Parashas Lech Lecha - Being Faithful to Hashem

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Refua Shelema: Leah Ayala Bas Yehudis
May you and your family have health, happiness, peace and success!
(If you would like to sponsor a Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)
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At the end of last week's parasha, the Torah mentions the ten generations from Noach to Avram. According to some commentaries, last week's parasha was also the beginning of Avram's ten trials (tests) by Hashem.

The generation of his time were very corrupt. There were those who rebelled against Hashem and those who completely denied His existence.

It was Avram (better known as Avraham Avinu) who brought Hashem's name back into this world. Avram did anything and everything he could do to sanctify Hashem's name. He believed that this world was so complex, there's no way it had no creator. This indeed was the first test Avram had passed, according to some commentaries.

Avram's father, Terach, had a business selling idols. At a young age, Avram convinced the customers who entered the store, that they were wasting their time buying these idols. He claimed, "Aren't you embarrassed to buy an idol which was made just yesterday by my father? You are older than the idol, and you're worshiping it?" or "You say thieves stole your idol? If your gods were unable to protect themselves, how do you expect them to protect you?!"[1]

One day, Avram decided to smash all the idols in the store while his father was away. He put the hammer besides the biggest statue and told his father, "This statue got upset at the other ones and destroyed them." Terach replied, "That's non-sense, son. You know they can't move or talk!" Avram retorted, "Think about what you just said. If that's the case, why do you even worship it?" [1]

Another story we have all heard of was when Avram was thrown into a fiery oven. In fact, that was his second test, according to some opinions: King Nimrod wanted to give Avram a second chance to worship him and his idols. All he had to do was bow down to the king and his idols. Avrom refused saying, "I will never forsake Hashem! He is the one who should be served, not a fake god like you!" [2]

Nimrod's slaves grabbed Avrom and threw him into the fire. Hashem Himself went to save him from the fire. Avrom walked out unharmed. Nimrod was speechless and decided to bow down to Avrom. "Do not bow down to me, rather to the living G-d, Creator of the Universe," Avrom said. [3]

The next (and some say the first) trial was Lech Lecha; Avrom was commanded to leave his land and travel to an unknown destination. [for more information on this test, see last year's dvar Torah: http://sharingtorah.blogspot.com/2008/11/parashas-lech-lecha.html].

Avrom had gone through a lot and sacrificed a lot on behalf of Hashem. He did not have a 'smooth-sailing' life. He put a lot of effort into what he believed in. A lot of us are afraid to stand up for what we believe in, especially if our spirituality or health is at risk.

There are people who get involved with the wrong crowds; they think it's better being involved with a certain crowd even though they speak bad about other people and steal only because it's better than having no crowd. Or they might see a friend do something terribly wrong but they're are too 'scared' or 'nervous' to tell them it's wrong because they don't want to be made fun of, or talked bad about by others.

Avrom didn't care about what others around him thought. He was disliked and bashed by everyone around him, but he didn't care. He knew he was doing the right thing by bringing awareness of Hashem's name to the world, and he wasn't going to let other people's actions influence him. Avrom was the first to initiate and maintain spirituality regardless of how many people fought against him.

We should all learn from Avraham Avinu to take religious observance to the next level; putting aside our kavod for the sake of Hashem. If there's someone who is trying to convince us to do something which might not make Hashem happy, let us stand up for ourselves and say 'no' just like Avrom did before he was thrown into the oven.

May Hashem grant us the courage to do His will and to not be influenced by others.

Have a good Shabbos,
Nisso

[1] Bereishis Rabba 38:19
[2] Midrash HaGadol 11:28
[3] Bais Hamidrash Chadra

Parashas Noach - Keeping a kesher with Hashem

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Refua Shelema: Leah Ayala Bas Yehudis
May you and your family have health, happiness, peace and success!
(If you would like to sponsor a Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)
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There's a lesson in Parashas Noach which I think we can all relate to in one way or another. A common example is not thanking Hashem enough for the health we have.

In other words, let's say we've been ill for days/weeks, we cry to Hashem, "Please heal us!" However, when we feel much better, we intend to stop talking to Him. When things are going really well for us, we intend to forget who is behind it and act as if it's naturally the way the world works.

