The Weekly Shtikle - Lech Lecha

Unfortunately, Baltimore continues to reel from the loss of its great ones with the passing of R' Ezra Neuberger of Ner Yisroel this past Wednesday. I was the beneficiary of his wise counsel on a number of occasions. The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Ezra Dovid ben Naftali HaLevi, z"l.

When Avraham and his entourage go down to Mitzrayim at the beginning of the parsha, we are told of the famous ruse of Sarah posing as his sister. This is done "l'ma'an yitav li ba'avureich, v'chaysa nafshi biglaleich" (12:13), so that they will do good to me and I will live because of you. Rashi comments on "l'ma'an yitav li," that they will give him presents. There is a discussion amongst the commentaries as to how to understand this exchange. Specifically, how do we reconcile this with Avraham's refusal to accept even a shoelace from the king of Sedom later on the parsha (14:22-23), as well as the maxim from Mishlei (15:27) "he who spurns gifts shall live." In the past, I have quoted the creative approach of the Ta"Z in Divrei David to explain this episode. I will link it here but this time, I would like to explore a number of other approaches.

One element missing from Divrei David's explanation is the fact that Avraham does appear to take more gifts from Paroah as he is sent away. Sha'arei Aharon lays out a number of different innovative explanations. He quotes Imrei Shefer and Kli Yekar who explain simply that we know from Rashi (13:3) that Avraham had incurred debts on his way down to Mitzrayim. It would not have been proper for him to reject gifts at that point at the expense of his debtors. His financial standing was far better when he encountered the king of Sedom.

He brings another perspective from Imrei Shefer asserting that "soneh matanos yichyeh" is not applicable with regards to accepting gifts from gentiles. Avraham's reluctance to accept anything from the king of Sedom was due to his extreme wickedness. Netziv, in Ha'amek Davar explains similarly as to why rejected his gifts while accepting them from Paroah and later, Avimelech.

Maskil L'David suggests that in rejecting the offer Avraham was expressing his steadfast belief in HaShem's promise in the beginning of the parsha that he would become great and exalted. However, this guarantee was applicable only in Eretz Yisrael. While in a foreign land, he could not rely on this.

I would like to offer my own suggestion as to what differentiated Paroah from the king of Sedom. Avraham expressed quite clearly that he did not want the king of Sedom to lay claim to being the source of Avraham's wealth. This was of much greater concern with Avraham's proximity to Sedom. He was troubled with the potential disgrace of the king parading around saying, "See that guy over there? I made him rich!" With the relative distance of Mitzrayim, this issue did not bother him.

Finally, Sha'arei Aharon quotes a novel interpretation he heard directly from the Bobover Rebbe in the name of his father. He contends that "soneh matanos yichyeh" is applicable only when the one who offers the presents is doing so willfully. He urged Sarah to pose as his sister so that they would want, of their own volition, to offer him presents. However, he would reject these gifts, thereby actually fulfilling being a soneh matanos and thus, he will live because of her. To support this alternative understanding of the story, he quotes Targum Yonasan (12:16) who explains that Avraham amassed all of his animals and slaves on his own.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: King #5

Dikdukian: Vekoyei

AstroTorah: Quality not Quantity by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: The Uncountable Stars

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The Weekly Shtikle - Noach

The well-known story of Noach and the great deluge surely yields its fair share of lessons and themes. Recently, a new thought came to mind, another idea that may be gleaned from the general "big picture" of what transpires in this week's parsha. The main driving force behind this thought is a snippet from Rashi at the end of Bereishis (6:6). He tells of an exchange between a heretic and R' Yehoshua ben Karchah whereby the heretic questioned HaShem's omnipotence based on the pasuk recounting an expression of despair, as it were, at the regret of having created Man. R' Yehoshua successfully rebuts the challenge and explains that even though it was known from the very beginning that the creation of Man would lead to this tragic point in history, HaShem still created Man, nevertheless, for the purpose of the righteous ones who would ultimately emerge.

 

This phase of mankind was doomed from the start. However, there are two interesting points that stand out regarding its demise. It was still necessary for these 1656 years of history to take place. Even as the world was completely destroyed, it was also necessary for a remnant to survive and build the new world rather than a complete annihilation followed by Creation started anew. Perhaps a similar observation can be made regarding the first luchos given to Moshe which ultimately had to be smashed and a new set fashioned. Still, the broken pieces of the original stones were carried inside the aron.

 

A number of years ago, I attended a program which highlighted the success of Israeli companies that chose to create a presence in Maryland. One of the speakers, Lior Schillat, addressed the idea of Israel being known as "Startup Nation," and why so many successful startup businesses have emerged from Israel. Although he did not appear to be particularly religious, his first approach seemed to be pure Divine Providence. But he followed that up with another intriguing idea. He suggested that Israelis do not have a fear of failure. They are only able to ultimately reach success because they are not afraid to try new ventures which might appear to have a significant likelihood of falling flat. But those failures ultimately lead to great success. Indeed, one is hard-pressed to find a largely successful enterprise which is simply the result of a "first shot." Numerous contemporary secular works have been devote to the value, so to speak, of failure.

 

Perhaps this is a lesson to be extracted from the tragedy of the mabul. The failure and breakdown of society was a necessary phase of history to teach us the value of being able to embark on a venture and be willing to fail. And it was crucial for a surviving entity to spark the rebirth and rebuilding in order to impress upon us that past failures are only indeed of any value if we are able to take with us the lessons learned and build upon them.

 

*****

On the lighter side (since, as illustrated below, the teiva was quite heavy): A good friend of mine and noted author, Mordechai Bodek, wrote a homourous book called Extracts From Noah's Diary. Check it out!

