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Vayeira 5763 (2002)G-d Revealed Himself to You, How'd YouKnow It's Him? You're sitting in your room and meditating whenyou hear a voice. Is it the real thing? Is it anotherof your roommate's pranks? Or just your imagi-nation running wild? How to know?

People Knocking on my DoorThe mezuzah on our front door seems to act as abeacon that draws charity-seeking individuals toour door at all hours of the evening and night.Frankly, we are considering removing it!

Vayeira — Genesis 18:1-22:24G-d visits the sick, disguised angels eat breadand meat, Sodom is overturned, Lot gets drunk,Sarah laughs and gives birth, a truce is swornover seven sheep and a well, and a father and sonmeet the ultimate test of faith on a Jerusalemmountaintop

new materialadded daily!

The DoctorWhy do we go to a doctor?

Does a doctor give life?We go to the doctor because

we need to repair not just oursouls, not just our bodies, but ourworld as well. We have made aworld that brings sickness.

That same world must nowbring life.

This magazine contains sacred Torahmaterial. Please do not discard.

Said the Divine Attribute ofChessed (love): "As long asAbraham was around, there wasnothing for me to do, for he didmy work in my stead.".

(Sefer HaBahir)

Nine, Eleven and TenWhere have I heard the numbers 9/11 before? Thenit comes to me. In Sefer Yetzirah, the oldestKabbalistic text, a cryptic phrase states: Ten sefirotof nothingness; ten and not nine, ten and not eleven

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The ProbelmOne day, a rich and learned Jew came to one ofthe great European centers of Torah learning tosearch for a fitting match for his wise, pious andbeautiful daughter

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Parsha

We The FeetOne way to treat what ails the soul is through thehead -- talking through the problem. Many are nowrealizing, however, that starting at the other end ofthe body might be equally if not more effectivesefirot of nothingness; ten and not nine, ten and not

InnerDimensions

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You’re sitting in your room and meditating whenyou hear a voice (voice? vibe? thought wave?) say-ing, “Hi there! This is G-d. I’ve come to revealMyself to you!”

Is it the real thing? Is it another of your room-mate’s pranks? Or just your imagination runningwild? How to know?

Let me say from the onset that G-d never revealedHimself to me, at least not quite that way. So I’m notmuch of an authority on how to tell the real thing.All I can do is look at the numerous Divine revela-tions reported in the Torah and try to glean somegeneral pointers.

1) It usually doesn’t come out of the blue.Abraham first heard from G-d after 72 years ofsearching for the truth, finding it, devoting his life toit, and teaching it to the world. Moses first saw G-dat age 80 — that is, after 80 years of being Moses.And the greatest Divine revelation of all time (that’sthe one I was at, but I only have a hazy memory ofit), at which G-d revealed Himself on a mountaintopin the presence of the entire people of Israel and thesouls of all future generations — that came after 220years of G-dly living by the Patriarchs, 210 years ofrefinement in the “smelting pit” of Egyptian exile,and an intense 49-step process of spiritual advance-ment by the people during the seven weeks from theExodus to Sinai.

In the words of Maimonides: “Prophesy comesonly to a sage great in wisdom and powerful in char-acter; one whose desires never overpower him butrather always exercises the power of his mind overhis desires; and is possessive of an intellect that isbroad and true. A person who possesses all theseattributes, and who is whole in body, who enters intothe orchard of divine wisdom... sanctifies himself,and removes himself from the ways of the masseswho follow the frivolities of the times... and whosemind is forever directed Above, focused upon the

Divine Throne... and gazing upon the divine wis-dom... the divine spirit will come to rest upon him...”(Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah7:1).

Actually, the Chassidic masters maintain thatevery Divine revelation does come out of the blue —simply because it utterly transcends whatever“preparations” for it are made by the finite humanmind and heart. Still, in order for that “out of theblue” to happen, the recipient of the revelation mustfirst attain his or her utmost potential.

2) You’re told to do something. As a rule, when G-d speaks to people it is to give them a task. Andchances are that it’ll be a very, very difficult task. G-d appeared to Abraham to tell him to “go from yourland, your birthplace, and your father’s house” andfound the Jewish people — a task that required him“to be on one side, with the entire world on the otherside.” Moses’ vision at the burning bush was to sendhim to take the Children of Israel out of Egypt andlead them through the wilderness to the PromisedLand (Moses had the sense to turn down the job, andit took G-d seven days and seven nights of pleadingand threatening to get him to accept it). The Prophetswere spoken to so that they should take their veryunpopular message to the people — a task thatentailed the risk, and even the forfeit, of their lives.The revelation at Sinai was to give us the Torah —with its 613 commandments, thousands of by-lawsand directives, and millions of pages of (still grow-ing!) commentary.

[A notable exception seems to be the Divine rev-elation to Abraham recorded at the beginning of theParshah of Vayeira (Genesis 18:1): the Torah simplyrelates that “G-d revealed Himself to him” withoutstating the purpose of the visit. But our sages arequick to find numerous directives and instructions tobe learned from G-d’s visit, from the duty to visit thesick (Abraham was recuperating from his circumci-sion) to the greatness of hospitality (Abraham inter-rupted the visit to rush out and offer food and rest tothree passing Bedouin).]

In any case, in all the recorded cases of Divinerevelation, the person seems to have known that itwas G-d. So I guess that means that if you’re notsure it is, then it’s probably not.

Yanki Tauber, [email protected] is content editorof Chabad.org

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If G-d RevealedHimself to You,How'd You KnowIt's Him?

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9/11. Nine Eleven. September 11.Ruminating on the first anniversary of Tuesday

September 11, feeling the grief and trauma of myfellow New Yorkers as they and thousands of visi-tors solemnly gathered at Ground Zero, somethingrings a bell. Where have I heard the numbers nineand eleven before? It then comes to me. In the SeferYetzirah (Book of Formation), the oldest Kabbalistictext, attributed to the patriarch Abraham, a crypticphrase states: “Ten sefirot of nothingness; ten andnot nine, ten and not eleven.”

The ten sefirot (divine attributes) are the basicbuilding blocks — the spiritual DNA — of all ofexistence. Exactly ten. Not nine, not eleven. Exactlyten, not more, not less. Precision is critical to all sys-tems. One missing or extra point in a computer pro-gram, one deficient or additional cell, can wreakdevastating havoc.

9/11 is a day that shook up our entire system, aday that exposed our vulnerabilities and revealed thetenuousness of global stability. What is the missingingredient in 9/11 — the tenth dimension — thatmanifests the events unleashed one year ago onSeptember 11?

Yom Kippur — the tenth day — is that ingredient.Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the universe withthe human at the center. The following ten daysrebuild the structure of existence, culminating withYom Kippur, when Moses descends from Sinai withthe Second Tablets and the promise of hope evenafter destruction.

In Kabbalistic language this ten-day period iscalled binyan ha’malchut, the building of sovereign-ty. Psychologically, in this period we rebuild humandignity — the essential value and sanctity of everyperson’s life derived from the fact that each humanbeing is created in the Divine Image.

