Vayera: Em Habanim Semacha | Rabbi Ari Kahn | November 6th 2025

have some other business over here to attend to. >> Some of us have to share on our phones. >> Send their com. >> We We don't have to respond. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. >> And if it rings, it's even better. It wakes everybody up. I I I I don't mind. You know that. >> So, one, we have a reminder for those watching this share or any of our on YouTube. If you're enjoying this show, please make sure to subscribe to the U Isra channel so you never miss an update. and what we're sharing is finding new content. So the more people that sign up, somehow it helps in some kind of algorithm. I don't know. The world is controlled by algorithms. I have no idea what any of this means, but apparently this is quite important. Um, this year for this whole year is sponsored by Michael and Jerry Lax meter who could not make it today and apologized. I don't know why people. So I I was going to ask to bring a note from their mothers. I don't know. But uh but maybe they were afraid of that. But they wrote me yesterday for the Rafu Schlma for their granddaughter Real Sarab Shaina Arona. She should have rama. Um also I'll uh indulge you and ask that the sher also be in memory of my mother Rifka mayoral and also today happens to be the yurt side of my mother-in-law and uh so I told my wife uh she asked for this morning I said and have both in mind I said I certainly would. So her name was Bluma but Yitzk is for Rifka. So you got Yitsk and Rifka there together. There must be something very biblical that uh that I could say about that. So also it should be Eloy Lloy. So so so before I apologize for not having time or bandwidth to actually prepare the share. Um normally I think about what I'm going to talk about the Shabbat before. You can't hear me. If I if I say anything interesting, I'll say it louder. >> Can you move closer? >> No, no, no. >> Anyone who can't hear me, just put like the thing on louder, right? Yeah. Turn it on. Turn it on. [laughter] >> So, normally I'll think about what I'm going to talk about the Shabbat before. And this Shabbat, it it was still during Shiva, so I did not think about that. Um and then I had Sunday and Mon Monday we got up. So the one thing about Shiva that I that I noted is that they're very long days and a very short week. Whoever decided it was Shiva could not count really up to seven because uh you know the first day was essentially an hour or so from the time we got back from the Levia till uh till nightfall and then we had a couple of days. with three days alto together and then Friday is not a whole day and then Shabbat's not a whole day just Saturday night and then uh Sunday was a whole day. There were three whole days and then Monday we got up. So I I don't know how anybody ever counted how anybody ever counted seven. Essentially it was three and then a couple of uh of of partial days and uh I thank everybody who was able to come and those who weren't able to come who sent messages and and I I I felt that there was a great deal of uh of honor to my mother for the people that came. The amount of people the some of the people who came really uh surprised me when president of Barlan University came. I'm sure there are many people that teach there. And he told my father, "Yeah, we work together and uh that's not I guess that's true technically, but uh I mean the mayor from where I live and council members where I live and uh and rabbis and mentors and students and many many students came, hundreds of students came. So it was and again I I felt that that was really approached my mother at the very very end the last morning and I was even thinking of not coming the last morning. I know that sounds strange, but I was sleeping at home and I said, "Okay, I can dive in in the shul and then I could uh get get up and then meet them all the time." I said, "Okay, I've been with them all week. I'll I'll go as well." And the very very last morning, a very very old I'll explain how old and and dear friend who used to work with me as well. We work together was uh came Rabbi Mory Mahas. I assume that some of you know Morai. So the maklases and the cons and the singers and the Schwarzes and a couple of other ribbonic families all of their fathers were rabbis together in Bensonhurst and uh we know the the Mahases uh I'll say how far back Rabbi Mahas senior his father I believe oh was the rabbi in my grandparents shul and he read the kuva by my parents' wedding. So I know I know Morai I can say way over 60 years and I'm not way over 60 years old but I I know I know I know him for those uh amount of years and those of you who don't know Morai I lost his wife who was already 10 years ago and his wife was my uh my wife's Madhan Baka when I when I say her her brother was in my class in high school when I say that uh that we go back. So the last morning at the end of davening he walked in and then he sat down and uh and comforted us. He he started to cry and he turned to my father and he said, "I also uh lost my wife." And he read the various things that needed to be read to ask us to get up with so much conviction and with so much emotions. I wasn't expecting that that day. Expected just okay, we're getting up and uh and then he walked with us. He walked with us outside. So just in case you uh you you knew some place that there was a sadic in you. So uh so God sent various to come and maybe put it a little differently. God so so at least the so at least thematically it would be more reled more related to the para. There's not really separate seating by the way. That just kind of happened. Okay. [laughter] It just looks that way. And uh and I think that the message is is that God sends various which will take us right into this week's para and sometimes the look like an uh but nonetheless they are indeed and um so as I said I'm I'm very very thankful if [snorts] myself and my brothers and my uh my sister were able to for whatever reasons attract all kinds of people who came. So as I said ultimately all of that is in the honor of uh of my mother and to me that's very very clear and when I started this thinking then as I said then I had to play catchup for which