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PAR'SHAT CHAYEI SARAH: Ethics of the Mothers.

11/25/2016

והיה הנער אשׁר אמר אליה הטי־נא כדך ואשׁתה ואמרה שׁתה וגם־גמליך אשׁקה אתה הכחת לעבדך ליצחק ובה אדע כי־עשׂית חסד עם־אדני׃

I will say to one of the girls, 'Please lower your jug, so that I can drink.' If she answers, 'Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,' then let her be the one you intend for your servant Yitz'chak. This is how I will know that you have shown grace to my master."
(Gen 24:14 CJB)

In par'shat Vayera, three 'strangers' come to Father Avraham (Gen 18:2). When Avraham sees them he offers them a 'snack', but ends up serving a banquet (18:4-8). This teaches us that, contrary to modern successful business and political practices, we should always offer little, and deliver much.

In Par'shat Chayei Sarah, Eliezer, Avraham's servant is charged to travel back to his master's family in Iraq, near to what could be called Babylon, in order to find and vet a wife for Isaac. This would prove to be a very important task that Eliezer felt incapable of accomplishing, he therefore enrolled the help of who he called, "
"Adonai, God of my master Avraham,
please let me succeed today;
and show your grace to my master Avraham.
(Gen 24:12 CJB)

Eliezer knew that the wife of Isaac should become the new matriarch. She would walk in Sarah's shoes. The virtue and character of the sought bride was of utmost importance. She would also have to leave her home in 'Babylon'. Eliezer then established a vetting system. Taking a page from his master's rule book he prayed,
"Here I am, standing by the spring, as the daughters of the townsfolk come out to draw water. I will say to one of the girls, 'Please lower your jug, so that I can drink.' If she answers, 'Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,' then let her be the one you intend for your servant Yitz'chak. This is how I will know that you have shown grace to my master."
(Gen 24:13-15 CJB)

In essence, he said, "I will ask for a little water, but if the girl offers more than I asked, I know that this is she whom Hashem has chosen. To appreciate this, it is important to know that a thirsty camel can drink as many as 30 gallons of water in about 13 minutes..

Before he had finished speaking, Rivkah the daughter of B'tu'el son of Milkah the wife of Nachor Avraham's brother, came out with her jug on her shoulder. ... The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a sip of water from your jug to drink." "Drink, my lord," she replied, and immediately lowered her jug onto her arm and let him drink. When she was through letting him drink, she said, "I will also draw water for your camels until they have drunk their fill." She quickly emptied her jug into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and kept on drawing water for all his camels. The man gazed at her in silence, waiting to find out whether Adonai had made his trip successful or not. When the camels were done drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces
(Gen 24:15-22 CJB)

Eliezer knew that anyone who would do that had a very great sense of chesed, altruism, virtue, goodness, etc ...

In his writngs about that part of the text, Rashi makes a good point about the fact that it is a person's acts of kindness that reveal their true virtue, not miracles done on their behalf. The Jewish scholar asks the question, "Why did Abraham's servant Eliezer run to meet Rivka?"

To answer his question, Rashi cites a midrash. This midrash cited by the venerated scholar states that Eliezer ran because he saw the waters of the well miraculously rise to meet Rivka. Although Eliezer was said to witness this event, he did not consider it sufficient evidence to prove that she was worthy to be Isaac's wife. A test of her eagerness to do chesed [acts of mercy and kindness] was still necessary. From here we see that even if a person is worthy of having miracles perform on his behalf, he is not deemed truly worthy unless he performs acts of chesed. (Heard from rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, Rosh Hayeshiva of Brisk in Jerusalem).

