Parshat Lech Lecha
In the world we live in, it is very hard to distinguish between good and bad, between light and darkness. The Baal Shemtov says that the evil inclination is at its finest when one believes that bad is truly good and that bad is in fact a mitzvah. For an example, if I say to myself “It’s okay to sleep late today; in fact it’s a mitzvah! Not only will I be more rested, but I will learn more Torah!” This is the yetzer hara at its best.
Sometimes in the world, it’s hard to differentiate between black and white and everything in between. Sometimes things fall into shades of grey. Confusion and lack of motivation lead us to struggle with everything that we know is real and true because our yetzer hara is trying to overpower us.
One Avraham Avinu’s character traits was the power to distinguish between the bad and good. Any bad that surrounded him, he stamped out or turned away from. We learn this important lesson many times in the parsha. One example is with Avraham and Lot’s herdsman. Avraham sensed the animosity and tension that was building up between the herdsman and he realized that the best decision was not to stay together with his nephew.
“Please separate from me, if you go left, I will go right, if you go right I will go left (13:9)”
We see that Avraham gave Lot the option to choose because he genuinely cared about the interests and well being of his nephew. He turned away because he realized, that the “bad” that confronted him might serve as an obstacle in his ultimate mission of bringing good into the world. Avraham Avinu had the foresight to understand Lot’s confusion. He had the foresight to say “Hey, you know what? This isn’t a good idea. Right now I may enjoy it, but I probably could be doing better things with my time.” We must expect the yetzer hara to bite when we least expect it. The RAMCHAL says: “The yetzer hara is a warrior who is the master of deception." The mastery of the evil inclination is that it approaches us just the way the snake approached Eve.
Confusion is something that we all seem to be familiar with. I find it hard to get through the day with complete knowledge of G-d because the world is a difficult place to remain clear and serene. We must realize, however, that the sole remedy for confusion, the sole remedy for despair is the Torah. When times are hard, that’s when we should strive most.
I remember almost two years ago Zachary Berman told me something that I still hold true as I go through my days at Binghamton: “If you are not going forward, you’re going backward.” If you are not striving and pushing, there is no possible way to break our barriers. In Judaism, there is no such thing as maintaining a level. It’s either up or down. Avraham knew this and he knew that he needed to break away from the bad in order to ascend. HaShem rewarded Avraham and his descendents, Israel, because of Avraham’s clarity in breaking away from Lot.
This week I will try to: Break free of this confusion that causes a lack of motivation and to anticipate the bad that deceives me into thinking it is actually good. This week I will try to follow in the footsteps of our father, Avraham, who was strong-willed and turned away from bad in order to seek good. I will live by the idea that Judaism is not something that we maintain; it’s about striving, and in the words of Zach: “If you are not going forward, you are going backward.”
PART II
Today is the memorial of the passing of Rebbe Shlomo Carlbach, of blessed memory. He was a man who, like Avraham, committed himself to selfless acts of kindness. Two years ago on his memorial, I visited Reb Shlomo’s (zt”l) grave and I was flabbergasted at the holiness that dwelled there. From the second I left the taxi I knew I wasn’t just standing near just anyone. Before I left the grave
I “coincidently” met one of Reb Shlomo’s students and he said the following: “Reb Shlomo’s life was driven by the success of the world. He believed that everyone had something to fix in the world, and he believed that before we fix the world, we must fix ourselves. Each person has individual obstacles as well as positive characteristics to perpetuate success.”
Reb Shlomo believed that love and compassion for one another will eventually reflect off the heavens and bring us Moshiach. Through loving our fellow humans and committing selfless acts of kindness, we bring HaShem and Moshiach closer to us. Achieving this result is a struggle. Reb Shlomo left the world with a task only started but he has inspired tens of thousands and changed the world. We must take over for him. Through love we can bring Moshiach.
In this piece of Torah we learn that each and every one of us is no more or less significant than the next. We are all so important to the world. HaShem has faith in us. We must forever remember that despite our insecurities, despite what we may think of ourselves, whether we are better or worse than our pupils, we are all equally a piece in the puzzle. We all need to work together to complete that puzzle.
“Now I want you to know the deepest depths. Every person has a share in this world and a share in the world to come. We understand the concept of a share in the world to come, but what does it mean having a share in this world? Open your hearts... Having a share in this world means I know exactly what I have to do in this world. This is a very high level. If I know that if I don’t do it, it just won’t happen. Then I’ve just got to do it. This is my share in this world.
Evil is always new. Imagine, if you do something wrong, you swear to yourself you will never do it again, right? How come evil returns the next day? The answer is very simple. Evil has newness. So how do you fight evil? With even more newness!
Abraham was the first Jew the first messenger of G-d on earth. The first thing Abraham did was to open his house. In fact, he took away the doors. Everybody was welcome. Abraham didn’t preach to the sinners. ‘Listen you dirty pagans, you are all going to hell!’ He just took them in and told them, ‘This is my house and this is your house too.” –Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l
Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul…
Change (in a non political way) starts here.