In the ten days from Rosh Hashanah to YomKippur, and especially on Yom Kippur, we reaffirm

the indispensable nature and inalienable rights ofevery human being on earth, by virtue of our con-nection to G-d, who chose each of us to fulfill ourunique mission.

And it is this Divine ingredient — the dignity ofMalchut — that was missing from the demonicallydistorted religious beliefs of the attackers. Love ofG-d is one with love of all people, if for no other rea-son than their being reflections of the Divine Image.

One can have an elaborate structure of all nineelements — a complete intellectual and emotionalsystem — but if you are missing the tenth dimen-sion, Malchut, everything is compromised.

Malchut also represents the Divine presence with-in nature and all of existence. At the pinnacle of YomKippur — the conclusion of the Ne’ilah prayer —we declare that G-d is One and we repeat seventimes that “HaVaYaH hu ha’Elokim” — G-d thattranscends all of existence is one with the G-dlinesswithin all of existence.

Religion that believes in a G-d in Heaven but for-gets about G-d’s presence on Earth (ten minus one— nine), or annihilates life on Earth (ten plus one —eleven), will be fundamentally bankrupt.

9/11 — and all the events of the past year —remind us that science, politics, economy, every oneof our systems, must include the tenth dimension,Malchut, for us to survive. This tenth ingredient isthe key to our security and future.

Above all, Malchut is distinguished for its bittul(self-effacement). Malchut is the moon, with no lightof its own, reflecting the light of the sun. When youshine your own light, you are only as great as youare. You may be very great, but human greatness isalways limited, temporal, mortal. When you becomea channel that reflects a light greater than your own,when you are dedicated to something beyond your-self, you become greater than yourself. When youdedicate yourself to eternity — and to eternal values— you become eternal.

Before 9/11, Americans, and much of the rest ofthe world as well, felt that we had it “all figuredout.” Our unprecedented prosperity, high standard ofliving, sophisticated technology, created an illusionof invulnerability. 9/11 reminded us that we need thetenth truth, Malchut, and the bittul it espouses.

Religion without the dignity and balance of

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Nine, Eleven andTen


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Malchut — without the basic respect for the G-dli-ness in others — becomes a destructive force. Just asis the case with a business corporation.

Don’t cut out the tenth dimension, and don’t addto it. Don’t be too secular and don’t be overly reli-gious. Don’t overindulge in the material and don’tescape into the spiritual. Balance and integrate thetwo. Don’t be less or more religious than G-d. Don’tbe materially or spiritually arrogant. G-d created auniverse and entrusted us with the power to refineand not destroy the material world.

Rabbi Simon Jacobson, [email protected] isthe author of the best-selling Toward a MeaningfulLife: The Wisdom of the Rebbe (William Morrow,1995), and the founder and director of theMeaningful Life Learning Center, www.meaningful-life.com

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Nine, Eleven and Ten


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Question:The mezuzah on the doorpost of our home seems

to act as a “beacon” that signals and draws charity-seeking individuals to our door at all hours of theevening and night. Many of these people seem to bedemanding money, not asking for it. (Frankly, weare considering removing the mezuzah from ourfront door.) What do you advise?

Dr. A. G—-, MDAnswer:C’mon, doc, it can’t be all that terrible! Of course,

I can sympathize with the sense of harassmentyou’re experiencing. We have recently moved to adensely Jewish neighborhood, and are now experi-encing something similar. But we try to look at thelarger picture.

You probably know that Jewish people rank as thebiggest donors to philanthropic causes in NorthAmerica. In times past, even the gentile beggarknew there was more help available from the impov-erished, oppressed Jew than from his own kind. Theancient sages taught that a Jew is identified by threequalities: Compassion, a sense of shame, and anurge to do kind deeds. If he lacks one of these, theysaid, he is of questionable origin.

True, there are some rather obnoxious individualsthat turn up occasionally. However, the overwhelm-ing majority are people with real issues. Most repre-sent some institution in Israel. Many have a familymember in dire need of assistance. We consider it agreat privilege, as well as a noble tradition of theJewish people, to help such persons.

Rather than backtrack, taking down yourmezuzah (which won’t help anyway, since they haveyour address by now!), I can make several sugges-tions:

Always ask for a letter of introduction from anestablished institution.

Establish a nominal amount to give to the stan-dard door-knocker. If they start making demands,you can tell them — and repeat to them — “This iswhat I give everybody. I have to be fair.” If theyseem to be someone in real, urgent need, increasesomewhat. Some make that standard amount $18,others $5, others $100. All according to what fits foryou. You can always increase later.

Many people in your situation put a notice outsidethe door stating hours for charity collectors. Asksomeone to write a Hebrew version for you as well.

I don’t know if you have ever been in need ofhelp, out on the street or suffered one of those crisesthat brings financial ruin. I can tell you it ain’t fun.And the humiliation of receiving money from peoplebegrudgingly is worse than salt to the wounds.

Neither do those who have taken it upon them-selves to raise funds for an institution have an easytime. They are often teachers or even distinguishedrabbis. They must spend many months away fromtheir families. The experience is very trying andoften degrading. You can try to make it a little easi-er on them with a few simple gestures, such as offer-ing a cup of coffee, use of your washroom, or evenwith a simple smile and wishes of good luck.

As for the obnoxious bums, perhaps you can do usall a favor and write them a prescription forWellbutrin or something similar.

Tzvi Freeman for Chabadonline.com

[email protected], author of Be Within,Stay Above and

Bringing Heaven Down to Earth

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People Knocking onmy Door


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One day, a rich and learned Jew came to one ofthe great European centers of Torah learning tosearch for a fitting match for his wise, pious andbeautiful daughter. He invited all of the eligibleyoung scholars in the town to the main synagoguethat evening, and posed for them a difficultTalmudic problem. Whoever could solve the prob-lem his to satisfaction, he announced, would win hisdaughter’s hand in marriage, and his own pledge toprovide financial support for the couple and theirfuture children for twenty years while the worthyscholar pursued his studies.

The town’s scholars struggled to understand theproblem, and then labored through the night to solveit. Dozens of answers were submitted to the visitor,but he refuted them all. He remained in town forthree days, without any further success.Disappointed, he ordered his bags packed toward hisearly departure the next day.

The next morning he climbed into his carriage,settled into into his seat, and gave the signal to hisdriver to crack his whip. As the horses trotted off, ayoung student could be seen running toward the car-riage, shouting for him to wait. The man ordered hisdriver to stop and the young man looked in the win-dow.

“Just a minute! Wait!” cried the young man, pant-ing to catch his breath. “You can’t go yet! You musttell me the answer!”

“Pardon me?” asked the visitor.“Ever since you posed the question,” said the stu-

dent, “I haven’t been able to sleep. I’ve been grap-pling with it day and night, but try as I might, thesolution eludes me. I must know the answer! Youcannot go without telling me!”

“Ah!” cried the scholar, satisfied at last. “You are

the one whom I want for a son-in-law!”

Told by Rabbi Tuvia Bolton, of Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim,Kfar Chabad, Israel. Rabbi Bolton’s weekly Parshah story

and commentary can be found at www.ohrtmimim.org/torah

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Everything is in a state of relationship. Angelsand humans communicate behind the closed doorsof the subconscious. The spiritual and the physicalenjoy a give-and-take relationship. Chaos theoryproposes that the butterfly wings affect the weatherpattern on the other side of the globe.

