Parashat Vayetze - Our Mother, The Unbelievable

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying whatever it is that they're doing, because it's definitely important. Speaking about things that are important, I have a dvar torah!

There's a midrash that says that while the Beit HaMikdash is burning and is up in flames during the chorban, many of our ancestors approach Hashem and daven on our behalves. For example, Avraham says, "Hashem don't destroy the Beit HaMikdash, in my merit, because I will willing to offer my son to you as a sacrifice." Hashem didn't listen to him. Yitzchak also pleas to Hashem becuase he too was prepared to be offered as a korban, but that was not enough to prevent Hashem from destroying our Beit HaMikdash. The Midrash lists many different characters that ask for mercy, all of whom are turned down. Except for one. Rachel Imeinu (Mamma Rachel) says to Hashem, "You are mad at the Bnei Yisrael because they are going to other gods? You are embarrassed that your loved ones are with some other god? Well, what about me? I had the right to be jealous of Leah when I knew that my man would be marrying her. I had the right to be embarrassed of knowing that the man I love will not be with me but will be with someone else. However, I didn't let that stop me from giving over the passwords to Leah. In my merit, stop the suffering." And eventually, Hashem does listen to Rachel.

As we all know, Yaakov moves in to Charan and tells Lavan, "I want to marry your younger daughter, Rachel." Everyone knew that they were gonna get married. Seven years later, before the wedding night, Yaakov suspected that Lavan would pull some type of trick, and instead of sending Rachel to get married, he would send Leah. Therefore, as a preventative measure, he told something to Rachel (seemingly, some sort of password - case sensitive), and told her that he would ask her this password on the wedding night to make sure that it was she and not Leah. But right before the wedding, Rachel felt bad and knew that Leah was destined to become embarrassed. She therefore told Leah the password, and Leah married Yaakov. The following morning, when Yaakov realized it was Leah, he asked Lavan, "Why did you do this to me?," and Lavan answered that the oldest daughter must get married first.

Because of this unbelievable act of kindness that Rachel did for her sister, the Gemara in Masechet Megillah called Rachel one of the two most tzeniut people ever to have lived. Furthermore, it is the only thing that help us Jews when we needed the help during the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. This act was greater then Avraham's act, Yitzchak's act, or anyone else's act, for that matter.

What did she do? Was it really such a big deal? After all, EVERYONE knows that Rachel is the one. Leah knows that she shouldn't be getting married tonight! So what did Rachel say? "Dear sister, you will get caught tomorrow, but I don't want you to get caught tonight. So we'll push it off a couple of hours." It is obviously a selfless act, but fact of the matter is that Yaakov didn't like Leah so much even though they were married. Perhaps we can suggest that there was a lot more to it. Rachel didn't merely postpone the humiliation by a couple of hours.

But before we get to the main point, let's look into one more encounter that Leah and Rachel have later on. Leah's son, Reuven, goes into the field and gathers dudaim, flowers that help a woman become pregnant more easily. (How does it work? I have no clue. It sounds pretty cool though.) Anyway, Rachel doesn't have any kids at this point, so she asks Leah for some of those magical flowers. What does Leah respond? "Isn't it enough that you took my husband? Now you want to take my sons flowers as well?" Rachel replies, "You're right. OK. Fine. I'll let you sleep with Yaakov tonight. He'll come to your room tonight." When I first learned this, I was taken back. What did Leah say? "Isn't it enough that you took my husband?" My husband? Are you kidding me? Rachel could have answered, "You and I both know very well that he could not be any less your husband. You shouldn't be married to him. He's

my husband! If it weren't for me giving you the password, you wouldn't even be married to him! How dare you call him your husband?"

Here we go. First of all, let's get two points down. Rabbeinu Bachya explains what the password was. Yaakov taught Leah all of the halachot for chalah, niddah, and hadlakach neirot. These are three aspects of halacha that a married woman must know. There is no way that a girl in Lavan's house would know these laws, but there are very important. Therefore, Yaakov taught them to he wife-to-be, and tell her that she should be prepared to explain them on their wedding night.