didn't begin until uh some point later on Monday when I then normally on Sunday mornings on Sunday morning and then again I get a further thought about what I'm going to be thinking about and part of the problem with Shiva is that you're not let learn Torah and therefore I had to consciously keep all thoughts of Torah out of my mind which was part of the difficulty and from the time of the an and just conversely that till my mother passed away and we had a number of times we were told hurry to the hospital this is it and the first number of times that that happened it wasn't it but every single time that happened as I said the opposite the flip side of that is I refused to think about what I would say by a eulogy I refused used to think about what would happen afterwards and it was really my main thoughts at that point were what are the laws of anut and what are the laws of a lot and when do I start and what do I need to do and what can I do and so on but I refused to think and when I actually spoke by the leva if anybody was there then they would know that everyone else who spoke had everything written out and I and I didn't I just uh I knew what I wanted to say but I had no idea if I said it which means I've given many many talks in my And but I've never spoken for my mother while she was not alive and within a couple of feet from me. And that seemed to be something which was far more difficult to do. And I and I I knew I said more or less what I wanted to say, but I had no idea if it came out in a coherent way. And then someone actually had videoed it and sent it to me. And it turns out I was shocked that that that I made any sense whatsoever. So therefore this process of keeping your mind in certain places was a part of this. One of my teachers and not so many of my teachers are alive but one of my teachers who I learned with uh both in yes and afterwards when I was learn of David Miller. So when he uh he came and I told him that the hardest parts of Shiva are being unable to learn Torah or think about it and to be unable to stand up for you when you came in. So then I he said to everyone who could hear, I hope that you have na from your students the same way that I do from mine, which was of course very very um uh generous of him. So I already gave enough hints about the angels and so on. And the place that I wanted to start and the first thought that I had was ironically a source that then never made it into your sources. As I said, I kind of suspect I'm not necessarily thinking clearly. My My wife at some point said I I realize nothing I'm saying to you is being processed. Um, it's not that I I generally have a good memory, but I realize that memory only works when you hear it. When you don't hear things, then you can't remember what you never heard. And, uh, part of memory is actually actively listening and then processing and knowing. So my first thought was actually to talk about a midrash and uh the midash essentially makes a connection between which we all know and with eu and it applies to her the the amanima. So as I said that was the first thing that came to my mind and that's what I decided that I wanted to talk about. So I'll come back I'll come back to that midrash but let's first start learning and we're going to notice some things in the text so that I can try to convince you that I really did prepare. So let's start from the beginning of the par. There is enough material in that pock by itself for us to spend the entire year right on that. And I'm sure we've done that before, but we're not going to do that now. We have some type of a of a revelation or an epiphany or maybe even as some say that that revelation is the next pock when he lifts up his eyes and sees the three people. That's the content of the revelation because no content is shared. And he lifts up his eyes and he sees and throughout this chapter they're always referred to as Anashim. Three people come and now our tradition is especially because of the next chapter that these people are actually angelic. But what's presented over here in the text and maybe what's presented to Avam is that they're people. Maybe the takeaway of that is that Avim treats all people as if they're angels. And maybe lot needs to see angels to treat them as people. But nonetheless by lot it does say that he sees coming vyar and he sees vayarat and then right there aim that's abraim a goes running especially when we connect it to the previous para that aim is recovering from the brit maha which again rashi brings this and the drashim bring this as the background of the text which is very important because what it's telling you is don't read this chapter don't read paricut without having pericut absolutely in your mind and therefore it's a continuation of it and even the be very beginning love hashem who's they love so we have to end the previous para which means it's it's practically begging you realize we're just continuing for where we're up to love who's the love you meaning the problem is how do you know it's a because that's who we were talking about a moment ago so I'm saying this idea that there is this continuation from the previous chapter I I don't think you can escape it it's not just that excuse me it's not just that midrashically. Oh, a just now record. No, it's Hashem, right? It doesn't say who are we talking about? So, that's the continuation from the previous peric. So, I'm saying I think that's quite clear. Again, just let me blab this point, repeat it, and make sure we get it. There's some things in our mind that get registered as saying, "Oh, that was rashi, but it's not in the text." or that's a midrash, but it's not in the text. And then you have to go back and say, is it really not in the text? Maybe it is in the text. I'm going to show you a couple other things like that today, which are actually in the text, but we don't know they're in the text because we don't pay attention. Good. He sees these people. He goes running. He bows down. And going to many rishonim, all of this takes place in a vision, not just the Ramba. the Ramban when he attacks the Rambam kind of makes believe it's only the Rambam mainly the bal toast but go in the same direction and then there's