In blessed memory of my Rebbe, Reb Shlomo Ben Naftali, zt”l
Shabbat Shalom!
Edited By: Rachael B. Goldberg
Sometimes in the world, it’s hard to differentiate between black and white and everything in between. Sometimes things fall into shades of grey. Confusion and lack of motivation lead us to struggle with everything that we know is real and true because our yetzer hara is trying to overpower us.
One Avraham Avinu’s character traits was the power to distinguish between the bad and good. Any bad that surrounded him, he stamped out or turned away from. We learn this important lesson many times in the parsha. One example is with Avraham and Lot’s herdsman. Avraham sensed the animosity and tension that was building up between the herdsman and he realized that the best decision was not to stay together with his nephew.
“Please separate from me, if you go left, I will go right, if you go right I will go left (13:9)”
We see that Avraham gave Lot the option to choose because he genuinely cared about the interests and well being of his nephew. He turned away because he realized, that the “bad” that confronted him might serve as an obstacle in his ultimate mission of bringing good into the world. Avraham Avinu had the foresight to understand Lot’s confusion. He had the foresight to say “Hey, you know what? This isn’t a good idea. Right now I may enjoy it, but I probably could be doing better things with my time.” We must expect the yetzer hara to bite when we least expect it. The RAMCHAL says: “The yetzer hara is a warrior who is the master of deception." The mastery of the evil inclination is that it approaches us just the way the snake approached Eve.
Confusion is something that we all seem to be familiar with. I find it hard to get through the day with complete knowledge of G-d because the world is a difficult place to remain clear and serene. We must realize, however, that the sole remedy for confusion, the sole remedy for despair is the Torah. When times are hard, that’s when we should strive most.
I remember almost two years ago Zachary Berman told me something that I still hold true as I go through my days at Binghamton: “If you are not going forward, you’re going backward.” If you are not striving and pushing, there is no possible way to break our barriers. In Judaism, there is no such thing as maintaining a level. It’s either up or down. Avraham knew this and he knew that he needed to break away from the bad in order to ascend. HaShem rewarded Avraham and his descendents, Israel, because of Avraham’s clarity in breaking away from Lot.
This week I will try to: Break free of this confusion that causes a lack of motivation and to anticipate the bad that deceives me into thinking it is actually good. This week I will try to follow in the footsteps of our father, Avraham, who was strong-willed and turned away from bad in order to seek good. I will live by the idea that Judaism is not something that we maintain; it’s about striving, and in the words of Zach: “If you are not going forward, you are going backward.”
PART II
Today is the memorial of the passing of Rebbe Shlomo Carlbach, of blessed memory. He was a man who, like Avraham, committed himself to selfless acts of kindness. Two years ago on his memorial, I visited Reb Shlomo’s (zt”l) grave and I was flabbergasted at the holiness that dwelled there. From the second I left the taxi I knew I wasn’t just standing near just anyone. Before I left the grave
I “coincidently” met one of Reb Shlomo’s students and he said the following: “Reb Shlomo’s life was driven by the success of the world. He believed that everyone had something to fix in the world, and he believed that before we fix the world, we must fix ourselves. Each person has individual obstacles as well as positive characteristics to perpetuate success.”
Reb Shlomo believed that love and compassion for one another will eventually reflect off the heavens and bring us Moshiach. Through loving our fellow humans and committing selfless acts of kindness, we bring HaShem and Moshiach closer to us. Achieving this result is a struggle. Reb Shlomo left the world with a task only started but he has inspired tens of thousands and changed the world. We must take over for him. Through love we can bring Moshiach.
In this piece of Torah we learn that each and every one of us is no more or less significant than the next. We are all so important to the world. HaShem has faith in us. We must forever remember that despite our insecurities, despite what we may think of ourselves, whether we are better or worse than our pupils, we are all equally a piece in the puzzle. We all need to work together to complete that puzzle.
“Now I want you to know the deepest depths. Every person has a share in this world and a share in the world to come. We understand the concept of a share in the world to come, but what does it mean having a share in this world? Open your hearts... Having a share in this world means I know exactly what I have to do in this world. This is a very high level. If I know that if I don’t do it, it just won’t happen. Then I’ve just got to do it. This is my share in this world.
Evil is always new. Imagine, if you do something wrong, you swear to yourself you will never do it again, right? How come evil returns the next day? The answer is very simple. Evil has newness. So how do you fight evil? With even more newness!
Abraham was the first Jew the first messenger of G-d on earth. The first thing Abraham did was to open his house. In fact, he took away the doors. Everybody was welcome. Abraham didn’t preach to the sinners. ‘Listen you dirty pagans, you are all going to hell!’ He just took them in and told them, ‘This is my house and this is your house too.” –Reb Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l
Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul…
Change (in a non political way) starts here.
In blessed memory of my Rebbe, Reb Shlomo Ben Naftali, zt”l
Shabbat Shalom!
Edited By: Rachael B. Goldberg
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