Second point, there is a midrash that says that for the entire seven years before their wedding, Yaakov would send presents to their house to give to Rachel, but Lavan would just give them to Leah. The obvious question is, doesn't Leah realize that they really are for Rachel? I mean, after all, everyone knows that Rachel is the girl.

My Rebbi offered a completely novel explanation. From the very beginning, Lavan told Leah that Yaakov wants to marry her. Those presents that were coming for seven years, Lavan made Leah think they were all for her. And Rachel knew that they weren't for Leah. But she never said anything. She kept quiet. For seven years. And it pained her. But she kept quiet. Until it finally comes to the wedding night. Leah really think that she's the one. But Rachel know that Leah is destined for heartbreak. So what does she do? She tells her older sister that there are some halachot that a married woman should know. And she teaches Leah the halachot. And on the wedding night, she is knows how to give over these passwords because she's prepared for them. But she never thought that Rachel was giving her these ideas for this specific reason. And Yaakov Avinu realized exactly what happened. That's why when he wakes up in the morning, he doesn't say anything to Leah, but goes to Lavan instead. If i were in Yaakov's situation, when I wake up in the morning, I would look at Leah and said, "What are you doing here? How can you do this? I never wanted to marry you." But instead, Yaakov doesn't do that. He goes straight to Lavan, the culprit behind the crime. And so Leah never finds out. This also explains the conversation that happens later on between Rachel and Leah. Leah says, "Is it not enough that you took my husband?" Leah had no idea that she wasn't really supposed to marry Yaakov. She never knew. And Rachel still never told her.

And with this, we see how truly unbelievable and extraordinary Rachel is. FOR HER ENTIRE LIFE, SHE ALLOWED LEAH TO BELIEVE THAT YAAKOW ORIGINALLY WANTED TO MARRY HER. Rachel kept quiet her entire life. It is for this reason, that the Bnei Yisrael will later have their tefillot answered in her zechut.

I'm running out of time, so I apologize for not proofreading. I hope you all get the point, because I'm not explaining it to its fullest.

Let us all try to learn from our mother and spend our entire lives, literally, caring for other people's feelings.

Regards,

Avraham Adam Sabzevari

Parashat Chayei Sarah

Hello Everybody!

I would, once again, like to share a dvar Torah, and praise us as well (you'll see what I mean in the last paragraph).

In this week's parasha, Father Avraham decides that it's time for Yitzchak to start having kids. Yitzchak is supposed to carry on the Jewish blood, the Jewish legacy, and he just returned from a near-death experience. So Avraham feels, let's get a move on. One problem - There's no girl. So Avraham sends out his servant, Eliezer, to find the future mother of Klal Yisrael. This girl has to be an unbelievable girl. She must have a rock-solid belief in Hashem, because she will be the mother of Hashem's chosen nation. So where do we find this girl? One thing's for sure - she will not be in Cana'an. Avraham makes Eliezer swear that no matter what happens, he will not bring a girl from Cana'an. He should go to Charan, and if he isn't successful there, he should go to Aner, Eshkol, Mamre, etc. But DO NOT go to Cana'an. Why not? Because Cana'an is infested with idolatry. There are more idols than there are citizens. The street names were named after their different gods. How can the future mother of Klal Yisrael come from a town such as Cana'an? Can't happen.

This all makes sense. Except for one thing. Where does Avraham send him? To Charan. And to whose house? Bethuel's and Lavan's house. Lavan is the master of avoda zara. If Avraham's concern was belief in Hashem, why would he send him to Lavan? That's defeating the whole purpose!!! Why is Avraham looking for a daughter-in-law in a house which will produce nothing but idol worshippers?

