The Abraham Accords: A Biblical Perspective

So, today's class is dedicated by our dear friends Dr. Michael and Liz Michelle the pillars of our sheer and our classes in tribute to the 10th yard site of Dr. Michelle's mother. 10 years, yeah. On the 23rd day of Kheshvan in the loving memory of Rebbetzin Sarah Michelle Sarah bas Reb Yechiel Mechel who passed away 10 years ago on Chof Gimmel Kheshvan. So, the yard site will be commemorated this Friday. She was a pillar of the Monsey community an educator, a mentor a pillar of kindness and benevolence and generosity. Also build an amazing beautiful family. Tehei nishmatah tzerurah betzeror hachaim. And may she remain and her loving memory remain an eternal source of blessing and inspiration to her family, all of her loved ones and all of the Jewish people. And thank you for your friendship and partnership. You could take the source sheet if you don't have. You have the source sheets here. There's more, just you can give it to anybody who doesn't have, yeah. Sometimes the Torah spells its messages out very clearly. Sometimes it spells its messages out but not so clearly. You have to dig a little deeper. You have to excavate. You have to uncover the layers of depths [snorts] of depth. Sometimes the Torah gives us no more than clues. And here it's almost like a puzzle where you have to it's like investigative work, really. Where you have to start looking at all the clues putting the pieces together and unraveling the story, the narrative that's being told. Many people when they learn Midrash, they learn Midrashim on Chumash. They learn the various aggadahs, the various teachings of our sages, the rabbis over the generations in explaining Chumash and explaining Tanakh with the Midrash Rabbah Midrash Tanchuma, Mechilta, Yalkut Shimoni, Sifra, Sifrei, the various Midrashim. Or they learn Rashi. Or they learn other commentators of Chumash that quote Gemaras, that quote Midrashim written in earlier generations, later generations often misunderstand a lot of the themes of the Midrash. It looks like the sages are just introducing all these types of all these new stories into the text that don't exist in the text. We'll soon see a very dramatic example of that. But really, what all of Midrash is doing is reading the text very, very clearly, very, very deeply and most importantly, tuning into the nuances, as I said, to all of the clues that sometimes create a mosaic, a tapestry where you literally see a puzzle unfolding. We once did a whole class, just as an illustration uh about the famous Midrash that when uh Batya, the daughter of Paroh comes to uh bathe at the Nile Delta in the beginning of Shemot and she sees a little basket and she's curious and inquisitive. Vatishlach amatah, she sends either her arm or her maidservant, there's two interpretations, to fetch it and of course she opens it up and there's a little baby and she decides to adopt the baby who who she names Moshe. We all know the story. And yet when you look at Rashi quoting a Gemara and Sota and a Midrash, he says that her arm extended amot harbeh. Her arm She couldn't fetch the the basket. It was in the river. She couldn't get to it. But her arm extended 10 20 ft, 30 ft, 40 ft, 50 ft and she managed to grab the basket. Right? Now, if you came to a river, forgive me and you saw a little basket and you stretched out your arm and your arm suddenly became 50 ft long, what would you do, honestly? Yeah, you would run very fast, right? Call Hatzalah, call Chaverim, call Shoimerim, call 911. [laughter] Call your husband to save you. We all grew up with these stories. Well, what was bothering them with the story as is? Torah doesn't say her arm extended 50 ft. So, we gave a whole sheer on this that they were actually reading the story well. They were reading the story well. They were They were They were conveying the idea that what she did was something that was beyond reach. Was something that the arm usually cannot achieve. You know, there are certain things even if I extend myself, I can achieve and there are certain things you can extend yourself. On Chaim Berlin Margolis, there's an expression in Yiddish, mesirus nefesh helft af an upspringen fun a dach, nisht af an upspringen af a dach. Self-sacrifice can help somebody jump off a roof if if it's appropriate. But it it's not going to help somebody jump onto a roof. I could be as dedicated as I want. Certain things are simply beyond reach. That was one of those stories. To take a little Jewish baby and raise him under the eyes of Hitler or Stalin or Paroh as his name was then. But it happens. So, today we want to read such a story. It's filled with clues. There's clues and you see that there are clues because there's no obvious reason to mention all of these details. But you don't understand the significance of these clues. And the Chazal came and read it read these clues and they showed the deeper plot, what you would call there's the plot and there is the subplot and there's the sub-subplot. And uh the credit of today's class is to Rabbi the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks whose first yard site is this week. He passed away last year in Britain. He was the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and died at the age of 72 last year, Shabbos Vayeira. So, this week is his first yard site. Thank you. With a cup, wow. You know, and his contribution was was enormous and eloquent and rich. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gilbert. Thank you. I hope everybody else also has water, huh? Today or yesterday, huh? You're very nice. You're very kind. Okay. Oh, there's coffee and tea, wow. Oh, I didn't realize. Okay. That's That's amazing. Thank you, Junior. So, I don't want the work to go in vain. So, make sure at some point you take a coffee or a tea. If you don't want it, bring it to your husband. Try to turn get too cold. And in what So, in one of the really beautiful, eloquent, remarkable essays of Rabbi Sacks on the parashah which he used to transcribe and email and send out and publish on this parashah Chayei Sarah he showed how the Chazal uh did this with one of the stories. And that's the basis of It's the basis of today's sheer with some some changes, some additions, but the basis is from Rabbi Sacks, zichrono livracha, of blessed memory. We're going to explore three clues in parashah Chayei Sarah, three different clues. Now, when you read them it's very easy to gloss over them because they're just small details. They don't seem to capture major events or something very dramatic or significant. But like everything in Torah they do. And sometimes they tell a whole story that it would be so easy to miss. Now, I want to make another comment and that is very often when we read Chumash, we right away learn it with the Meforshim. You know, you're learning Chumash, you right away look in Rashi, right away look in the Ramban, you right away look in the Or Hachaim or the Kli Yakar or the Seforno or the Chizkuni or the Rashbam or the Even Ezra and the many other commentators that are on Chumash. So, we often don't get insight into how they came to the interpretation. Cuz you're already given the interpretation before you began to think yourself how you would interpret it. So, it's sometimes very important to go backwards and say, you know, let me just look at the text without anything. How would I read this text? What are the challenges with this text? What are the dilemmas in this text? What triggers a person's mind or heart in this text? And when one does that, we gain a whole new depth and richness to see how Rashi and the other commentators, based already on the Chazal, the sages in the Mishnah and the Gemara and the Midrashim interpreted these pesukim. The first clue comes at the end of a very long narrative. It's actually the longest story in the whole Torah, 67 pesukim. For a story in Chumash to be longer than a few verses is already very, very novel. Even Matan Torah, right? The essence of all of Jewry and foundation of all of Judaism, Hashem coming down on Mount Sinai and communicating the 10 Commandments, it's just a few pesukim, just a few verses. How long did Matan Torah take? Anybody knows? How long did Har Sinai, Mayan Har Sinai take? Well, from uh from the experience of Chumash, it looks like it was just a 3-minute event. Maybe a 4-minute event. It lasts for history. But that speech of the Sarei Hadibros is very, very short. Halavai, many rabbis would emulate God in giving such sermons. Yeah, look who's talking. So, uh you know, sometimes it's a 2-minute address that could change history. And sometimes a 4-hour address, you know, doesn't say much, doesn't give much. When you have a a story that endures, that lasts 67 pesukim. Chazal said about it, "Amar Reb Achah, Yafah sichasan shel avdei avos mitorasam shel banim." The conversation of the servants of the patriarchs is superior, more beautiful, than the Torah of the children because so many halachos are only intimated to in a pasuk, an extra letter, an extra word, maybe a superfluous sentence. And here, the story of Avraham Avinu dispatching his servant to go find a match, a soulmate for Yitzchak, occupies close to 70 pesukim. And many of the details are repeated as the story happens, and then the servant repeats the story again. Rivkah's family. But at last, the mission has been crowned with success. Avraham Avinu's servant, it's interesting the Torah doesn't mention the name of the servant he sent he sent to find a shidduch. It was the sages who saw it as Eliezer, but the Torah would not say once who this person was. He identifies himself not by name, but when he comes to Rivkah's family, he identifies himself as "eved Avraham Anochi." I am the servant of Avraham. He doesn't even give a first name or a last name. That's who he is. And he manages to convince them, well, it's after Rivkah says that's what she wants, to bring Rivkah back from Charan, from Mesopotamia, Excuse me. Northern Iraq, Southern Turkey, back to the land of Canaan, where of course Avraham Avinu lives and his son Yitzchak lives. And the way the Torah does capture the story is Eliezer returns. Remember, he came with 10 camels, he returns with 10 camels. He returns with his people, everybody who came with him. And he returns with this priceless gem, young Rivkah, who he feels would be an incredible wife for his master's son, for Yitzchak. And as they're returning, it's dusk, it's late afternoon, it's lifnei erev. And the Torah says, and I quote, you see it's in bold, the second source, Parshas Chayei Sarah perek chof dalet, samach beis. Genesis chapter 24, verse 62. It's close to the end of the story. V'Yitzchak ba miboi lachai roi, yoshev b'eretz hanegav. Somewhat of an enigmatic verse. Yitzchak was coming from coming. What is that supposed to mean? He was