אותיות משונות בתורה

UNUSUAL LETTERS ETC. IN TORAH
(AND AN EXPLANATION ON פרשת תולדות)

We are all aware that a Sefer Torah is written with every letter in a special shape. This is in accordance with the tradition handed down to משה רבנו when he received the Torah and reiterated by Ezra, the famous leader of the Bnei Yisroel at the commencement of Second Temple. Some letters have on them what are called Tagim. These are either crowns or small lines written above certain letters. All this also in accordance with the original tradition received by משה רבנו.


Many people know that there are certain letters that are traditionally written in Torah enlarged, for example, the ב of בראשית. There are also letters for which we have a tradition, קבלה, also handed down from משה רבנו, that they are written small, for example the א of ויקרא. Less well known is the fact that there are occasional letters which have dots above them. For example, when the angels came to Avrohom and asked “Where is Soroh?” the posek tells us ויאמרו אליו “And they said to him” on the three letters א י ו of אליו there is a dot above in each case. Rashi quotes our חז''ל that they also asked Soroh where Avrohom was.

In each case that there are these “abnormalities” we find explanations given and numerous דרשות.

What is less known is that there is a קבלה, a tradition, that in certain places in Torah letters are written not in the normal manner but in a special type of way.

I reproduce hereunder a page from the Machzor Vitri written by Rebbenu Simcha a pupil of Rashi (following page 799 in the Nuremburg print of תרפ''ג).

In addition the Meiri wrote a sefer, קרית ספר, which also quotes traditions of these unusual letters and different Taggim in certain places in Torah.

The Rambam, in the 7th chapter of the laws of mezuzah, 5th halocho, states as follows,ויזהר באותיות הגדולות ובאותיות קטנות ובאותיות הנקודות ואותיות משונות כגון הפאי''ן הלפופות והאותיות העקומות כמו שהעתיקו הסופרים איש מפי איש ויזהר בתגין וכו'.
(Free translation) “A Sofer when writing a Sefer Torah should take care with writing correctly the larger letters, the smaller letters, letters with dots, unusual letters for example the פ which has a small פ inside and twisted letters as the scribes received a tradition, generation by generation, and he should also be careful with all the Tagim etc.”

The Rabbenu Bechai, one of the early commentators on Torah (lived approximately 750 years ago in Spain) at the end of Noach, on the last word of the sedra that is, חרן, which Rashi says has a הפוכה נון turned round, also discussed these “abnormalities”. Rabbenu Bechai states as follows הנה זה משלימות התורה ומן הרמזים הצפונים באותיותיה כי על כן באו בתורה אותיות הפוכות ותלויות וכן עקומות ולפופות וכן גדולות וקטנות וכן מנומרות ומנוקדות יתגלו מתוכם חמשים שערי בינה שנגלו למשה. (Free translation) “This is part of the completeness of Torah and of the allusions, Ramozim, hidden in its letters. Because of this, in Torah, we have letters which are written “inverted”, sometimes hanging above or below line, written at some unusual angle, small letters inside large, large and small and other unusual shapes. From these can be revealed the 50 gates of understanding which were revealed to Moshe Rabbenu.”

I have also had the privilege of seeing a very old hand written Tikun called the Tittled Bible which the then Sephardi Chacham Gaster published some 80 years ago which has numerous such letters and Tagim and is now in the British Museum.

The last Sifrei Torah which appear to have been written with such traditions incorporated, were in Moravia, the Czech Republic until approximately 250 years ago and I have seen two such Sifrei Torah owned by my dear friend Dr M N Rosenfeld נ''י

A study of these letters is, indeed, fascinating and there is a whole section in the monumental and encyclopaedic production by Rabbi Mendel Kasher known as תורה שלימה where before Tazria a volume in excess of 200 page was produced by him. This includes background into the precise tradition and also shows numerous letters going through the whole א-ב as gleaned not only from the sources I have mentioned above but also some Yemenite old texts etc. I show below a few of the letters so that one can, at least, get a flavour of what is being discussed.

Let us now turn to the sedra תולדות and the first few verses. Yitzchok and Rivka had not had children, they had been married for 20 years. They then prayed very hard to Hashem and were blessed with Rivka expecting twins. The posek continues,ויתרצצו הבנים בקרבה and Rashi says as follows,
על כרחך המקרא הזה אומר דרשוני שסתם מה היא רציצה זו, וכתב אם כן למה זה אנכי
“I am forced to explain this verse by a way of drash (not peshat) because what the jostling between the children was about has to be explained and why did Rivka say “למה זה אנכי” “What am I here for” Then Rashi goes on to comment that our Rabbis explain that this ריצה, jostling or running was, that when Rivka went by the Yeshiva of Shem and Eiver, Yaakov tried to get out. When she went past an עבודה זרה, place of idol worship, Eisav tried to get out. One has to understand what causes Rashi to make such comments. After all, every baby in the womb moved around and if there are twins, there is even more movement. Secondly what does Rashi mean by the words, וכתב אם כן למה זה אנכי.

