Lech Lecha - 5th Portion

Join me in learning together hitas for Thursday parshas lech lecha verse 21 chapter 14. And the king of Sodom says to Avram, Give me the people and you have rescued that you have rescued and everything else you can keep. If we mentioned in the previous verse yesterday that Avram gave 10% of everything he earned to Shame. This is coming to tell us that the things that he gave was not from what he received of from Sodom cuz as we're going to see Avram does not take anything from Sodom. And over here the king of Sodom offers to Avram to take the possessions. As you can see Rashi tells us as follows. Tell me an effish verse 21 Rashi. He only wanted to be saved. Minash we shall leashe it out to actually from the people that you saved. That I'll take back as I good the go thing the people the bottom only the humans. However, the rest of the possessions you can keep for yourself. Avram continues to say as follows. And Avram tells the king of Sodom. >> [clears throat] >> I remind you all the Allah shame. I raised my hand to Allah shame to God. The more God of most high queen of sham mind the order the good possessor the maker of heaven and earth. Verse 22. I remind you all the why does he mean I raised my hand? It's a sign of a promise. Loshingshua, Rashi says. May your money settle the killing. I raise my hand to almighty God. The rain, so too we find spite you. When I please I swear I swear I gave you the fear the money take the field. A nation I kneel kiss of a sudden I'm giving to you the field the money for the field. So we find in other places when he uses a past but really he's talking about in the present term. You may not even take it from me. What does Avram tell him? Avram says as follows. He may watch now. If from a shoelace that >> [clears throat] >> that I will not even take a thread the hood is a thread that's not the shoelace. The maker of the shower lock nor will I take anything that belongs to you. Only say my so that you should not be able to say and me is Avram I made Avram wealthy. Here Rashi tells us what is he what does this mean? In the hood watch it now verse 23 I give lots me I will not even take the smallest thing for myself mean I shall be of these possessions. If you make me call us a lock not only will I not take because if I were to take anything that you give me the entire losses this horror we basically say you know what don't take for these things I'll give you something else. I'm not going to take it from you. We basically or nothing from you warehouses or from your treasures like I will not take it. For they say my so you should not say God promised me if they had any last rain he promised that he's going to make me wealthy should never like God promised him at the beginning of the tournament of that I will bless you which blessing you means the blessing of wealth. So therefore he says I don't want to take anything from you. But the people that came with me. Below die that is except below die that is except I can show from what the young men have eaten and the share of people who came with me I shall hold walk walk with me on their let them take their share they stayed to guard the camp they deserve something and therefore they should be able to take something as well. Rashi continues to explain what does it mean on the order of the last verse 24 all the servants that came with me the and more so under shall also take even though even though that they maybe were not the same because some of my servants actually went to war as it says but honor and his friends Joshua they were watching the stuff back home a few more still they have to get their part and this idea in war to know that the people that are on the home front and the people that are on the battle front are equally part of the war remember from this learn from in the book of Samuel it talks about the same amount of people the part of the people that went out to war and the part of the people that said back and watching and protecting the home front they both take the booty equally therefore it says that because this law was already made in time of that he gave the people that were watching and the people that went equal amounts of booty. Verse chapter 15 verse one. >> After all these events and the battle that I was victorious I was concerned that maybe now his merits have been used out. So therefore I shall come to them after these words how you advise God word came to have Roman in a vision has an a vision saying I'll tear up from I from do not fear. for you score card you will reward will be very great. Rashi explains to us what does this mean after the following events? After anytime says after that means something happened that because of this we are saying something happened after certain event move forward and then later on between these two events. So in this case the verse is stressing letting us know that these events after a miracle happened after miracle happens that he killed these four kings for how you doing and therefore I from was concerned for him and he said sham maybe I already received reward and all my good deeds like I hardly I'm welcome therefore I shall tell him I'll tear up from don't you worry I from as Rashi continues as the verse says I will protect you you know I will protect you was worried that maybe he killed innocent lives. God says don't worry I'll protect you from any punishment you will not be punished for any of those people that you killed shut the door you got to give us and if you're concerned that you're not going to get your reward cuz you already protected score card you made you have a great reward coming your way. Now I from continues to ask God what's going on? And I from says I shall I came almighty God. Oh God. Ma ti teleni, what can you give me? For anochi holech ariri, but I'm childless. Uven meshek beisi, the administrator of my household, uven meshek Eliezer, is Eliezer of Damascus. Saying, if I don't have a child, who's going to be inherit me? Eliezer, my administrator, my Eliezer, my servant. Rashi explains as follows. Holech ariri, what does the word ariri mean? Menachem ben Saruq perushei, one of Rashi's teachers when it came to the commentators to come to grammar and translation, was a fellow by the name of Menachem ben Saruq, who wrote a commentary and grammar on the actual Torah, and he gives the following explain- explanation on the word ariri, lashon yerusha. It means a heir. An heir. V'chavarlo, we find a similar terminology for it