a question the next word who is he talking to is he talking to God is this is it I'll read it as I'll read it and you can decide what it was so is he talking to God is he talking to these people is he talking to angels >> [clears throat] >> and so on and let's skip to what I want you to pay attention to the next couple of verses is the element of speed el you know what's great about that it's the first time she's referred to by her new name Aram is here referred to by the new name. So again if we think of the continuation from the last chapter to this chapter. So now it's Abraham and now it's Sarah. But there's something else which is hanging above us which creates the tension or creates the anticipation and that was the content of the previous chapter and there were two elements to it. One element to it was that the Brit was then commanded and the other element is that there was a promise and that promise is that Abraham and Sarah would have a child. Ara and Sarai never had any children but Ara and Sarah are going to have children. Abraham becomes Abraham at this point because of course you get a new name when you have the Brit which means that there is some kind of element of a transformation which is taking place and the transformation which taking place has to do with his body itself. It's not just his name and it's not just his attitude. If you want to call this a conversion I'm I'm okay with this. If you even want to say that a conversion a g is like a katana noladami. It's like a new child who's born. And it's like a rebirth has taken place. I'm fine going in that direction. And I'll then I'll say it again. Aram is a different person. And now we're meeting this Araham and this Sah. But don't miss that point. But there was a a promise. And that promise has at least until this point not come to fruition. I mean the other thing that you could think about and now I'm getting only slightly facitious but don't think overly facitious because it's actually more important than you think. I mean what do you serve by a bris? So generally people serve bagels >> that that's what it is. Bagels of course are round that that's also important but um presumably and I'm going to come back to this. We have to come back to this presumably that what we're talking about now is pes and on pes you have matzah by the way matzah also round how we know that we'll see in a moment and uh therefore they should be uh serving matzah I mean you could my mother did make matzah bagels I mean a kind of which was good with jam lots and lots of jam so right now we have this great anticipation and I'm just going to note I want to read the and then we'll make more of the observation. The first part just pause right there rushes. So doing things quickly does not surprise us right getting up early moving quickly doing things quickly. The fact that he may be a very old man at this point and the fact that he just had a Brit maybe makes this more impressive and maybe even more surprising. But this is uh this is Ara Mahari. So stop right there. So Aram is pulling Sah into his world. And now you just have to think for a second why that may be happening. So, if we go back a little bit, and maybe we'll see some of this as we continue. Aim's been promised from almost the very beginning that he's going to have descendants, numerous descendants. He's going to have all kinds of descendants. His descendants are going to inherit the land. And it was only in the last revelation pericution that God ever let on that the children that you will have Abraham will be through Sara. And you know, especially if you think about Ara and Sarah as people who've, you know, been together, Aragima, and the two of them are a team and the two of them work together and the two of them are are respectful and dedicated and so on. And maybe even Sarah is on a higher level of prophecy, which Kazal say, right? Listen to what Sarah says. It's interesting that on some level, and I'm saying this with only the slightest of respectful hesitation, maybe part of what Abraham is doing right now is he wants Surah to be deserving as well of this bra which is about to hopefully take place. Of course, there's another problem which we'll get to in a moment, but we can get ahead of ourselves. Why exactly do we need these people to come at this point? Why do we need this message? Don't answer my question yet. So the word over here actually is connected to matzah. That's part of what midrash and kazal do. I say that it was pak making matsot and ugot would be something which is round and that's the reason why matsot are round. any of you who will tell me but your matsot aren't round your mats are square that was one of the things that was done if anybody wants to look online I have actually a very interesting share about the issue of machine mosot which by the way became one of the first mitnagdic divisions by whether you can use a machine or not use machine matzo but part and by the way the whole argument there was not about the machines in the baking it was the machines about the the Lily Sha and so on, the kneading of it, that's what the machine the machines weren't doing the rest of it in those days. It was only more recently that machines got more uh more sophisticated. But [snorts] one of the resolutions that people should never get confused between machine matsot and real matzo was the real matzo would retain the round shape while the machine matzo then would have square shape. So everyone would know or anyone in the know would know that they're not real matzo. Um my family custom which means me and my father and uh perhaps some others is that we we prefer the machines because we trust machines more than we trust people especially yeshiva who who uh moonlight as matzah makers. Um one of my rea Gusman Rabel Zev Gusman who was a Dian and Vilda when he came to Erit Israel and uh he wanted to get some uh handmade matzah was shocked to see that all the handmade mats are being made by yeshiva bakim. So he went and inquired and asked are there any places that the women are making the matzo the ones who actually know how to uh handle dough and know how to make sure it's not going to come tot mats but only those made by women. So I'll