In truth, the city that Avraham chose had nothing to do with idolatry. And Avraham didn't make Eliezer swear not to go to Cana'an because they served many gods. Avraham wanted a girl from his hometown, Charan, because they were known for their exceptional middot, their unbelievable character traits. Avraham knew if he wanted to find a girl who would excel in chessed (kindness) and in other attributes, Charan would be the place to find her. Granted that it produced nonbelievers; but serving idols is merely an "intellectual perversion." As soon as she would be exposed to the truth in Avraham's house, she would starting believing in Hashem, immediately -- beyond a shadow of a doubt. Something like that can change in a matter of seconds. However, the way a person is brought up and a person's nature is a lot less prone to change. The girls from Cana'an weren't brought up in proper environments. They weren't taught to bring in guests. They weren't taught to give travelers a drink of water. They weren't taught to give their life to doing kindness. That wasn't something that could change as easily. Avraham knew that the future mother would be coming out of a pit of the most anti-religious stuff you can ever find. But that was immaterial and insignificant in comparison to the amazing middot that it produced.

What can we learn from here? Avraham Avinu chose who our mother would be, solely on one aspect: good character. The most important thing that we must do is work on ourselves and try to perfect our attributes. Do you get angry to often? Do you find yourself thinking that you are better than others? Do you have a hard time giving to others? Are you ever unappreciative of the kindnesses others, including Hashem, do for you? There are so many aspects and avenues of perfecting ourselves. There is certainly something to grow in. And if not now, when? Avraham didn't want to take a girl from Cana'an because he doubted that they would be able to change her in any way because the damage had be done. So let us all work on ourselves before those irreparable damages are done.

Oh yes, and one more thing. Although we always need to work on ourselves and we need to be continually growing, I think it's amazing how good we (the Jewish people as a whole) really are. Not to say that we are perfect, be we really are amazing. One Shabbat, I was in a shul in Ra'anana, and a man comes and asks me if I have a place to stay for Shabbat. Who is this guy? I don't know. Does he know me? Nope. But for some reason, he's extending an invite. Similar incident happened to me at the Kotel. (That's Israel for you.) Those are just two examples, but I've experienced so many of them in my short time in Israel. And so many of us do this on a constant basis. Thanks to our Mother Rivkah, we have amazing qualities. Let's not let them go to waste.

With love,

Shabbat Shalom,

Adam Sabzevari

Parashat Lech Lecha

Shalom Everybody!

I have a very quick and short dvar Torah that I would like to share, and I'll jump right into it.

We learn in this week's parasha that after Avraham Avinu has already entered the land of Israel, he left and went down to Egypt. After staying in Egypty for a while, traveled back up to Israel. When he was going from Israel to Egypt (the first time), he stopped by many different people along the way to sleep for the night. When he left Egypt, on his way back to Israel, he stayed by the same exact people. He didn't try out different families, different inns, or different hotels. He stayed by the same exact places.

Why is it that Avraham made such a huge effort to go back to these specific peopls houses? What's the big deal if he tried someone else on the way back?

Well, there is a very simple explanation to this. Avraham Avinu want to show his hosts how much he appreciated them. Imagine being a host to Avraham Avinu. He is the only man who is standing for Hashem in the entire world today. He comes to YOUR house. A little later, he comes to YOUR neighborhood again, but this time, he doesn't stay by you. What would you think? You would think you did something wrong. "Why doesn't he want to come back? Was the food not good? Did I not offer him enough? Perhaps my house is not a place that is appropriate for a man of G-d?" However, if he returns to your house, you know that he loved being there the first time. This is why Avraham made sure to return to the same hosts.