One relationship that Kabbalah describes to somedetail is that of heaven and earth. It is described bythe great Chassidic master, Rabbi Schneur Zalmanof Liadi, as the “head” and the “feet”. In fact, theearth is referred by the Prophets to as the “footstool”for heaven (Isaiah 66:1).

At first glance this seems a diminution of thevalue of our planet earth. But when considered moredeeply, life does not always turn up “heads”. Thewagging tail often plays a significant role. Forexample, a number of alternate therapies treat head-ache and migraine through the feet. This may consistof bathing one foot in hot water while the other restsin cold water. Or some blood might drawn from thefoot relieving the aching head. In other words, thehead is sometimes very dependent on the foot. Andit certainly relies on the foot to take it where itchooses to go.

The same holds true for the treatment of depres-sion. One mode of treatment is through the head:talking through the problem that might be causingthe onset of the depression. Many are now realizinghowever that starting at the other end of the bodymight be equally if not more effective — i.e., doingsome aerobically challenging exercise for 20 min-utes often neutralizes the depression. The feet enjoya much more intimate relationship with the headthan most might suspect.

The parallel the mystics are drawing is obvious.The heavens and the higher spiritual spheres mightindeed be sublime, but without the “feet” of thefinite physical plane, creation cannot reach its ulti-mate goal. The nature of our world might indeed becoarse in comparison to the celestial chambers, butwithout the world of here and now, there would not

be a stage upon which the drama of ongoing creationcan unfold.

Kabbalah teaches that what we do “down here”has a multiplier effect “up there.” Rather than seeingourselves as prisoners of a drama unfolding at thespiritual level, this pathway teaches that we, themortal human being, the “feet” of creation, possess-es the key to the evolving future.

The energies of mind (seichel) provide value anddirection. The energies of emotion (middot) providethe energy and thrust. The compass of mind needsthe energy of heart so that the human co-creator cancomplete an, as yet, unfinished universe.

Both the head and feet are needed for the unfin-ished symphony of creation.

MASTERY: How aware are you of your body?Allow someone whom you know well, and don’tfeel self conscious in front of, to observe you for aday or so. Ask them to observe the way your bodymatches the speech. Are words and eyes congruentor do the two convey different messages? Whatabout the hands or body posture? And most impor-tantly, check out whether you are in fact acting onyour espoused values and ideals. In other words, dothe feet carry your head where it knows it should go?

MEDITATION: Sit in a comfortable chair withyour feet resting on a footstool. Become aware of thethoughts you are thinking. Direct your thoughts gen-tly towards someone whom you hold in high regard.Allow your imagination to create a conversationwith this person within your mind. During this imag-inary conversation become aware of your body andits movements. Observe your hands in motion andyour feet as you move about. Begin to recognise theimmediate and deep relationship that all parts ofyour body enjoy with each other. No aspect of thebody is insignificant - no matter how far removedfrom the head.

Follow-up resources: Awakening to your New Dawn (audio)Achieving Inner Balance and Unity (audio) available at RabbiWolf’s Website (see link below).

Based on Torah Ohr, a collection of discourses byChassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812); adaptation by Laibl Wolf. Rabbi Wolf, a renownedmystic, author and speaker, lives in Australia and lecturesworldwide on Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. His dailymeditations and weekly essays can be viewed on his website,www.laiblwolf.com

Inner Dimensions

We The Feet

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PARSHAH in a nutshell

VayeiraGenesis 18:1-22:24 Torah Reading for October 20-26, 2002

G-d reveals Himself to Abraham three days after thefirst Jew’s circumcision at age 99; but Abraham rushesoff to prepare a meal for three guests who appear in thedesert heat. One of the three — who are angels dis-guised as men — announces that, in exactly one year,the barren Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs.

Abraham pleads with G-d to spare the wicked city ofSodom. Two of the three disguised angels arrive in thedoomed city, where Abraham’s nephew, Lot, extendshis hospitality to them and protects them from the evilintentions of a Sodomite mob. The two guests revealthat they have come to overturn the place, and to saveLot and his family. Lot’s wife turns into a pillar of saltwhen she disobeys the command not to look back atthe burning city as they flee.

While taking shelter in a cave, Lot’s two daughters(believing that they and their father are the only onesleft alive in the world) get their father drunk, lie withhim, and become pregnant. The two sons born fromthis incident father the nations of Moab and Amon.

Abraham moves to Gerar, where the Philistine kingAvimelech takes Sarah — who is presented asAbraham’s sister — to his palace. In a dream, G-dwarns Avimelech that he will die unless he returns thewoman to her husband. Abraham explains that hefeared he would be killed over the beautiful Sarah.

G-d remembers His promise to Sarah and gives herand Abraham a son, who is named Isaac (Yitzchak,meaning “will laugh”). Isaac is circumcised at the ageof eight days; Abraham is 100 years old, and Sarah 90,at their child’s birth.

Hagar and Ishmael are banished from Abraham’shome and wander in the desert; G-d hears the cry of thedying lad and saves his life by showing his mother awell. Avimelech makes a treaty with Abraham at Be’erSheva, where Abraham gives him seven sheep as asign of their truce.

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G-d tests Abraham’s devotion by commanding him tosacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount)in Jerusalem. Isaac is bound and placed on the altar,and Abraham raises the knife to slaughter his son. Avoice from heaven calls to stop him; a ram, caught inthe undergrowth by its horns, is offered in Isaac’splace. Abraham receives the news of the birth of adaughter, Rebecca, to his nephew Bethuel.


“Because I know him,” says G-d of Abraham in a key pas-sage in the Parshah of Vayeira, “that he will command hischildren and his household after him that they shall keepthe way of G-d, to do tzedakah and justice.”

Indeed, this week’s Torah reading is replete with examplesof Abraham’s tzedakah (commonly translated charity butactually meaning “righteousness”) — a trait which Abrahamcultivated to the extent that it came to define his very iden-tity.

The first verse of Vayeira describes a Divine revelation expe-rienced by Abraham: “G-d revealed Himself to him by theOaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of theday.” But the Divine visit is interrupted when Abrahamexcuses himself from G-d’s presence (!) to rush toward

three wayfarers who suddenly appear, and offer them hos-pitality.

He raised his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stoodby him; when he saw them, he ran to meet them fromthe tent door, and bowed himself to the ground.

And he said: “My Lord! if now I have found favor inyour eyes, pass not away, I beg you, from your servant.

“Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and washyour feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. I willfetch a morsel of bread, and comfort your hearts; afterthat you shall pass on—seeing that you are come toyour servant…”

And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said:“Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal,knead it, and make cakes.”

And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf ten-der and good, and gave it to the lad; and he hurried toprepare it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calfwhich he had dressed, and set it before them; and hestood by them under the tree, and they ate.

Sarah Laughs


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AND G-D REVEALED HIMSELF TO HIM... AS HE SAT IN THE TENT

DOOR IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY (18:1)

It was the third day from Abraham’s circumcision, and G-d came toinquire after Abraham’s health.