Thirdly, Rashi changes things from the wording in the medrash quoted by him. Whilst Rashi says that Yaakov tried to go out, the medrash only says that Eisav tried to run out from his mother’s womb (Yaakov is not mentioned).

One can also ask why was it that such a Tzaddik and Tzaddaikes as Yitzchok and Rivka should have a son like Eisav.

In order to understand this, it is very instructive to know that on the word ויתרצצו there are three letters which are “unusual”. The י and צ and the second צ are all written in an unusual manner. This is mentioned in the Machzor Vitri and no doubt, if Rabbenu Simcha who was a pupil of Rashi knew about it, his teacher, Rashi, also had the same קבלה, tradition. Therefore, one can understand why Rashi starts off by saying that this verse has to be interpreted by way of drash because he knew that letters were written in a special manner and had some hidden significance. In order to explain this, Rashi, therefore, had to go into depth.

One further letter in the next phrase, that is the מ of למה זה אנכי is also written in an unusual manner. Therefore, I think that is why Rashi quotes the few words וכתב אם כן למה זה אנכי , to explain with it what the medrash tells us, namely that Rivka thought that she was expecting one child. She was very worried that that child apparently wanted to get out both when passing a Yeshiva as well as when passing an Avoda Zorah and Rivka was, therefore, saying “why did I have to ask for a child in such circumstances, if I am going to have such a son”.

Turning to why Rashi changed the quote from that of the medrash by not only saying that Eisav tried to רץ, jump out, but also Yaakov tried to jump out, can perhaps be understood by a comment of the Maharal on that posek. He queries as why was it that Eisav tried to go out. We know from a Gomorra in Niddah that the Yetzer Horah does not come to a person until the day of birth. The Maharal answers, that it is true the Yetzer Hora does not try to ensnare the person until actual birth takes place, but the nature of the person is already determined beforehand and, therefore, Eisav wanted to go to that which attracted him, namely Avoda Zorah. In the same way Yaakov was attracted, due to his latent nature, to the Torah.

But the Gomorra also quotes in the same place in Niddah, that, before a child is born, an angel comes and learns with the foetus. No doubt, this happened to Yaakov and Eisav. However, Eisav refused, whereas Yaakov accepted it with love and willingly. That is why Rashi adds that Yaakov wanted to jump out because he wanted to sit in the yeshiva and learn, not just have an angel learning with him.

I mentioned above that the י and צ and the second צ of ויתרצצו are written in an unusual manner. May I suggest that these letters were particularly highlighted because they are also in the name of Yitzchok, יצחק. The י is the first letter and the צ can be explained in two ways. When Avrohom heard that he was going to have a son the Torah says ויצחק and he laughed, and Rashi explained because of his great joy he was smiling and full of laughter, but he believed what he had been told. However, when Soroh heard, it also says ותצחק שרה Soroh laughed but hers was a laugh of disbelief. Could one perhaps explain the allusion here as being that the two different reactions and the צ in each case led to two children, one who believed, namely Yaakov and one who made fun, Eisav. (The root of the word is צחק, which commences with a צ).

In any event, the point I am trying to make is that our Torah is much deeper than appears on the surface and the, almost forgotten, use of these special and unusual letters needs to be looked into, explained and highlighted.

I hope that in the future from time to time I will be able to throw light on other such “anomalies” בע''ה.

ר''ח כסלו תשס''ט

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טעמי המקרא - שלשלת

At the same time as Moshe Rabbenu was given the Torah by Hashem, he was not only given the actual words to write down, but the vowels, the way to pronounce words, were given to him at the same time, for example, when to use a קמץ, חיריק, חולם etc. Also at the same time, he was given the טעמי המקרא, the cantillations, trop, the notes to be sung on each word.

You will note that these are called טעמי המקרא, they are not just fanciful musical accompaniments they are, in fact, deeper hints and guidance to understanding some further depth in Torah which does not appear by just reading the words even with the vowels.

There are two types of טעמי המקרא. They are known as מלכים and משרתים, kings and servants.

Basically, a servant is a note or series of notes leading to a final note, where there is then a distinct pause. The final note is known as a מלך, melech, a king.

There are a number of these notes known as melech but the greatest one is the שלשלת, the “King of Kings”.

The note only appears a few times in the whole of Torah and its significance is, therefore, even greater.

I would like to go through the various places that a שלשלת is found and discuss the matter in some depth.

The first time we come across a שלשלת is in the sedra וירא. Lot was told to get out of Sedom fast, in order that he should not be destroyed with Sedom. The Torah continues, ויתמהמה, and he tarried. On that word there is a שלשלת.

In order to understand why there is this “King of Kings” special note at this juncture, let us go back a little while. Avrohom Avinu was told to leave his homeland and go, in fact, to the land of Canaan, and Lot joined him. When they arrived, there was immediately a famine and they went down to Egypt. They were very poor at that time. Avrohom Avinu had to borrow money to keep going.

When they came out of Egypt three months later, not only Avrohom was rich but Lot also. We then see that Avrohom on his way back, as Rashi states, פרע הקפותיו, paid up his debts. Avrohom was not affected by the sudden wealth he received, he ruled his money and not his money ruling him.