But that's not where it ends. Avraham Avinu thought about everything he does thoroughly and knew that he must return to the same hosts who put him up for a night on his way back for a second and more important reason. This reason can be explain by a story:

Rav Moshe Feinstein was once sitting at some sort of a gathering, a place where there were of people present. He wanted to pour some milk into his cup of coffee. It just so happened that there were two cartons of milk in front of him, and these carton's of milk were two different companies (we'll call the companies Company A and Company B). Rav Moshe reached for Company A's milk, picked it up, and put it down. He, then, picked up Company B's milk and poured it into his coffee. Everyone saw this. They were going crazy! Maybe there is something wrong with Company A's kashrut! Maybe they can't rely on it! Why didn't he want to drink it? Why didn't he pour it into his coffee? And surely enough, a lot of people stopped drinking Company A's milk. They just stopped buying it. After a while, managers for Company A heard about this and were very confused. They eventually got in touch with Rav Moshe and asked him, "What is wrong with our milk?" Rav Moshe was confused. "There's nothing wrong with your milk. I never said there was something wrong with it." So they asked, "Then, why did you put it down on that day during the gathering?" Rav Moshe replied, "The carton was empty."

When there is a figure that a lot of people follow, people will very often mimic and imitate their every actions, and make a lot of assumptions on the way. Avraham Avinu was on a mission to preach about Hashem and monotheism to the world. He knew that his followers will follow him in everything that he does. If on his way back home (to Israel), Avraham Avinu wouldn't go back to his previous hosts whom he stayed by when he first traveled to Egypt, people would never go to these people's house. They will think that there was a problem in this person's house, just as everyone thought there was a problem with Company A's milk. These people will be banished from society! Not only was Avraham Avinu sensitive to his host's feelings, but he was also looking out for their livelihoods as well.

We should all learn a lesson from our father. We have to spend a lot of time thinking and trying to be as senstive as possible to each other. Avraham could have said, "I was already at their house. It's not nice! I can't eat there again! I need to go somewhere else." But if he would say that, he would indirectly ruin their lives. We should all work at caring about one another and being as considerate as possible for each other's needs. Don't forget, we are all his children. Let us learn from our father. After all, we're learning his stories for a reason.

Shabbat Shalom!

Sincerely,

Adam Sabzevari

Parashat Noah - Why Eat Meat?

Hey everyone,

I was studying this week's parasha, and I came across something that I found very interesting, I would like to share it with you.

During the times of Adam and Eve, before the Mabul (Flood), all people in the world were vegetarians. No one ate any meat. They never had to wait 6 hours before eating anything. They wouldn't even eat fish. (I can't imagine a life without eating fish. Who doesn't eat fish? I really don't like fish, btw.) Hashem told Adam that he can eat from every tree in the world, except for one tree, the forbidden tree. But the bottom line is that he was only allowed to eat trees and herbs -- he was not allowed to meat.

When Noah came off the Tevah (Ark, aka his gigantic sailboat), Hashem told him that he is allowed to eat meat from now on. He no longer has to be a vegetarian. He can eat meat. And fish! Yay!

I always knew this. But this year, when I was learning this again, I asked myself, Why? The whole world was getting destroyed. Noah goes on a boat. He's saved. OK. Now it's time to start fresh. What's one of the first things Hashem tells Noah? Go eat meat. What's going on here? Why is it that Noah and his children no longer have to be vegetarians.

The Ohr HaChaim gives three answers. I will tell you all the answers. But its really one of the answers that I really, REALLY loved.

(1) Adam and Eve were not allowed to eat meat because we didn't want them to kill all the animals in the world. Hashem was "scared" (so to speak) that man would kill and rid the world of animals. So they weren't allowed to eat the animals. After the Flood, Hashem promised that he will never again destroy the whole world with a Flood -- both man and animal. Since Hashem promised that animals will ALWAYS exist from now on and he will never bring another flood to the world, it is NOW safe to eat meat.

(2) The people, and even the animals of that time had become very corrupt and very very wicked. Hashem really wanted to destroy the ENTIRE world. From beggining to end. Destroy everyone. Everything. Start fresh with a new Adam and Eve. The only thing is that Noah was a tzadik. Noah was a really very good man. So Hashem said to Himself, "I can't destroy the entire world! Noah deserves to live." Therefore, the entire world was save BECAUSE of Noah. If not for Noah, all the animals would be killed. The only reason why some of the animals were saved and were brought on the Tevah was because of Noah. So, to an extent, Noah owned the entire world. It all belonged to him becuase it all existed becuase of him. Therefore, since he now owns all the animals, Hashem said, you are allowed to eat them. They're yours. Do as you wish. Eat away!

