Written by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis
(based on a derasha from
HaGaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita,
Ravad of Yerushalayim
Leil Shabbos)
Good Advice
"Hashem appeared to Avraham Avinu in the land of Mamre" (Bereshis 18,1)." “Mamre advised Avraham Avinu to perform the bris milah. Therefore Hashem revealed Himself to Avraham in his land." (Rashi 18,1).
Rashi's words beg an explanation; since the Almighty had already commanded Avraham Avinu to perform bris milah, why then did Avraham need to ask advice? The answer to this question is that although Hashem had commanded him to perform bris milah, He had not told him the details of how to do it. Avraham consulted Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre regarding exactly how the bris should be done.
The Medrash explains that Aner advised Avraham not to do the bris at all. Avraham was 100-years-old, and if people heard that Hashem requires hundred-year-old men to carry out such dangerous procedures, they would definitely not be interested in having any part of such a religion. Notwithstanding God's express command, Aner told Avraham to pass up the mitzvah.
Eshkol, on the other hand, said that if Hashem told Avraham to perform milah, he must do it. However, Eshkol sympathized with Aner's concerns, and advised Avraham to do the milah in the privacy of his own home. This way no one would hear about it, and no one would look down on Avraham’s beliefs.
Mamre took a different stand. He told Avraham that if Hashem commanded Avraham to do the milah, there was absolutely no need to cover up the performance of this mitzvah. He should do the mitzvah openly and thereby publicly sanctify G-d's name. Avraham heeded Mamre's advice, and for this reason performed the bris in his land.
The three different approaches of Aner, Eshkol and Mamre represent three views that Jewish leaders have adopted throughout history. Some prominent leaders of recent times decided that Torah observance was not compatible with living in the modern world. They advocated the creation of a Jewish state that had no connection to mitzvah observance.
Other modern Jewish leaders maintained that the Torah represents Hashem's will in this world and therefore must be observed. However, in order to be accepted by the world at large, they suggested that a Jew should observe the Torah in the privacy of his home, while integrating into gentile society in the public arena. This “progressive” outlook also does not represent the Torah view.
Even in the most difficult epochs of modern times, we have been privileged to great Jewish leaders who have adopted the third and correct view. The Chasam Sofer, Brisker Rav, and Chazon Ish were just a few of the many manhigim of Klal Yisrael who believed that we must proudly observe the Torah in all times and all places, and not concede even an inch to those who want to change its form. They were students of Mamre, who maintained that one must be proud to be a Jew and perform Hashem's express commands openly and publicly, regardless of what the rest of the world thinks.
In Europe during the years leading up to the Second World War, the first and second shitos were prevalent. Some Jews disregarded mitzvah observance altogether, while others kept a modicum of observance yet proclaimed that it was a chilul Hashem for a Jew to walk around with a kipa and a beard. The Almighty showed us what happens when we abandon the proper path, with the death of six million Jews in the Holocaust.
Every Jew faces the challenge today to discard or hide their Judaism, or to keep every mitzvah in the Torah under any circumstances. We must all follow in the footsteps of Avraham Avinu who performed the mitzvos openly and did not care what the rest of the world thought of him. This is the will of Hashem who gave us the Torah to be "a light amongst the nations."
Kindness vs. Cruelty
Avraham Avinu was chesed par excellence. When guests showed up after his bris milah, though he was still weak and pained from his operation, he served food fit for a king to guests who on the surface appeared to be three lowly idol worshipers. Even though the third day after the milah is the most painful, Avraham Avinu personally took care of all of their needs.
On the other hand when Avraham Avinu saw that Yishmael was a negative influence on Yitzchak, he literally threw him out of the house. Although Yishmael was burning with fever, Avraham immediately sent him and his mother off with a little bread and a flask of water. How can we reconcile Avraham's boundless chesed with his harsh dismissal of his elder son?
Although Avraham was a baal chesed¸ he was not blinded by this attribute. Rashi explains that Yishamel was simultaneously worshiping idols, murdering, and acting immorally. When Avraham saw that his son Yitzchak, who would be the progenitor of Klal Yisrael, was in danger of being influenced negatively by Yishmael, he did not hesitate to squash his generous nature, and take action to summarily dispatch Yishmael from his household.