just uh I'll just say if uh if there's if you've never heard of that right there's always other for PES but the where you're trying to avoid is one what happened is that my uh my father also would get hand matsoed until the time that we got hand matzo they were kt they were just ktz it was uh they weren't baked properly they were connected by strings and uh and and so on and from that day on my father would not let the hand matzo in the house. And as I said, we're makon machines who don't make those kinds of uh of mistakes. So anyway, matzo round. I'm waiting for somebody again. We'll throw down the gauntlet. I'm waiting for somebody, some machine moatza maker who say I'm going to make round, right? There's no reason not to other than get all kinds of people upset with you. By the way, if I'll go back, there was a time that a very famous, very significant rabbi, no names, asked me to join him by um baking machine mats. So, we went and a bunch of rabbis are making matzo and we made them. And we all took home the matzah from a very nice, prominent factory. And he called me two days later, I hope the ladies love this, and said, "We forgot to take." So, I'll say it again. [laughter] Anyway, I don't believe my wife has ever forgotten to take kala. I think that's why she bakes kala almost every single Friday because she wants to take kala and then she davs for everyone in the world who needs to be davinsed for. And uh and she never forgets. That's all that I'll say. She never forgets. And here you have a bunch of rabbis who are learned and know all these laws about baking matzah and we kind of forgot. So then by the way the is then you takea from the made to put them all together on the same thing and then take the from the from the finished product. So let's get back to our our uh Ara thinking that he's got to get S to do mitzvot. I hope you enjoy that. Aram thinking and trying to bring her into this world of mitzvot so that she'll be deserving. You you realize this is all my imaginary you know so far first subtext. We'll get to some other subtexts going on. But the I'm just saying notice the word Abraham and he says to her mahari, right? You know, come, you know, be from like me, you know, like do things quickly as well. And and again, I think to be deserving of this and and by the way, why am I going there? Because Aram did something which was transformative in order to be transformed. And what was that? He had a Brit. So now what's going to what's going to transform Sara to become from Sarai to Sarah other than God saying okay you got a new name. So what what else happens over here? So yes when a man converts when a woman converts so a man accepts him go to mitzvah has a Brit a woman goes to uh the mikvah and accepts the mitzvot. So okay so that's all that there is but I I understand this issue of [snorts] waiting or somehow creating the transformation continue the again in his doing mode. So again he also did something else interesting here. He just got the nar involved. So who's the nar? Who's the nar? So So again, we work with our theory of conservation of. So who's the nar? The nar presumably is Ishmael. And Ishmael, by the way, one chapter ago also went underwent a transformation. What was the transformation? He went from the ben Abraham to a not Ben Abraham. But of course, he's a Ben Abraham. But no, he's not. And how do I know that he's not? there's another puss in this week's para that tells me that he's not and what's that and that's what Aram's worried about and and the second this happens Aram starts to pray and Aram's prayer is that you know what no should live you have a son should live I'll tell you something else and again we're going to have to understand all of this is going to try to keep in the fold And that's not so simple. First of all, what was I referring to when saying that is not counted? Your son, your only son. So who seems to think that he's not counted as Araham's son? God. And why is he not Aram's son? Because Aram's son has to be Sarah's son as well. Why? Because Ara and Sarah are together. And Ara and Sarah are a team. And if it's not Ara and Sarah, then it just it's not zo. I don't know how to translate that. Zoza, it's it's something else. And that's really what God is saying. And and that's part of the tension that's been building up from the moment we met Abraham all the way till this point. And then of course it has to be Sarah. But what Abraham, if I'm not mistaken, is doing is I mean Rashi actually says it. So don't lose your place. And those who hope some of you found the sources wherever it is that I put them in source number three in Zion now you'll realize it's not just my imagination that Abraham wants to educate in mitzvot because he wants to keep him within the fold. He wants to keep him over here. Which means there's a tension. And the tension is that Hagar is rejected. Ishmael is rejected. It's Sah. It's the future. And Abraham wants to make S deserving. But he also wants to make Ishmael deserving because Ara wants to hold on to Ishmael. He doesn't want to lose him. Of course, if you can now say to me, so is this really appropriate for perhaps the Russia and the Sadik to live together? I hope you all realize that later on in our para, in this week's para in Peric, we're going to have the exact same issue being spelled out clearly where Aram's going to be told that Saddam is going to be destroyed and Aram's response is going to be, well, perhaps there's some righteousness over there. By the way, just stop right there. Aram obviously knew nothing about yeshiva education, right? Because if you have some righteous and some wicked, so what do you do? You kick out the wicked so all the righteous can flourish. You don't want to keep the righteous there within. I mean, for a to say to God, maybe there's some righteous people there, so let's let's save the whole city. Should be quite the opposite. righteous people there. We'll save the righteous and get rid of all the wicked over here as well in Abraham's tent. Let's let's get rid of Ishmael and let's and let's just raise which is ultimately what God wants. But it's something which Ara sensibility doesn't allow because Ara's whole world is about transforming