coming from coming. How do you come from coming? I understand when you say a person comes from this and this place. You have in the beginning of the parsha, "Vayavo Avraham lispod l'Sarah ulivkosa." Avraham came. The question is from where he came. The Chazal argue about that. Where did he come from? Here it says, "V'Yitzchak ba." He was coming. You could say he was coming from a well called Lachai Roi. But it says he was coming from coming. V'Yitzchak ba miboi. He was coming from the well, but he was coming from coming from the well. Which of course is a clue. He frequented this well. So, he was coming not just from the well that he happened to visit, but he was coming from coming from the well. Meaning, just earlier he came back from the well. Cuz he was there earlier, then he came home, then he went back. Or perhaps it means he was coming from coming to the well. [clears throat] But it's a very interesting, uh, diuk. When you when you look at it, why does the Torah put it that way? "V'Yitzchak ba miboi." And it was a well. And this well is called Lachai Roi. That's the name of the well, and that's where he's coming from. And the Torah wants us to know that he's coming from this well. "V'hu yoshev b'eretz hanegav." At this time, he's living in the land of the Negev, in the south of Eretz Yisrael. "Vayeitzei Yitzchak lasuach basadeh lifnei erev." He goes out to take a stroll in the field before evening, at dusk. Lasuach is understood as having a conversation. He goes to meditate, he goes to pray. "Vayisa einav vayara v'hinei g'malim ba'im." He lifts up his eyes and he sees camels approaching. And of course, Rivkah asks the servant of Avraham Avinu, "Who is this man?" And he introduces him as Yitzchak. This is when Rivkah goes down from the camel. She does a badekenis, she covers herself, and she's introduced to Yitzchak. And the story concludes. Yitzchak brings her to the tent of Sarah, his mother. He betrothes her. She becomes his wife. "Vaye'ehavaha." He loves her. "Vayenachem Yitzchak acharei immo." And Yitzchak is comforted for his mother. Why does the Torah have to mention that Yitzchak was coming back from a well? People would frequent wells. Remember, we have sinks in our homes. We have access to water immediately. Thank God. But you had to go to the well. If you've ever visited third world countries or little shtetlach, I remember a few years ago I went to the Ukraine, and you go to little shtetlach, and people were literally the well, the city well, to be able to fetch water. Water to drink, water to bathe, water to give to their animals, water for washing, water for laundry. And that's why, of course, Eliezer went to the well outside of Charan where he met Rivkah. Because people went in the evening to the wells in order to fill their buckets or barrels with water, their pitchers with water, and bring them home. It was not easy work. So, Yitzchak also went to a well, I understand. But is it important to say that when he met Rivkah, he was coming back from that well? It any say It says he went out to stroll in the field. But right before that, we have to know that he was coming from a well. But he wasn't just coming from the well. By the way, he happened to be at that well. "Bami boi." He was coming from coming to the well. Okay, let's put this on hold for a moment. The Torah doesn't say the significance of this well. We just know Yitzchak meets Rivkah, they get married. The story continues. And later Avraham Avinu would pass away. Avraham Avinu, the next story right after this, what's the next story right after this? This ends samach zayin, chapter 24 of Bereishis. How does chapter 25 begin? So, you see it, it's your fourth source, Chayei Sarah chof hei alef. Genesis 25:1. "Vayosef Avraham vayikach ishah ushmah Keturah." Avraham Avinu now added, he Vayosef means he increased, he added, he progressed. And he marries a woman and her name is Keturah. Of course, we have to remember the context. In the beginning of Chayei Sarah, Sarah passed away. She was 127 years old. Avraham Avinu negotiates with the Benei Cheis to buy a burial plot. He buries Sarah. That's the first story. The second story is Avraham grows old. And he realizes that Yitzchak is not married yet. Yitzchak is 40 years old, and that's when he sends his servant to find a mate for Yitzchak. And the servant comes back with Rivkah. And that's when they meet Yitzchak who was coming back from the well. Now Yitzchak is married with Rivkah. He loves her, he's comforted after his mother. And the next chapter, Chof Hei, is Avraham remarries. And who does he marry? He marries a woman named Keturah. And as the Torah continues, he has six children with Keturah. [clears throat] Here too, we wonder about the story. Here is clue number two. After clue number one, which is Yitzchak was visiting a well, and he was coming from that well. What did he have at that well? Why is it mentioned here? Clue number two is after Yitzchak gets married, suddenly Avraham, who's an older man now, because Sarah passed away at 127. Sarah was 90 when Yitzchak was born. Avraham Avinu was 100 when Yitzchak was born. We learned that in the previous parsha. Yitzchak was 40 when he married Rivkah. This means Avraham is now 140 years old at the story. This is clearly stated in the Torah. Yitzchak was 40 when he married Rivkah. That says later in Toldos. Avraham Avinu was 100 when he when he fathered Yitzchak. So, now automatically he's 140. At 140, he decides to marry another woman, Keturah. Wow. What's the background? What motivated him to do this? It's actually a little difficult to understand, maybe very difficult to understand. Because for chapter after chapter, from the end of Noach, the entire Lech Lecha, Vayeira, Chayei Sarah, we read of the love, loyalty, faithfulness, and dedication that Avraham and Sarah had one for another. Remember that together they embarked on a long journey to an unknown destination. When Hashem tells Avraham and Sarah, "Lech lecha me'artzecha u'moladetecha u'mibeis avicha el ha'aretz asher areka." Sarah is infertile, it says, "Akarah ein lah." She can't have children. So, Avraham and Sarah really have each other. They don't have children at that point. They wouldn't have for most of their life. And yet Hashem says, "Embark on a very lonely journey away from your country, away from your birthplace, away from your father's home. And they do this and they do this as partners. They do this as a team. Torah says clearly that they took us on nefesh as they took with them the souls that they made in Haran and Hazal say Avram megayer anashim, Sara megayer anashim. Avram changed thousands of lives of men, Sara changed and inspired thousands of lives of women. Meiri writes that they had an impact on half of human civilization then and in subsequent years. And together together they become what you would call this power team that would revolutionize humanity, that would introduce morality, ethics, what later would become Yiddishkeit, godliness, Hashem's presence and the unity of mankind and the fact that we're responsible to each other and to a God, the fact that there is a oneness in creation. It's not random, there is a singular purpose to creation. Creation is unified, creation is leading to a goal, to a purpose. The human life here on Earth is the center and its vortex of creation as is our moral privileges and responsibilities. These are revolutionary ideas that they teach to humanity and they do it together and they do it with tremendous dedication and sacrifice and who they really have is each other. Avram and Sara have each other. They have to stand together against the pagan idolatry of the time. Avram Avinu comes close to being killed. The Torah doesn't say this clearly, but we know from the Hazal that he was thrown in to the fiery furnace and many other trials and tribulations, the 10 tests that Avram and Sara had that they had to endure together. Twice Sara directly saves Avram's life by pretending to be his sister instead of his wife. Both when they go down to Egypt because of a famine and later when they come to the Philistine region, the Plishtim and Avimelech wants to take Sara and take Sara. Avram would be murdered in both cases if they knew that he was the husband and Sara saves his life. They hoped and prayed for a child and endured not years but decades and decades of childlessness. At some point Avram can't believe there's going to be a child, Sara can't believe there's going to be a child. Whoopsie. At the end the miracle happens. They give birth to that baby child. Yitzchak is born as we said Sara was 90, Avram Avinu was 100. One can only appreciate the bond, the relationship that this couple had with each other. Not only were they husband and wife, this is the first Jewish man and the first Jewish woman. It's the two people Hashem chose to send on this long journey and they did it together. And after a century Avram Avinu becomes a father, after 90 years Sara becomes a mother. The bond is inexplicable at this point. And now Sara's life draws to a close. She passes away at the age of 127. The Torah says lispod lesara uleivkota. Avram comes to grieve for Sara. To weep for Sara, to mourn for Sara. It's the first time we have a story of a funeral and a burial. People earlier were also buried, but there's no story of burial in Torah till this point what Avram does for Sara. It's the first time somebody buys a burial plot and not just for her, for him too. Which means he recognizes that their relationship on some level is immortal. Cuz why does he want to be buried with Sara? Her life was terminated but Avram says, "No, I want to be with Sara after I pass away." That's why he buys the Maras Hamachpelah where there's room for couples and the same will be with Yitzchak and Rivka, the same will be with Yakov and Leah. So Avram buys a cave where she's going to be buried and he should be able to be buried with him. We would expect after such a life that Avram Avinu lived the remainder of his life alone. With Yitzchak, he had a son Yitzchak. He had a new daughter-in-law Rivka. But that's not what happens and it's very unexpected. Once Yitzchak gets married the next scene is it's time for Avram to get remarried. And he marries this woman named Keturah and it's literally the next pasuk after Yitzchak's marriage. There's no break in between. The Gemara in Baba Kamma says something very, I guess, humorous and interesting and that is there's nothing like a hungry person seeing everybody else eating and he's the only one without food. That's how the Gemara describes the sequence. Avram Avinu sees Yitzchak blissful with his wife Rivka and he decides also to get married. That's how the Gemara in Baba Kamma explains this. Yet it's still a little difficult to understand like Avram is older, he doesn't want to be alone, so