Lot, however, did not have the same attitude. Immediately afterwards we find that his shepherds were involved in a squabble with Avrohom’s shepherds. Rashi tells us that Lot’s shepherds were feeding from the pastures of individual people and when Avrohom’s shepherds objected, the rejoinder was, “Well Avrohom has no children and, therefore, Lot will, in due course, inherit his lands and these lands have been promised to Avrohom. Therefore we are doing no wrong.”

Very bad thinking. Obviously, this was coming from Lot himself. Not only had he acquired wealth, he wanted to acquire even more wealth in whatever manner he could, not caring too much about the means. Avrohom said to Lot “We must part company even though we will remain brothers.” What did Lot do? Instead of making up with Avrohom, promising to improve and that his shepherds would not do this in future, he looked out at the best part of the land, namely Sedom and its environs (now the site of the Dead Sea) and decided that that was the place for him to live.

The Gomorra in Sanhedrin ק''ט and in particular, in even more detail, in the Sefer Hayosher, a famous medrash sefer, goes into great details as to how beautiful and lush that particular part of the country was. Because of this, the effect on the citizens was that they became very miserly and did not want anybody to share their good fortune. They passed draconian laws to stop people even passing through their land.

This was the place that Lot wanted to go and live and he did go there. His character was flawed and his eagerness for the good life and luxury, leading to his latent bad middos being brought forth at full blast, was the consequence.

He was once taken away from Sedom by the four kings who rampaged through the area. Avrohom chased the four kings and released him, but Lot went back to Sedom. He could not keep away from the fleshpots of luxury together with the licentiousness.

When finally, the angels came to save him, in the merit of Avrohom, despite the fact that he was told that if he did not leave, he would be destroyed together with the inhabitants and everything else in Sedom. ויתמהמה, he tarried. The שלשלת is a treble note as the word שלשלת implies because it comes from the root of שלש, three. He Tarried, and Tarried and Tarried and the angels had to turn themselves into men and take himself and his wife and daughters by the hand to physically eject them from Sedom.

We can see the importance of the שלשלת.

This was not only a lesson for what happened in the past, history repeats itself. Nowadays, we are in the midst of a major world financial upheaval. The monies which have been made over the past years, one could almost say the obscene monies made over the past years by fair means and foul have unfortunately, in many case, led to people doing almost anything in order to increase their wealth. The money, unfortunately, has been ruling the person and the chickens have now come home to roost, as is well known.

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Turning to the next שלשלת we find, it appears in חיי שרה. Eliezer had just reached ארם נהרים having been sent to look for a shidduch for Yitzchok, and he tethered the camels and then he prayed to Hashem for success. On the word ויאמר there is a שלשלת.

Once again the background leading up to this is very important. Avrohom and Soroh were fortunate enough, after many years of not having children to, at the age of 100 and 90 respectively, to have a son called Yitzchok. When Yitzchok was 37 years of age, the story of the עקידה took place and Soroh died. Subsequently, Avrohom thought to himself that he must look round for a suitable wife for his son as a matter of urgency.

This was a major problem because of various factors. Avrohom was, of course, known as the standard bearer of the new revolution proclaiming that there was a one and only Hashem in the world. People had got used to him and he was even known as אב המון גוים, father of all the nations. He and his wife were known as people of great kindness, אנשי חסד.

Yitzchok, however, concentrated on serving Hashem in a different way, namely with fear of heaven and strength of purpose. There were no compromises, no easy way. He was very strict on himself.

Furthermore, he had to stay in our Holy Land and, in fact, never went out of it for all his life.

Eliezer was faced with three major problems. He had to look for a wife who was suitable for such a person as Yitzchok and also the prospective Choson would not come to visit her or her family and Eliezer realised that in order to create a good marriage, the wife for Yitzchok had to be somebody with utmost kindness, similar to Avrohom and Soroh. He, therefore, started off his plea to Hashem to show him a girl who would fit this task and also belong to the family of Avrohom and so they would be able to continue the dynasty commenced by Avrohom and Soroh.

The Torah emphasises the Tefilla of Eliezer, with the שלשלת on ויאמר.

He was, of course, successful as we all know.

This is also a lesson relevant to shidduchim in our times. People have been known to arrange marriages with an eye on the יחוס of the family, the wealth and prestige and what the world will say, etc.

My Rebbe, the Bais Yisroel, used to quote the verse כי יקח איש אשה חדשה נקי יהיה, When a man takes a new wife he should be נקי, which is normally translated as free or unencumbered. However, if one looks at the three letters, a נ has a numerical value of 50, a ק has a numerical value of 100 and י is 10. The hint, that the Bais Yisroel used to quote, I believe in the name of his father, the Imrei Emess, was how to approach a shidduch. People usually look for three things, first there is the נדן, dowry represented by the letter נ. If only 50% of the figure originally floated is actually forthcoming, be satisfied.

ק represents קרן, the prospective Choson or Kallah themselves. This has to be 100%, it is the most important part of a shidduch.