wicked into righteous. If Aram would have said right now, let's only look at the world in a static way. Who's good? Who's bad? It's binary. all the bad. Let's blow them away. And all the essentially if we were to say that Abraham would adapt a Noah perspective, I'm sorry for picking on Noah. A little sorry for picking on Noah. All the wicked are going to perish and all the righteous are going to survive. Great. Great. Let's have a flood and blow them all the way. And who complains about that? Aam complains about that. And Aam says, "What are you talking about? Maybe there's some good over here." But but even if there's not good AAM seems to believe really believe passionately believe that we can turn something negative into positive. Now you don't know where I'm going today yet. You have no idea where I'm going. I know where I'm going. >> That's good. I'm totally unconvinced. I know where I'm going today. But I'll tell you the hint. What was the hint to all of this? It was obvious. It's the matzo. Okay. And if it is the matzot, you maybe now for the first time understand where in the world the air of Rav came from and why Moshe allowed all kinds of RAV to leave with them because again it should be let's destroy the wicked. Let's save the righteous. And it's it's static. It's where it is right now. But of course there's another issue that the Jews may not have been all that righteous at that point. Alo of deodor of deodor. So maybe it's not so simple but we believed in some but Moshe believes that we can take out some of the others a and they cause us a really big headache by otherwise so does but that doesn't stop a by trying to and that's what's really interesting about a because a seems to look at things a little bit differently than we look at things because as I've said many times if any of us would have been told that I'm going to wipe out the wicked you can pick the the location now if I if it's uh if it's if it's if it's New York City at this point that that that that any of the wicked that I'm going to wipe out completely would we have the ability to pray like a say well slow down slow down maybe there's some righteous people you all know that every rabbi except for the rabbis for Linda Goldstein who's the you know right okay if you know she isn't great then doesn't exist, by the way. >> The rabbi of of Aza, who keeps bothering people on uh Twitter, but uh everyone would say, "Yeah, wipe out the the wicked. We would all sign up to it in a second. Go ahead." And and and then maybe have this uncomfortable place that that's not Abraham. Aram believes in a world which is dynamic. Ara believes in a world which is redeemable. That that's really the issue. It's redeemable because if it's not redeemable, then like what in the world is he doing? one man, one man with maybe one woman against an entire culture. If you don't believe it's redeemable, then what are you doing? So, let's continue what we're told. Then, if we go back to the first source, back to peret, a couple things get interesting. Then some the food is brought over to the men. But we're s by the way by calling her Sara. What is this acknowledging? The new name, the new identity. The woman who would have children. You only can call her Sara is if you are privy to the inside information about the prophecy from the previous chapter. Are you with me on that point? That that that that's how this works. So the are these men or these angels or these people that have information? Absolutely. She's inside the tent and they say, "Right, will you come back and Sarah will have a son? And both old and and what it says here was postmenopausal. But she goes, you know, it's a little too late, right? This is not happening at this particular point in time. and my husband's elderly as well. So I I just want to pause there for a second. [snorts] None of this should be a surprise. As we say when we learn the Mar can pull out a thumbshak if they know her name is Sara then they were privy to the information of the pre of the previous chapter. If they know the information of the previous chapter then they know that Sarah is going to have a child. So they know Sarah is going to have a child and if her name is Sar now can you imagine Aram calling her Sarai all these years which is a nice name sounds like an endearing name and then he says oh listen today your name is Sarah who said my name is God said it's Sarah why said it's Sarah because we've we've undergone a transformation what's the transformation you're going to have a child how in the world does Ara know about parake changes her name but she doesn't know why is it necessary to send these people at this point it's already known information from the previous chapter And there's a bigger problem. We'll get to the bigger problem in uh in another verse or so. It says, you know, S laughs about this and then you have did she laugh, didn't laugh, she didn't laugh, she denied laughing and so on. But we have another really important word. Who's speaking by the way? previous verse. I will return. Who's the eye over here? Should I ask that again? It actually sounds that God is speaking. If God is speaking, if God is speaking, it sure sounds like God is still speaking. which actually means that God is saying God can't do this lammoed. Now what does lammoed mean? Lammoed mean so I I hope that you know this according to kazal it's pes now. How do I know it's pes now? Because they're serving ugot. By the way there is matzah in this week's para. Who serves the matzah? Load serves the matzah in the next chapter. Why does load serve the matzah? Because a meets matzah on pes. By the way, why would a meet matzah on pes and that takes us back to the britbin? God says 400 years, right? You're descendants from the day you have descendants. 