G-d drew the sun out of its sheath, so that the righteous one shouldnot be troubled with wayfarers. Abraham sent Eliezer out [to seektravelers], but he found none. Said Abraham, “I do not believe you,”and himself went out, and saw G-d standing at the door.

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 86b)

HE RAISED HIS EYES AND LOOKED, AND, LO, THREE MEN STOOD BY

HIM (18:2)

Who were the three men? The angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.Michael (“Who is like G-d?”) came to bring the tidings to Sarah ofIsaac’s birth; Raphael (“Healing of G-d”), to heal Abraham; andGabriel (“Might of G-d”), to overturn Sodom. But is it not written,“And there came the two angels to Sodom at evening”? Michaelaccompanied Gabriel to rescue Lot.

(Talmud, Bava Metzia 86b)

AND HE SAID: “MY LORD! IF NOW I HAVE FOUND FAVOR IN YOUR

EYES, PASS NOT AWAY, I BEG YOU, FROM YOUR SERVANT. (18:4)

This verse has two meanings. One meaning is that Abraham isaddressing the most prominent of the three guests, asking him and theothers not to pass by his tent without availing themselves of his hos-pitality. Another meaning is that Abraham is addressing G-d, askingHim to stand by while he attends to his guests.

Said Rabbi Judah in the name of Rav: This is to teach us that takingin guests is greater than receiving the Divine Presence.

(Rashi on verse; Talmud, Shevuot 35b)

FOR I KNOW HIM... (18:19)

Said the Divine Attribute of Chessed (love): “As long as Abrahamwas around, there was nothing for me to do, for he did my work in mystead.”

(Sefer HaBahir)

THE WAY OF G-D, TO DO TZEDAKAH AND JUSTICE (18:19)

What is the meaning of the verse, “You shall walk after the L-rd yourG-d?” Is it, then, possible for a human being to walk after the Divine,which is described as a “devouring fire”? But the meaning is to fol-low the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He.

G-d clothes the naked, as it is written: “And G-d made for Adam and

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And then one of the three mystery guests makes anannouncement:

“I will certainly return to you at this time next year;and, lo, your wife Sarah shall have a son.”

In the previous Parshah, we read how Abraham laughedupon hearing the news that Sarah will bear him a son. Nowthe Torah reports that,

Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age;and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner ofwomen.

And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: “After I amgrown old shall I have my heart’s desire, my lord being

old also?”

And G-d said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh, say-ing, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, who am old?’ Is any-thing too difficult for G-d? At the time appointed I willreturn to you, at this season, and Sarah shall have ason.”

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

Abraham’s guests had another mission to attend to thatday: to destroy the city of Sodom and its four sister-cities,“Because the cries of [the victims of] Sodom and Gomorrahis great, and because their sin is very grievous.”

Abraham’s love of his fellow man does not allow him tostand by silently:

Abraham confronted G-d and said: “Would You alsodestroy the righteous with the wicked? Perhaps thereare fifty righteous persons within the city; would Youalso destroy and not spare the place for the fifty right-eous that are therein?

“It behooves You not to do such a thing, to slay therighteous with the wicked… Shall the Judge of all theearth not act justly?”

for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21); so shouldyou, too, clothe the naked.

G-d visits the sick, as it is written: “And G-d appeared to him by theOaks of Mamre”; so should you, too, visit the sick.

G-d comforts mourners, as it is written: “And it came to pass after thedeath of Abraham, that G-d blessed Isaac his son” (Genesis 25:11); soshould you, too, comfort mourners.

G-d buries the dead, as it is written: “And He buried him in the val-ley” (Deuteronomy 34:6); so should you, too, bury the dead.

(Talmud, Sotah 14a)

BECAUSE THE CRY OF [THE VICTIMS OF] SODOM AND GOMORRAH IS

GREAT, AND BECAUSE THEIR SIN IS VERY GRIEVOUS (18:20)

In Sodom it was decreed: “Whoever hands a piece of bread to a pau-per or stranger shall be burned at stake”

Plotit the daughter of Lot was married to one of the leading citizensof Sodom. One day, she saw a pauper starving in the street, and hersoul was saddened over him. What did she do? Every day, when shewent to draw water from the well, she would place from all the foodsof her home in her pitcher and feed the pauper. But the people ofSodom wondered, “This pauper, how is he surviving?” until the mat-

ter became known and she was taken out to be burned, and her criesrose to the Divine Throne.

(Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 25)

Our Rabbis taught: The men of Sodom were corrupted only onaccount of the good which G-d had lavished upon them... They said:Since there comes forth bread out of our earth, and it has the dust ofgold, why should we suffer wayfarers, who come to us only to depleteour wealth? Come, let us abolish the practice of lodging travelers inour land...

If a person had rows of bricks the Sodomites came and each took onebrick, saying, ‘I have taken only one.’ If a person spread out garlic oronions to dry, each one came and took one, saying, ‘I have taken onlyone.’

There were four judges in Sodom: Shakrai, Shakurai, Zayyafi, andMazle Dina. If a man assaulted his neighbor’s wife and caused her tomiscarry, they would say to the husband, ‘Give her to him, that hemake her pregnant for you.’ If one cut off the ear of his neighbor’s ass,they would order, ‘Give it to him until it grows again.’ If one wound-ed his neighbor they would say to the victim, ‘Give him a fee forbleeding you.’

They had beds upon which travelers slept. If the guest was too long,they shortened him; if too short, they stretched him out.

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Abraham continues to bargain with G-d: What if there be 45righteous individuals in the “Cities of the Plain”? Forty?Thirty? Twenty? Only when he had received G-d’s promiseto spare the cities if even only ten righteous ones be found,did “G-d go His way… and Abraham returned to his place.”

The Destruction of the Sodom Valley

Two of the three angels (as they are now identified in theverse) proceed to Sodom: one of them went to destroy thecity, and the other to rescue Abraham’s nephew, Lot, whohad taken up residence in the city.

And the two angels came to Sodom at evening, and Lotsat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose upto meet them; and he bowed himself with his face tothe ground.

Lot, who had acquired something of his uncle’s legendary

hospitality, invites them to his home, and feeds them mat-zot (unleavened bread).

But before they lay down, the men of the city, the menof Sodom, compassed the house round, both old andyoung, all the people from every quarter: and theycalled to Lot, and said to him: “Where are the men whocame in to you this night? Bring them out to us, that wemay rape them.”

Lot confronts the mob in an effort to defend his guests; theypush past him and are about to break down the door; onlythe intervention of the angels, who smite the mob withblindness, disperses them.

At this point the angels reveal to Lot that G-d has sent themto destroy the evil cities of the Sodom Valley, and only heand his family will be spared.

And when the morning arose, then the angels has-tened Lot, saying: “Arise, take your wife, and yourtwo daughters, who are here; lest you be con-sumed in the iniquity of the city…”

And it came to pass when they had brought themoutside, that he said: “Escape for your life; look notbehind you, neither stay in all the plain; escape tothe mountain, lest you be consumed.”