י represents the יחוס, if this is only 10% of that which is mentioned, that is enough.

The most important thing in a shidduch is that the boy and girl should be of first class quality. They should be compatible and be able to live together happily and bring up future generations in the correct manner. The rest is bonus.

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The next time we find a שלשלת is in וישב. Yosef had been purchased by Potiphar, one of Pharoh’s ministers and he became his “head of the household”. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him and Yosef refused. ויאמן (“He refused”) has a שלשלת, once again a three fold note, No, No, No.

If we look at the background of the whole story, we will see how great this act was.

Yaakov finally had a son by his beloved wife Rochel. Yosef grew up to be a special lad, the apple of his father’s eye. At the age of 17 he was suddenly torn away from all this and sold by his brothers and eventually was sold to Potiphar a minister of Pharoh in Egypt. Yosef had gone from a household of righteousness, of Yaakov as well as Yitzchok who was still alive and the great matriarchs, into a degenerate society in Egypt. He was depressed and broken. He could easily have been influenced the wrong way and have done the wrong thing. The Chochomim tell us אין אפוטרפוס לעריות

As our Chazal tell us, Yosef saw the face of his holy father and had the strength of character not to be influenced. He emphatically said “No” whatever the consequences. And there were consequences. We all know that he ended up in prison for many years, but the end of the story was that he came out of prison and became the second in command in Egypt and eased the path of Yaakov and his children and the Bnei Yisroel in their going down to Egypt.

Not for nothing, is there a שלשלת at ויאמן.

Today, this is also very relevant to ourselves.

We live in a society where media in general, and the internet in particular, are trying to seduce many people, righteous, naïve etc. with very attractive filth. We must have the strength of character to say “No, No, No”.

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The final שלשלת is in פרשת צו. Once again the background here is very important. Aaron and his sons had been appointed to be Kohanim and the Torah tells us the procedure that was carried out to complete the investiture. After they had put on special clothes and in particular Aaron with the eight special vestments, the Torah continues with the korbonos, the sacrifices which were specially brought all on the 1st day of Nissan, the day the Mishkon was consecrated. The final sacrifice was the איל המלאים, the inauguration ram. Then, Moshe having carried out the final acts that Hashem commanded to do to Aaron, he became the Kohen Godol. On the word וישחט, “he slaughtered” (the איל המלאים) there is a שלשלת. This is because it was the culmination of the investiture of Aaron as Kohen Godol and his children as Kohanim.

This was a great event at the time because it was in the merit of Aaron that the Shechina came down and dwelt in the Mishkon. Aaron blessed the Bnei Yisroel and it was the inauguration of a new way of life for the Bnei Yisroel which has continued ever since.

Once again, it was not just for that particular time, it was for all generations including ours.

Furthermore, the word שלשלת nowadays is applied to a family tree, in the same way as the Kohanim have a separate family tree.

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You may have noted that all the four places mentioned above are leyned in the winter months (צו is actually read before פסח). This is a רמז, hint, to us that even when things look dark, one can overcome difficulties בס''ד.

As one can see the use of a שלשלת highlights very important matters that are not to be glossed over.

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AVROHOM AND SEDOM

Over the weekend whilst reviewing the sedra וירא, I was struck by a thought; ה' revealed to Avrohom that he was about to destroy, or at least, severely punish Sedom and its satellite towns because they were so evil.

Avrohom, who felt responsibility for the whole world, (after all, ה' had named him אברהם, אב המון גוים, father of a multitude of nations) felt the need to spring to their defence. We all know that Avrohom’s middoh was חסד, kindness, and he marshalled all the arguments he could find, חלילה לך You will surely not destroy a Tzaddik together with a Rosha etc. We all know how Avrohom commences with 50 Tzaddikim to save the five towns, he goes down to 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally 10 in the hope that at least one of the five cities will be saved, ה' assures him that if he could find these ten righteous people, He would indeed save them and all the city in their merit.

The posek then continues, אברהם שב למקומו, Avrohom returned to his previous place. The result was that the angels went to Sedom and destroyed all the cities and the surrounding area.

My question was, Why did not Avrohom take matters further, why did he not, instead of going back to a “place where he had been”, proceed to Sedom and try to persuade the populace that they should repent and improve their deeds, to do תשובה? After all, Avrohom had been trying to get people to improve for many years.

We find the classic example of the prophet Jonah. He was very reluctant to go to Nineveh but when he finally did go and announced that ה' was going to destroy the town in 40 days, the populace did repent and ה' relented. Why did not Avrohom do this?

I can think of reasons why and I will outline below further my thoughts on the matter, but what intrigues me most of all is that when I went to the Classic commentators (מפרשים) and for that matter, numerous other ones, I could not find anybody who touched on the question.

I found that the Zohar Hakodesh compares Noach, Avrohom and Moshe as follows. Noach, when told that the rest of the world was going to be destroyed did not pray and intercede on their behalf. Avrohom, when told what was going to happen to Sedom did intercede but stopped after he could not persuade ה'. Moshe, when praying for the Bnei Yisroel after the incident of the golden calf, not only prayed but stated that if ה' would not forgive them, מחני נא מספרך, blot me out from your Holy Book, and indeed ה' said סלחתי כדברך, I forgive them as you requested.