In the same vein ...
... Moses warned us not to determine the validity of a prophet solely by his miracle-workings:
"If a prophet or someone who gets messages while dreaming arises among you and he gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder comes about as he predicted when he said, 'Let's follow other gods, which you have not known; and let us serve them,' you are not to listen to what that prophet or dreamer says. For Adonai your God is testing you, in order to find out whether you really do love Adonai your God with all your heart and being. (Deu 13:1-3)

... Our master will also use the same parameters with his people and disciples at his return. he says,...
... On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we prophesy in your name? Didn't we expel demons in your name? Didn't we perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them to their faces, 'I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!' (Mat 7:22-23)

... and at the end of days ...
... "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The 'sheep' he will place at his right hand and the 'goats' at his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you made me your guest, I needed clothes and you provided them, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the people who have done what God wants will reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest, or needing clothes and provide them? When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The King will say to them, 'Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did them for me!' (Mat 25:31-40)

Rivka passed the test. She was worthy of filling Sarah' shoes, to inhabit Sarah's 'tent'. The Rabbis learned from (Gen. 24:67) “Isaac thus found comfort after his mother’s death” that Rebekah’s deeds resembled those of Sarah (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer). The midrash states that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud was visible over her tent, and when she died the cloud departed; when Rebekah came, the cloud returned. All the days of Sarah’s life the gates of the tent were wide open, but once she died, that opening ceased; when Rebekah came, that opening returned. All of Sarah’s days a blessing was in the dough, and the lamp burned in her tent from one Sabbath eve to the next, but they ceased upon her death; when Rebekah came, they returned. Isaac saw that Rebekah acted in the same manner as had his mother: she kneaded dough in purity and set aside her hallah in purity. Immediately (v. 67) “Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah” (Gen. Rabbah 60:16).

These midrashic expositions stress the close similarity between Sarah and Rebekah. The commandments that are mentioned-hallah and the kindling of the Sabbath light-are commandments reserved for women. Isaac sought in a wife the specific traits that would remind him of his mother and her righteousness. Even though he himself did not select Rebekah, she was the suitable wife for him, because her actions were like those of his mother. Thereby goes the true saying that a man often looks for a second mother in a prospective wife.

In our midrash last week we mentioned about Sarah's two abductions being as Jerusalem's Babylonian and Roman exiles. We spoke of Isaac's climbing Mt Moriah to certain death and resurrection (which happened as in the parable (see last week's newsletter)) foreshadowing Messiah's climb to certain death on Mt Golgotha, death from which He resurrected. Also, just as after the binding of Isaac, Sarah dies, after Yeshua's crucifixion, Jerusalem dies under Rome's attacks.

In our text this week, Isaac disappears from the narrative. After the episode on Mt Moriah, he only reappears when he meets Rivka as she arrives with Eliezer. The sages asked, "Where was Isaac all this time?" Some sages boldly assumed hat after the binding on Mt Moriah, Isaac went to Hashem to get healed of his wounds and to learn Torah. I don't know if that's true, but I do believe that Isaac foreshadowed our Master, who after the crucifixion went on to sit at Hashem's right, and that He will come back at the time appointed by His Father to marry His bride (Rev 19) who will have been challenged to come out of Babylon (Rev 18:1-5). As Sarah's tent (Jerusalem) revives when Rivka, the wife of the dead and resurrected son of Abraham moves in, Jerusalem at the end of days will again fulfill its destiny as our Master returns also to marry His bride, a bride who does not go and live in a different 'house', practicing a different 'religion', in a different lifestyle, but one who fully occupies our Jewish mother Sarah's tent and shoes.

MAY WE,
THE CONGREGATIONS THAT ARE CALLED THE 'BRIDE'
LIVE IN SARAH'S TENT AND SHOES.
LIKE RIVKA,
MAY WE ALSO ANSWER THE CALL
TO LEAVE THE
SELFISHNESS,
PRIDE,
ARROGANCE,
VIOLENCE,
AND HATRED OF BABYLON,
AND LIVE IN THE SAME
VIRTUE,
HUMILITY,
ALTRUISM,
FAITHFULNESS,
HOSPITALITY,
AND LOVE
AS SARAH OUR MOTHER.

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PAR'SHAT VAYERA: Torah Ethics of Father Abraham p2

11/18/2016

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ירא אליו יהוה באלני ממרא והוא ישׁב פתח־האהל כחם היום׃

וישׂא עיניו וירא והנה שׁלשׁה אנשׁים נצבים עליו וירא וירץ לקראתם מפתח האהל וישׁתחו ארצה׃

Adonai appeared to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance to the tent during the heat of the day. He raised his eyes and looked, and there in front of him stood three men. On seeing them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, prostrated himself on the ground,
(Gen 18:1-2 CJB)

Our Rabbi, Teacher, Master, and Redeemer Yeshua taught his disciples in these word, "If you are children of Avraham, then do the things Avraham did! Joh 8:39. In essence, 'The proof is in the pudding!' He said. Those of us who claim descendance from Abraham, be it biological or grafted in, need to honor that descendance by doing what Yeshua coined as 'the things Avraham did.', or in Hebrew, ' אברהם כמעשי עשיתם' do after the deeds/actions/works of Avraham.'

