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Torah Portion -
Vayera
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Written by Yehuda Katz
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VAYERA
"I (G-D) will bless those who bless you (Abraham), and those that curse you I will curse. " (12:3)
G-d is bestowing on Abraham a special distinction, namely those that bless Abraham will be blessed while those that curse Abraham will be cursed. However, the wording of the verse is odd. Its inverted? When it comes to the blessing it starts off with G-d blessing those that bless while regarding the curse it starts off with those that curse?It should follow the same trend,as follows: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those that curse you". I would like to propose the following answer, Bezrat Hashem:It states in Medrash Rabba Gen, 1:10 as to why does the Torah start with a Beit (The second letter of the alphabet).The Medrash answers that because this letter begins the word in Hebrew for blessing, namely Baruch. (Since Baruch starts with Beit, so too the Torah starts with Beit.) (End of Quote).
This teaches us that G-d had created the world with the notion of bestowing blessings, not curses on to the Universe.Therefore, when the Torah discusses Abraham being a sourse for blessing to whomever blesses him, it starts off saying , "I (G-d) will bless.....
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Torah Portion -
Vayera
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Written by J Jacobs
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מוֹפֵת – Provide a wonder for yourself
Hashem told Moshe that if Pharaoh should ask for a מוֹפֵת (wonder) that it was G-d that sent him that he should lay down his staff and it would become a snake. The midrashim explain that Pharaoh had a book of the names of various gods and when he was presented with a different god he would look up in his book to see if the god existed. When Moshe informed him that it was HaShem, יקוק that sent him and he could not find the name in his book he asked for a wonder to prove that there was power in the one who sent him (Rashi).
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Torah Portion -
Vayera
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Written by Simi Hibbert
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I just want to share a short idea that we heard from שליט"א ר' יוסף זלברמן last שבת.
אברהם אבינו represents the paradigm of true חסד – he is known as the עמוד החסד. There are many different ways חסד can be ‘put into action’ but we find that the prime example of חסד practised by אברהם was הכנסת אורחים, as epitomized by inviting the three Arabs. From all the amazing different types of חסדים that exist, why it is that הכנסת אורחים is used as the example
Whenever we see an act of חסד, we find that the recipient is usually in desperate need for what he needs. When someone approaches a גמ"ח for a loan, it’s because he is in desperate need for money. The גמ"ח are then able to assist and help the needy. When a חולה is lying in bed, he is feeling depressed and low, and wants visitors to brighten up his life. When we go and visit a חולה we give them the חיזוק they need. This is the general pattern with all חסד, where the person receiving the חסד is someone who is usually unhappy or miserable and is in need for immediate help. Even when we go to a tape גמ"ח to borrow a tape, it is always the recipient who is in need of something.
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Torah Portion -
Vayera
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Written by J Jacobs
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תְּנוּ לָכֶם מוֹפֵת – Provide a wonder for yourself
Hashem told Moshe that if Pharaoh should ask for a מוֹפֵת (wonder) that it was G-d that sent him that he should lay down his staff and it would become a snake. The midrashim explain that Pharaoh had a book of the names of various gods and when he was presented with a different god he would look up in his book to see if the god existed. When Moshe informed him that it was HaShem, יקוק that sent him and he could not find the name in his book he asked for a wonder to prove that there was power in the one who sent him (Rashi).
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Torah Portion -
Vayera
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Written by Daniel Sandground
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Parashas Vaeira – Putting things into Perspective
In this week’s Parasha we see the start of the plagues which Hashem inflicted upon Egypt. A nice little remez to this is found in the title of the sedra, 'וארא/Vaeira', in which the gematria of the first two letters adds up to the actual amount of plagues which are seen in the Parasha, that being seven... (Calculation: ו = 6 + א = 1).
The sedra begins with the Torah giving over the account of Hashem’s final instructions to Moshe whereby the rare circumstance in which all three common names of Hashem are used by the Torah, each representing the different ways in which He reveals Himself. Through the analysis of these names Rashi amongst other mefarshim, explains how Hashem spoke to Moshe harshly, comparing him unfavourably to the Patriarchs who maintained their faith without complaint even though they were not privileged to see the fulfilment of G-d’s promises to them. Moshe on the other hand argued that he was not suitable for his mission and in last weeks sedra we even learnt how Moshe complained to Hashem regarding his previous unsuccessful attempts, when he was sent in the earlier stages of the enslavement, with the reaction of Pharaoh to further afflict the Jewish people by famously making them produce their own bricks. At one point, Moshe even seemed to question Hashem's decisions by asking... “My lord, why have you done evil to this people, why have you sent me?
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