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Al Pi Cheshbon: The Weight of the Teiva and The Constant Rate of Recession 
AstroTorah: Sailing the Friendly Skies by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: The World's First Boat?

AstroTorah: Interesting Calendrical Facts About the Mabul

Dikdukian: Noach's Three Sons

Dikdukian: Different Ways to Wake Up

Dikdukian: Take it Easy

Dikdukian: Geshem vs. Gashem

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The Weekly Shtikle - Bereishis

This coming Monday, 28 Tishrei, is the 24th yahrtzeit of my dear friend, Daniel Scarowsky, z"l. This week's shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Daniel Moshe Eliyahu ben Yitzchak.

This week started with so much joy – the release of the hostages followed by Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. But it was unfortunately met with the sorrow of the sudden passing of Rabbi Moshe Hauer, z"l. The loss is shocking and immeasurable for Baltimore, American Jewry and klal Yirsrael as a whole. I was fortunate enough to have had numerous personal interactions with Rabbi Hauer. The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Moshe Yisrael ben Binyamin. I will endeavour to quote Rabbi Hauer throughout the year when possible.

The following thought is from a piece published on All Parsha four years ago. Although it is a simple thought, it very much underscores how Rabbi Hauer observed the world and understood our role as the inhabitants of HaShem's world.

Rabbi Hauer explains that the very foundation of creation is HaShem bestowing goodness upon the world and upon us. There are six times over the course of creation that the word tov is used. Rabbi Hauer observed that there is a striking symmetry in kesuvim as we find six instances (five in Tehillim and one in Divrei HaYamim) of the pasuk, "Hodu laShem ki tov, ki l'olam chasdo." We are mirroring the good that HaShem has provided us with matching praise and gratitude.

To add to this, he points out that the last mention of tov is the culmination of the six days and declaration of the whole of creation as tov me'od (1:31). He suggests that this ultimate goodness is mirrored in the shir shel yom we recite on Shabbos which begins with the declaration (Tehillim 92:2) "tov l'hodos laShem." The ultimate goodness that we can affect in this world is to acknowledge and praise HaShem. Yehi zichro Baruch.

Have a good Shabbos.

 

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Do you Sea what I Sea

Dikdukian: And the Days Was
AstroTorah: Emunah in Time and Space

AstroTorah: The Two Luminaries

 

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

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The Weekly Shtikle - Shemini Atzeres / Simchas Torah

The Hoshanos ritual which is performed daily on Sukkos ends with a passage from Shelomoh HaMelech's prayer upon the completion of the beis hamikdash: (Melachim I 8:59-60) "May these words of mine, which I have supplicated before HaShem, be near to HaShem, our God, by day and by night; that He bring about justice for His servant and justice for His people, Israel, each day's need in its day..." On Shemini Atzeres, when we no longer perform the Hoshanos ritual, this passage appears once again in the haftarah.

There are some obvious and practical reasons for the inclusion of this passage but I would like to suggest another. The Mishnah (Rosh HaShanah 16a) states the virtually obvious, that we are all judged on Rosh HaShanah. However, the opinion of R' Yose in the gemara is that we are in fact judged every day. The pasuk which the gemara eventually determines is R' Yose's source, is the above quoted pasuk from Melachim.

The final seal of the judgement of Yom Kippur is said to stretch until Hoshana Rabba. As the intensity of the yemei hadin wanes, one might tend to feel that the judgement is "over." One might feel that we will not be judged again until the next Tishrei. This is certainly not the mindset with which we want to be leaving the great month of Tishrei. The repetition of this pasuk throughout Sukkos, and then one last time on Shemini Atzeres, drives home the message that Divine judgement is not something reserved only for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur but something we must be constantly aware of on a daily basis.

Have a good yom tov.

Eliezer Bulka

WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Come on, people!

Dikdukian: Do you sea what I sea

Dikdukian: And the Days Was

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

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The Weekly Shtikle - Sukkos

In reviewing my archives on Sukkos, I came across an observation from a number of years ago for which I have not received an explanation. There is an interesting discrepancy in the mitzvos we perform as part of the holidays of this month. First, we have the shofar on Rosh HaShanah. The Torah does not ever identify the shofar by name when talking about Rosh HaShanah. We are simply told it is a "yom teruah." However, in other contexts (matan Torah, yovel), the shofar is mentioned by name with no explanation as to what exactly it is. We are not told to blow the horn of a ram – except perhaps in Shemos (19:13, see Rashi), "bimshoch hayovel." But then it is not referred to as a shofar.

 

Conversely, when we are taught of the four species to be brought on Sukkos, the traditional names we use for them are not mentioned at all (with the exception of aravos.) We are not told to take an esrog, a lulav, hadassim, etc. Rather, we are told to take a pri eitz hadar, a palm branch, etc. The focus is placed on the actual source of the species or its very specific qualities, rather than simply naming them. 

 

So, we have a disparity in the focus of the various mitzvah objects we use during this month. This is contrasted with the laws of Pesach which are quite explicit in the Torah. I don't really have a definite direction on these thoughts – just want to put it out there for discussion. Perhaps the essence of the shofar is not necessarily its source (despite the ties to akeidas Yitzchak) but the sound it produces. This is evident in the berachah we make, as well as the halachah that one fulfills their obligation even with a stolen shofar (Rambam 1:3). With the four species, however, the source of the actual species is of great significance and defines their very essence.

 

Have a good yom tov.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Sukas Dovid Hanofeles

Al Pi Cheshbon: Number of bakashos in Ya'aleh veYavo

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

 

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