Lot’s wife violates this command, looks back to witness G-

If a poor man happened to come there, every resident gave him adinar, upon which he wrote his name, but no bread was sold to him.When he died, each came and took back his dinar.

A certain maiden gave some bread to a poor man, hiding it in a pitch-er. When the matter becoming known, they daubed her with honeyand placed her on the parapet of the wall, and the bees came and con-sumed her. Thus it is written: “And G-d said,: ‘The cry of Sodom andGomorrah, because it is great.’”

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 108b-109a)

ABRAHAM CONFRONTED G-D AND SAID: “WOULD YOU ALSO

DESTROY THE RIGHTEOUS WITH THE WICKED? (18:23)

The Zohar compares the actions of two righteous men, Noah andAbraham, when confronted with the knowledge that G-d intends todestroy their fellow human beings for their wickedness. Noah setabout building an ark that would shelter the handful of righteous indi-viduals remaining in a corrupt world. In addition, the Midrashdescribes how he tried to convince his generation to mend their waysand thus be saved from the Divine decree. But the Zohar faults Noahfor not also praying for their sake, as Abraham did for the wickedinhabitants of Sodom.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the fact that Noah did not prayfor the wicked of his generation implies that, ultimately, it did notmatter to him what became of them. Had he truly cared, he would nothave sufficed with “doing his best” to bring them to repent, but wouldhave implored the Almighty to repeal His decree of destruction—justas a person whose own life is in danger would never say, “Well, I didmy best to save myself,” and leave it at that, but would beseech G-dto help him..

In other words, Noah’s efforts on behalf of others derived solely fromhis sense of what he ought to do for them, as opposed to a true con-cern for their well-being. This was the extent of his “love”—his ownneed to do the right thing.

This also explains a curious aspect of Noah’s efforts to reach out tohis generation. When the Flood came, Noah and his family enteredthe ark—alone. His 120-year campaign yielded not a singlee baalteshuvah (repentant)! Perhaps public relations was never Noah’sstrong point, but how are we to explain the fact that, in all this time,he failed to win over a single individual?

But in order to influence others, the Rebbe explains, one’s motivesmust be pure; in the words of our sages, “Words that come from theheart, enter the heart.” Deep down, a person will always sense

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d’s destruction of Sodom, and turns into a pillar of salt.

G-d rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim-stone and fire from G-d out of heaven. And Heoverturned those cities, and all the plain, and allthe inhabitants of the cities, and that which grewupon the ground.

Lot, however, prevails upon the angels to spare the smallestof the five cities, Zo’ar. Lot and his two daughters go there,but, fearing that the city is enjoying only a temporaryrespite from G-d’s wrath, they escape to the mountains andtake refuge in a cave.

Abraham rose early in the morning and went to the

place where he had stood before G-d. And helooked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and towardall the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, thesmoke of the country went up like the smoke of afurnace.

Believing that “there is not a man left alive in the earth tocome in to us after the manner of all the earth,” the daugh-ters of Lot get their father drunk (“drunk as Lot”) and liewith him, both becoming pregnant. Their respective sons,Moab (“from father”) and Ben-Ami, father the two nationsof Moab and Amon.

The Birth of Isaac

Abraham’s journeys take him southward to the Negev, toGerar in the territory controlled by Avimelech, king of thePhilistines. Here Abraham and Sarah experience a replay ofwhat happened to them in Egypt: Sarah is presented asAbraham’s sister; she is taken to Avimelech’s palace; aplague breaks out in the palace, and Avimelech has a dreamin which he is warned “You are a dead man, because of thewoman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”

whether you truly have his interests at heart or you’re filling a need ofyour own by seeking to change him. If your work to better your fel-low stems from a desire to “do the right thing” and fulfill the mitzvahto “love your fellow as yourself,” but without really caring about theresult, your call will be met with scant response. The undercurrent ofpersonal motive, be it the most laudable of personal motives, will besensed, if only subconsciously, by those to whom you reach out, andwill ultimately put them off.

Abraham, on the other hand, possessed a selfless love for his fellowman, as demonstrated by his daring intervention on behalf of the fivesinful cities of the Sodom Valley. Abraham petitioned G-d on theirbehalf, using the strongest terms to demand of G-d that he spare thesecities for the sake of the few righteous individuals they might contain.“It behooves You not to do such a thing!” he challenged G-d. “Shallthe judge of the universe not act justly?!” Abraham was prepared toincur G-d’s wrath upon himself for the sake of the most corrupt of sin-ners, giving precedence to their physical lives over his own spiritualintegrity!

And because people sensed that he had their own good, and onlytheir own good, at heart—they responded. When Abraham andSarah left Charan for the Holy Land, they were joined by the “soulswhich they had made in Charan”—the community of men andwomen who had rallied to their cause. Sixty-five years laterAbraham was able to say to his servant Eliezer: “When G-d sum-moned me from the house of my father, he was G-d of the heavensbut not of the earth: the inhabitants of the earth did not recognizeHim and His name was not referred to in the land. But now that Ihave made His name familiar in the mouths of His creatures, He is

G-d in both heaven and earth”

(Genesis 24:7, as per Rashi on verse.)

AND THE TWO ANGELS CAME TO SODOM AT EVENING (19:1)

Here they are called angels, whereas earlier they were termed men?

Earlier, when the Divine Presence was above them, they were men;but as soon as the Divine Presence departed from them they assumedthe form of angels.

Rabbi Levi said: To Abraham, whose spiritual strength was great, theylooked like men; but to Lot they appeared as angels, because hisstrength was feeble.

Rabbi Chunia said: Before they performed their mission they werecalled men; having performed their mission, they assumed the style ofangels.

(Midrash Rabbah)

IN ALL THAT SARAH SAYS TO YOU, HEARKEN TO HER VOICE (21:12)

This teaches us that Sarah was superior to Abraham in prophecy.

(Rashi)

AND G-D HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LAD (21:17)

This teaches us that a person’s prayer for himself is preferable to oth-ers praying for him, and is sooner to be accepted. (For though theverse speaks of Hagar’s weeping, it tells us that it was Ishmael’s cry

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Sarah is returned, untouched, to Abraham with much apolo-gies and gifts from the repentant king.

Then, exactly one year after the three angels visitedAbraham and Sarah and delivered G-d’s promise that a sonshall be born to them (as related in Genesis 18),

G-d remembered Sarah as He had said, and G-d did toSarah as He had spoken.

Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his oldage, at the set time of which G-d had spoken to him.

The boy is named Yitzchak (“will laugh”), because, as Sarahdeclared, “G-d has made laughter for me, so that all thathear will laugh with me.”

Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight daysold, as G-d had commanded him. Abraham was a hun-dred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him.

The Torah then tells of a great feast that Abraham made “onthe day that Isaac was weaned.”

The Banishment of Hagar and Ishmael

Abraham already had a son, Ishmael, born 14 years earlierto Hagar, the Egyptian maid whom Sarah urged him tomarry in her barren years. As had been predicted, Ishmaelgrows to become “a wild man—his hand against every man,and every man’s hand against him.” Sarah, fearing Ishmael’snegative influence upon her son, urges Abraham to “Banishthis maidservant and her son: for the son of this maidser-vant shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac.”