In this part 2, let us then take more time to study these things that Avraham did. How did he handle the intense trials that Hashem allowed to go through?

First, let us go again through the enumeration of the ten trials of our Father Avraham this timeת in chronological order..

In part one we talked about:

1. The call from his homeland
2. The famine in Cana'an
3. The abduction of Sarah in Egypt
4. The war with the four kings
5. The long wait for a son and his marriage to Hagar
6. The exile of Hagar after she gave birth
7. The commandment of circumcision

Now we will go over the last three ones.

8. The abduction of Sarah by Abimelech.
9. The exile of Ishmael
10. The sacrifice of Isaac

8. The abduction of Sarah by Abimelech
I want to reiterate again what we talked about last week about the idea that Abraham seemed to have lied to protect himself and also mention about the idea of Sarah’s Tent. Here is what the Midrash says about it,

“All the days in which Sarah lived, there was a cloud attached to the entrance of her tent. Since she died, the cloud ceased; and when Rebecca came, the cloud returned. All the days in which Sarah lived, the doors of the entrance [to her tent] were open to the wind (ruah).... And all the days in which Sarah lived, there was a blessing sent through the dough [with which she baked].... All the days in which Sarah lived, there was a light burning from one Shabbat evening to the next Shabbat evening....” (
Genesis Rabbah 80:16 on Genesis 24:67).

These characteristics of Sarah’s (and later Rebecca’s) tent are parallel to the characteristics of the Tabernacle and Temple. Sarah’s bread is like the shewbread, the light burning from Shabbat to Shabbat prefigures the Menorah, and the wind resembles the Holy Spirit, ruach hakodesh. In particular, the cloud mentioned in the midrash alludes to the cloud of the Shekhinah, the personified aspect of God that is imminent.

Here is more about the idea of Mishkan/The Sanctuary/The temple.
In Hebrew the word mishkan is: משכן

The Aftara for this week is: 2 Kings 4:1-37 in which is embedded the story of the Shunamite woman who practiced hospitality towards Elisha the Prophet of God.

Verse 10 in English says,
Please, let's build him a little room on the roof. We'll put a bed and a tablein it for him, and a stool and a candlestick, then, whenever he comes to visit us, he can stay there."
Here it is in Hebrew .
נעשׂה־נא עלית־קיר קטנה ונשׂים לו שׁם מטה ושׁלחן וכסא ומנורה והיה בבאו אלינו יסור שׁמה׃
(2Ki 4:10 CJB)

(The word candlestick in Hebrew is נר starting with a nun. The text in the verse uses מנורה which means lamp in general, but we know that in those days there was no electricity so, a lamp was actually a candlestick).

Thus, we find the word Mishkan in the things we provide when we practice hospitality,.

The sages therefore have concluded that, having guests is more important than speaking to God, a statement that reminds us of Yeshua’s statement, ‘he who has done it to the least of these my brothers has done it unto me!’

IF THEN SARAH’S TENT REPRESENTS THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM, THEN HER TWICE ABDUCTIONS REPRESENT THE TWO EXILES OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, FIRST BY BABYLON, THEN BY THE ROMANS, WHICH IS THE CURRENT EXILE.

The idea of sages that, having guests is more important than speaking to God, is also reflected in Gen 18. In that text Avraham, a rich desert Sheik endowed with servants, sees 3 people coming to him, we are told that he ran towards them and that he himself took care of them in every way. Avraham’s dedication to serve is even more accentuated when we realize that the first 18:1 means that he was at the height of the fever due to his circumcision.

The midrash also tells us that Abraham used to send send his servant Eliezer by the by the byways to ‘compel’ people to come to his table where after serving them in abundance he would tell the people where this abundance came from.

