Rabbi Frand on Parshas Lech Lecha
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 390 Geirus -
Mitzvah, Reshus, or Issur? Good Shabbos!
There's No Place Like Away From Home to Learn How to be a Good Host
The very first Rashi in our parsha [Bereshis 12:1] interprets the words "Go
for yourself" (Lech-Lecha) to mean "for your own benefit and welfare". The
Imrei Shammai cites an incident involving Reb Nachum of Chernobyl
(1730-1787) which elucidates this Rashi.
Reb Nachum was once imprisoned. It did not take much in the Ukraine for a
Jew -- a Rabbi especially -- to wind up in jail. An old Jew came to visit
Reb Nachum and told him that he could explain a particular reason why Reb
Nachum was sitting in jail.
Reb Nachum used to devote much effort to the mitzvah of redeeming Jews
from captivity (pidyon shevuyim). At a time when Jews were arbitrarily and
capriciously thrown into jail, he felt obligated to do whatever he could
to work for their release. The old Jew told him that G-d put Reb Nachum
himself in jail so that he would be able to appreciate what a great
mitzvah he was doing when working for the release of Jewish prisoners. Now
that he was sitting in jail, he would be better at empathizing with the
prisoners who he helped. The next time he would go out to raise money for
pidyon shevuyim, it would be a different experience. He would have more
appreciation for the wonderful mitzvah that he was doing.
Here too, Avraham was destined to be the prototype of kindness toward his
fellow man. He was destined to be the prototype of welcoming in wayfarers.
G-d wanted to show him what a great mitzvah it is to be a host to guests who
need a place to stay. The best way to learn how to be a host is to first be
a traveler.
Anyone who needs to go away for a Shabbos experiences what it is like to be
away from his family, away from his own bed, and away from his surroundings.
Especially when a person is a wandering traveler for an extended period of
time -- he really learns to appreciate the great kindness provided by those
who warmly extend hospitality. This experience is the best training course
for becoming a better host.
Therefore, Avraham was directed "Lech Lecha". Be a traveler. It will be for
your own benefit and welfare because knowing what it means to be a traveler
will help you so much more when you want to become a host.
I know someone who is an excellent teacher. He had been an excellent student
all his life and had always found learning easy. He was always stimulated by
his classes and enjoyed learning. When he went to college, Physical
Education was a required course. Physical Education for this person was like
calculus for people who aren't good in mathematics. It was a disaster. He
got a C in the course -- the lowest grade of his entire college career.
But he confided to me that this experience taught him how to be a better
teacher. Had he coasted through his entire educational career without
experiencing difficulty and frustration in a class, he would not have known
the meaning of a student struggling and having difficulties with his
studies. P.E. gave him the experience of being behind his classmates and
feeling frustrated that it was so much easier for them and that they were so
much better than he. That made him into a better teacher.
G-d was doing the same thing for Avraham. Go out -- for your own benefit.
You will see how hard it is to be a traveler and you will be a much better
host as a result.
Hesitant About Circumcision for the Best of Reasons
Avraham was 99 years old when he was instructed to circumcise himself. Many
commentaries are bothered by the fact that Avraham waited until this point
in his life before performing the Bris Milah. Our Sages teach that Avraham
fulfilled the entire Torah (even Rabbinic enactments), even though he was
not commanded to do so. If he fulfilled the entire Torah, why had he not yet
performed this basic mitzvah of circumcision? Why did he wait for the
specific command from G-d to do the Milah. A variety of answers are given to
this question.
There is a related question that ties in with next week's parsha, which
begins with G-d appearing to Avraham by the plains of Mamre. What was
Avraham doing there? Our Sages teach us that Avraham had gone to seek
counsel from Mamre regarding G-d's command that he should circumcise
himself.
This is very strange. G-d gave Avraham a command to circumcise himself.
What is there to discuss with Mamre? He did not consult with anyone when
he was commanded to sacrifice his son. Regarding no other command do we
find that Avraham sought counsel from his neighbors. Why was Milah
different? This reinforces the evidence that for some reason Avraham was
hesitant about going ahead with the circumcision. Why?