he marries a woman named Keturah. But it it seems a little, uh, I don't know, anticlimactic or strange after this journey with Sara that it's like, "Okay, now there's a new woman, Keturah." After everything they have been through together. Besides, who is this woman? Where did she come from? Was she really a good replacement for so well nobody can replace anybody. I mean every every the Gemara says, uh, "Lekol [clears throat] yesh temurah chutz mi eshes neurim." You know, there's a substitute for everything besides a first wife. Gemara compares it to the Beit Hamikdash, it's what Yakov told Yosef, "Vani bevo'i mi padan mesa alai Rachel." Rachel died on me, it's like I felt the whole burden of it. Obviously, you know, there's no replacement. But a person forges ahead and creates a life and every life has its unique story, its unique contribution, its unique its unique beauty, its unique blessing and that's part of the triumph and the balance of of of the human story which is often very moving, very emotional, sometimes very painful and always very deep. But who was this woman? We never heard of Keturah. Where did she come from? What is the episode telling us? Is it just an incidental detail the Torah is saying, "By the way, I want you to know he got married again." Now, the truth is that in Torah we don't see any incidental details that are not part of a larger narrative, a larger story. For example, after all these parshiyot we have absolutely no idea what Avram Avinu looked like. I know there are Rembrandt paintings, but I don't think Rembrandt was around at the time. And Avram Avinu for whatever reason didn't allow anybody to take photos nor did he take a selfie. We don't know what Avram Avinu looked like. We don't know what Sara looked like. We know that Avram said "Yadati ki she yafas mar'eh." I know how beautiful you are, but but we don't know what she looked like. We also don't know what other men have looked like. We don't even know in Chumash the name of the servant that he sent to find a wife for Yitzchak. Again, our sages identify him as Eliezer. But Chumash does not say his name. Why? The answer is the Torah does not include any detail that is not relevant somehow to the story. We don't know what Moshe Rabbeinu looked like. You know, you read lehavdil any novel, they right away open up, right? Every character is described. Sometimes you have to read four pages about their demeanor and their disposition and the halo around their face and the shadows they cast and the type of eyes and the type of gaze and the physique and a lot of details somehow the novelist feels that that's how he or she will schlep you in to the story so that you can actually be there. We have very little of that in the Torah. The Torah speaks about Yosef's beauty but it's only because it's relevant to the story about the wife of Potiphar who takes a liking to him. We learn about Avshalom's long hair only because it's an essential part of the story cuz that ultimately leads to his death when his hair gets entangled in the tree running away from his father when he rebelled against him, etc. So when the Torah points out certain details, it's never just, years. How many stories do we know of those 175 years? Five, six, seven. What was he doing all those years? Yitzchak lived 180 years. How many stories do we know about him? We know that he was brought to the Akedah, we know that he was digging wells and we know that he wanted to give the blessings to Esau and ended up giving the blessings to Yakov. What happened over 180 years? Go figure. It's not relevant to us. The Jews traveled in the desert 40 years. What did they do for 40 years? We know around eight or nine stories that happened during those 40 years. Big, important stories. Story of the spies, the story of Korach, the story of the Mitzvah. And we know a few big stories. But what happened for the rest of the 40 years? What was a regular Tuesday afternoon like? I don't know. The point is, as the Zohar says, that the word Torah is milashon hora'ah. The word Torah doesn't mean only law. Torah comes from the word lesson. In other words, it's a lesson, it's an instruction, it's a blueprint for life. So therefore there's no just incidental details. So now the question is Avram's second marriage, what is it teaching us? Is it part of a larger story? What was going on here? Obviously it was consequential and there's something we have to know about it. What is it and how is it integral to the narrative? Let's go to clue number three. Avram Avinu remarries, he has six children. He sends them the sends the children out to the east, he gives them gifts and then his life comes to a close. And we read about it in Chayei Sara of eight tests just nine verses later Genesis 25:9, Avram Avinu passes away at 175 and the Torah says, "Yitzchak v'Yishmael banav el me'arat Hamachpelah el s'dei Efron ben Tzochar haChiti al p'nei Mamre." Yitzchak and Yishmael bring Avraham Avinu to burial. They bury him. Where do they bury him? In the cave of the Machpelah, in that field that Avraham Avinu purchased from Efron haChiti, the son of Tzochar, in the region of Mamre. That's where the cave is in Chevron. That's where Avraham Avinu gets buried. Wow. Yitzchak v'Yishmael. Yishmael is here in the story. Yitzchak and Yishmael buried him. And right away, the student says, "How in the world did Yishmael end up at this funeral?" We read in parshas Vayeira that Yishmael, growing up in Yitzchak's home, as Avraham's first son, who he gave birth to who he fathered from Hagar, who was Sarah's maidservant, Yishmael was metzachek as Yitzchak. He was jesting with Yitzchak. Rashi interprets it. He was threatening Yitzchak with murder, with adultery, with idolatry. And Sarah says he really can't remain in the home. Avraham wants to keep him in the home. This is a debate between the husband and the wife, Avraham and Sarah. And Hashem tells Avraham Avinu famously, "Kol asher tomar eilecha Sarah shma b'kolah." Whatever Sarah tells you, you should listen to her. And he sends Yishmael and his mother away. According to the Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer, chapter 30, Yishmael at the time was 24 years old. Yitzchak at the time was 10 years old. Yishmael was 13, 14 years older than Yitzchak. So, Yishmael was sent away. He was sent away from the home. He went with his mother, Hagar. They were gone. Sarah would not let them back in the house. What is Yishmael doing here? Where did he make this comeback? When did this happen? He was sent away into the desert when Yitzchak was young. Now, Yitzchak is not young anymore. Avraham Avinu died at 175. Yitzchak was a man of 75 years of age. 65 years ago, Yishmael was sent away from the house. Yitzchak was a lad. Yitzchak was a young child. That's why Sarah was so upset. Sarah was so threatened. Haven't these two stepbrothers lived in isolation, far apart from each other? How did they make contact? Did Yitzchak send a delegation to Yishmael to tell him that Avraham Avinu passed away, and Yishmael decided to come and pay respects and be at the funeral and actually bury his father, Avraham? What about all the tension between them? What about the terrible conflict that must have ensued? The Torah doesn't tell us the background. The Torah puts them together at the funeral without a word of explanation. You know, if you're telling me a story about a family, and you're telling me how 65 years ago this family split, there was a terrible misunderstanding, and they split. And they didn't live in the same neighborhood and didn't talk to each other. Completely drifted away to two different countries. They went to Egypt. Yitzchak remained in Canaan. Yitzchak lives with his father, Avraham and Sarah. Then he marries Rivka. Suddenly, without even an explanation, the two brothers are together. Where, what, when, how? A little background. Torah doesn't give any explanation. This is clue number three. Our sages didn't read these three isolated items and just see them as mysteries, mysteries that have to be explained, and mysteries for which they had no explanation. They saw them as clues. And the story they pieced together is enthralling. And let's see what they did and how they did it. Okay? We begin with clue number one. Whoops. We begin with clue number one, which is, you remember the well. As Eliezer Excuse me. As Eliezer comes back, as Avraham's servant comes back with Rivka, he's going to meet Yitzchak. Yitzchak ba mi boi b'er lachai roi. He was coming from coming, or coming from returning, from this well. And of course, the way to identify one possible meaning is, did we ever hear of this well before? Whenever you learn Chumash, whenever you learn Tanakh, one way of thinking about things is, did we ever hear about this before? If we heard about this before, we want to go back to where we heard about it before, cuz that may give us a clue. Whenever we read a story, we read about a location or a certain theme or a certain conversation, and that brings up it triggers up a memory from a similar event or a very dissimilar event, but this happened there or something similar happened, we look for the contact, for the connection. In fact, it's one of the 13 methods of interpreting Torah called gzeirah shavah. Gzeirah shavah means when there's a similar word in two places, it's not by accident. We consider it that it was a copy-paste type of thing. That's the origin of copy-paste. Rebono shel Olam's copy-paste before Microsoft Windows. On a typewriter, there was no such a thing copy-paste, right? You remember? Yeah. There's no You don't copy-paste. You made a mistake. At best, you can use whiteout, and after a few times, it's a bracha l'vatala, you got to throw out the piece of paper and bring in a new piece of paper and start all over again. The computer revolution allowed us that literally nothing I write can go to waste. If it doesn't belong in this sentence, I'll just cut it and put it there. So, there's cut and paste, and there's copy and paste. Gzeirah shavah is the concept of copy and paste. If this word is in two times, three times, four times, there's a connection. It's not coincidental. But it's also true about words. It's also true about names. It's the concept called gzeirah shavah. So, when one sees that Yitzchak was coming back from this well, and I have to know that he had a relationship with this well, I ask myself, "Where do I remember this well from?" And of course, we remember it from where? Look at your first source sheet. At your first source in your source sheets. And by the way, all the source sheets are posted on the yeshiva.net, so if anybody wants to review it, they're always there. Parshas Lech Lecha, perek 10, zayin, pasuk 14. Genesis 16:14. Let's remember the story. Hagar marries Avraham Avinu. Sarah is the one who suggested cuz