AFTER THIS WE HAVE THE BIRTH OF ISAAC.

9. The exile of Ishmael
Avraham did not want to let go of Ishmael. It was his son. But he did it anyways. Maybe this was a preparatory test for what was to come through Isaac, the son of promise. Sending Ismael away was again cutting off any hope that the promise would be fulfilled.

Basically what we see in Avraham is that he received a promise but then all the instructions he received from Hashem seemed to go completely against the fulfillment of that promise. That is what faith is!

When Sarah complained to Avraham about Hagar’s attitude, he may have told her, “Hey, this was your idea to start with!” When going to Hashem, he was told, “Listen to everything Sarah says to you, because it is your descendants through Yitz'chak who will be counted.

10. The sacrifice of Isaac
In Genesis 22 we read about the binding of Isaac on the altar or the Akeida. What was the background of it? Gen 12:1-3: A yet unfulfilled promise.

Now Adonai said to Avram, "Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Gen 12:1-3 CJB)

Let’s read the text:
After these things, God tested Avraham. He said to him, "Avraham!" and he answered, "Here I am." He said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz'chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you." Avraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, together with Yitz'chak his son. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, departed and went toward the place God had told him about. On the third day, Avraham raised his eyes and saw the place in the distance. Avraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go there, worship and return to you." Avraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Yitz'chak his son. Then he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they both went on together. Yitz'chak spoke to Avraham his father: "My father?" He answered, "Here I am, my son." He said, "I see the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Avraham replied, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son"; and they both went on together. They came to the place God had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz'chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood. (Gen 22:1-9 CJB)

The Brit tells us much about this.
By trusting, Avraham, when he was put to the test, offered up Yitz'chak as a sacrifice. Yes, he offered up his only son, he who had received the promises, to whom it had been said, "What is called your 'seed' will be in Yitz'chak." For he had concluded that God could even raise people from the dead! And, figuratively speaking, he did so receive him. (Heb 11:17-19 CJB)

In verse 19, the original Greek word for ‘figuratively’ is ‘paraboley’ or ‘parable’. Thus verse can be read, For he had concluded that God could even raise him from the dead! And, he did as in the parable.

Here is the parable:
Rabbi Judah said: When the sword reached his neck, Isaac’s soul fled and left his body. But, when the Lord caused His voice to be heard from between the two cherubs saying, “Do not stretch out your hand against the child and do not do anything at all to him,” his soul returned to his body and Isaac stood up on his feet. Isaac knew that this is how the dead will be resurrected, and so he opened [his mouth] and said, “Blessed are You, ‘Adonay, Who resurrects the dead.” (Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 30 [in some translations, chapter 31]):

In essence, Heb 11:19 tells us that being faced with the impossible dilemma of Hashem asking him to kill the one though whom all the promises stood, Abraham took a very pragmatic decision saying, 'Well, if I am to kill Isaac, that means that Hashem will raise him up. It's just that simple!" Just like ours today, Abraham's faith was in the Resurrected Son!

Isaac was not a child. He was a young man. Some say he was 37 years old. He knew exactly what he was doing and was willing.

As Yeshua carrying wood on his back willingly climbed Mount Golgotha to what was a certain death, Isaac also carrying wood climbed Mount Moryah to what was a certain death.

They both had the option of to not do it but both said to their father, Not my will but your be done.

The Aftara for this week is: 2 Kings 4:1-37 in which is embedded the story of the Shunamite woman. This is a story that is very similar to the story of Isaac’s miraculous birth, 'figurative' death and resurrection. This why it has been chosen as the parasha.

MAY WE AS YESHUA CHALLENGES US TO,
AS CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM,
DO THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM,
AND ALSO SAY EACH AND EVERY DAY AS WE AWAKE,
IN ALL WAYS AND IN ALL THINGS
WITHOUT COUNTING,
WHETHER WE SEE OR RECEIVE THE FULFILLMENT OF DIVINE PROMISES SAY TO HASHEM:
‘NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS BE DONE!’

