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PAR'SHAT VAYERA: Promise Little, Deliver Much!

10/24/2018

ואל־הבקר רץ אברהם ויקח בן־בקר רך וטוב ויתן אל־הנער וימהר לעשׂות אתו׃
ויקח חמאה וחלב ובן־הבקר אשׁר עשׂה ויתן לפניהם והוא־עמד עליהם תחת העץ ויאכלו׃

Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
(Gen 18:7-8 CJB)

CHICKEN IN THE DESERT.
Three strangers approached Abraham in the desert. I crossed the desert on foot when I was a teenager (18 years-old). My life had taken such confusing turns that I felt I needed to check with God on some things so as crazy as it sounds, I decided to walk from Jerusalem to the Saint-Catherine's Greek Orthodox monastery where people say is Mt Sinai. God was not there. It was probably the wrong mountain since Mt Horeb is said to be in Midian (Ex 3:1), not in the Sinai peninsula.

In any case, I crossed the desert on foot. I had with my guitar, a backpack, a shoulder bag, a small cantine of water and no food. I also had a small compass to make sure that from sand dune to sand dune I was going due south. At this point of the story, you must wonder what kind of nutty teenager I was. I have often wondered that myself.

You can walk on 5th Avenue in NY City and see millions of people while never meeting not talking to any. It is not the same in the desert. When you see someone in the desert, you talk to them, make sure they are OK and have everything they need. It was so for me. Each day I would meet a Bedouin shepherd who filled my cantine with goat milk and gave me some “tent-made” cereal to mix with it. One night I was even got invited for an authentic shish-kabab dinner in the tent and spent the night there.

One night I went to sleep near a sand dune. I used a stone for a pillow as is customary in the Sinai desert. In the morning I woke up and had nothing to eat. Suddenly I hear the clucking of a chicken. I tried to catch it but then realized that it was useless I wouldn't know what to do with it once I did. I then turned my attention to find eggs which I did in the shade of a stone. I made holes on both sides of the eggs and drank them. That was my breakfast that day. Even in the desert, HaShem can provide eggs.

THE HOSPITALITY OF ABRAHAM.
Abraham was also great at the desert tradition of hospitality. Till this day Abraham is spoken as the chief-host of the Bible. He would have gotten a great AirBnB rating. Abraham did not wait for visitors to pass by his tent that was opened on 4 sides. He was known to send his servant Eliezer by the highways and byways to compel them to come in to be refreshed in his master’s tent.

When he saw the people he “ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground, and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, please don't leave your servant. Please let me send for some water, so that you can wash your feet; then rest under the tree, and I will bring a piece of bread. Now that you have come to your servant, refresh yourselves before going on." (Gen 18:2-5 CJB)

He offers some water to wash their feet and a morsel of bread. But what does he really do? He prepares a feast for them. “Avraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, three measures of the best flour! Knead it and make cakes." Avraham ran to the herd, took a good, tender calf and gave it to the servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then he took curds, milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it all before the men; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.” (Gen 18:6-8 CJB)

He didn’t relay the task to one of his servants but did it himself though he was sick He was sick as it was the 3rd day after his circumcision, the day when the fever is at its highest. That is why it says, “Adonai appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day.” (Gen 18:1 CJB) The Lord paid a visit to sick Abraham. This is where the important mitzvah of visiting comes from.

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS?
Today’s common sense advertisement driven market economy says, “Promise the moon though you can’t only deliver the ceiling! It is the same with politicians who promise above what they can really deliver. It should not be so with us. Yeshua chided certain adversarial Pharisees by telling them, "If you are children of Avraham, then do the things Avraham did! (Joh 8:39 CJB) As children of Abraham, we should also do the deeds of Abraham who promised little but delivered much!

Jewish historical writings tell us that when a visitor came to his tent, Abraham would offer them a feast then ask them to thank the God who provided it. He shared with others the greatness of the God he served by serving them a meal worthy of his God. (Mat 20:28; John 10:10) .