she couldn't have children, so she wanted her maid to marry Avraham, and hopefully the family can have a future. Maybe she'll be able to raise that child. Maybe she'll be able to be blessed in that merit. Hagar marries Sarah, and then of course, the extraordinary happens. Hagar becomes pregnant. Sarah is now being denigrated by Hagar. Hagar is disrespectful to Sarah. Sarah gets very upset. And Avraham Avinu hears about how upset she is. She's very sharp. "Chamas alecha. The abuse I'm experiencing in the hands of Hagar is because of you." And Avraham gives her permission to do what she wants, and she works Hagar hard, and Hagar leaves the home. And where does Hagar go to? Hagar goes out. She's in the wilderness. And the Torah discusses she's at a well, and she encounters an angel. And the angel asks her where she's coming from and what happened, and she tells her the whole story. And the angel says, "Don't worry. You're going to have an amazing child. You're going to enjoy the child. His name is going to be Yishmael. You'll call him Yishmael, which means Yishma Kel, God listens. Go back to Sarah. Go back to the house." And then the Torah says, "This is the well where she saw the presence of God. Al kein kara la'be'er be'er lachai roi." And therefore, this well got a name. And the name was Be'er Lachai Roi. It's the well literally of Lachai Roi, where I got to see the living presence of God. "Hinei bein Kadesh u'vein Bared." It's between a location called Kadesh and Bared. That's where we first read about this well. It's the well where Hagar met the angels, who promised her she would have a child, Yishmael, who promised her there will be a bright and beautiful future for who and her child for her and her child, who told her to go back to Avraham and Sarah's house, which she does. And she gives birth to a baby, and Avraham names him Yishmael. And it's later in parshas Vayeira, when Yishmael is older, and Yitzchak is born, and now Yishmael can't get along with Yitzchak. There was terrible conflict, and Sarah wants Yishmael and Hagar sent away from the home, and that's what Avraham Avinu does. Another fascinating thing is, if you look at the third source, Chayei Sarah, chof hei, alef. "Vayechi Acharei Moshav Avraham, vayavar Elohim es Yitzchak b'no. Vayeishev Yitzchak im Be'er Lachai Roi." After Avraham passes away, Hashem blesses Yitzchak. And where does Yitzchak choose to live? He chooses to live near the well of Lachai Roi. This is after Avraham Avinu's passing, when Yitzchak himself is older, he decides to go live near that well. Why near that well? Another very interesting clue. Now, suddenly, in middle of these two stories, Yitzchak is 40. His father sends a servant to bring him a soulmate, to bring him a wife. Rivka comes back and Yitzchak is coming from this well, Be'er Lachai Roi. What's the significance of this? Why does the Torah want me to know this? This is something very interesting. Yitzchak is coming from this well. That's when he's going to meet his wife Rivka. And I have to know this before he meets his wife Rivka. What is he doing at Be'er Lachai Roi? Why is he there? And he's not just there, he's frequenting it. Vayitzchak ba mi boi. He's coming from coming. He came before from there. Yesterday, maybe two days ago, maybe a week ago. Later he's going to live there. He's not living there. He may be living in the area, some of them a farsh from say. The Seforno, the Even Ezra, the Ramban, they all discussed this question. The Ramban says maybe he used to go pray there cuz that's where Hagar saw angels. So he thought that's a great place to daven. Very interesting interpretation of the Ramban. What else could it be? And this is where Chazal started to identify the clue. Was he maybe reaching out to somebody? Was he maybe looking for somebody? Was there something sitting on Yitzchak's chest and heart that he had to deal with before he gets married? Before he himself starts building his own future, which of course would become the future of the Jewish people because Yitzchak and Rivka together would give birth Rivka would of course birth Ya' give birth to Yaakov and his twin Esau. But before that happens, Yitzchak who's still a single person. In America they call him a bachelor. But with Yitzchak you'll call him a a bachur. [laughter] Bachur means in in Hebrew there's two words, ravak and bachur. Ravak means a bachelor. Bachur means chosen. Explain that to your bachur. There's a ravak is a bachelor. A bachur is chosen. So Yitzchak who's still at that point, he's older, he's an older bachur, he's 40 years old, is frequenting this well. For how long? The Torah doesn't say. But is he looking for something? Is he looking for somebody? And that's where our sages saw the answer to the clue. Yitzchak was looking to reconcile with Hagar and with Ishmael, his stepbrother. Yitzchak wasn't just going to Be'er Lachai Roi and spending time there cuz he liked wells. There were other wells because this is that well where Hagar initially encountered the divine presence. So this was her go-to place for prayer. This was her go-to place for meditation. This may have been the place where she was living. Later when she gets banished from Avram's house, the water goes out and she sees another well with a water where she can give where she could quench the thirst of Ishmael. But the Torah doesn't give the name of the well. Is it the same well or is it not the same well? We don't know. One can speculate about that. But certainly the first well the Torah says is Be'er Lachai Roi. So let's see how Rashi puts this. And Rashi's of course quoting the Medrash Rabbah, so this is directly from the sages. Rashi Chayei Sarah chof dalet samach bet. Mi boi Be'er Lachai Roi shahalach lahavi Hagar laAvram aviv. Wow. Yitzchak who is the son of Sarah was pursuing Hagar. He wanted to bring Hagar back to Avram his father. Why? Sheyisa'ena. He should remarry her. That's what he was trying to do. Now you would wonder, Yitzchak, what about respect to your mommy? Yitzchak, you're Sarah's boy. She gave everything to have you. She had you at 90. She rejoiced with every fiber of her being. What did uh Sarah say after Yitzchak was born? Schok osali Elohim, kol hashamea Yitzchakli. God made me laugh. God generated laughter in me. Whoever hears my story laughs together with me. How much joy she brought to Sarah, he brought to Sarah. And not only that, we see how pained he was after her death. He could not comfort himself. The Torah clearly says only after he marries Rivka and he loves her does he find some solace for his mother. Why is that mentioned in Chumash? Cuz Avra Yitzchak was struggling. Sarah passed away at 127. He was 37. For three years he was grieving his mother. Not just a month, not just two months, not just a year. For three years he couldn't console himself for Sarah. We can understand the level of the relationship. How did Sarah even die according to many of the Midrashim? Because she heard about that Akedah. Doesn't say that clearly in Chumash, but the sequence of that Akedah to Sarah's death leads Rashi and some of the sages to say there was a connection between them. And only after Rivka gets married to Yitzchak vayenachem Yitzchak acharei imo. And yet already before he's by Be'er Lachai Roi, he's looking for Hagar. [laughter] Rashi says he's looking for Hagar. He wants to bring her back. Well, HE WANTS TO BRING ISHMAEL BACK. This is extraordinary. It's fascinating. And Rashi continues, yoshev be'eretz hanegev. He was living in the south. KAROV LA'OSEH BE'ER. WOW. HE MOVED. He was living near that well. Shenemar vayeshev misham Avram eretz hanegev vayeshev bein Kadesh ubein Shur vayasem bein Avraham ubein Kadesh ubein Bered. Avraham Avinu traveled to the south. He lived between Kadesh and Shur. And Rashi says that's where the the well was as it says in parshas Lech Lecha we we it was between Kadesh and Bered. So if Avraham Avinu was living in that area, Yitzchak Avinu was living near this well. So Yitzchak would frequent it and there was a purpose. He was meeting Hagar. And likely he was meeting Ishmael. And they continue with this clue. So now when it says vayosef Avram vayikach isha ushmo Keturah. Vayosef. Yosif continued and he married a woman named Keturah. And the Medrash in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer asks what's vayosef? Vayosef means when you add to something you did earlier, right? Lehosif, hosafa. I gave you $100. I want to be mosif. I want to add something. What's the vayosef Avram? Avram added. He added another woman in his life. No, Sarah passed away. This is a new event. It's a new story. The sages say no, it's not a new story. It's a continued story. Rashi says this. Take a look at the next Rashi. Keturah from Bereishit Rabbah, zu Hagar. Avraham Avinu remarried Hagar. One second. So why doesn't the Torah say her name was Keturah? Why do I'm sorry, why didn't the Torah say her name was Hagar? Why get so confusing? This is very confusing. Now, it's not unusual for the Torah to have many names for a person. Yisrael in Chumash has seven names. There's the old joke that he married off seven daughters and after each chasanah he went bankrupt. So he changed his name. He put everything on his wife's name and he changed his name. So he changed his name seven times. That's what happens when you make seven chasanahs. That's an old, you know, Yiddish joke. But [snorts] it's not unusual for the Torah to to do this, to give another name. It happens. We see it and we see it more than once. Even Sarah herself, according to Rashi is called Yiska. At the end of Noach she's called Yiska. Hakol sochin beyofya. People used to gaze at her beauty. But why would you change the name? So Rashi says al shem shenoyim ma'aseha keketores. Because her acts gave off a fragrance like amazing incense. Keturah is from the word ketores, which is of course one of the services in the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash daily where they would burn incense and it generated an amazing fragrance and aroma throughout the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash and throughout Yerushalayim. So ketores Keturah coming from the word ketores, there was something so fragrant and beautiful and splendid and sweet about her ma'asim, about her actions. Rashi continues. Veshakashra pischah. She tied her door. The word ketores in Hebrew comes from the word keter, which means a kesher. In Aramaic ketores is also a bond, a connection. Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai he speaks about the day of his passing, Lag Ba'omer. He says bechad ketirah iskatarna. I have became bound up in oneness. So Rashi says there's a second interpretation to Keturah. First of all, her acts were gave forth fragrance, gave forth such beauty like fragrance, like incense. Her acts gave forth fragrance like incense. But there's something else. Shelo nizdafka la'adam miyom sheparsha me'Avram. Since the day she left Avram, she did not have intimacy with anybody else. She remained katur, ketores, Keturah, connected to Avraham Avinu. You would think an Egyptian princess, Avraham Avinu said it's time to leave, it's not really going to work. So Hagar would think about a future different type of future. No. Her connection with Avraham Avinu was still very profound even though they were technically not together, they were divorced. Two interpretations in ketores. That's why she's named Keturah. Because of this. So the Chazal see here the second clue. Avram Yitzchak was successful. He was successful. He brought back Sarah. He brought back Hagar and she actually marries Avraham Avinu shortly after Yitzchak marries Rivka. Which brings us to the third clue. When Avraham Avinu passes away, years later, cuz remember Avraham Avinu was 140 when Yitzchak was married. Avraham Avinu passed away at 175, so this is years later. Who buries Avraham Avinu? Vayikberu oiso Yitzchak v'Yishmael. Where did Yishmael come back? Clue number three. If Yitzchak was going to the well to get Hagar, if Avraham Avinu remarried Hagar, so Hagar's son Yishmael was not isolated anymore. Says Rashi, mikkan she'asoh Yishmael Yishmael teshuvah. From here we learn that Yishmael did teshuvah. He didn't remain the same youngster who threatened to murder Yitzchak to engage Yitzchak in idolatry and adultery. He did teshuvah. Vayeilech es Yitzchak lefanav. Furthermore, he was older than Yitzchak, but he let Yitzchak go ahead of him. Yitzchak led the funeral. Yitzchak led the procession. Why? Vayikberu oiso Yitzchak v'Yishmael. Usually the older child goes in front. The answer is cuz he recognized the unique kinship between Yitzchak and Rivka uh between Yitzchak and Avraham. Yitzchak was the spiritual heir and successor of Avraham. Ki bei Yitzchak yikarei lecha zara. Yitzchak would be the one who would continue the legacy of Avraham Avinu and Sarah, monotheism, the emunah which would become Yiddishkeit and the Jewish people. Yishmael recognized that as part of his teshuvah. Yitzchak, you go first. I'm here. The heisevah tovah she nemer Avraham. And Rashi says, this is the seivah tovah Hashem promised Avraham Avinu by the Bris Bein HaBetarim, that you're going to pass away b'seivah tovah in good old age. It doesn't only mean that he lived to the ripe old age of 175. It means something much more, that he lived to see his children reconciled. Sometimes a person lives a long life biologically, an affluent life financially, but there's discord in the family. Siblings are not speaking to each other. There's conflict. Farkanyeden Gedacht, it's very sad, it's very painful. Sometimes the conflicts are created because of petty things, sometimes larger things. But usually usually nothing that's deserving to create such a split in the family that brothers and sisters can't talk to each other. Parents and children are alienated from each other. Grandparents and grandchildren alienated from each other. Uncles and aunts and nephews and nieces can't look at each other, can't say good Shabbos, can't join at simchas, certainly can't have fun with each other. What was the seivah tovah, the good old age that Avraham Avinu received? That Yishmael will be able to walk together with Yitzchak hand-in-hand. Yishmael will do teshuvah. Yishmael will actually be there at those final moments when they said goodbye to Avraham. That's an incredible moment. That's Rashi says is a seivah tovah that he got. And now we'll wonder, but what how did this all happen? Why was Is this a smack in the face, forgive me, to Sarah? Would Avraham Avinu smack Sarah in the face? I don't understand. She She threw out Hagar AND YISHMAEL. AND HASHEM TOLD HIM TO LISTEN. IT'S NOT LIKE HE COULD SAY, you know, Sarah, okay, Sarah took it personal. Hashem said to listen to Sarah. And here Yitzchak and Avraham HAVE THEIR OWN PLOT. THEY'RE DOING THEIR OWN THING. And from all people, Yitzchak. He knew why Sarah threw out Yishmael. It was just for him. Wasn't for her. Sarah wasn't afraid of Yishmael. He wasn't bothering her. Hagar and Yishmael were subservient to Sarah and Yitzchak to Sarah and Avraham. It was for Yitzchak, the little kid Yitzchak. Let's now see the story the way it's articulated in Midrash in Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer. Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer is one of the earlier Midrashim, the chapter of Eliezer that comes from the great Tanna Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol. He was the rebbe of Rabbi Akiva. So he lived during the destruction, the era of the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash. He's known as Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Eliezer the Great, one of the greatest sages of his day. And he he's a student of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus has this Midrash called Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer, and there he tells the story. It's a long story. I took out a few lines from here. I want you to hear what happens after Avraham Avinu sends away Hagar and Yishmael from the home. Already back in Parshas Vayeira, the Midrash says Yishmael was 24, Yitzchak was 10 years old. So Avraham Avinu was still much younger. Sarah was alive. Avraham Avinu was 110. Sarah was 100. Sarah still had 27 years to live. And at this point, Hashem tells Avraham Avinu to send Yishmael away. Says the Midrash, Shalach Yishmael. He sent Yishmael away Vayilkach lo ishah mi bnos Moav. And Yishmael married a woman from Moav. Moav is in today's Jordan, on the east side of Eretz Yisrael, Petra. L'achar shalosh shanim halach Avraham l'iros es Yishmael b'no. Three years later, Avraham went for a visit to Yishmael. This doesn't say in Chumash, but this is what the Chazal He went to This was the tradition they had. He went to visit Yishmael. And the story is that he met a woman. This was Yishmael's wife. And he asked her, "Where is Yishmael?" And she said, "Yishmael went to go He went with his mother to go get dates from the desert." And Avraham said, "I traveled here a very long time. I need to be hydrated. I'm dehydrated. I'm exhausted and I'm starving. Would you give me a little bread and water?" And she refused him. So he sent a message to Yishmael, "When your husband comes home, tell him that an old man came from the land of Canaan, and he told him and he told you that you have to think about exchanging um miftan habayis, the the shvel of the house, how do you say it in English? The miftan, the the threshold of the house needs to be altered." This was his intimation of who's welcoming people into your house. You know, who's the welcoming committee. Right? I saw in some offices they have uh the secretary who's sitting in the front desk, director of first impressions. Right? The director of first impressions is a very important job, cuz I may not call back or come back. She rejects Avraham Avinu. She's pretty uh insensitive to him. For Avraham, that's very hard to believe. And the Midrash says, "Heivin Yishmael." Yishmael came home, he understood. Vayishlacheha. Sooner sooner than later, the marriage dissolved and it just didn't work out. And they got divorced. I'm sorry, "Heivin Yishmael." Yishmael understood. And the Midrash says they separated, they got divorced. Vayishlacheha imei vayilkach lo ishah mi beis Aviyu u'Patimah shmai. So mommy, Hagar sends, and she finds a new woman for Yishmael from her father's home, Egypt, and this woman's name is Patimah. This is Yishmael's second wife. Vayidach achar shalosh shanim halach Avraham l'iros es Yishmael b'no. Three years later, Avraham goes to visit Yishmael. Higia l'sham b'chatzi hayom. He comes in middle of the day. U'matza sham ishto shel Yishmael. He finds the spouse of Yishmael. Her name is Patimah. V'amar lo, he says, "Eichan hu Yishmael? Where's your husband?" Amrah lo, she says, "Hu v'imei halchu l'iros es malon bamidbar." He and his mother He was a mom's boy, apparently, went to shepherd You relate to it, huh? Mom's boy, yeah? Really, I don't know how old he was, but he was mom's boy. She was still making the challuptzes for him. They went to shepherd the camels in the desert. Amar lo, Avraham says to Patimah, Tni li meat lechem u'mayim ki ayefah nafshi miderech hamidbar. "Please give me some bread and water. I am exhausted from the long road, from the long journey through the wilderness." Vatotzei lechem u'mayim. She took out bread and water. Vatistineha lo. And she gave it to the stranger, of course following the tradition of her husband and her great father-in-law, who she didn't know she's talking to her father-in-law, who fed and offered hospitality to everybody, whether you knew them or you didn't know them, as discussed at length in last week's class, what hachnasas orchim is and what how we learn it from Avraham Avinu. Amad Avraham. Avraham stood up. Vayispalel lifnei Hakadosh Baruch Hu al b'no. And he stood there in the tent and he davened to Hashem for his son. V'nismalei beiso shel Yishmael mikol tuv mimeina brachas. And the home of Yishmael filled up with all abundance, all types of blessings that one can ask for. The home became saturated with them because of Avraham's prayers. U'ch'sheba Yishmael, when Yishmael came home, higidah lo es hadavar. She told him the whole story. Now listen to these words. Vayeida Yishmael. At that point, Yishmael realized she'ad achshav rachamei Aviv alav k'racham av al banav. That Avraham never stopped loving him. That Avraham's love and compassion was still strong, existing towards him as a father, as a parent has compassion for children. That's what Yishmael was cognizant of at that moment, when he heard about Avraham's behavior. He saw what Avraham did for him. He saw what happened to the home as a result. That's when he realized, he was cognizant that even though Avraham sent him away from the house, the feelings, the connection, and bonding that Avraham had with Yishmael was still powerful. Ad dion ad ach shuv rachamei aviv love karachim of al banim. So, at both of the occasions, Yishmael is not home. At the first occasion, the wife not knowing his identity, the identity of the stranger, rejects him. She will not give him water or bread. So, Yishmael divorces her and he marries But Fatima. This time when Avram visits, what happens? He's still He comes there and he meets the woman and he asks for the same thing. He still doesn't disclose his identity, but she gives him the bread and the drinks. And that's when Yishmael knows that his father still loves him. He figures it out. What do we see by Avram Avinu's passing? Yishmael is there. Yishmael came back. Yishmael honored Yitzchak. Yishmael did teshuvah. Good question. Good