The Medrash seems to say that Avraham was hesitant about fulfilling the
command of circumcision for the best of reasons.
Avraham was in the 'Kiruv [outreach] business'. He brought people under
the wings of the Divine Presence. He felt -- and rightly so -- that to
influence people spiritually, one has to be able to relate to them. People
have to look at a person who is trying to influence them spiritually and
think "I can relate to this person. He is a person like me. He is not
crazy. He is not weird. I can become like that person."
As long as Avraham was uncircumcised he was like everybody else. Once he
made that indelible mark on his body, however, he would be forever
different. If he was going to be forever different, he knew that he would
inevitably lose a certain amount of his ability to affect other people. He
would no long be the same as them. He would be looked at as strange and
different. His whole mission in life would be adversely affected by the
command of circumcision.
This is the meaning of the Medrash that Avraham went to Mamre. He did not
inquire from Mamre whether he should or should not fulfill G-d's command. He
just wanted to check Mamre's reaction to gage whether he should do the Milah
publicly or privately. Should he fulfill this Mitzvah in an open and public
fashion or would he be better off doing it clandestinely?
Why Jeopardize Avraham's Career As A Kiruv Worker?
This explains Avraham's hesitancy to perform the circumcision. Avraham was
concerned that it would jeopardize his efficacy in converting heathens. The
question then becomes, given this correct concern by Avraham, what all of a
sudden changed at age 99? Why did G-d suddenly demand circumcision at this
point in Avraham's life? Avraham still had a long life ahead of him. Why did
G-d jeopardize Avraham's career in 'kiruv' by requiring milah at this point
in his life? Why didn't He wait until Avraham was 150, so that he would have
another 51 years of being a better outreach worker? Avraham did not die
until he was 175. Let him have milah at 170. Why 99? Why all of a sudden
now?
Rav Nissan Alpert suggests that what happened at age 99 was that Avraham was
now going to have a son who was supposed to become the future Jewish nation.
As such, Avraham now has an even more important job than being an outreach
worker for the nations. His job now became being the best educator possible
for the future Jewish nation. He must become the most effective teacher
possible not for the whole world, but for his own son.
As parents, we must try to be as perfect Jews and as perfect human beings as
we can. We are the ultimate role models for our children. Therefore, we need
to get our act together as parents. Even if until we became parents we
fooled around or have not been serious about life, parenthood brings new
responsibilities. This is true for every parent. It was certainly true for
Avraham Avinu, who was the father of Yitzchak and the father of the future
Jewish nation.
Avraham now had to become as perfect as possible. Since Milah was a step
toward that paradigm of perfection, there was no putting it off any longer.
Even if the outreach would suffer somewhat, he now had a more important job.
If I Were Rothschild, I Would Be Richer Than Rothschild
There was once a Mohel who was given the opportunity to be the Mohel of one
of the grandchildren of the Brisker Rav [R. Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik,
1886-1959]. After the Mohel performed the circumcision, he went to the
Brisker Rav and expressed satisfaction at how thrilled he was that he had
the merit to circumcise the grandson of such a great person.
The Brisker Rav told him he was making a silly mistake. The Brisker Rav
pointed out that when fulfilling the commandment of circumcision, upon which
13 Covenants were made with G-d, it is such a great mitzvah that it does
not make the slightest difference whether the baby being circumcised is the
grandson of the Brisker Rav or the son of a simple Jew. The simple act of
Milah is so great that it just cannot become any better than that.
The Brisker Rav gave the Mohel an example. There was once a poor man who
earned his living by teaching small children (a melamed). In those days,
teachers of small children were terribly poor. This melamed said, "If I were
to suddenly receive all of Rothschild's money, I would be richer than
Rothschild. Why is that, you may ask? Because I would have all of
Rothschild's money and I would still do a little teaching on the side. I
would be wealthier than Rothschild!"
The Brisker Rav told the Mohel that taking pride in circumcising his
grandson is just as foolish. The wealth of the merit of doing any
circumcision equates to the wealth of Rothschild. The added merit of
circumcising my grandchildren is like the incremental few rubles of a
melamed's salary. It is like adding $7.95 to a billion dollars!
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas Lech Lecha are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