400 years they're going to leave birth is when the clock starts is born on Pes because it's 400 years to the day to the moment. So therefore, Abraham knows that it's going to be from the Britain, which means every single year from that point on, I could argue that Aram celebrates Pes. Why I know in every single because most of us in order for us to see ourselves as if we left Egypt, what do we need to do? We need to thrust ourselves back into the recesses of our collective memory and remember that day that we left Egypt. And what does Aram have to do? He has to anticipate the future of the day that his descendants will leave Egypt. Aram celebrates Pes before Pes happens because Aram knows it's going to happen. Ara believes in it. A has faith. Am right? God, he believes he has complete. A celebrates pes. That's what are telling us. He's sitting there and they're serving Ugot. And even better, Lot was raised at Aram's tent and is serving Ugot. And by the way, that whole chapter about Lot leaving Stone is all about leaving Egypt. I I talked about this years ago. I wrote about this years ago. I have this in an essay on this in my second book written years ago. So, let's uh let's continue. So now at the very end of this chapter when he's told that that stone is going to be destroyed. I hope you realize there's a parallel in parakeet Zion we have a being told he's going to have a child and then he's going to pray for the other one for the have not over here he's being told again again have a child Sarah's going to have a child and then he's told about the wickedness and again he's told me story but there's there's a deeper subtext to this and that is that stone is comparable to Egypt. Where did we see that? Am I making this up? Or or we've seen this and now you're going to make me go look for the source 15. Hashem [snorts] lo when he first gazes upon this place. I had some real interesting things to say about this last week that I didn't get to say. Maybe some of you read it, but I had some interesting things the in the shear that I never gave. By the way, I finished writing in case you're worried. I I I knew my mother was in a very precarious situation. So from Sunday morning through Monday morning, I wrote I wrote 22 pages then and uh the second I finished it when I got the phone call to hurry up to the hospital and I did not make it back to the hospital. So I'd finished it right before uh right before she passed away. So the end I wrote that was in her memory. So in case people worried, how do you write that during this week? So I I I wrote it quickly right beforehand and I didn't read it over. So I don't know if it needed some fixes. So here we see that Egypt is in the background of all of this. But of course Egypt has been in the background the whole time. Do you know where else Egypt is in the background regarding Yesh. Because who is Yeshua? Look at where should we start with this in source 17. Sorry, even better. Source 16 first. Sorry. 17 is batau, which again, you know that it's even better. I'm not going to explain all of that now. But what I will say in the when the Jews actually do leave Egypt, then the bat paro comes with them. So therefore, the maote, they stick the bat paro in as well. Anybody follow me on that? It was very good what I just now said. So should I say it again or or you didn't follow? You did follow. Again the again is that when they do leave Egypt Bat Po is part of the story and she does leave Egypt. Bitya who's a daughter of Perau in Daryy we're told that she leaves. She marries one of the Jews and she leaves Egypt. So that is the Banim. So if that's the Nanim you need a Siman for this in the beginning. So there you have being part of the original story when Ara and Sarah leave Egypt and they get the Makot and so on and so forth. So if it's in the you need there as well in the Mote where else do you see Egypt within the whole story of Ishmael other than his mother and his grandfather in source 18 and he marries somebody from Egypt. I'm going to say it again. When I told you that there's a subtext to all of this, what the subtext is, it's this Ara and Sor story, but from the very beginning there has been this Egypt aspect to it. Again, I'm not clear enough today. Immediately, they get to Israel and they go down to Egypt and they try to parro tries to grab Sarah and then what ends up happening? What ends up he gets Makot, right? gets and then a leaves which means right there are bad points this time it's based on the midrash right there you have the Egypt story so I'm just saying just add one more element what element is also about paro being a part of the story and leaving but now you realize that the tension over here is setting the stage for the future what's going to happen so anybody who is joining the Egyptian side is on the wrong side of history for load to leave Egypt with Avam and then say but I want to go back to a place which kind of reminds us of Egypt is a problem and therefore you have this clarity taking place of lo being on the wrong side of history good very good so now there's we we'll do one or two other midrashim but just first what bothers me and I already told you in source number two is the previous chapter that's pericut where Aram's name is changed and Sarah's name is changed and then they're told they're going to have children. Why do we need the same thing told twice? That that that is part of what is problematic. But I will note and now I'm repeating myself that in the first one in parakeidian Ara undergoes this transformation. And what I'm waiting then for is the transformation of Sara. In source number three, Rashi here tells us three men come and you all know this Rashi because they like to teach this as kids and it says three the three angels as Rash is concerned one to give the message and one to heal Abraham. And it's at this point I want to ask you a question. Why does only Abraham need to be healed? Oh, because he had a Brit ma. Maybe Sarah needs to be healed as well. You know why? Because she's post-menopausal. She needs what kind of therapy what would we say? She needs um she needs some estrogen. She need what? >> Hormonal therapy. But she actually has a bigger problem. And what's the bigger problem? The bigger problem is if we go back when we first met them. And I told you that's really where the story begins in source number four. and Sarai is barren. She cannot have children. The problem over here is not, do you want me to use the word just or not use the word just? It's the problem over here, the medical problem is not that she's post-menopausal. The problem over here is she can't have children. On the