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PAR'SHAT LECH LECHA: The Torah Ethics of Father Abraham

11/11/2016

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ויעתק משׁם ההרה מקדם לבית־אל ויט אהלה
He left that place, went to the hill east of Beit-El and pitched his tent.
(Gen 12:8 CJB)

The English in this text reads 'his tents', because it refers to Abraham's tents. But when looking at the Hebrew text we notice that though the text refers to Abraham, the possessive suffix at the end of the word 'tent אהל,' is written as 'o'elah אהלה thus saying: 'her tent' in the feminine singular.
The Midrash (a Jewish book of biblical commentaries) comments that this teaches us that Abraham first pitched the tent of his wife, and then his own. From there we we see that when a husband needs to do something for himself and for his wife, he should take care of his wife's needs first.

The sages have encapsulated Abraham's life in what is called 'THE TEN TRIALS OF ABRAHAM.' These trials were not trials having to do with physical strength, endurance through suffering, neither were they about personal wit, religious practice, correct doctrine, or spirituality. These tests were the same type of tests each and everyone of us goes though each day. These were tests of ethical integrity and virtue.

Our Rabbi, Teacher, Master, and Redeemer Yeshua taught his disciples in these word, "If you are children of Avraham, then do the things Avraham did! Joh 8:39. In essence, 'The proof is in the pudding!' He said. Those of us who claim descendance from Abraham, be it biological or grafted in, need to honor that descendance by doing what Yeshua coined as 'the things Avraham did.', or in Hebrew, ' אברהם כמעשי עשיתם' do after the deeds/actions/works of Avraham.'
Let us then take the time to study these things that Avraham did. How did he handle the intense trials that Hashem allowed to go through?
First, let us go through the enumeration of the ten trials of our Father Avraham:

1. The call from his homeland
2. The famine in Cana'an
3. The abduction of Sarah in Egypt
4. The war with the four kings
5. The long wait for a son and his marriage to Hagar
6. The commandment of circumcision
7. The abduction of Sarah by Abimelech
8. The exile of Hagar after she gave birth
9. The exile of Ishmael
10. The sacrifice of Isaac

In my book, what made Avraham so great in not necessarily his connection with Hashem nor his loyalty and obedience. Many believers are, and have been tested with as great if not greater demands from Hashem, but we and they all had Avraham to look back upon for inspiration. Abraham on the other hand was the first. Unlike us, he did not have a reference point. That is why he is often called 'The Father of faith. Like a pioneer in uncharted territory, He blazed the trail for us.

1. The call from his land

We learn a lot about Avraham from he Letter to the Hebrews. It says,

By trusting, Avraham obeyed, after being called to go out to a place which God would give him as a possession; indeed, he went out without knowing where he was going. By trusting, he lived as a temporary resident in the Land of the promise, as if it were not his, staying in tents with Yitz'chak and Ya`akov, who were to receive what was promised along with him. For he was looking forward to the city with permanent foundations, of which the architect and builder is God. By trusting, he received potency to father a child, even when he was past the age for it, as was Sarah herself; because he regarded the One who had made the promise as trustworthy. Therefore this one man, who was virtually dead, fathered descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and as countless as the grains of the sand on the seashore. All these people kept on trusting until they died, without receiving what had been promised. They had only seen it and welcomed it from a distance, while acknowledging that they were aliens and temporary residents on the earth. For people who speak this way make it clear that they are looking for a fatherland. Now if they were to keep recalling the one they left, they would have an opportunity to return; but as it is, they aspire to a better fatherland, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By trusting, Avraham, when he was put to the test, of ered up Yitz'chak as a sacrifice. Yes, he of ered up his only son, he who had received the promises, to whom it had been said, "What is called your 'seed' will be in Yitz'chak." For he had concluded that God could even raise people from the dead! And, figuratively speaking, he did so receive him. (Heb 11:8-19 CJB)

Teaching along the same lines Yeshua said,
Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times more, and he will obtain eternal life. (Mat 19:29 CJB)

Another version of Mat 10:29 says,
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life besides, he cannot be my talmid." Luk 14:26

These verses have often caused people to think that it is OK to prioritize religious activities over family responsibilities. I have seen, and still see today families broken due to this erroneous understanding of Yeshua's statement and of Avraham's actions. It is not about one replacing the other, but about stating that our for Hashem is so great that by comparison the love we have for our families pales.