when we talk about in the book of Malachi, yach air v'eina, air and a and he will have a somebody that's going to inherit something from him. It's interesting the word air and heir in the English and in Hebrew have a similar connotation. Ariri, what does the word ariri mean? B'lo yerusha, without anybody to inherit what he has. K'sha teima, when you say "B'chol frasi d'sharshi", in all of my wheat, it should root, or t'aker sharsha, maybe uprooted its roots. Kach lashon ariri, so too the word ariri comes from the word inherit or roots. Chasar banim, childless. In Old French, deschanterish. V'linear, however, Rashi seems to find another explanation for the word ariri. The word ariri comes from the word air v'eina, meaning from the concept of destruction. The libi I'm sorry, the concept of being awake. Migizras the libi air. That my heart from the word from my heart is awake. Also the ariri, but when the word ariri the word air means awake, but the word ariri is loshin churban is a terminology of destruction. No child, so therefore it's a destruction. The same we find that it says in tehilim oru oru how you decide but the enemies called a destruction destroy destroy till there was nothing left of its foundations. The same or see you say the chabakuk it says we destroyed until the foundation. Ar ertis arir it would the buildings were destroyed. Ar zaki era. So we find this terminology of air meaning destruction. Destruction that there's nothing left of him so therefore he's childless. Ben meshek baisi. What does mean ben meshek baisi? Kitar gumai the part of the targum translated to mean shekol baisi nisam. I'll give everything that happened to my house goes be with him. For example, we find this later on l'picha yishak that according to your mouth everything will happen. Eliezer was therefore Avram's apatrupashali. His administrator. The person who took care of everything was there. Filo yili ben. If I would have a child are you ben menashe? I would have a child to be in charge of everything, but because I don't have a child Eliezer is the one in charge. Damesek. Why was he called Damesek Eliezer? Lufia targum according to the targum means that he came from a place called Damascus. Midamesekoya. Lufia medrasha goda according to medrasha goda he was called Damesek sher adaf ko zi chase Amalek madamesek. He chased the kings into Damascus. Um the gemara shel anum. And in our talmud which means in the talmud bavli Babylonian talmud in the tractate of yuma dar shi they explain the word Damesek doi netrikun. It is a word combined of multiple words. The word Damesek means dweller in it's made up of two words. He draws and he is able to nourish himself. And he learns and he teaches others. He tells you that his rabbi from the teachings of his of his master that he learned from to teach to others as well. Verse three. And said Look, you haven't given me any children. So, according to the astrology that I see, there's not going to be any I'm not going to have any children. So, therefore, who's going to be the one to inherit me? It's going to be the one of my household referring to Eliezer. Rashi continues and tells us as follows. Verse three. This was Abraham's response to God saying that your reward is going to be great. What purpose is this all the reward of this wealth? Whatever you're going to give me. Verse four. And he love. And at that moment, the word of God came to him saying this one will not be your heir. The one that will be born from your own flesh, from your own who you he will inherit you. Verse five. And he said to him go outside. And God took him outside and he said Look up to the heaven and count the stars. If you can count them. And he said to him So, will be your This is how your descendants will be. Rashi, why did he have to take him outside? Rashi explains as follows. According to he told him to leave your tent and walk outside. He wanted it to be a hands-on, that he should see a visual, that he can show him the the stars. According to the Midrash, he explains as follows. God tells him, "Go out of your astrology. Because I've promised saying I saw with the mazel is with the different galaxies. I saw with astrology, I'm not going to have a child." Therefore, he says, "Avram Avram without the hey does not have a son. But Avraham will have a son." The same thing. Sarai Sarai may not give birth. But but Sarah will give birth. Therefore, because everything in a person's luck is dependent in their name. And he called I will call you a different name. And your luck will change. As we see even today, when people are having unfortunate things in their life, whether a person sick, they one of the things that they do is they change his name because the name changes the person's luck. Another thing we can explain this as well. He took him out of the atmosphere God took him out of the atmosphere of the world. He brought him up and he brought him up even above the stars. Therefore, he tells him, "Look down. Look down at the stars. He doesn't say look up at the stars. Look down looking strongly." And therefore, he really picked them up and he tells him he took him outside outside of the atmosphere of the world. Verse six. And Avram believed in God. And God accounted it for him as an act of righteousness that he believed this blessing will come true. Verse six Rashi, "V'ha'emin ba'Shem." Technically, he didn't have to believe. He didn't ask, "How do I know it's true?" Like surely I lay shalsa. I will mirush I will mirush surely from the maid of here he didn't ask, "How do I know this is true?" But when God told him you can inherit the land, he did ask, "How am I going to know?" V'yachshveha l'tzedaka. Rashi continues "K'chu sh'vola Avram sh'chul tzedaka." God considered this for Avram as a very good merit and righteousness. Maybe because of the belief that he had in it. Davar acher, another explanation. When explaining how is it that when Avram asked when it came to inheriting the land, he said "B'mo eida, how will I know?" The surely but over here he did not ask for a sign. Al amar l'fanecha said "Heni'eni." He wasn't asking is it true or not. He let know "B'eizeh z'chus is coming to what merit do I have that this will come true?" I'm only k'chu sh'vola God told him "B'z'chus avos in the merit of the sacrifices that your children will bring, that is the merit that they will inherit the land of Israel and you will see the blessings in your children." This concludes the fifth Torah reading [music] of Lech L'cha.