other hand, both Avam and Sor when they process, you want to go back now and look at peric you know that Sarah says after I'm old and after uh he's old and go back and look at response in Is this nineyear-old woman going to children. So I want to ask you a question. Do they actually know that sorry can't have children? No. No. Again, there is a certain type and any any person who's ever suffered through any type of infertility will understand the tragedy of infertility and understand the the the sadness and the depression and month after month after month of trying to have a child and then finding out that it's just not working. And presumably they've gone through this and and you can hear it in Abraham's prayers where he sometimes turns to God, right? You know it. And he says, you know, I don't have I only have I only have Eleazar, you know, who's going to inherit me. And there is it's almost like he can't even ask. But but you know that that's part of this uh this world that Aram lives in. In source number five, the Gomorrah takes source number four very very far. And it says we'll start that means that she never developed the secondary sexual development. And by the way, that's going very far as well. But say no, no, she could not physically have children. So the gamar is going a little crazy and saying she didn't have a womb physically. Physically there's a woman who could not have children. But I want to ask you a question. Does Averman Surin know that Sarah can't have children? Do they know that she It's impossible. And it sounds like I hope you're all going to understand what I'm saying now. It sounds like they don't know. Sounds like they never knew. Why? the fact that this he's taking >> because they both say they both focus on the age and they don't focus and which means essentially all those years there was expectation and maybe anticipation and then disappointment and um perhaps depression and then nonetheless you see a such a giving person and and and and what we see over here is greatness and sorrow seems to feel very bad that Aram can't have his And I'm saying all this as a background, but it's right now perhaps for the first time that we realize they don't know. So I I I just want to mention something which this made me think of and and and by the way the the not all the commentaries work on this. So if you look at verse number six and seven the in both places here in again in Zion he uh he he notes see that God performed two miracles. One is she can't have children and two is she can't have children and nonetheless God did a double miracle over here and that itself got me thinking as well so what is the significance of this double miracle so now let's try again because again the whole story has just now become a little bit more complicated and and my first thought would have even have been maybe you need the two different times they were told the information for the double miracle but doesn't work because in both places they both focus on the same thing meaning had Abraham said but what do talking about Sarah can't have children. It doesn't say that both Aram and Sara both of what they're thinking about is but she's too old which seems to be they don't know about the other aspect in source number nine there is a Mishna sorry Gumra the Mishna said so and on that the Gmorra continues and says there's certain things which called what's an impossible prayer the Gmorra over here says for example a woman's pregnant and you say, "May it be God's will that my child that my wife have have a have a male child?" The Gmorra says that is a that is an inappropriate prayer. Not because you want a male over a female or female over male. It's an inappropriate child because it's an impossible prayer. She is either pregnant with a male or a female and that's not going to change. You can't pray for the impossible. You come along the way and you hear a scream come out of the city, right? Let it be God's will that that was not in my house. You can't pray for the past. Either it was or wasn't. You can't pray for something impossible. Nonetheless, I want to point out a remarkable comment in source number 10 in the mukbat in ku vote. Now I'm just showing off my bikotier because uh you can't get to this by itself. The garra here talks about the day that budasi died. The garurra says that they made a proclamation. All the people are praying downstairs and they said whoever says budasi is dead will be stabbed with a sword. So it's a little bizarre thing to say. Me either he's dead or he's not dead. Like so says I shall translate saying is as follows. The the is saying as follows. We can't pray for something impossible. Do you know when you can't pray for something impossible? When you don't know it's impossible. But the lack of knowledge that it's impossible allows us to pray. Which means if you don't know that rebu is dead, then you could pray for him to live. He could pray for him to get better because then God is not doing a miracle of in your mind. He's just you thought he was just sick and he got better. So the prayer for the impossible you can't do. But when you don't know it's impossible, you can do it. Which means, can we come back over here? If Aram knows that Sarah doesn't even have a womb, you can't pray. It's impossible. But when Aram just thinks that it's okay, it just didn't work this month, then you can pray and you can pray and you can pray. And Al and Sarah prayed because they weren't praying for the impossible as far as they knew. and God did anes and God allowed her to have a child. Now say in the same midrash that I have that I didn't bring it for you today the this is found in if anybody wants me to send it to them afterwards I'll be happy to do it in braiml in that midash it says and you know this and it's in other places as well that s reverts to becoming a young woman she became young again now what's the textual proof that she became young again the proof in the Torah that Aviamelik tried to kidnap her. It's a little harder for me to say that Avi was hitting on an 89year-old woman. No offense to anybody here was 89. But if she becomes young again, she becomes attractive again. Kind of makes a little bit more sense. Sara looks young