question. Ah. But that doesn't say in Chumash, right? Right. I'm saying I'm just mentioning. That's why I'm not mentioning that one. He was there at the Akedah. Yes. Yes. But that doesn't say She's asking a question. Why am I talking about the funeral? Talk about the Akedah. It says that Avram Avinu vayashkem Avram baboker vayikach shnei na'arav ito, right? He took his two lads. Chazal say who was it? Yishmael and Eliezer. So, it doesn't say clearly in the Chumash then he told, right? You stay here. He tells them bayom hashlishi vayisa Avram vayomer lana'arav shvu lachem po you stay with the donkey. I'm going to go and I'm going to come back. V'nashuva eleichem we're all going to come back. So, Chazal interpret that person to be Yishmael. How did Yishmael fall into the Akedah? Now, that was also much later in the story cuz the Akedah happens right before right before Sarah's passing. And we see that Yitzchak has been visiting the well. So, it all comes together. I didn't mention that in the clues because it's not explicit in the Chumash. So, that itself is a teaching from the sages. You understand? That's why I didn't use that. I was using here the clues in the text itself. It's here that the story comes together. Thank you. Very good question. It's here that the story comes together because it really teaches us a different dimension of the story. Avram Avinu's connection to Hagar was obviously a profound one. Yishmael was Avram Avinu's son as he was Hagar's son. And here we are introduced to two dimensions of the Jewish people. And as everything among the Jewish people, it begins with Avram and Sarah and continues with Yitzchak and Rivka and then of course Yaakov and his wives and the children until today. And these are two dimensions. [snorts and clears throat] One is the Jewish people's responsibility to the Jewish people as the Jewish people. We can call that our responsibility to ourselves as a distinct nation. Atah vechartanu mikol ha'amim me'ahavta otanu v'atita lanu et ha'Torah umitzvot al shem shnayim. Cuz don't take that for granted what the Jewish people had to do to be able to retain their identity through thick and thin over millennia is something as Rabbi Yaakov Emden writes that the greatest miracle that ever happened in Jewish history, BIGGER THAN THE SPLITTING OF THE sea and bigger than the Exodus of Egypt is Jewish survival. And Jewish survival as Jews. Because every great empire ultimately dissolved after a hundred years or a few hundred years, even the Roman Empire and Rome or Egyptians or the ancient Persians or Assyrians or Greeks or Byzantines ultimately dissolved and assimilated in the conquering nation or other native tribes, which was to be expected of the tiny tiny little Jewish people who century after century were being hunted down and yet with extraordinary courage and sacrifice they tenaciously clung to their identity till today to remain Jews who not only survived but thrived. That was the credit of Avram Avinu who tells the Bnei Cheis geir vetoshav anochi imachem when he wants to buy the plot, I am a citizen but also geir. I must be know who I am. I'm also a foreigner. True to himself, true to herself Avram Avinu and Sarah, unlike Lot who runs away to assimilate. Avram and Sarah remain true to their identity and ultimately they're honored for it. Bnei Cheis say nasi Elokim at besocheinu. You're a prince of God. That's one dimension of the Jewish people. And a dimension that is extraordinary that after thousands of years we're still here. In 1989, the Dalai Lama summoned a group of Jews and he asked them a question. The the the Buddhists have been exiled from their native home by the Chinese in the 1950s, Tibet. And they have been in exile for close to for seven seven decades, six seven decades. So, the Dalai Lama said he sees that the next generations will not be able to hold onto their identity exiled from their homeland. So, he called the experts. Who are the experts? So, he calls in a group of Jews to find out how the Jews managed to live for thousands of years in foreign countries and not assimilate. It's fascinating. The Dalai Lama understood that the experts on retaining identity in foreign civilizations under difficult circumstances are the Jewish people. Now, you want to know what the Jews told him? Narishkeit. But but it's it's recorded in a book called The Jew and the Lotus by Roger Kamenetz. He wrote the whole story. I mean, some things were narishkeit some things were not. It's not for now, but the point is this is one element. But there's another element and the other element we often didn't have the mental space to ever focus on for obvious reasons. The Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim something fascinating that when the Jewish people got the Torah at Har Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu gave them another commandment in the name of Hashem that they should influence the whole world lekabel mitzvos sheva mitzvos she nitza vu bnei Noach. Responsibility for all 7.7 billion citizens of the world to live a moral ethical life based on goodness and kindness of the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach, which the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach is basic code of civilization, not to steal and not to murder and to respect family life and to respect the creator and to respect animal life and to create systems of justice. The sheva mitzvos bnei Noach, which were given already to the bnei Noach after the flood, they were given to them bnei Noach, says the Rambam that the Jews were given a mitzvah from Hashem to influence the entire world to observe all the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach. The Siforno writes says by matan Torah ve'atem tihiyu li mamleches kohanim vegoy kadosh. You shall be a kingdom of princesses and a holy nation. Says what does it mean that every Jew should be a kingdom of princesses, mamleches kohanim? What does that mean? He says to understand that they're leaders, moral leaders to be able to influence in a positive way all of mankind. That's their mandate. The Yerushalmi says in maseches Nedarim, the famous Yerushalmi chapter nine that Rabbi Akiva said ve'ahavta lere'acha kamocha zeh klal gadol baTorah. Loving your fellow Jew is a great principle in Torah. Ben Azzai says that there's a more important principle. What's the more important principle? Zeh sefer toldos Adam. Betzelem Elokim bara oto betzelem Elokim bara oto. He said this is the book of the story of Adam created in the image of God. So, the Carbon Aida says why is that a greater principle? And he answers, this is in Yerushalmi, Ben Azzai is telling Rabbi Akiva ve'ahavta lere'acha kamocha is the unique love and sensitivity a Jew has to have to a Jew. But there's something grander and that is that the Torah teaches every human being was created in the image of God and the Jewish people were chosen to share that, to teach that that every single person has non-negotiable and absolute divine value and dignity. As Rabbi Akiva himself says in Pirkei Avos, chaviv Adam shenivra betzelem. Every person is precious because he was created in Hashem's image. So, that's the second possuk that speaks about the fact that every person, every human being was created in the image of God and zeh sefer toldos Adam that we all ultimately come Everybody comes from one father and one mother. As Chazal say in Sanhedrin 38, that throughout history people turn to each other and say, I'm greater than you. You're inferior to me. So, God made Adam as one person so nobody could say my father You know, you say my father is bigger than your father, right? My mother is greater than your mother. My Our fathers are one. Ultimately it goes back to one. Fascinating idea that the sages teach. Now, throughout much of our history the Jewish people were so downtrodden and dejected, the last thing they could think about was so, how do we influence all of the gentiles to observe the sheva mitzvos bnei Noach? [panting] Little benefit would come to them if the regimes and the governments found out that they're busy influencing non-Jews to observe sheva mitzvos bnei Noach. If they can only be left alone to observe their own mitzvos, they were more than happy and breathed a sigh of relief that we could live our own lives. It's fascinating that now, close to the Geulah, we live in a time of history that Jews actually have the ability to become part of the moral conversation of mankind and are seen and can be seen as moral teachers, as moral instructors that could really influence people in in in in a very powerful and deep way. But because of our long and bloody and difficult history, Jews don't see it often that way. You know, naturally we have that tribal instinct which has tremendous mileage because it saved the Jews from assimilation, but sometimes deprives us of understanding our true ability to revolutionize the landscape of planet Earth. As the Rambam says in Hilchos Melachim 11 that the Mashiach is Yisaken es kol ha'olam kulo, he's going to repair the whole world to serve under one God. L'ovdei os epikol amim, he quotes the Novi, os epikol amim safah brurah likro kulam b'shem Hashem l'ovdei kulam sh'chem echad. That all of humanity will be united under the banner, under the sovereignty, as we say Rosh Hashanah, we pray v'yeida And it's interesting, there's two days that highlight the uniqueness of the Jewish people. You have Yom Kippur and Pesach. I just want to share from Rabbi Soloveitchik, he said Yom Kippur at the end of Yom Kippur, towards the end, we do Maftir Yonah. Nobody knows why Maftir Yonah. A whole story about Yonah being sent to Ninveh, who were corrupt people, and he gets doesn't want to go, and he gets swallowed in a fish, and ultimately he tells them in 40 days Ninveh will be turned over, and the whole Ninveh does teshuvah. Why Why does it come into Yom Kippur? The answer is teshuvah. But there's so many pesukim that deal with the teshuvah of Jews. The Maftir Yonah at the end of Yom Kippur is not the teshuvah of Jews. Yonah didn't even want to go. He was arguing with God. And one suggestion is because the whole Yom Kippur focuses on the intimate relationship of the Jew and Hashem. chelkainu. etc. etc. Comes the end of Yom Kippur and we say, "Yeah." And when the Jew is truly anchored in Judaism, remember that you're also a prophet. As the Novi Yeshayahu said about the Jewish people, God says, "Or lagoyim nesaticha, I have made you a light unto the nations." That ultimately you have that ability, that power to be a leader, to inspire the world, to inspire the world towards family values, towards ethics, towards goodness, towards kindness, to live with an achdus, to live with sheva mitzvos bnei Noach, which means to live with the understanding that every person was created in the