“May we like Abraham consider the mitzvah of hospitality one of the greatest mitzvah of all. May we find glory, joy in serving those HaShem loved so much "that he gave his only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. (Joh 3:16 CJB). May we find fulfillment in cooking, setting the table, doing the dishes, and cleaning after those whom Yeshua suffered and died for.”

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PAR'SHAT LECH LECHA: "Lot, a righteous man ... "

10/18/2018

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ויהי בשׁחת אלהים את־ערי הככר ויזכר אלהים את־אברהם וישׁלח את־לוט מתוך ההפכה בהפך את־הערים אשׁר־ישׁב בהן לוט׃

But when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Avraham and sent Lot out, away from the destruction, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
(Gen 19:29 CJB)

"LOT A RIGHTEOUS MAN ... "
Maybe I like to stand for the downtrodden, but I’d like to talk about Lot today. Lot is often given a bad wrap but this week I took an extra look at what the Tanach says about him.

First of all, it is not ethical to utter judgment about people when they are not present to defend themselves. We would certainly not like it to be done to us. All we really know about Lot is what we are told in the Bible so let’s see.

Lot decided to follow his uncle Abraham. We could conclude by that that Lot saw something important in that uncle of his. Later Lot, seemingly motivated by greed and selfishness, moved to the city of Sodom where he and his whole family were captured by the five kings of the East who came to conquer the area. This prompted Abraham to battle for the deliverance of his nephew. The sages of Israel say that Abraham went to rescue Lot because he saw the Light of Messiah on him.

LET’S LOOK AT LOT’S SPIRITUAL RECORD.
First Lot seems to make a wrong choice when he leaves Abraham to go to live in Sodom. And even after Abraham delivers him, Lot returns to live in Sodom. When the city is about to get destroyed, 2 angels mercifully try to drag him out of there.

"Get up," they said, "and take your wife and your two daughters who are here; otherwise you will be swept away in the punishment of the city." But he dallied, so the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand and the hands of his two daughters --Adonai was being merciful to him -- and led them, leaving them outside the city. When they had brought them out, he said, "Flee for your life! Don't look behind you, and don't stop anywhere in the plain, but escape to the hills! Otherwise you will be swept away." Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lord! Here, your servant has already found favor in your sight, and you have shown me even greater mercy by saving my life. But I can't escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I will die. Look, there's a town nearby to flee to, and it's a small one. Please let me escape there -- isn't it just a small one? -- and that way I will stay alive." (Gen 19:15-20 CJB)

After the merciful angels deliver him, Lot still wants to go live in another one of these wicked cities. Finding themselves in a desperate situation, Lot’s daughters entice their father into an incestuous relationship which gives birth to 2 tribes that would eventually be cursed away from Israel. As far as Lot’s spiritual life is concerned, it seems one can hardly get any “lower” but yet, the sages of Israel proclaim, as I wrote before, that Abraham could see the Light of Messiah in him.

WHAT MORE DOES THE TANACH SAY ABOUT LOT?
When Abraham bargained with HaShem to spare Sodom, he had Lot and his family in mind. Knowing that his righteous God could not destroy the righteous with the wicked, Abraham tried to use Lot’s family’righteousness as a bargaining chip against impending judgment. In Abraham’s eyes, Lot, his wife, his daughters, and their husbands were righteous (see 2 Pet 2:7). That was 6 people. HaShem did not go further down than 10.

Avraham approached and said, "Will you actually sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Maybe there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you actually sweep the place away, and not forgive it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are there?Far be it from you to do such a thing -- to kill the righteous along with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Shouldn't the judge of all the earth do what is just?" (Gen 18:23-25 CJB)

Much is said about Lot in the writings of the apostles. Yeshua talked about this story. He talks about it comparing the rescued righteous of the end to Lot. He says,”Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot -- people ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built; but the day Lot left S'dom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” (Luk 17:28-29 CJB)

Peter also said that HaShem “ rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the debauchery of those unprincipled people; “ (2 Pe 2:7 CJB)

It seems that the sages of Israel were on par with what Yeshua and Peter said. Here is something else the sages of Israel said. “The Light of Messiah enters into the world in these broken and lowly places and situations and the lower it goes, the higher it will rise!”