This next answer (number 3) is awesome. I really love it and I will explain why.

(3) What was Noah doing on the Tevah? What could he have done? What do you think he was doing? Sipping on a pina collada? From every specie of every animal that ever existed, there were either two pairs of every nonkosher animal or seven pairs of every kosher animal. Let's think about this for a second. There were at least 4 animals from every single species, and there were up to 14 animals for some species. Four lions. Four tigers. Four bears. (This is the place for the Wizard of Oz joke). Four panthers. Fourteen cows. Fourteen deer. Fourteen pigeons. Fourteens turkeys. If you think about it, this is the largest zoo ever! In all of history. EVER! And guess who was the zoo-keeper? It was Noah! Noah didn't sleep for one entire year (he was in the Tevah for over a year). All he did was feed animals. He couldn't sleep becuase different animals had different eating schedules and as soon as he finished feeding the crocodiles, he had to go feed the horses. And as soon as he left the giraffes, he had to feed the monkeys, and then the donkeys, and then the bumble bees, etc etc. He never slept. Never. Never ever. So after a whole year of serving the animals, Hashem says to Noah, as a reward, I will now allow you to eat the animals. You worked so so hard taking care of the animals, so I will acknowledge that and let you eat meat from now on. It's a reward, resulting form your hard work and constant toiling.

Why do I love this answer. Think about what's going on. Hashem has a rule. What's His rule? Men are not allowed to eat animals. Finished. This is Hashem's rule. And really, that's the way it should be forever. But Hashem deals with us in a loving and beautiful way. Hashem sees that Noah spent ONE ENTIRE YEAR focusing on these animals. He didn't care about himself. He just kept on giving and giving from himself and giving away his life for the animals. Hashem acknowledges and recognizes our efforts. Hashem said, " I am going to CHANGE my rules! I'm going to CHANGE my Torah. Why? Because you worked hard for something." And it wasn't even a religious thing! It's not like he was learning Torah all day, so Hashem said, "Good Boy! He's a treat! Go eat cow!" He wasn't even doinbg something religious. But what he did was give over his life to something else. When you give over your life for a larger purpose, Hashem knows that it is unbelievably difficult, and He will not let that go unrewarded. He will take care of you. Understand this point. If not for Noah working so hard, NO ONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD would be eating meat today. Just carrots and maybe lettuce. That's it! But the whole world can now eat meat just becuase Noah worked hard at something.

Life's tough. There are a lot of stuff that we have a hard time dealing with. Hashem decrees something on us, and we think that there's no way out. We're stuck. We have to live with these problems forever. We think that Hashem made a rule and that's the way it will be, and there's nothing we can do about it. Fact: This could not be any further from the truth. Hashem is more flexible than any of us can ever imagine. Hashem makes changes. Hashem makes things easier for us. Hashem gives us huge rewards. Hashem wants us to live easy and enjoyable lives. But the enjoyable life comes with one condition: You can't sit around and not give life 100%. Noah has a job to do. He had to take care of the animals. He did a phenomenal job. He gave his 100%. He didn't even sleep. We also have jobs and roles in life. (What are those jobs and roles? That's a whole different question. But once we know what those jobs and roles in this world are,) We have an obligation to give our 100%. We have to give it our all. We have to give ourselves up for the larger purpose. And once we do that, Hashem will just start giving you the blessings that we want (namely, meat).

Shabbat Shalom! And sorry if I got confusing in the middle. I'm not sure if I made sense, and I'm too lazy to go over the whole email...Talk about giving 100%.

Love you all. Bye Bye!