Abraham is reluctant to do so until G-d intervenes, telling

which G-d heard).

(Midrash Rabbah; Rashi)

FOR G-D HAS HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LAD WHERE HE IS (21:17)

The ministering angels hastened to indict him, exclaiming:“Sovereign of the Universe! Would You bring up a well for one whowill one day slay Your children with thirst?” “What is he now?” askedG-d. “Righteous,” said the angels. Said G-d: “I judge man only as heis at the moment.”

(Midrash Rabbah; Rashi)

AND HIS MOTHER TOOK HIM A WIFE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT

(21:21)

Said Rabbi Yitzchak: Throw a stick into the air, and it will fall backto its place of origin (the ground). It is written, “And she had a hand-maid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar” (Genesis 16:1); there-fore, “his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”

(Midrash Rabbah)

AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS, THAT G-D DID TEST

ABRAHAM (22:1)

Said Rabbi Jonathan: A potter does not examine defective vessels,because he cannot give them a single blow without breaking them.What then does he examine? Only the sound vessels, for he will notbreak them even with many blows. Similarly, the Holy One, blessed

be He, tests not the wicked but the righteous.

(Midrash Rabbah)

Isaac and Ishmael were engaged in a controversy… Said Ishmael toIsaac: “I am more beloved to G-d than you, since I was circumcisedat the age of thirteen, but you were circumcised as a baby and couldnot refuse.” Isaac retorted: “All that you gave up to G-d was threedrops of blood. But lo, I am now thirty-seven years old, yet if G-ddesired of me that I be slaughtered, I would not refuse.’ Said the HolyOne, blessed be He: “This is the moment!”

(Midrash Rabbah)

Jewishness is not a matter of historical conscious, outlook, ethics, oreven behavior; it is a state of being. This is the deeper significance ofthe debate between Ishmael and Isaac. When the Jew is circumcisedon the eighth day of life, he is completely unaware of the significanceof what has occurred. But this “non-experience” is precisely what thecovenant of circumcision is all about. With circumcision the Jew says:I define my relationship with G-d not by what I think, feel or do, butby the fact of my Jewishness—a fact which equally applies to aninfant of eight days and a sage of eighty years.

(From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe)

AND HE SADDLED HIS DONKEY (22:3)

This is the very same donkey which Moses Rode to Egypt (cf. Exodus4:20); and this is the very same donkey upon which the Messiah willarrive (cf. Zechariah 9:9)

(Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 25)

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him: “In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice; forin Isaac shall thy seed be called.”

Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread,and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting iton her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: andshe departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Be’er-Sheva.

Their water, however, runs out quickly in the desert heat,and soon Ishmael is faint with heat and thirst; Hagar

cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she wentoff… the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Let menot see the death of the child.” And she sat overagainst him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.

And G-d heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of G-d called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her “What

ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for G-d has heard the voice ofthe lad where he is…”

And G-d opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water;and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gavethe lad drink.

And G-d was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in thewilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in thewilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife outof the land of Egypt.

The Covenant with Avimelech

Avimelech the king of the Philistines, who had earlier drivenAbraham from his country, now comes seeking a covenant ofpeace with the Hebrew. “G-d is with you in all that you do,”says the king; let us swear to each other that neither of uswill show hostility to the other or the other’s offspring.

Abraham agrees, and gives Avimelech seven sheep as a tes-timony to the resolution of a past controversy between themover a well that Abraham had dug. The place is thus namedBe’er Sheva (“Well of the Oath” and “Well of the Seven”).

Abraham establishes an eshel (wayside inn) at Be’er Sheva,where he “called the name of G-d, G-d of the world.”

The Binding of Isaac

AND HE BOUND ISAAC HIS SON (22:9)

Can one bind a man thirty-seven years old without his consent?

But when Abraham made to sacrifice his son Isaac, Isaac said to him:‘Father, I am a young man and am afraid that my body may tremblethrough fear of the knife and I will grieve you, whereby the slaughtermay be rendered unfit and this will not count as a real sacrifice; there-fore bind me very firmly.”

(Midrash Rabbah)

AND AN ANGEL OF G-D CALLED TO HIM... “LAY NOT YOUR HAND

UPON THE LAD, NEITHER DO ANYTHING TO HIM” (22:11-12)

The founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,once related:

In Mezeritch, it was extremely difficult to be accepted as a disciple ofour master, Rabbi DovBer. There were a group of Chassidim who,having failed to merit to learn directly from our master, wanted to atleast serve his pupils: to bring them water to wash their hands uponwaking, to sweep the floors of the study hall, to heat the ovens during

the winter months, and so on. These were known as “the oven stok-ers.”

One winter night, as I lay on a bench in the study hall, I overheard aconversation between three of the “oven stokers.” “What was the spe-cialty of the test of the Akeidah?” the first one asked. “If G-d hadrevealed Himself to me and commanded me to sacrifice my only son,would I not obey?”

Answering his own question, he said: “If G-d told me to sacrifice myonly son, I would delay my doing so for a while, to keep him with mefor a few days. Abraham’s greatness lay in that ‘he arose early in themorning’ to immediately fulfill the divine command.”

Said the second one: “If G-d told me to sacrifice my only son, I, too,would waste not a moment to carry out His command. But I would doso with a heavy heart. Abraham’s greatness lay in that he went to theAkeidah with a heart full of joy over the opportunity to fulfill G-d’swill.”

Said the third: “I, too, would carry out G-d’s will with joy. I think thatAbraham’s uniqueness lies in his reaction upon finding out that it wasall a test. When G-d commanded him ‘Do not touch the child, and donothing to him,’Abraham was overjoyed—not because his only childwould not die, but because he was being given the opportunity to

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And it came to pass after these things, that G-d did testAbraham. And He said to him: “Abraham!”

And he said: “Here I am!”

And He said: “Please, take your son, your only son, theone whom you love, Isaac; and get thee into the landof Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering uponone of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddledhis donkey, and took two of his young men with him,and Isaac his son, and broke up the wood for the burntoffering, and rose up, and went to the place of whichG-d had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, andsaw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his youngmen: “Stay here with the ass; and I and the lad will goyonder and worship, and come again to you.”

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, andlaid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in hishand, and the knife; and they went both of themtogether.

And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, “Myfather!” and he said, “Here I am, my son.”

And he said: “Behold the fire and the wood: but whereis the lamb for a burnt offering?”

And Abraham said: “G-d will provide himself a lamb fora burnt offering, my son.” And they went both of themtogether.

And they came to the place which G-d had told him of;and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood inorder, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on thealtar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took theknife to slay his son.

And an angel of G-d called to him out of heaven, andsaid: “Abraham! Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am!”

And he said: “Lay not your hand upon the lad, neitherdo anything to him: for now I know that you do fear G-d, seeing that you have not withheld your son, youronly son, from Me.”

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked; andbehold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by hishorns: and Abraham went and took the ram, andoffered him up for a burnt offering in place of his son.

And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-Yireh (“G-d will be revealed”); as it is said to this day:“On the mount G-d will appear.”