What they meant by that is that the Light of Messiah doesn’t necessarily enter into the world through the elevated, proud people self-assured of their religiosity. The Spirit of God enters the world through regular people like you and me. Like water, the Spirit of God always seeks for the lowest level where to flow, the humblest soul where to nest. HaShem knew and He portrayed it in the humble bearthly birth of Yeshua. Yeshua knew it and so He did not choose His disciples from the great yeshivahs of Galilee but stumble-bum people of the street like you and me.

The sages of Israel also said the HaShem cannot live in the same space with the proud who is full of himself, as it leaves no room for Him. The sinner may not be perfect, but at least he knows it.

Abraham did not know it at the time, but there is another reason why he may have seen the light of Messiah in Lot. The Seed of Messiah does comes from Abraham, but the seed of Lot intermarried with the seed of Abraham. Lot’s daughters gave birth to the Moabites and the Ammonites (Gen 19:38) of whom the Torah says, "No `Amoni or Mo'avi may enter the assembly of Adonai, nor may any of his descendants down to the tenth generation ever enter the assembly of Adonai, (...) So you are never to seek their peace or well being, as long as you live. (Deu 23:3-6 CJB).

When all is said and done, Ruth the Moabite married Boaz and became the great-grandmother of King David and King Solomon married Naamah the Ammonitess. The ten generations deadline had expired by the Boaz and Solomon married them. Both Boaz and King Solomon are in the genealogy of Messiah.

This means that part of the lineage of Yeshua the Messiah stems from Lot; that Lot is an actual ancestor of Yeshua. The sage of Israel already knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of Lot as they said, “The source of Messiah is rooted in Lot. All the genealogies and generation are [for the sake of] David and Messiah. The reason that Lot walked with Abraham was so that the spark of Messiah would go forth from him.” Rokeach in Yalkut Moshiach: Lech lecha, 35par, 19.

That could be the reason why Matthew mentioned them in his genealogies alongside 3 other special women. It’s all the more special when genealogies usually only include men.

Personally, I do not like passing judgment on some of these Bible characters, especially when Yeshua uses them as an analogy of the righteous and peter qualifies them as righteous souls.

This lesson should teach us that according to HaShem, more righteousness is found in the lowly souls, in the valleys of humankind than in its proud mountains. In its message about the coming Kingdom of Heaven, John the Immerser took up the message of Isaiah when he said, “Every valley must be filled in, every mountain and hill leveled off; the winding roads must be straightened and the rough ways made smooth.” (Luk 3:1-6). Yeshua taught the same message when he said, “Whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted.” (Mat 23:12 CJB)

SHABBAT SHALOM!

R' Gavriel Lumbroso
with the inspiration of R' Zelig Pliskin and others.

IF YOU LIKE THESE ARTICLES,
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PAR'SHAT NOACH: Embarrassing Embarrassment!

10/11/2018

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ואך את־דמכם לנפשׁתיכם אדרשׁ מיד כל־חיה אדרשׁנו ומיד האדם מיד אישׁ אחיו אדרשׁ את־נפשׁ האדם׃
שׁפך דם האדם באדם דמו ישׁפך כי בצלם אלהים עשׂה את־האדם׃

I will certainly demand an accounting for the blood of your lives: I will demand it from every animal and from every human being. I will demand from every human being an accounting for the life of his fellow human being. Whoever sheds human blood, by a human being will his own blood be shed; for God made human beings in his image. (Gen 9:5-6 CJB)

EMBARRASSING EMBARRASSMENTS

Biology shows that our blood flow changes when we become embarrassed. That's why we blush or, in certain instances, become pale. While provoking blushing or paling is a far cry from spilling someone's blood, by way of a fence against the commandment of not spilling someone's blood, sixteenth century Rabbi Moshe Alshich applies the prohibition in Genesis 1:6 to embarrassing people and/or shaming them publicly.

