with a Rabbi or a Rebbetzin on a plane,
or on the street, or in Wal-Mart’s. In a remote town in India in 1968, I met a
Jewish doctor from Wales who changed my life. I know a Jew, also a doctor, who
lived an utterly un-Jewish life on a Pacific island, and who one day in the
mail received an invitation to a medical conference in, of all places, Israel.
All such messengers come bearing igniters.
But the attendants, with frightened or
sneering visages, wave their arms and try to keep us from heeding the
messengers. The attendants utter their shrill warnings: “You don’t have time to
go to that class.” “Don’t accept that Shabbat invitation or they’ll try to
brainwash you.” “You’re too old/established/comfortable to start changing now.”
“Your level of Jewish observance is fine; don’t become a fanatic.” “If you
start observing mitzvot, you’ll miss out on all the fun in life.” “They’re
trying to take you away.”
It takes courage to banish the
attendants, to realize that rather than protecting us, they are driving away
the Fedex man who is trying to deliver the tidings of a surprise inheritance.
The Jewish spark, the pintele Yid,
in each of us, is waiting to burst into flames of joy, love, and fulfillment.
The
story has a twist that I heard years ago. You see, I heard from somebody who
attended a lecture of a Baal Teshuva in Hebrew. The Baal Teshuva was a Jew who
served in the IDF and he wanted to try Hinduism. He went to the highest holy
man for advice. The holy man told him that he comes from the chosen people and
he should return to Eretz Yisrael and become a G-D fearing Jew.
I
received this on a private group consisting of people that are Canadians and US
citizens who have at least some residency in FL. Somebody calculated that if
the “Caravan” covers a 500 miles a week that is 71 miles a day. I put in only
part of the long letter as food for thought. It could be that they are moving
25 miles a day which sounds more logical.
71 miles per day and where do they go to
the toilet? Do
they take showers?
The Hondurans in the caravan, the 7,000
people walking north to America, where do they go to the bathroom? And eat and
sleep and store their clothes? And how is it that after a week on the road they
are clean and their hair and clothes are well kept? How is any of this
possible? And why do these people, supposedly fleeing intolerable conditions in
their homeland, carry little flags from their homeland and break into its
national anthem when the TV cameras show up? And speaking of which, for
oppressed people, they all seem to be pretty well fed, well groomed and well
dressed. Their hair is neat and newly cut, their clothes are clean and in good
repair, and they are built like people who have had ample nutrition all their
lives, being well developed and, many of them, overweight. And none of them
look dirty or unkempt, like they had been sleeping on the ground for the last
week. There’s just nothing in any of this that makes sense.
Supposedly, these several thousand people
spontaneously decided to leave Honduras, walking north in a group, hoping to
trek the length of gang-plagued Mexico and present themselves as refugees and
prospective Democrats at the American border. Which, again, makes no sense
whatsoever. And leaves a lot of big questions unanswered, and ignored by the
press. Such as, who organized this? Who is paying for it? How have they covered
500 miles in a week?
Provisioning such an army of people – the
equivalent of 10 combat battalions in most of the world’s militaries – is a
large task. Transporting and distributing the food and water necessary to keep
those people moving is a massive chore which the press says nothing about. The
entire enterprise, as a spontaneous ad hoc event, is implausible.
As an orchestrated international attempt to
influence an American election, it starts to make sense. And ought to alarm us.
Unless it’s only Russians we don’t want screwing with our democracy.
Unfortunately, none of this has made the evening news. It’s almost as if the
press, in whatever scheme is afoot, gladly accepts its role as propagandists to
the American people. Every story is sympathetic, as if an attempt to enlist
viewers and readers in this caravan and the politics it symbolizes. And so the
story is not about an orchestrated attempt to manipulate electoral opinion and
violate the borders and laws of the United States, it is about compassion and
Trump and xenophobia and racism. It is the October surprise; it is the Blue
Wave. And it is all nonsense. Because all of these people, if legitimate, have
the ability to apply for American asylum in their own country – as do the
residents of most nations of the world. We have consulates and embassies for a
reason, and this is one of those reasons. 2,500 did take up the offer of asylum and jobs in
Mexico but the majority continue on including M-13 gang members and some
deportees.
From
Jeff an Ed-Op of all the persecutions through Pittsburgh. https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article220802775.html
Judo
Gold medal in UAE. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253895 Israel
received a second one after that.