Vayeira concludes with report of a granddaughter born toAbraham’s brother, Nachor, named Rebecca (destined tobecome Isaac’s wife).

carry out another command of G-d.”

Rabbi Schneur Zalman concluded: “Do you think this was mere talk?Each of them was describing the degree of self-sacrifice he himselfhad attained in his service of the Almighty.”

AND ABRAHAM CALLED THE NAME OF THAT PLACE ADONAI-YIREH

(22:14)

Shem (the son of Noah) called it Salem, as it is written “AndMelchizedek king of Salem” (Genesis 14: 18). Said the Holy One,

blessed be He: If I call it Yireh as did Abraham, then Shem, a right-eous man, will resent it; while if I call it Salem as did Shem, Abraham,the righteous man, will resent it. Hence I will call it Jerusalem, includ-ing both names, Yireh Salem.

(Midrash Rabbah)

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From the Chassidic Masters


This particular question—what is it that sets apartthe Akeidah from the countless other instances ofhuman martyrdom and self-sacrifice—is raised byalmost all the commentaries and expounders ofTorah.

For the “Binding of Isaac” has come to representthe ultimate in the Jew’s devotion to G-d. Everymorning, we preface our prayers by reading theTorah’s account of the Akeidah and then say:“Master of the Universe! Just as Abraham our fathersuppressed his compassion for his only son to doYour will with a whole heart, so may Your compas-sion suppress Your wrath against us, and may Yourmercy prevail over Your attributes of strict justice.”

And on Rosh Hashanah, when the world tremblesin judgment before G-d, we evoke the Binding ofIsaac by sounding the horn of a ram (reminiscent ofthe ram which replaced Isaac as an offering) as if tosay: If we have no other merit, remember Abraham’sdeed. Remember how the first Jew bound all suc-ceeding generations of Jews in a covenant of self-sacrifice to You.

Obviously, the supreme test of a person’s faith ishis willingness to sacrifice his very existence for itssake. But what is so unique about Abraham’s sacri-fice? Have not countless thousands of Jews giventheir lives rather than renounce their covenant withthe Almighty?

One might perhaps explain that the willingness tosacrifice one’s child is a far greater demonstration offaith than to forfeit one’s own life. But in this, too,Abraham was not unique. Time and again throughthe generations, Jews have encouraged their childrento go to their deaths rather than violate their faith.Typical is the story of “Chanah and her seven sons,”who, seeing her seven children tortured to deathrather than bow before a Greek idol, proclaimed:

“My children! Go to Abraham your father and say tohim: You bound one offering upon the altar, and Ihave bound seven offerings...”

Furthermore, while Abraham was prepared to sac-rifice his son, in thousands of Akeidot throughout ourhistory Jews actually gave up their lives and the livesof their entire families. And, unlike Abraham, G-dhad not directly spoken to them and requested theirsacrifice; their deeds were based on their own con-victions and the strength of their commitment to aninvisible and often elusive G-d. And many gave theirlives rather than violate even a relatively minor tenetof their faith, even in cases in which the Torah doesnot require the Jew to do so.

Nevertheless, as the Abrabanel writes in his com-mentary on Genesis, it is the Binding of Isaac “thatis forever on our lips in our prayers... For in it lies theentire strength of Israel and their merit before theirHeavenly Father...” Why? What about the manythousands who made the ultimate sacrifice in reiter-ation of our loyalty to G-d?

The same question may be asked in regard toAbraham himself. The Akeidah was the tenth andfinal “test” in Abraham’s life. In his first test of faith,Abraham was cast into a fiery furnace for his refusalto acknowledge the arch-idol of his native UrCasdim, the emperor Nimrod, and his continuedcommitment to teaching the world the truth of a one,non-corporeal and omnipotent G-d. All this beforeG-d had revealed Himself to him and had chosenhim and his descendents to serve as a “light unto thenations” and the purveyors of His word to humanity.

This early act of self-sacrifice seems, in a certainrespect, to be even greater than the latter ones. Aman, all on his own, comes to recognize the truth anddevotes himself to its dissemination—to the extentthat he is even willing to sacrifice his very life to thisend. All this without a command or even sign fromAbove.

And yet, the Binding of Isaac is considered themost important test of Abraham’s faith. The Talmudasks: Why did G-d, in commanding Abraham on theAkeidah, say “Please, take your son”? Answers theTalmud: “G-d said to Abraham: ‘I have tried youwith many tests and you have withstood them all.Now, I beg you, please withstand this test for Me,


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lest they say that the earlier ones were of no sub-stance’” (Talmud, Sanhedrin 89b).

Again we ask, Why? Granting that the Akeidahwas the most demanding test of all, why are the oth-ers “of no substance” without it?

The Chassidic Masters explain the significance ofthe Akeida with a metaphor:

Once there was a untamed wilderness. Not a trailpenetrated its thick underbrush, not a map charted itsforbidding terrain. But one day there came a manwho accomplished the impossible: he cut a paththrough this impregnable land.

Many trod in his footsteps. It was still a most dif-ficult journey, but they had his charts to consult, histrail to follow. Over the years, there were some whomade the journey under even more trying conditionsthan those which had challenged the first pioneer:while he had done his work in broad daylight, theystumbled about in the black of night; while he hadonly his determination for company, they made thetrip weighed down by heavy burdens. But all wereequally indebted to him. Indeed, all their attainmentscould be said to be but extensions of his own greatdeed.

Abraham was the pioneer of self sacrifice. And thefirst instance of true self sacrifice in all of historywas the Binding of Isaac.

For to sacrifice one’s self is not the same as to sac-rifice one’s life—there is a world of differencebetween the two.

The human story includes many chapters of hero-ic sacrifice. Every generation and society has had itsmartyrs—individuals who gave their lives for theirfaith, for their homeland, and for virtually everycause under the sun. They did so for a variety of rea-sons. For some it was an act of desperation: to them,

their lives were not worth living unless a certainobjective could be attained. Others believed thattheir deed would be richly rewarded in the hereafter,so they readily exchanged the temporal benefits ofphysical life for the soul’s eternal gain. Finally, therewere those for whom their cause had grown to bemore significant to them than their lives: they hadcome to so completely identify with a certain goalthat it became more integral to their “self” than theirexistence as individuals.

In all the above cases, the martyr is sacrificing hislife, but not his self. Indeed, he is sacrificing hisphysical life for the sake of his self, whether it is forthe sake of the self projected by his obsession, thespiritual self of his immortal soul, or a broader, uni-versal “self” he has come to identify with.Ultimately, his is a selfish act; “selfish” in the mostpositive and altruistic sense of the word—here is anindividual who has succeeded in transcending thenarrow, material definition of “self” which domi-nates in our corporeal world—but selfish nonethe-less.

Abraham was a man with a mission. A mission forwhich he sacrificed everything, a mission moreimportant to him than his own life.

For many years he had agonized over the fact thatthere was no heir to this mission, that his work ofbringing the beliefs and ethics of Monotheism to apagan world would cease with his passing from theworld. Then came the Divine promise: miraculously,at the age of 100, he will have a son, out of whomwill stem the people of Israel. “You shall call hisname Isaac,” said G-d, “and I shall establish Mycovenant with him for an everlasting covenant, andwith his descendants after him.”