This idea fits well with a part of this week's parasha, the part where Noah’s children discover their father in a compromising situation. Ham’s first reaction was to publicize his father's situation while his brothers, Shem and Japheth, did not even deign to look at him and made sure to cover his shame.

Here is something from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin on the subject. “When you embarrass someone you cause him much pain. This suffering can be even much worse than that felt from a physical wound. ... When you humiliate someone you lower his self-esteem...The ramifications of this are awesome!”

The modern phenomenon of cyber bullying is a testament to that. Embarrassing and shaming others can, in some cases, lead to suicide which can be construed as “Murder by victim.” It doesn't only happen in schools. Our present mean, proud, and arrogant modern society is rife those who think it is their right, if not their duty to elevate themselves by putting down those around them. But do they really get elevated?

We all have a certain element of self-depreciation, an innate inferiority complex, a subconscious feeling of inadequacy. As a result, much of what we do, say, and try to portray about ourselves to the outside world through the way we dress and present ourselves has to do with giving us an air of self-assurance. A wise person will recognize these mechanisms in himself and therefore in others. A wise leader, teacher, spouse, father, will tread softly and make sure to respect others, and yes, even children. He will be keenly aware that people go to great lengths to preserve their image, or to recover from the hurt caused by the breaking of their self-esteem. The violent and bloody history of mankind is a testament and testimony to that fact. After all, being made of glass ourselves, we shouldn't play at throwing stones!

Rabbi Moshe Alshich lived in the 16th century. He didn’t know about cyber-bullying but he knew about people. As we have shown before, the idea of embarrassing and shaming others publicly is as old as Ham, the son of Noah.

He was not the first one. King Solomon spoke much about the power of the tongue. At the beginning of his reign, he desperately prayed and asked HaShem,

So now, give me wisdom and knowledge; so that I will be able to lead this people. For who is equal to judging this great people of yours?" (2Ch 1:10 CJB)

As a result, HaShem gave Solomon a wisdom of speech that brought, for a time, the Kingdom of Israel to its zenith, a foretaste of the Messianic age. The following King was not so wise. He refused the wise counsel of his advisers,

They said to him, "If you will treat these people kindly, pleasing them and giving them favorable consideration, they will be your servants forever." But he didn't take the advice the older men gave him; instead he consulted the young men he had grown up with, who were now his attendants. (2Ch 10:7-8 CJB)

Here is a little more from Solomon on the benefit of wise speech,

The speech of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the speech of the wicked is a cover for violence.
(Pro 10:11 CJB)

Idle talk can pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise can heal.
(Pro 12:18 CJB)

The wise man's heart teaches his mouth,
and to his lips it adds learning.
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
sweet to the taste and healing for the body.
(Pro 16:23-24 CJB)

Yeshua also taught of the power of the tongue. He says,

There is nothing outside a person which, by going into him, can make him unclean. Rather, it is the things that come out of a person [through his mouth] which make a person unclean!"
(Mar 7:15 CJB)

James who became the leader of the Messianic congregations in first-century Israel also thought that,

... all stumble in many ways; if someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who can bridle his whole body. If we put a bit into a horse's mouth to make it obey us, we control its whole body as well. And think of a ship -- although it is huge and is driven by strong winds, yet the pilot can steer it wherever he wants with just a small rudder. So too the tongue is a tiny part of the body, yet it boasts great things. See how a little fire sets a whole forest ablaze! Yes, the tongue is a fire, a world of wickedness. The tongue is so placed in our body that it defiles every part of it, setting ablaze the whole of our life; and it is set on fire by Gei-Hinnom itself. For people have tamed and continue to tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures; but the tongue no one can tame -- it is an unstable and evil thing, full of death-dealing poison! With it we bless Adonai, the Father; and with it we curse people, who were made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing! Brothers, it isn't right for things to be this way. A spring doesn't send both fresh and bitter water from the same opening, does it? Can a fig tree yield olives, my brothers? or a grapevine, figs? Neither does salt water produce fresh.
(Jas 3:2-12 CJB)

“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble.” Unknown.