In truth, taking proper responsibility for our families is one of the greatest and proof testimony and application of our love for Hashem . Leaving home and family may seem to many today as a freedom statement, but in the days of Avraham people lived in a tribal society, several generations under the same roof. People just didn't get up and leave home.

Let's now look at what Avraham's motivations may have or not have been

1. LEAVING HIS HOME
Avraham leaving was

not the result of an attempts to independence
nor of acrimonious relations with his family.

Even with his new belief and discovery of Hashem, Avraham stayed many years subject to his family fulfilling his family obligations. He was subject to Hashem's will and did not try to do things on his own. In the same manner, Our new-found faith and understanding of the Bible should not cause family break-ups.

Yeshua did say that family divisions would be caused due to our discipling to him, but this division does not have to end up in break ups; if it does, we should be able to come to the Father and said that we have gone to the 'nth degree of humility and submission in ordered to ensure that it would not happen.

As an example to Hashem’s ways about this, we as humanity have a broken relationship with the Father, but He took upon Himself the blame and payment of our transgressions in the figure of Mashiach in order to preserve the relationship. Yeshua said by doing so: Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Mat 5:48

2. THE FAMINE IN CANA'AN
When Abraham arrived in Cana'an, the land was occupied. He did not force his stay thinking, "I got a revelation straight from God that me and my children should inhabitant this land." He believed the Word, but he waited on his God to fulfill it.

Paul said, for God is the one working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases him. Php 2:13

It's like Murphy's law. Everything that could go wrong went wrong: the land was occupied, and a famine struck. Avraham didn't doubt his message because, the message he received was real, not an emotional premonition based on wishful thinking. Only something real like that can provoke this kind of faith. Avraham did not blame God but was entirely subjected to the doings of the Almighty.

3. THE ABDUCTION OF SARAH IN EGYPT
In Egypt, his plan to conceal the true nature of his relationship with Sarah in order to protect his life went awry We may be quick to blame Abraham for a big mistake and a sort of lie.

As a side note, we should be careful before condemning the fathers. The Torah forbids speaking evil of the leaders of our people. Also, they are not there to defend themselves so the judgment is made in absentia. We are not in their shoes so we cannot exactly judge. What would WE have done in the same situation? Probably worse. We must also remember that it is by Avraham's virtue and ways that we inherit Messiah, so somehow, what Hashem has called clean, may we not be found to call unclean. Sometimes we just don't fully understand a situation, and most of the time, it is none of our business to judge.

Avraham actually wisely weighed the situation Hashem had given him no other resources but Egypt He would be killed for his wife. For Pharaoh, adultery was very big sin, so they got around it by killing a husband in order to steal his wife, because murder was not a big deal.

But Abraham estimated that murder is worse than lying, and that the weight of his death and of the covenant God made with him was more serious of a sin than the lie to protect it. Even Yeshua spoke of lesser and weightier commandments. Abraham also had more respect for the covenant than for his own righteousness.

THE QUARREL WITH LOT
Lot was selfish and mean to his uncle who had helped him make something of himself But Abraham didn't retaliate; he let Lot have first choice, even though again, the land was his by divine right.

The Master and Paul taught along the same lines:
But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too! If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well! And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two! When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him. (Mat 5:39-42 CJB)

How dare one of you with a complaint against another go to court before pagan judges and not before God's people? Don't you know that God's people are going to judge the universe? If you are going to judge the universe, are you incompetent to judge these minor matters? Don't you know that we will judge angels, not to mention af airs of everyday life? So if you require judgments about matters of everyday life, why do you put them in front of men who have no standing in the Messianic Community? I say, shame on you! Can it be that there isn't one person among you wise enough to be able to settle a dispute between brothers? Instead, a brother brings a lawsuit against another brother, and that before unbelievers! Actually, if you are bringing lawsuits against each other, it is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? (1Co 6:1-7 CJB)

Talmud: "The disciples of Abraham our father are generous, poor in spirit, and humble." m.Avot 5:19 4.

4. COURAGEOUS LOYALTY/THE WAR WITH THE FOUR KINGS
After being cheated and wronged by Lot, Abraham still went to rescue him Abraham not only freed his nephew but also all the Sodomites He refused to take anything from the loot It was an act of total random selflessness. Because of these acts, Hashem continued blessing Abraham and confirmed His covenant with him.