And then G-d told him to destroy it all.When Abraham bound Isaac upon the altar, it was

not in the service of any calling or cause. In fact, itran contrary to everything he believed in and taught,to everything he had sacrificed his life for, to every-thing G-d Himself had told him. He could see no rea-son, no purpose for his act. Every element of his selfcried out against it—his material self, his spiritualself, his transcendent, altruistic self. But he did it.Why? Because G-d had told him to.

Abraham was the pioneer of self sacrifice. Before



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Abraham, the self was inviolable territory. Mancould enlighten the self’s priorities, he could evenbroaden and sublimate it, but he could not supersedeit. Indeed, how could he? As a creature of freechoice, man’s every act stems from within: his everydeed has a motive (conscious or otherwise), and hisevery motive has a rationale—a reason why it is ben-eficial to his own existence. So how could he bemotivated to annihilate his own self? The instinct topreserve and enhance one’s self is the source andobjective of a creature’s every drive and desire—man could no more transcend it than lift himself upby pulling on the hair of his own head.

Yet Abraham did the impossible. He sacrificed hisself for the sake of something beyond the scope ofthe most transcendent of identities. Had he not doneso, no other act of self-sacrifice—previous or subse-quent, of his own or of his descendents—could bepresumed to be of any “substance,” to be anythingmore than a product of the self. But when Abrahambound Isaac upon the altar, the heavenly voice pro-claimed: “ "Now I know that you fear G-d.” Now Iknow that the will of G-d supersedes even your mostbasic instincts. Now I know that all your deeds,including those which could be explained as self-motivated, are, in essence, driven by the desire toserve your Creator. Now I know that your entire lifewas of true, selfless substance.

So when we speak of the Akeidah, we also speakof those who trod the path this great deed blazed. Ofthe countless thousands who died for the creed ofAbraham, of the many millions who lived for itssake. Their sacrifices, great and petty, cataclysmicand everyday, may, on the surface, seem but the out-growth of their personal beliefs and aspirations:commendable and extraordinary, but only the fulfill-

ment of an individual soul’s identity. But the Akeidahrevealed them to be so much more than that.

For Abraham bequeathed to his descendents theessence of Jewishness: that at the core of one’s verybeing lies not the self but one’s commitment to theCreator. And that, ultimately, one’s every choice andact is an expression of that “spark of Divinity” with-in.

Based on the talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe




Monday Cheshvan 15 - October 21On This Date: Passing of Mattityahu (139 BCE) In the2nd century before the common era, the Holy Land wasruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) who, with thecollaboration of the Jewish Hellenists, introduced paganidols into the Holy Temple and set about to forcefullyHellenize the people of Israel. Mattiyahu, the son of theHigh Priest Yochanan, was already an old man when hepicked up a sword and raised the flag of revolt in the vil-lage of Modiin in the Judean hills. Many rallied under hiscry, "Who that is for G-d, come with me!" and resistedand battled the Greeks from their mountain hideouts.After heading the revolt for one year, Mattityahu died onthe 15th of Cheshvan of the year 3622 from creation(139 BCE). His five sons -- the "Macabees" Judah,Yochanan, Shimon, Elazar and Yonatan -- carried onthe battle to their eventual victory, celebrated each yearsince by Jews the world over with the festival ofChanukah.Links: www.virtualchanukah.com A Chanukah Anthologyhttp://chabad.org/article.asp?aid=36023

Wednesday Cheshvan 17 - October 23On This Date: Great Flood begins (2105 BCE) The rains began to fall on the 17th of Cheshvan of theyear 1656 from creation (2105), flooding the earth andrising above the highest mountains. Only Noah and hisfamily survived, in the ark built to that end by Divinecommand, and a pair of each animal species, whoentered with him into the ark.The following is a chronology of the Flood, as indicatedby the dates and time periods given in the Torah'saccount and calculated by Rashi:Cheshvan 17: Noah enters ark; rains begin.Kislev 27: Forty days of rain end; begin 150 days ofwater's swelling and churning, in which it reaches aheight of 15 cubits above the mountain peaks.Sivan 1: Water calms and begins to subside at the rateof one cubit each four days.Sivan 17: The bottom of ark, submerged 11 cubitsbeneath the surface, touches down on the top of MountArarat.Av 1: The mountain peaks break the water's surface.Elul 10: Noah open the ark's window and dispatches araven.Elul 17: Noah sends the dove for the first time.Elul 23: The dove is sent a second time, and returnswith an olive lesaf in its beak.

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Week at a GlanceTishrei 1: Dove's third mission. Water completelydrained.Cheshvan 27: Ground fully dried. Noah exits ark.(This chronology follows the opinion of the Talmudicsage Rabbi Eliezer; accordong to Rabbi Joshua's inter-pretation, the Flood began on Iyar 17, and all abovedates should be moved ahead six months.)Total time in ark: 365 days (one solar year; one year and11 days on the lunar calendar).Link: See the Torah's account of the Great Flood,Rashi's commentary, and insights and interpretationsfrom sages, scholars and mystics through the ages onthe Noach Parshah Pagehttp://chabad.org/article.asp?aid=9168

Friday, Cheshvan 19- October 25Light Shabbat Candles before sunsetShabbat, Cheshvan 20 - October 26Torah reading: Vayeira (Gen 18:1-17:27) Haftarah: Lamah Tomar V'Ishah Achat (II Kings ch.4)On This Date: Birth of Rabbi Sholom DovBer ofLubavitch (1860) The fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, RabbiSholom DovBer Schneerson (known as the "Rashab"),was born on the 20th of Cheshvan of the year 5621 fromcreation (1860). After the passing of his father, RabbiShmuel of Lubavitch, in 1882, Rabbi Sholom DovBerassumed the leadership of the movement. Over the next38 years, he wrote and delivered some 2,000 maa-marim (discourses of Chassidic teaching) including thefamed hemshechim (serialized discourses) which con-tain his profound analytical treatment of ChabadChassidism. In 1897, he established the TomcheiTemimim yeshivah in Lubavitch., the first institution ofJewish learning to integrate the "body" (Talmudic andlegal studies) and "soul" (philosophic and mystical) ofTorah into a cohesive, living whole; it was this uniqueform of education and Torah study that produced the"Temimim" -- the army of learned, inspired and devotedtorchbearers who, in the decades to come, would liter-ally give their lives to keep Judaism alive under Sovietrule.In 1915 Rabbi Sholom DovBer was forced to fleeLubavitch from the advancing WWI front and settled inRostov-on-Don in southern Russia. In his final years, hebegan the heroic battle -- carried on under the leader-ship of his son and successor, Rabbi Yosef YitzchakSchneerson -- against the new Communist regime'sefforts to destroy the Jewish faith. Rabbi SholomDovBer passed away in Rostov in 1920.Links: Want it All http://chabad.org/article.asp?aid=2617;Three Divine Echoes (an essay based on RabbiSholom DovBer's Heichaltzu 5659)http://chabad.org/article.asp?aid=3028


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