May we use our words
to help,
to heal,
and to build.

R' Gavriel Lumbroso
with the inspiration of R' Zelig Pliskin and others.

IF YOU LIKE THESE ARTICLES,
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT R' GAVRIEL IN HIS WRITING THROUGH PATREON.

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PAR'SHAT B'REISHEET: Looking at the Bright Side of Things.

10/2/2018

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וירא אלהים את־כל־אשׁר עשׂה והנה־טוב מאד

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good.
Genesis 1:31

At each step, as He formed the earth HaShem said, “... it was good!” After creating man, when it was all finished he even said, “...it was very good!”

The sages teach that even before creation HaShem created the Name of Messiah and Repentance. What does this tell us? It tells us that even before He created us, HaShem knew that we would go astray. He knew of all the horrors that we would be responsible for but yet, He chose to create us.

Rabbi Simon tells a midrash about this. He says, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, came to create man, the ministering angels were divided into camps and factions. Some said, “Let Him create man;” others said, “Let Him not create man.” Kindness said: “Let God create man, for he will perform acts of kindness.” Truth said, “Let Him not create man, for he will be full of deceit.” Justice said, “Let Him create man, for he will perform righteousness;” peace said, “Let Him not create him, for he will be full of divisiveness....” According to this midrash, some angels maintained that man would be a worthy creation, since he would possess positive qualities, and would be able to achieve good in the world. Others argued that he was not worthy of being created, since his deficiencies - and, consequently, his potential for evil - would be too great.

"What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do?" asks Rabbi Simon. He took truth, and cast it to the ground....HaShem decides in favor of the angels that support the creation of man; those that view his positive qualities. In other words, the verdict of the great Judge of the earth is that the positive aspects of man will outweigh the negative.

There is a great lesson here to learn from the Almighty Creator. We are made in His image and thus, like Him, we can chose our scope of vision. We can look at the bad in the world and in people, or we can look at the good.

A water-carrier was asked one day, maybe on a rainy day, “How are things going?” "I'm getting older and I feel so weak," the man replied. "My children constantly study and don't help me out. I have to support my in-laws, and find the financial obligations a real burden. My wife is so sickly, and I feel like I'm falling apart." On another day, maybe a sunny day, the same man was asked the same question. With a big smile, he replied "I am so grateful to HaShem for all of His kindness. Even though I am old, I am not only able to support myself, but I am even able to support the Torah study of my children and in-laws who study with such diligence. My wife is wonderful to me; with great sacrifice she makes me so happy." We constantly choose how to view our life situation; even though nothing external has changed, we can still view our life in very positive ways.

This remind me of the woman who was given a piece of tapestry one day. As she looked at it she could only see a confusion of knots and colored threads. “What does this mean?” she wondered. It is only as she turned it around that she could see a beautiful embroidery of the words, “God is Love.” Sometimes, just as HaShem and the water-bearer did, we just need to change the perspective with which we look at our lives to see the work of God in it.

The psalmist exhorts us with,

Bless Adonai, my soul! Everything in me, bless his holy name! Bless Adonai, my soul, and forget none of his benefits! (Psa 103:1-2)

Paul gave us a very good tool in order to keep our eyes and hearts in the right place. he said,

In conclusion, brothers, focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy. (Php 4:8)

HaShem who lives in eternity where there is no past, present, nor future lives in the eternal now. Just as the mother who rejoices that her child is born instead of mourning that he will die one day, HaShem rejoices at the potential of His creation Today. May we learn to not allow future sorrows to destroy the positive aspects of the present.

R’ Gavriel Lumbroso,
with the inspiration of R’ Zelig Pliskin and others.

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PAR'SHAT VAYERA: Promise Little, Deliver Much!

PAR'SHAT LECH LECHA: "Lot, a righteous man ... "

PAR'SHAT NOACH: Embarrassing Embarrassment!

PAR'SHAT B'REISHEET: Looking at the Bright Side of Things.

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