In today's world, where negative influences are rampant and at times the danger is not readily apparent, we must learn from Avraham Avinu that when it comes to the chinuch of our children we should take no chance. Compromise and “kindness” in this area are really cruelty to our children. If we see them getting involved with the wrong friends or showing interest in the secular media, we must immediately remove these dangers from our midst. Only then will we have siyata dishmaya and see them head on the proper path.
Good Natures
Both Avraham Avinu and Lot practiced chesed. Yet while Avraham never compromised on any Torah law, Lot was willing to sacrifice the virtue of his two daughters in order to maintain his chesed. How did Lot go so terribly wrong?
Avraham and Lot were both good-natured individuals. Yet Avraham was in complete control of his nature, and he could go against it at will. Meanwhile, Lot's uncontrolled giving nature drove him to commit the most perverse acts.
The huge difference between the chesed of Avraham and the chesed of Lot can be seen from the following story about Rav Yoshe Ber Soleveitchik, the Beis HaLevi. While in Brisk the Beis HaLevi would wear the garb of a Rav. When the Beis HaLevi would travel outside of Brisk, he would wear normal clothes so that he would pass as an ordinary Jew and not receive honor for his Torah knowledge.
On one occasion the Beis HaLevi arrived at an inn that was crowded with guests. The innkeeper did not recognize the Beis HaLevi and told him that he could only offer him humble lodgings in the storage room. With no other choice, the Beis HaLevi agreed.
Half an hour after the Beis HaLevi had gone to his “room,” there was a tremendous uproar in the inn. When the Beis HaLevi went to find out what was going on, he saw that a well-known Chasidic Rebbe had arrived at the inn. The innkeeper immediately "discovered" that one of his well-appointed rooms was actually vacant, and was proudly escorting the Rebbe to his gracious lodging.
When the Rebbe saw the Beis HaLevi, he greeted him with great honor. The innkeeper then realized that his “regular” guest was no less than a world-famous Gadol. He apologized profusely that he had not afforded the Beis HaLevi the honor that he deserved.
In the stories brought in Chumash, both Avraham and Lot treated their guests with great respect and kindness. Yet Avraham thought that he was seeing to the needs of three insignificant wayfarers, and still treated them like kings. Meanwhile Lot's excessive generosity stemmed from his recognition that his guests were melachim.
G-d Fearing
After Avraham showed his willingness to sacrifice his son, Yitzchak, Hashem responded, "Now I know that you are G-d fearing." Avraham had already overcome nine major nisyonos and seemingly had already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he feared the Almighty. Yet showing readiness to perform an act which went completely against his gentle nature, showed that Avraham was motivated solely by fear of Hashem.
The Zohar speaks in great praise of Avraham's success in standing up to the nisayon of the Akeidah. Yet seemingly Yitzchak's actions were equally great. Yitzchak made sure his father tied his hands so that there would not be any question of the kashrus of the korban. Why does the Zohar consider Avraham the greater half of this act?
Avraham, as the paradigm of chesed, had to overcome his good nature to sacrifice his son. Although Yitzchak was willing to give his life to fulfill Hashem's will, he was by nature inclined to strictly follow the letter of the law, while Avraham had to transcend the compassion that imbued everything he ever did in his whole life. For this reason, Avraham's act was considered even greater than Yitzchak's.
The Torah writes that Avraham Avinu woke up early to perform the Akeidah. The Brisker Rav points out that Avraham slept well that night. On the eve of the morning when he would slaughter his cherished son, Avraham slept soundly with complete peace of mind. He was not nervous, but looked forward to the next morning as a chance to fulfill the will of the Almighty, just like any other day.
Akeidas Yitzchak went in the face of everything that Avraham Avinu stood for. Had Avraham dwelled on thoughts about what the rest of the world would think about his actions, he would never have performed the Akeidah. His monumental willingness to nullify his own self before Hashem’s will has served as a lesson for Jews in every generation.
In today’s complex and confusing world, we have more opportunities than ever to stand up for the truth, to reject falsehood and to ignore what the rest of the world thinks of our decision. We are all Avraham’s children so let’s carry on his legacy by meeting this challenge today and every day.
(HaRav Shternbuch's shiurim on the parsha are being prepared to be published by Feldheim Publishers as a sefer entitled "Small Prophecies". For information about dedication opportunities contact dytravis@actcom.com.)