Furthermore, the Zohar also states that Avrohom must have been rather fool hardy, in that when he learned that Lot had been captured by the four kings, and taken away by them, he chased after them and in the middle of the night attacked them and recaptured Lot, as well as all the booty which had been stolen from the king of Sedom etc. However, as the Zohar tells us there, he was intent on trying to save Lot as he had undertaken to always come to his aid, after they had decided to part ways.

We know that Avrohom was no coward and had been in difficult situations from which ה' had saved him. These included אור כשדים the burning furnace into which he was thrown and miraculously was saved. The incident in Egypt when Pharoh took Soroh and she was returned to him. The story just mentioned above about the recapture of Lot. The further story with Avimelech and Soroh etc.

Avrohom knew that ה' stood with him at all times.

Why did he not go the one step further and go to Sedom, as I queried above?

You might very well ask why was it that he even prayed for the people of Sedom. I believe that that lies in the words mentioned to him by ה', ארדה נא ואראה please let me go down and see. The word נא, “please” is strange, as if somebody could stop ה'!! If we compare this with the story after the golden calf, where ה' said to Moshe הרף ממני stop troubling me. From this Moshe deduced that ה' expected him, Moshe, to intervene and intercede on behalf of the Bnei Yisroel. I think here also, Avrohom deduced that the נא was a plea, almost an invitation, by ה' that Avrohom had the right and power to intercede on behalf of the people of Sedom which he did. One might also object to my question and comparison with Nineveh, on the basis that Yonah was actually told to go and tell the king and people of Nineveh what was going to happen if they did not repent, whereas ה' had not told Avrohom this. However, Avrohom was not told that he should not go to Sedom. At least I can’t find anywhere that it says so.

I find it all very puzzling.

Perhaps somebody can help me out and, first let me know of at least one of the מפרשים, commentators, who actually asks the question. I would, then, of course, be delighted if there were any possible answers given.

Let me suggest a possible reason why Avrohom did not go into Sedom.

The Gomorra tells us in Sanhedrin ק''ט how wicked the people of Sedom were and gives various examples. One of them was concerning Eliezer the servant of Avrohom who once went to Sedom, was hit with a stone by a man and blood came out. That man then had the effrontery to demand money for having made הקזה, bloodletting. When Eliezer objected and was hauled before the magistrate, the magistrate confirmed the payment was due. Eliezer then took a stone himself and hit the judge on his face, so that blood ran there and remarked to the judge “You now go and settle the bloodletting money with the person who hit me” and Eliezer left Sedom.

This story and various other incidents are related in greater detail in the ספר הישר.

I believe that Avrohom would have heard about this story. After all, his chief of staff turned up looking very bruised, Avrohom decided that one does not go into a lion’s den even with the best intentions. Even if your name is Avrohom whom the people of the world accept as a righteous man and look up to. When it came to their own patch of land, the people of Sedom and the surrounding towns passed such draconian, beastly laws and carried out such horrible punishments on wayfarers that they would not only not listen to him, Avrohom, but were likely to not let him get out alive.

In all the other cases mentioned above, the ingredients were not the same. When Avrohom was thrown into the furnace by Nimrod, he could not defend himself and he was given no option. When he went to Egypt, he sidestepped problems by saying that his wife was his sister and felt that this would save him from being killed.

Likewise, when he went to Gerar and Avimelech took Soroh.

Even when he went to fight the kings in order to snatch back Lot, this was done on neutral ground, in the middle of the night, by surprise attack. It would have been completely different if he would have turned up in Sedom and been surrounded by the populace.

No doubt, the evil, כח הטומאה in Sedom also acted as a further deterrent.

To demonstrate how bad, thick and callous the people of Sedom were, let us look at what happened when the angels arrived. They went to Lot’s house and the house was surrounded by the whole populace. The angels ensured that everybody suddenly turned blind and, therefore, could not harm the inhabitants of the house. Nevertheless, when Lot went to speak to his sons-in-law and daughters to try and save them, they just laughed at him. The fact that there had been this great miracle and that they, among other people, had all gone blind a few hours before, had no effect at all on their behaviour.

As I have said at the beginning I was struck by this question out of the blue and am still groping for an adequate answer as well as, of course, somebody who could point to a commentator, anyone of the מפרשים who discusses this matter.

כ מרחשון תשס''ט

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CHAYA SOROH

This week’s sedra commences with the death of Soroh and then goes into detail concerning the purchase of the Meoras Hamachpela, the cave within a cave in the town of Chevron which Avrohom Avinu purchased with great political skill as well as at considerable cost. As usual I have a few questions on the subject.

Firstly, what was Soroh doing in Kiryas Arba, Chevron?

According to the medrash, Avrohom Avinu was in Be’er Sheva before the famous story of the Akeidah and, after the Akeidah, returned there. We know that the medrash mentioned by Rashi at the beginning of the sedra tells us, that because the Soton informed her about the happenings at the Akeidah, and that Yitzchok almost died, that her soul left her body. Why was Soroh not in Be’er Sheva?