In this week's parasha, Hashem brought upon the world a mabul (flood). The cause for this was the life-style before the mabul which was similar to life on Gan Eden. Life was great!

A couple examples the meforshim bring: Human beings possessed strength which did not weaken once they reached an old age, rather they only got stronger. Ie: They were able to uproot full size cedar trees, or they considered lions (and other scary beasts) harmless as flies. [1] Another example was that a newborn child was immediately able to stand, walk and talk. Additionally, no child would die in the same life-time as their parents or grandparents.[2]

Other examples given: They worked their fields once every forty years, because their fields produced a sufficient amount of crops for no one to ever go hungry. There was no change in seasons. The weather was beautiful all the time. [3] And the biggest one of all; they knew nothing about suffering of any kind! [4]

Since everything was perfect, people everywhere questioned, "Why do we need to give authority to Hashem? We don't need His help anymore! We've got food and water to last us forever, we don't get ill, and there's NOTHING else we need from Him."

Can you imagine saying that to your parent? They've done so much for us, but now that we're all taken care of we don't need the people who brought us into this world?!! It's no wonder why Hashem chose to destroy the corrupted people. But as always, Hashem is merciful, which is why he instructed Noach to build an Ark and to save the human race. [5]

Chazal say the reason why Hashem brings afflictions upon us is because we are lacking in communication with Him. He wants us to talk to him.

I remember when I was younger, I had a friend who came from money - an extremely wealthy family. I once told her how lucky she was because she got money whenever she wanted, she had very nice clothing, a live-in maid, etc... Life seemed perfect. One day this person started crying to me saying, "You always thought I was lucky. And I always wanted to tell you this -- I would rather be in your life position than mine! Yea, it's nice, I don't clean my own room, and have lots of clothing, but the thing I want most I don't have!" I was a little confused, so I asked what she meant. She continued, "My father tries getting me out of his way by giving me money. He always tells me to go shopping or go to the movies just so that I'm not home - 'in his face.' I can tell you from experience, I would much rather have a father than wealth!"

After she told me that, I had a different perspective on things. It helped me realize how lucky I was, not her! We all need our parents. They are our guides in life, our role-models. Hashem is the opposite of this girl's father. Hashem wants a kesher with us. He wants us to talk to him. If not, He has no choice but to pull us towards Him by afflicting us.

I give us a bracha that we realize the good Hashem does for us and that we should always have Hashem in our minds. Whether things seem to be going bad or good for us, we should always continue to talk to Him.

Have a good Shabbos,
Nisso

[1] Bereishis Rabba 34:13
[2] Bereishis Rabba 36:1
[3] Midrash Tanchuma Bereishis 40
[4] Midrash HaGadol 6:4
[5] Sinhedrin 108

Parashas Bereishis - Loose Lips Sink Ships

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Refua Shelema: Pesach Ben Sarah
May you have health, happiness, and success!
(If you would like to sponsor a Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)
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Woah! Sefer Bereshis - It's packed with a lot of fun stories and lessons. This is going to be my second year writing. I am very excited and again I want to thank you subscribers for giving me the drive to continue writing.

In this week's parasha, there's an extremely life-threatening lesson I hope we will be able to work on this year. It's something that doesn't pop up once a year, month, or week. It's something to be worked on everyday. It's something we can't run away from; rather, something we can prevent.

Anyone who knows me, knows what I am talking about: the power of speech.

When Hashem created Adam v'Chava, He told them they may help themselves to anything in the fields with the exception of one tree, The Eitz Hada'as. Hashem warned them, "...for on the day you eat from that tree, you shall surely die!"

Hashem gave the Snake the power of words and the ability to walk upright in order to serve mankind. [1] The problem is, those powers were used against us. The Nachash convinced Chava to eat from the Eitz Hada'as, and death was then introduced - for the first time - to this world.

You always hear exaggerations; lashon hara can cause so much harm! Destroy shidduchim, family, business... It can even kill. Unfortunately, this is NOT an exaggeration, and we have this week's parasha to prove it.