5. BUILDING A FAMILY The world In Abraham's days accepted polygamy. Seeing his wife barren and as an obstacle to the great divine covenant, Abraham passed the test in choosing to remain with Sarah The Hagar idea was Sarah's It may seem a strange idea to us, but it is very close to today's idea of surrogate mothers artificially inseminated Sarah wanted a baby; she had no choice in her barrenness; unlike many women who today chose to not have children or wait till their 30's, thus not giving the best of their strength and years to their children, but keeping it for themselves.

Abraham and Sarah loved each other and they both were willing to sacrifice to great length in order to see the covenant fulfilled. It is commendable for Sarah, Hagar, and Abraham who loved Sarah.

6. CIRCUMCISION
I may not need to emphasize how a man circumcising himself at over one hundred years old may be a test. Try it with the same means Abraham had and no anesthetics. Suffice it to say it is then that Adonai, accompanied with two angels came came to visit him. 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 expression ,'... during the heat of the day' is usually understood as ' at the height of the post-circumcision fever.'

IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN LEARN FROM THE ACTS OF FATHER AVRAHAM?

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PAR'SHAT NOACH: We should not judge people or situations without proper investigation.

11/4/2016

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וירד יהוה לראת את־העיר ואת־המגדל אשׁר בנו בני האדם׃

Adonai came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
(Gen 11:5 CJB)

WE SHOULD NOT JUDGE PEOPLE OR SITUATIONS WITHOUT PROPER INVESTIGATION

Did Hashem really need to come down to check the situation?
Didn't he already know what was happening?

In Midrash Tanchuma Rashi suggests that Hashem did not actually need to come down to view the tower built by the people. Rashi then suggests that the Almighty did so in order to teach us all a very valuable lesson: not to condemn people or give a definitive assessment of a situation until we investigate and understand the entire situation. We are all judges. We all feel that it is our business to judge others, even when it is really none of our business. Particularly in the matter of religion, theology, and even now, politics, we are quick to judge people on the basis of hearsay or circumstantial evidence. The thing is that in a court of law, there is no room for hearsay nor even for circumstantial evidence. Therefore according to what we talked about last week, 'viewing people as Hashem's Image', we should view a person favorably unless we have carefully investigated the matter and have established beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is guilty of the charges against him. Also, we must be sure that our judgment is not corrupted by personal bias, personal interests also called 'bribes', opinions, etc...

The famous Jewish book on ethics Pirkey Avot advises us,
'Do not judge not your fellow until you've reached his place (walked in his shoes). Pirkey Avot 2:5
'Judge everyone favorably' Pirkey Avot 1:6

In many ways, sometimes we assign to ourselves the business of drawing judgement on people and situations even when we lack the elements that allow us to do so. We go by hearsay, gossip, Internet posts, someone else's bias opinion, or even our own so called 'gut-feeling'. As such, we often render to ourselves judgments about others based on partial, incomplete, or bias data.

If we make is our business to judge, and very often it is none of our business, like Hashem we must take the time to approach the situation and see it close-up.
Here is a little anecdote to illustrate the point.
'When Rabbi Zechariah, the son-in-law of Rabbi Levi was alive, people grumbled against him. They claimed that he begged money although he didn't really need to. After he died however, it was discovered that he had always distributed the money to the poor.' (Yerushalmi Paiah 8:8)

This Rabbi seemed to in fact practice the saying of our Master concerning discretion when practicing charity:
But you, when you do tzedakah, don't even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (Mat 6:3)

In this day and age, through social media, it is so easy to make harsh accusations against others anonymously or from afar without coming closer to the situation as Hashem did in the case of checking the what was going on in Babel. The conversation also is most toxic when it concerns politics, and sad to say, religion, when we seem to forget the Torah's injunctions to treat people remembering that they are made in Hashem's Image; that it wrong to shame people publicly; as well as to be ignoring Master's injunction concerning disputes and disagreements,
"Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault -- but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.(Mat 18:15 CJB)

More often than not, based on faulty, biased, and incomplete information, we draw the quick conclusions that our brother trespassed against us, when we are the one trespassing against him by not applying this wise Torah-based advice from our Master. It would behoove us to always properly check the situation or the validation of other's accusations before we agree with them.