again, which means that what's happening in this place right over here, Sarah is undergoing a transformation. The same way that Avam underwent a transformation, a has his britam becomes a becomes katana. He becomes as if spiritually he is a new person. Sur also undergoes a transformation and it's much deeper than we ever than I say we realize than the protagonists realize because essentially what happened is impossible. But you realize now that nothing is impossible for God. And it's now that I want to go back to why all this is important in terms of uh in terms of leaving Egypt because the whole Aram and Sara relationship becomes the prototype specifically for it. And now go back and think a second. [snorts] I asked you before why it is that the angel Rafael, if you will, heals Abraham but doesn't heal Sarah. Sarah needs a raff. Sarah needs a raff because she can't have children. Again, that's not like going as far as the gar saying saying she's an island or saying that she doesn't have a bim or so on. That's the Torah saying she's barren. She can't have children. There is a problem. She can't have children. So that can't have children is not something which the Malik does. Rafel doesn't heal that that's specifically God does that did I just now say something transforms Sah the leaving of Egypt is a birth of the Jewish people it's a womb the Jewish people emerge and they be and they're reborn they become something which is completely The same way that au changes from a tora and s to s there is a rebirth over here that's part of what's taking place and what's interesting again now I go back to the Ishmael as the rav will the rav live or not will we pray for stone and Moshe says no let's take out some of the rav and is Moshe right or is Moshe wrong Moshe is being like Abraham and there's hope if there's can be transformation if there can be a rebirth then maybe the whole world is redeemable and it's true that the whole world is redeemable able, but maybe we still have to wait a little bit to get there. Which means leaving Egypt, which is an essential part of Jewish history, is the impossible takes place. And it's praying for something which we can't even understand. doesn't mean that we're not in a precarious situation immediately afterwards when we leave Egypt and there's this rebirth and next thing you know we're standing in front of the water with the Egyptians chasing after us which is just like the continuation of this week's para that right afterwards the son is born and now finds himself in a precarious situation with a sword coming down towards his neck and maybe there's a scratch and maybe there's a wound but don't touch that boy he's going to come down from the altar And this is Jewish history. Jewish history combines miracles that we don't even understand. We're here today because we survived and we were reborn and there were knives coming at us and we got off off of the altar and because we crossed through the sea in an impossible type of way. which means the story of Ara and Sorah is the story of leaving Egypt which is the story of Jewish history. So I just want to end we have two minutes two minutes left because I told you didn't know where I was going. I knew where I was going. It's all there staring at us. [snorts] God does miracles that we don't even see sometimes. So, let me just end [clears throat] by going back and talking for a moment about my mother. So, I don't remember who I told how much to, but my uh both of my mother's parents were born in Europe. I know Europe's a very big place. And the truth is that both of them leaving and getting out happened to have some levels of uh of the unexpected to it. My grandfather, who's by the way his father, his name was Dove David Dovid and my middle name Dovid comes from him. And my grandmother's name was Ari Morai. My first name comes from him. So my grandfather first right after World War I, my great-grandfather said if there was one World War, there'll be another one. and to try to get him out for being drafted, took him to America, [snorts] but they didn't take him into America because the they didn't want too many Jews at that point. And the boat turned around and went back to Europe and it stopped in Cuba and my grandfather then spent three years in Cuba before he was able to get back to America. So again, just just the luck of being able, you know, the miracle within the miracle. And by the way, that concept of a miracle, the miracle, I actually gave you some sources about that because it's all over leaving Egypt as well. The bar was a nes the same term is used there. The is right, the fire and the water together, the ice and the fire together. There's a miracle within a miracle. That's part of what leaving Egypt is. That's part of the miracle of Sarah having a child. That's why it was so important for me that way. My grandfather leaving Europe, but then being sent back to Europe. I noticed a number of years ago I found the manifest for the boat of my mother's mother when they left Europe and I I noticed something that the entire family was together and then my grandmother was not together with the rest of them and I asked my mother I said why is this and she was shocked that I found the manifest and she was shocked that's the way it was written and she says I'll tell you what happened there was a doctor that was checking each person before they got on the boat my grandmother's eyes were very bad they didn't want to let her on the boat and they they turned her around and told her to get off the boat and then only later she was able to get back on and somehow she passed the test whatever it was the second time and they didn't realize how poor her eyesight or whatever it was. So both of my grandparents got on boats and we're told to go back and we're told to get off. [snorts] So I'm going to say it again. There sometimes are miracles that we don't even know that we're supposed to pray for because we can't pray for the impossible. But the fact that we're here today and the fact that we survived, the fact that my grandparents survived, the fact that my mother was born, all of this is based upon God doing miracles within miracles. And for that, we're extremely extremely grateful.