The second question is, “This all took a considerable time after the Akeidah.” Avrohom had to return from Yerushalyim to Be’er Sheva which obviously took him approximately three days because it states clearly when he was going to the Akeidah that on the third day he saw the place he was supposed to be going to, namely Har Hamoriah. So if it took him a further two or three days to get back, and then he learned that she had died, he had to once again to go back to Chevron from Be’er Sheva, about a day’s journey and then he again had to negotiate with Efron and the Bnei Chais. This all took approximately five days. My question is why didn’t Avrohom hurry the burial instead of carrying on delicate negotiations, with first of all the Bnei Chais and then Efron and finally purchasing the field and its cave.

My third question is, that at the end of the first Parsha, it says ואחרי כן , after this Avrohom buried Soroh in the Meoras Hamachpelah. Rashi comments earlier in פרשת לך לך that that wherever the expression אחר is used it means immediately afterwards, whereas אחרי means sometime afterwards. This, of course, reinforces my question as to why Avrohom tarried so long in burying Soroh after he had finally achieved that which he set out to do, namely, purchase the Meoras Hamachpelah. I would have thought that he would have immediately hurried to bury his dear beloved wife?

We must also remember that at that time, there was no such thing as refrigerated mortuaries and leaving a dead body decaying for five days would be a major consideration.

If we look at the detailed negotiations, which took place, we can see the manoeuvring between Avrohom and the Bnei Chais and afterwards with Efron, who tried to make out, that he, like the rest of Bnei Chais, were very nice people and wanted to give Avrohom a free burial plot but, in fact, he was after a lot of money. We can also see that Avrohom was not happy to accept any gift and wanted to pay the full price, a very full price for the cave.

Altogether a very puzzling set of circumstances.

I believe that in order to understand matters more clearly, one has to go back in time. We find that when Avrohom performed the bris mila on himself, Hashem came to visit him and then all of a sudden three people, who turned out to be the angels Michoel, Gavriel and Rofoel, also turned up and he offered them food and drink. The Torah then tells us, ואל הבקר רץ אברהם , Avrohom ran to the herd of cattle and Rashi explains that he wished to slaughter three animals in order to give each of his guests a tongue, which was obviously a great delicacy.

The medrash tells us that the particular animal he was aiming for, ran away from him and he pursued it until it came to a cave and it disappeared inside. When he followed it, he saw a great light and eventually realised that buried there were Odom and Chava. He also realised that there was a good reason why he was being shown this. This was in fact the Meoras Hamachpela.

You will all remember that one explanation why this is called Meoras Hamachpela, a double cave, is because there were four pairs of husband and wife buried there eventually, Odom and Chava, Avrohom and Soroh, Yitzchok and Rivka, and Yaakov and Leah.

No doubt, Avrohom did not tell anybody about this, except, of course, for his wife Soroh, and possibly Yitzchok.

They, therefore, knew the importance and holiness of that particular place and Avrohom would surely have reasoned that he was shown this in order that he should, likewise, arrange for this to be his family burial site.

However, there were a number of major problems. Avrohom and Soroh lived in Be’er Sheva and not Chevron. If Avrohom would have turned up in Chevron and asked to buy this particular site, people would have asked questions and, no doubt, there would have been a major investigation and very likely the fact that Odom and Chava were buried there would have been discovered. Remember that the Bnei Chais were also descendants of Odom Harishon and there had only been twenty generations from Odom. Furthermore, Odom had only died about one thousand years before. Everybody would have wanted to be buried there and nobody would have contemplated selling this cave to Avrohom Avinu at any price.

We also find that Soroh was a nevia, a prophetess. When she discovered that Yishmoel as a boy was trying to influence Yitzchok in a bad manner, she suggested to Avrohom that he should send Yishmoel away. Avrohom was very upset but Hashem said to him כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה שמע בקולה , whatever Soroh tells you, you listen to her. Rashi explains, listen to the prophetic voice coming from inside her.

What I suggest happened is, that when Avrohom went off with Yitzchok to the Akeidah, Soroh felt impelled to journey to Chevron from Be’er Sheva. She had a sort of prophetic vision, that Chevron was where she was supposed to be, and therefore, when the Soton came and told her that Yitzchok had almost been killed, she died of fright in Chevron.

When Avrohom found out about this, it made his task that much easier as far as acquiring the Meoras Hamachpela. He came to Chevron to, as the possek tells us, לספוד לשרה ולבכותה to eulogise her and to cry over her and obviously it would make sense that he would then look around to bury her there and not transport her back to Be’er Sheva.