Danger
of flying certain airlines. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253920
Car
crashes the biggest danger in Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254018
IAI
signs a massive deal with an Asia Country. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254006
Milestone
the Charedi that introduced 800 bills for the good of all Israelis passes to
the next world at 64. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5384230,00.html
Mobile
eye to have driverless taxis in 2019. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3748733,00.html
Ukrainian
Game mocks gas chambers. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254022
Chief
Rabbi did not ignore Synagogue where shooting was. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253988
In
many elections there was a throwing out of the old guard. Not Tel Aviv, Ashdod
or Modiin where the mayors were popular but after 30 years and suspected
corruption, in Naharia the mayor was kicked out. 11 women became mayors including
Haifa and in Ashkelon the mayor was re-elected by 80 votes after
non-substantiated corruption claims. The biggest revolution was in Beit Shemesh
where the ultra-anti-Zionist Jews were terrorizing and bullying the town. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254089
Milk
prices to be reduced just hope not the farmers share. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254086
Non-Poisonous
Snake removed from Kotel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254133
Inyanay Diyoma
It
was hard to choose the top headline Motzei Shabbos. Should I put first the 8 now 11 dead in Pittsburgh Synagogue or the 87
rockets from Gaza maybe the capture of the mad bomber in the States. I chose
the 87 rockets which are most likely a sign of a cease and they fire. https://www.debka.com/massive-gaza-missile-volley-greets-new-idf-chief-iaf-strikes-87-hamas-targets/
8
dead and at least 3 policemen injured. VP Pence calls on people to say Psalm
34. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381315,00.html https://www.foxnews.com/us/pittsburgh-police-confirms-active-shooter-at-synagogue-multiple-victims-reported
Suspected
mail bomber apprehended. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253842
Texas
voting machines switching ballots. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/some-texans-say-voting-machines-are-changing-their-straight-ticket-choices-to-other-party-in-key-races
Who
is Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi? http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253822
Oman
time to recognize Israel. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381264,00.html
Islamic
Jihad agrees to cease-fire. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381151,00.html
Near
Gaza - Enough manure from politicians do something. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253863
11
murdered – hoping for death penalty of hater. https://www.debka.com/gunman-kills-at-least-8-in-attack-on-pittsburgh-synagogue/
Bennett
to travel to Pittsburgh. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381436,00.html
President
told sanctions on Iran too weak. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5381524,00.html
Shooter:
“Jews are committing white genocide Trump is their puppet.” http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253897
Bomber:
“If it were up to me, blacks and Jews would be wiped out”. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253901
Three
Gazan teens trying to destroy fence eliminated. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253904
British
lawmaker blames the Jews for Pittsburg. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253887
Only
fellow Jews can defend Synagogues. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/22921
We
refuse to be sitting ducks anymore: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5382381,00.html
Bibi’s
procrastination blowing up in his face. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5379012,00.html
Names
of Pittsburg victims. https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/10/28/victims-of-pittsburgh-synagogue-massacre-identified/?utm_content=news1&utm_medium=daily_email&utm_campaign=email&utm_source=internal/
Israel
attacks Iranian weapons convoy. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253953
President
Trump visits Pittsburgh Synagogue the Rabbi gets left wing hate e-mails for
hosting the president. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5384454,00.html
Israeli
Ambassador backs President Trump. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254023
Only
a fool fails and repeats his mistakes. https://www.debka.com/netanyahu-lays-out-his-gaza-policy-de-escalation-without-war/
Iran
the wild card in the North. https://www.debka.com/us-mid-east-forces-brace-for-trouble-from-iran-over-impending-oil-sanctions/
Weapons
dealer and 12 terrorist arrested. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254029
Arab
taxi driver shot. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254024
IAI
signs a massive deal with an Asia Country. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254006
Car
crashes the biggest danger in Israel. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254018
Milestone
the Charedi that introduced 800 bills for the good of all Israelis passes to
the next world at 64. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5384230,00.html
Mobile
eye to have driverless taxis in 2019. https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3748733,00.html
Ukrainian
Game mocks gas chambers. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254022
Doll
pinned with knife on Jewish School. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254014
Chief
Rabbi did not ignore Synagogue where shooting was. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/253988
Iranians
may have difficult times ahead with sanctions. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254098
Not
even finished burying the dead CA Synagogue defaced. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254086
Premeditated
manslaughter not murder for terrorist!!! https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5385121,00.html
Milk
prices to be reduced just hope not the farmers share. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254086
In
many elections there was a throwing out of the old guard. Not Tel Aviv, Ashdod
or Modiin where the mayors were popular but after 30 years and suspected
corruption, in Naharia the mayor was kicked out. 11 women became mayors including
Haifa and in Ashkelon the mayor was re-elected by 80 votes after
non-substantiated corruption claims. The biggest revolution was in Beit Shemesh
where the ultra-anti-Zionist Jews were terrorizing and bullying the town. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254089
Report
that Egypt and Netanyahu asked Trump not to sanction Saudi Prince. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254155
Netanyahu
to try to renew talks with PLO. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254160
Reform
Schul in Brooklyn gets anti-Semitic attack. In Las Vegas there was a swastika
sprayed on a Jewish home. In France too. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/254148
Republican
accused of anti-Semitism because of bad AD. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5386330,00.html
Loses
brakes - F-16 almost crashes with plane on tarmac. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5386236,00.html
Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Rachamim Pauli