The question is always asked, "...but the Snake didn't really speak lashon hara, he just lied! Lashon hara is saying something negative which is also the truth. So really, lashon hara wasn't what brought death to this world."

In Sefer Chofetz Chaim [2], Rav Yisroel Meir writes, "It's forbidden to say something bad about a friend even if it's 100% true! The sin is called, Lashon Hara. An even worse prohibition is saying something false about someone. That is called Motzei Shem Rah - bringing out a bad name."

'Motzei shem rah' is under the category of Lashon Hara. There are lots of sub-categories such as: motzei shem rah, rechillus, api t'laseh, etc...

The Nachash enticed Chava to eat from the tree by telling her, "Hashem doesn't want you eating from this tree, because that's where He got all His power from. He doesn't want any competition and therefore prohibited you from eating it." Then the Nachash pushed Chava onto the tree making her touch it (after she claimed it was 'forbidden to touch'). The tree wasn't forbidden to touch, however - although that's what Adam told her in order to keep her away from the tree.

Obviously this tree isn't where Hashem got His powers from. The Nachash lied in order to convince Chava to err. So the truth is, death came to this world because of motzei shem rah; a form of Lashon Hara.

Perhaps we can try to prolong each other's lives by refraining from evil words. Let's be known as "Hashem's children"and bring life instead of death.

Have a wonderful Shabbos and Shana Tova,
Nisso

[1] Maharsha; Sinhedrin 59
[2] Hilchos Lashon Hara: Klal 1 Halacha 1

Parashas Vezos Habracha & A Special Thank You!

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Aliya Neshama: Shafika Bas Chasiba
(If you would like to sponsor a Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)
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To the special subscribers, who encourage me simply by being on the list,

Baruch Hashem, I have had a very successful year writing the Weekly Parasha Divrei Torah, finishing several masechtas, and sticking to my Kollel routine.

I've had more than a handful of people who wanted a Dvar Torah sponsored either for a Refua Shelema, Hatzlacha, Yeshuah, Mazal to Conceive, Aliya Neshama, Mazal in Business, etc...

In addition, I wanted to let you all know that you are able to share a portion in my Torah learning by sponsoring either a week, month, or year. I would say the names (example: Leah Ayala Bas Yehudis for a Refua Shelema) everyday before starting seder. You may also reserve a week - months in advance.

I have spoken to the posek (Rabbi) of my community, and he said people may certainly use their maaiser (tithe) money to help support my learning and to partake in the schar (merit.)

Bli Ayin Hara, I have about 200 people I send out my divrei Torah to weekly and the list continues to grow. Either way, if you aren't able to help monetarily, I still thank you very much because by your subscription alone - it gives me tremendous chizuk to continue writing!

There's a posuk in Parashas Vezos Habracha: "And regarding Zevulun he said, Rejoice Zevulun in your departure; and Yissachar in your tents... for by the streaming of the sea they shall be nurtured and the hidden treasures of the sand." This posuk describes the partnership between Zevulun (who would work) and Yissachar (who would learn and be supported by Zevulun). Since they are partners, whatever Torah Yissachar learns, Zevulun gets an equal amount of merit.

Zevulun's name was mentioned first. Why? You'd think Yissachar's name should come first because they are doing the will of Hashem and learning Torah. Rashi answers since Zevulun was responsible for Yissachar's Torah learning, the Torah honored them first. We can see the importance of supporting Torah.

The Ohr Hachayim explains; 'Rejoice Zevulun in your departure,' to mean: Zevulun, since you are engaging yourself in business for the sake of Yissachar's Torah learning, you should be happy and rejoice because all the work/profit you are making are now converted into mitzvos.

Additionally, 'for by the streaming of the sea they shall be nurtured,' Rashi says, "Zevulun and Yissachar - to whom the sea streamed abundant wealth." It seems from there that when one supports Torah or learns Torah, Hashem gives them plenty of means to sustain themselves. It's a win/win situation.

May we be zocheh to get all the brachas in the Torah. Have a Good Shabbos and Chag Sameach!

I sincerely thank you all,
Nisso