Nevertheless, he had to be careful not to appear too anxious to acquire a particular plot. Therefore, he spoke to the leaders of the Bnei Chais and just asked them in general terms, “Please give me a burial site which should be the family burial site, so that I should be able to bury my wife there”. They replied “Of course we will agree to this, nobody will deny you the right to bury your wife, whichever place you choose.” At that time, he asked them (he did not ask Efron yet) “Listen to me and please I implore you speak to Efron Ben Tzochar, and he should give me the Meoras Hamachpela. It is only at the end of his field, it is not at the middle of the field, so it will not affect him and I will pay for it, I don’t want any gifts”

As the medrash tells us, they elevated Efron, who was not one of their leaders, right into their main tribal council and he answered Avrohom and said “I don’t need any money, please take the field as well as the cave” etc. Avrohom made sure that the whole of the Bnei Chais who lived in Chevron stayed on board because he bowed down to all of them before speaking to Efron and then went into detailed negotiations. This resulted in Efron finally stating a price, four hundred talents of silver. We are told that Avrohom did not just give him four hundred normal ones, but four hundred top, top quality ones worth considerably more, apparently worth 100 times as much. The deal was done.

So, we have a done deal, signed and sealed by Efron in the presence of all his city and witnessed, so there should be (apparently) no doubt, regarding the matter and no turning back. The field and the cave were acquired by Avrohom.

We then have this strange verse which I mentioned above, at my third question. Possek Yud Tes, starts off ואחרי כן קבר אברהם את שרה אשתו Avrohom waited some time before burying his wife. You would have thought that he would have now rushed to do it, but I think that there was a very good reason why he did not. That was, because he reasoned that if he would have immediately taken Soroh and buried her, all the people that were there, the Bnei Chais as well as Efron would have, as a matter of honour to him, dutifully followed, to join in the levayo. The secret would have come out that Odom and Chava were buried there and he might very well have been faced with a major problem. You will also note that it says in that possek, Yud Tes, Avrohom buried Soroh his wife, why does it need to say אשתו , even more peculiar is the use of that word, in so far as she was no longer his wife, she had passed away?

Normally, a person’s death is caused by the Malach Hamoves inserting a sort of poison, moroh. However, in the case of very great Tzaddikim, they are taken from this world without the malach doing that. In such a case, there is no decay and the features remain the same.

You may recall the extraordinary story of the Noam Elimelech of Lizhensk when, during the course of the Second World War, the Nazis Yimach Shemom, wanted to destroy his kever, but each time somebody approached with a implement, that person died or became ill on the spot. They finally took some local Jewish people and ordered them to dig up the kever or be killed themselves. The Yidden asked mechila of Reb Elimelech and started digging and his body was revealed which was not decayed and his countenance was still shining. However, when the German who was in charge tried to draw near, he suddenly dropped dead and the whole project was abandoned. That was approximately 200 years after the petirah of the Reb Elimelech.

I believe that likewise Soroh’s body did not decay and, therefore, there was no בזיון המת , by her being allowed to go without burial for so many days. That is implicit in the words שרה אשתו because she still looked like his wife now, as when she was alive. Therefore, Avrohom waited until everybody had dispersed, the excitement had calmed down and only after that did he himself go and bury Soroh in the Meoras Hamachpela.

All three questions I raised have therefore been dealt with. I think we now appreciate better the first parsha of Chaya Soroh.



As I mentioned above, later on, Avrohom himself was buried in Meoras Hamachpela and subsequently, Yitzchok and Rivka.

We also know that Leah was buried there and when Yaakov Avinu was giving his final instructions to his children to take him back from Mitzraim, from Egypt to bury him in Eretz Canaan, he specified very clearly that he should be buried in Meoras Hamachpela which Avrohom had acquired as a family burial site.

The Medrash tells us that when the whole entourage arrived at the Meoras Hamachpela Eisav and his family where waiting and he protested that he wanted to be buried there and when the children of Yaakov said that Yaakov had bought the bechora from Eisav long before, there arose a considerable dispute. Naftali, who could run very fast, was sent back to Egypt to try and find the document which was apparently there. Meanwhile Chushim the son of Don who was deaf and could not quite understand what was going on got involved and when he finally realised that Eisav was causing trouble, went over to him and cut off his head. The tradition is that this head rolled into the Meoras Hamachpela and was buried there but the rest of the body of Eisav was taken back to Har Seir by his children.

I am not aware as to whether any of you have visited the Meoras Hamachpela, but in addition to the chambers which have the kevorim of Avrohom, Soroh, Yitzchok, Rivka, Yaakov and Leah there is a spot which is marked as being where Eisav’s head was buried.

As you all know by now, I am an accountant and indulge in gemmatria on occasion. You may be interested to know that the total numerical value of the words קרית ארבע הוא חברון בארץ amounts to 1554. The numerical value of אדם חוה אברהם שרה יצחק רבקה יעקב לאה is 1550 and they were four pairs, totalling 1554. They were all buried in the ground בארץ at קרית ארבע הוא חברון .


We find that the original names of our illustrious first of the Ovos and Imo’os were אברם Avrom and שרי Soroi. They were however changed by Hashem to Avrohom and Soroh as mentioned at the end of Parshas Lech Lecha. You may recall that at the bris bein habisorim Hashem told Avrohom to go outside and count the stars, if it would be possible, and so numerous would be the multitudes of his future generations. Rashi comments there that Avrom, as he was then called, should forsake his astrology and ignore the fact that as Avrom, and his wife Soroi were unable to have children, Hashem said to him, Do not worry about that, Avrohom and Soroh will be able to have children and will, in fact, have children.