We in fact need to remember the Master's injunction that we will be judged with the same measure that we use to judge others. Whether we judge other others using bias, incomplete, invalid, gossipy information; solely by their own merits or lack of them; by the merits of Yeshua and the way He sees them; so we will be judged.
"For the way you judge others is how you will be judged -- the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure to you. (Mat 7:2).

A congregation leader I know was swamped with people accusing each other of 'non-kosher' behavior, actions, and attitudes. He himself was close to his flock and as a result was privy to the particulars of each family. He was familiar with each of their situations. This wise congregation leader therefore decided to implement a rule that whoever had an accusation to bring against another had to first take the time to get to know them personally for 90 to 120 days. As people got to know each other better, the accusations dramatically decreased.

On the issues of publicly 'shaming others' and acting/judging on the basis of incomplete, bias, and in this case wrong ignorant data, we have a very good object lesson about it in this week's parasha. Here is our text,

Noach, a farmer, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank so much of the wine that he got drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. Ham, the father of Kena`an, saw his father shamefully exposed, went out and told his two brothers. Shem and Yefet took a cloak, put it over both their shoulders, and, walking backward, went in and covered their naked father. Their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father lying there shamefully exposed. When Noach awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him. He said, "Cursed be Kena`an; he will be a servant of servants to his brothers." Then he said, "Blessed be Adonai, the God of Shem; Kena`an will be their servant. May God enlarge Yefet; he will live in the tents of Shem, but Kena`an will be their servant."
(Gen 9:20-27 CJB)

People often use this text to accuse Ham of homosexuality, but the text makes absolutely no mention of it. This accusation is actually quite anachronistic, based upon reading the text with the lens of today's culture and not according to its own. As a result, I remember hearing preachers teach that the descendance of Ham that mostly ended up in Africa (Genesis 10: 6-7), has a particular propensity towards homosexuality. This reasoning can be easily countered by looking at the mores and history of the great empires of the West (Japheth's descendants) who greatly indulged in that sin. Not so long ago, and sad to say even till today, people justified enslaving the blacks because of a so-called curse put upon Ham by Noah. The truth again is that the curse was not put on Ham, but on Cana'an, one of the sons of Ham. This curse found its fulfillment when the Children of Israel who were former slaves of Egypt, the descendants of Mizrayim who was Cana'an's brother (Gen 10), subjugated the Cana'anites who then became the 'servant of servants.' This shows us how people again have drawn very serious conclusion about other people using faulty, incomplete, and in this case, erroneous data. Why did they do it? Because it was already in them to do it. It is the belief of this writer that, 'Lie' has no power on he who is hungry to stay anchored on 'truth'.

"How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness! for they will be filled. Mat 5:6
"Keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Mat 7:7

Jewish teachers teach that the sin of Ham was that his first reaction when he saw his father's compromising and vulnerable situation. was to publicize it to his brothers. Why did he do it? Your guess is as good as mine, but the text tells us of the diametrically opposite reaction of Shem and Japhet who not wanting to even see their father, actually walked backward and covered his indiscretion. King Solomon teaches us about that in,
Hate stirs up disputes, but love covers all kinds of transgressions. (Pro 10:12 CJB)
He who conceals an offense promotes love, but he who harps on it can separate even close friends. (Pro 17:9 CJB)

MAY WE LEARN TO ACT THE SAME WAY WITH EACH OTHER.
MAY WE LIKE HASHEM COME CLOSE TO A SITUATION IN ORDER TO ASSESS IT ACCORDING TO ITS OWN MERIT.
WHEN WE FIND FAULT IN OUR BROTHER BE QUICKER TO COVER IT THAN TO PUBLICIZE IT.

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PAR'SHAT CHAYEI SARAH: Ethics of the Mothers.

PAR'SHAT VAYERA: Torah Ethics of Father Abraham p2

PAR'SHAT LECH LECHA: The Torah Ethics of Father Abraham

PAR'SHAT NOACH: We should not judge people or situations without proper investigation.

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