divine image and has infinite dignity and value and is responsible to live a life that makes their own life and their world around them a good place, a better place, and that God cares about every person and their behavior. Imagine if every public school was saturated with this awareness. Somebody called me the other day, they were complaining about let's call it more on the modern side, about Jewish schools, and they were thinking of putting their kids in public school. I said, "Listen, our schools have challenges. If you don't believe me, you could watch Rabbi YY's clips, for which he gets in trouble sometimes. We have challenges, there's things to repair, there's things to fix, there's a lot of things to fix. We can be critical about a lot of things, but I just want you to know one thing. You can go into any Jewish day school around the world. It could be Satmar, Bobov, Vizhnitz, Papa, Modern Orthodox, Litvish, Yeshivish, Very Modern Orthodox, Conservadox, Right Wing, Left Wing, Very Left Wing, Very Right Wing, Very Centrist, this type of yarmulke, that type of yarmulke, this shita, that shita, all the whole gamut, you will not find a metal detector in the entrance. That's a fact. Not in Golders Green, not in Monroe, not in Monsey, not in Lakewood, not in Toronto, not in Crown Heights, not in Borough Park, not in Mea Shearim, and not in Long Island or Westchester. A metal detector you won't find. Now go into every public school. Why is that? You think that comes from nothing? So just remember that. Remember that, because Jewish kids, from the milk of their mother, are saturated with the idea of lo sirtzach. It's It's It's entrenched through a Jews who had a hard time. I'm not justifying, just saying they had a hard time killing Nazis, killing the SS when they had an opportunity. And some didn't. Perhaps it was the wrong decision. I'm not discussing that now. But it was a hard for them. It was hard for them. Why? Because in the blood in in the in the blood in the DNA, there's lo sirtzach. Uvacharta bachayim. Every prayer, Oseh shalom hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu. A world of peace, a world of geulah, a world of Mashiach. But the role of the Jewish people was really to to do the best we can. And there comes a point in history where Hashem gives the Jewish people a gift to be able to impact and influence people that we know personally, uh through the web, globally, collectively, individually, en masse, but that's the time in history. And people crave it, they yearn it, because there's so much anxiety and confusion, moral anxiety and emotional anxiety and psychological anxiety. It all begins with Avraham Avinu. Hashem changes Avram's name from Avram to Avraham. And he says, "Why Avraham? Before you were Avram, you were a father for Aram, but now av hamon nesaticha, ultimately you'll be a father for all the nations." Right when he tells Avram to leave Charan and go to Canaan, he says, "V'nivrichu v'chol mishpachos ha'adamah, all the nations of the world will be blessed by you." Now it's a fascinating thing. I said a few weeks ago, somebody was making up this text and claiming it was God, it would be foolish to make a promise that one man, living thousands of years ago, will become the symbol of blessing of all the nations of the world. V'yehi bracha. You look today, close to half of humanity considers itself to be spiritual heirs of Avraham Avinu. Of course, the Jewish people, but you have the Christians, you have the Muslims, they all consider themselves to be spiritual heirs. You're talking about billions and billions of people. All consider themselves to be spiritual children of this man, Avraham Avinu, whether through Yitzchak or the Muslims through Yishmael, So Avraham Avinu, ultimately, his vision is a vision for the Jewish people, but it's a vision for the world. It's that the world should become a blessed place. But God and Avraham and Sarah, the most Sarah, the Eidishe Mama understood there's no way that can happen if the Jewish people are not anchored in themselves with full confidence. Because if I go out, but I'm not strong enough, I'm really weak, I'm ambivalent, I'm going to get lost. That's what happens to assimilation. How can you go out and not be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity and power of the secular embrace, whatever that meant throughout history? So Sarah was the one who safeguarded the Jewish home like a mama bear, protecting the home, safeguarding the home, making sure that there are absolute boundaries that Yitzchak should be able to grow up the person who Yitzchak has to become. That was Sarah's vision, that was Sarah's impact, and Avraham Avinu was perturbed because Yishmael is his son. But Hashem tells Avraham Avinu, "Sarah is klug, she's a kluge Frau. She knows what she's doing, listen to Sarah." Avraham Avinu sends away Yishmael. Now I get a call last week, a father calls me and says, "I heard you give a lecture the other day that a parent should not throw a child out of the house." I don't know, so it must have been a psak halacha to him. I don't know why, but fine. Maybe it's time for a child to move out, but it shouldn't be through severing the cords. Maybe they need a new home, maybe they need a job, maybe they need to be independent. Maybe they don't need your breakfast every day. Whatever it is, but it has to come from a place of connection and love. Now of course, there are unique exceptions, somebody is posing a physical danger, chas v'shalom, whatever. But 98, 99.9% of the time, I said a child does not sever cords, a parent should never sever [singing] cords with a child under any circumstances. Because the more the child is broken, the more they need the connection. That's going to heal them more than anything else. And trust me, no therapist in the world, even the best therapists, can do what a father and mother can do for a child. Sometimes there are GREAT THERAPISTS, BUT NO THERAPIST in the world can do what a Tateh and Mama can do for a child. So this person calls me and says, "I heard this shiur, the only problem I'm having is you disagree with God." I said, "Me? Why Why I disagree with God? I can't disagree with God." So Hashem told Avraham Avinu, kol asher tomar l'cha Sarah shma b'kolah, whatever Sarah says, do. Sarah said, "Garesh, get Yishmael and Hagar out of my house." And he did it. How do you have the audacity to say one should not throw this child out of the house? Of course, I understood that this was a personal question. Because it's what he did with his child. I said it's a wonderful question, my friend. And I'm going to give you four answers. Answer number one, no problem. You could follow Avram's example and throw your child out of the house. But one more thing, you got to send him with his mother. So that means your wife also has to leave the house. So let your wife and son leave the house. Let her raise him. And you know what? Your wife may be very happy, actually. That was just a joke. So that's not a problem. You want to send your son out of the house, just make sure he's with his mother. That's fine. Number two, I said. Number two, the moment God tells you to do it, I would also be the one to tell you to do it. Avram Avinu was told by Hashem to do it. He himself didn't want to. Avram Avinu was a holy man. Avram Avinu cared about Hashem. Why did he not want to do it? He didn't want to. Hashem told him to do it, he did it. I said, when Hashem tells you to do it, I'm in. I'll help you. BUT TILL HASHEM DOESN'T TELL YOU TO do it, be very, very careful. I'll tell you why. If you make a mistake, and you decide that's what Hashem wants, you may [snorts] be doing something that you will regret for eternity. You may go down to your grave with anxiety because of that moment. If you made a mistake, and maybe Hashem wanted you to throw him out, but you didn't, so worst came to worst, you have a close relationship with your child. So be careful. If you're imagining what God tells you, better to err on the side of not destroying this relationship. Number three, I told him. I have the biggest question. Why did Hashem want Yishmael out? Because of Yitzchak. Because of Yitzchak. Yitzchak also had a child, Esau. Says that Esau's wives brought a lot of aggravation to Yitzchak and Rivka. Yitzchak was not naive. Rivka must have told him about Yitzchak. Ultimately, she realized Rivka took the blessings for Yaakov. What should have been the first thing that Yitzchak did? Throw out Esau from the house? THAT'S WHAT GOD TOLD YOUR MOTHER TO DO AND YOUR FATHER TO DO BECAUSE OF YOU. SO YOU LIVE 4,000 YEARS LATER, YOU'RE THROWING YOUR KID OUT OF THE HOUSE. YITZCHAK LIVED IN THAT GENERATION. HE DIDN'T THROW HIS KID OUT OF THE HOUSE. IN FACT, RIVKA saw that Esau wants to kill Yaakov. Right? What should have she told her husband? Throw Esau out of the house. YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, ASK GOD. YOUR FATHER ALSO HAD THIS PROBLEM. WHAT DOES RIVKA do instead? Who does she throw out of the house? She sends Yaakov away. COME ON. YAAKOV, 22 YEARS is away FROM YITZCHAK, THE GOOD BOY. SEND AWAY ESAU. TELL YITZCHAK TO TELL ESAU, YOU KNOW WHAT? Do me a favor, go hunting in Hawaii. Go hunting in Montana. They send Yaakov away for a shidduch. Wow. That's pretty bad. YITZCHAK SAW WHAT GOD SAID. HE DIDN'T DO IT with his own child. Apparently, he understood when Hashem tells you to do it, do it. When not, you don't do it. And number four, I said, even the story with Yishmael was before Matan Torah. Yishmael wasn't a Jew. Ki bi Yitzchak yikarei lecha zera. Yitzchak is the heir. Yishmael wasn't a Jew. After Matan Torah, you're throwing away a soul? Lo yidach mimenu nidach. Every single Jew Hashem says is part of mamleches kohanim ve kadosh. His soul or her soul is a chelek Elokai mimaal mamash. That's about your son, too. Your daughter, too. It's painful. But the solution to the pain is not to amputate your heart. The solution to the pain is not to destroy and mutilate a part of you. That's not the cuz that pain is much worse. The solution to the pain, first and foremost, is you need ways to deal with the pain. BUT YOU NEED CONNECTION. NOW, I ADD NUMBER FIVE. THIS I didn't say on the phone cuz it was before I prepared the class. This was last week. I ADD NUMBER FIVE. HASHEM TOLD AVRAM AVINU TO EXPEL YISHMAEL. AND WHAT DID AVRAM DO? He went to visit him. WOW, WOW, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. GOD TELLS YOU TO THROW YOUR SON OUT. Avram understood. The moment expulsion becomes the MO, the moment I become a hostage of expulsion, I lost the plot. It became about my own insecurities, my own trauma, my own pain. Avram Avinu understood there was a danger for Yitzchak, and Hashem said Yishmael should not live here. Let him and his mother relocate. But he's still my son. And he went to visit him, and he mixed into his marriage, and he got him to get divorced, and he remarried another one. And the second what marriage he blessed because he saw that this is going to be a fine home of hospitality and kindness. And that's when Yishmael realized my father still loves me. Really? IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR YISHMAEL TO KNOW THAT AVRAM STILL LOVES HIM. AND THE MEDRASH says it. AND THAT'S WHY HE DID TESHUVAH. AND WHO UNDERSTOOD THIS? YITZCHAK. It never became an issue where me and Yishmael are enemies for eternity. And that's the beginning of history, the middle of history, the end of history. Avram Yitzchak understood ultimately the vision of Yiddishkeit is never only about segregation and isolation as a because the whole world essentially is evil. The vision of Yiddishkeit is, yes, you must be anchored va'atem madvekim ba'Hashem Elokeichem chayim kulchem hayom. Protected very, very strongly. But the ultimate vision of geulah is ein od milvado umalah ha'aretz de'ah es Hashem kammaim leyam mechassim, that the whole world is transformed. So Yitzchak feels that there is a future here. Now he's an adult. He's older. He goes to Hagar. He goes to Yishmael. He speaks to Hagar. Yes, he understands there is a time when Sarah needs this house empty from anybody else. But Yitzchak understands that there's something broken here. There's something not reconciled There's something that has to be reconciled. Avram Avinu had beautiful, amazing intentions that have to ultimately be implemented, even if the time was not ripe. So Yitzchak goes out. HE ULTIMATELY BRINGS HAGAR BACK, IMAGINE. And when he gets married and starts his life, he wants Avram should be able to be together with Hagar like they once were, who remained Keturah. And in the process, Yishmael is transformed. Yishmael becomes about teshuvah. And all the three clues now come together. Of course, Yitzchak was by the Be'er Lachai Ro'i. And of course, Yishmael was at the funeral. And of course, Avram Avinu remarried that woman named Keturah. I find this Is he passing away or he changed his name because of Sarah's emotions? But she passed away already. I know, but You mean in her honor? You're saying in her honor. You're saying Avram Avinu changed the name because of Sarah's to respect Sarah's emotions. So maybe he changed the name. Huh? I thought so. That's That's beautiful. That's beautiful. And I think in conclusion that this whole story is of immense consequence for our time. And that's what Rabbi Sacks said. Because I don't need to tell this audience here about the Tsarist and the challenges that Jews had from the Muslim religion. And nobody here has to understand doesn't doesn't need elaboration about the dangers that Israel lives with. As somebody once said, Israel is an amazing, beautiful country. It's just in a very bad neighborhood. They deserve everything that They're also like something Yishmael himself did teshuvah. But not his children. But Eretz Yisrael belongs to Avram, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. What's the vision of geulah? The vision of God's fine, don't worry. So zim a hatzlacha, she koach gevirah, mazel tov. The six children, it says Avram Avinu sent them to the East. Some say, in fact, that these are the founding fathers of the Far Eastern spiritual disciplines. Because you know, probably, that in Buddhism, there's the famous mantra Brahman, right? Which some associate with Avram. And the Zohar says that Avram Avinu gave them gifts. Rashi says shem shel tumah masar lahem. He gave them a spiritual energy. So some say that the Far Eastern disciplines and philosophies come from the children of Avram Avinu. In fact, you'll see that many ideas in those Far Eastern disciplines are very spiritual, extremely spiritual, and they focus on the oneness of the universe. Nirvana, one in all, all in one, cessation of ego, melting away in oneness, this profound spiritual trans Many Jews who I know made their way to Judaism through through the East cuz they got in touch with spiritual Sometimes gurus said, you know, what are you coming to us? Go to Go Go Go to the Jews. The chiddush of Yiddishkeit is post Matan Torah, you see that the Their Yiddishkeit it's pre Matan Torah where there was no integration between the spiritual and the physical. Transcendence becomes the ultimate. Peak of the mountain, meditation, spirituality. The revolution of Matan Torah was heaven and earth becoming one. So Yishmael doing Teshuvah doesn't mean Eretz Yisrael is now split up. Yishmael doing Teshuvah means every person, every child, every human being, every nation, every culture has its place in God's infinite universe being their own unique channel and offering their unique contribution to enhancing society for our times and for the future. So when you have Jews and Muslims who both trace their descent from Avraham Avinu, Jews through Yitzchak, Muslims through Yishmael. Such a story has tremendous significance and I should also say that pa- Fatima or Fatima, Fatima is also a very significant name. The daughter of Muhammad. Fatima is the daughter of Muhammad and in Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer it says this was Yishmael's second wife. So this means that beneath the narrative of Chayei Sarah the sages read the clues and they pieced together a very moving story of reconciliation between Avraham Yitzchak, Hagar, and Yishmael. There was conflict, there was separation there was tragic conflict and tragic separation, but that was the beginning. It was not the end. In other words what does that mean today? That means today Habonim Hashkama L'Harag, Jews need to protect themselves. Jews need to be strong. I once heard from Professor Dershowitz, he said Hashem Yishmael Yiten Hashem Yevarech Amo Ba'Shalom. God should give confidence to his people and bless them with peace. He said the path to peace runs through Oiz, through strength and confidence. The path to peace is not a path where you stretch your head out for the Shchita and you hope that your enemy will be appeased or as Churchill said, appeasement is feeding the crocodile in the hope that he will eat you last. Hashem Oiz La'Amo Yiten Hashem Yevarech Amo Ba'Shalom. You need confidence because some people just want to kill you and your children. But the ultimate vision of Judaism, ultimate vision of the Jewish people is to be able to reach out to a world and say we were designed to live with dignity, with mutual friendship, with mutual dignity, with peace. Avraham Avinu loved both of his sons and that's what Yishmael came to realize. Avraham Avinu was laid to rest by both of his sons. That is a significant moment in Chumash, so easy to skip over. So there is hope for the future in the story of the past. And I think at least one taste of that happened last year and I think because of political reasons it was not given the coverage and uh consideration that would have been given had Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu not been involved. I think if Donald Trump and Netanyahu were not involved, it would have gotten much, much more coverage. But we should not eclipse such an incredible story and that is what happened 1 year ago, September 2020 when there was a peace agreement that they titled the Abraham Accords. And I happen to love that name. And it was basically led by Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz when Israel signed a unilateral and absolute peace agreement with the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates followed by some others. And you know, even though there's always the pessimist and the cynic who who disregards these things but I for one think it was it was an incredible moment in history for which Jews and the world ought to say a Shehechiyanu because in the ultimate vision of reality there is a lot of hope for the future in the story of the past. Yes. Yes. Right. Right. Yeah. That's the Ben Ish Chai's interpretation. I would also add perhaps that Yishmael being present at the Akedah helped him understand why Yitzchak has to go first at the funeral. Yishmael realized at that moment what who Yitzchak was and what Yitzchak was capable of. Universal peace doesn't come at the expense of Jewish distinctiveness. You understand? Universal brotherhood doesn't come at the expense of Jewish distinctiveness. You don't understand what I'm saying? Throughout Jewish history there was always this conflict, are we a tribal people or are we a universal people? Right? So you'll say like this, from Jews always spoke about more, we're parochial, you know, we build our own communities, we protect our children from outside influences to the best of our ability, quote unquote. Uh you know, we have kosher homes, we don't we're careful with all the things we're careful from yayin nesekh and bishul akum and intermarriage because for Jews to be Jews they have to be able to be Jews. So it's a question of who you marry and what type of home you have and who cooks the food and what type of wine you drink and where you party and this is why the Jewish people are still here living a Jewish life in the millions, kein yirbu, right? And then there were other groups called the more secular groups that spoke more about universalism, you know, Or Lagoyim, we're a light unto the nations. You know, when was the last time you heard a Rosh Yeshiva or a Mussar Mashgiach get up in a Yeshiva and give a Shmuess, we are a light unto the nations to change the world. It's not it's not the common, you know, you have to work on your middos, you have to shtayg, you have to learn, you have to daven. But the truth is that in the ultimate destiny of Jewish history to pit these two against each other is really not our destiny. It's the other way around. The more Jews are anchored in their Judaism the more powerful and deeper an impact and influence they can have on the world. Because the more true you are to yourself the more your voice is authentic and resonates and people want to hear it. The less I believe in myself, less confidence I have, I'm just trying to say the right thing to appease everybody, ultimately I have no voice. So this is the moment of reconciliation where Jews anchored in their own faith and heritage and Torah and Emunah and Mesorah and anchored in their own essence with confidence and unwavering clarity with a lack of ambiguity and ambivalence and dissonance when Jews are rooted in that space, but not from a place not in a place of arrogance and pride and superficial holier-than-thou superior complexes, but in a place of real Dveikus in the Almighty, humility so the deeper the impact you can have literally worldwide. Wishing you all an amazing, inspiring, and wonderful week. Thank you very much. Thank you [snorts] and Be'ezrat Hashem we'll see you next week, Tuesday 12:45.