What is so significant about the addition of a Hay to Avrom and the change from a Yud at the end of Soroi to a Hay at the end of Soroh that enabled them to have children.

I would venture a suggestion.

Of all the letters in the Alef Bais, there is only one which is not down to the base, i.e. has not got its feet on the ground, and that is the Yud, it stands on its own suspended in mid air, so to speak. A Hay has two feet on the ground but one of the legs has a gap between itself and the roof, on the left hand side, as we know.

The Gemora says in Menochos, that Hashem created this world and the next world with a Yud and a Hay. The Gemora says that the Hay represents this world and the Yud represents the next world. The Yud represents a Tzaddik, as the Gemora says there as well. Yud represents the most spiritual letter on a high level, not attached to this world, not on the ground. It is, of course, the first letter of Shem Haviya. What occurs to me is that as long as Soroi, which means my Princess, ended with a Yud, she was too much up in the clouds to have physical children, so the Yud was replaced with a Hay which, as we know represents the feminine in Loshen Hakodesh, for example איש is a man, אשה with a Hay at the end is a woman. By doing so, she was enabled to have her own child.

Likewise, אברם translated simply means father on high, that is רם . The Malbim explains that the word רם means something which is not attached to the ground but high above. More up in heaven. Once again implying that Avrom was too elevated to be able to have physical children with Soroi.

Oh yes, they together could have children, but only spiritual ones, ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן the souls that they drew near to Hashem in Choron, namely, they were spiritual parents to those people.

You might ask that Avrom had had a child with Hogor, namely Yishmoel. However, if you look at what Hashem via a Malach promised Hogor, I think we will find an answer to that conundrum. Yishmoel was going to become a פרא אדם a wild man, and I believe that this stemmed from being the son of Hogor who, herself as the medrash says was a daughter of Paroi and the Targum Yoinason Ben Aziel says that Paroi was a son of Nimrod, Avrom’s old foe. Avrom’s involvement was relatively minor. In order to have a relationship with Soroi, his wife, rather than a handmaiden, Hogor, Avrom needed to have his name changed by the addition of a Hay.

We all know the problems that have arisen in the world from the Bnei Yishmoel of late. I once heard a story of the famous Rov of Yerushalyim Reb Shua Leib Diskin who 100 years ago, or so, was walking home from his Beis Hamedrash on Friday night after davenning with a number of other mispalalim. All of a sudden, an Arab started throwing stones and they all scattered in panic, except Reb Shua Leib himself. He continued calmly to his home.

Later on, the various members of his minyan, who were embarrassed at having left their beloved Rov to fend for himself, came round to his humble dwelling to ask his mechila.

One of them said to him, “Why was it that we all became so shocked and frightened that we all ran off, whereas you were calm?”

His answer was, “It is a Possek in the Torah.”

The Talmidei Chochomim of Yerushalyim, whom they were, tried to find the particular possek One of them suggested ומראם וחתכם יהיו which is the brocho that Hashem gave to Noach that people and animals etc. will fear him. Another one tried the posek וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך and all the people’s of the land will see that the name of Hashem is on you and will fear you, etc. Reb Shua Leib was not having any of this. “No,” he said, “it is something different” Eventually they gave up and asked him to explain.

He said, “We find in the case of Yishmoel that he was a פרא אדם a wild man. In loshen hakodesh unlike English, the noun comes before the adjective, for example nice person would be אדם נעים, the word אדם coming before the adjective נעים. Therefore a wild man should be אדם פרא,. But the Torah says Pere Odom. Reb Shua Leib Diskin said “That itself is the answer, the essence of Yishmoel and his family is that they are wild. They just look like a man, they have the outer resemblance.”

I believe that this story is unfortunately, very apt and relevant to us nowadays. We have to pray to Hashem that he should save us from the excesses of Yishmoel’s descendants.

Returning to my suggestion regarding the use of the Hay and adding it to Avrom’s name, by doing so Hashem enabled him also to be attached to this world. But where exactly should the Hay be placed?

The Hay could not have been placed at the end of the word because then that would have been a feminine form. If it would have been between the Alef and the Bais one would then translate it as אהב רם, Ohaiv Rom, loves the exalted, again not attached to the earth. If it would have been placed between the Bais and the Reish, it would be read as אב הרם , Av Horom, once again this would mean, father of that which is exalted. The only place where it would fit in the middle of the word and still represent a definite affinity to this world would be where it was finally put, אברהם, Avrohom.

After they had been given the name changes, Yitzchok came into this world.



I would like to add something here on a personal note,. This Succos I was in Eretz Yisroel and for the first time for many years, I decided to visit the Meoras Hamachpela. So on Chol Hamoed Succos, erev Hashonah Rabba, I went together with my wife as well as many other Yidden, to the Meoras Hamachpela. We davanned Mincha with a minyan with the kevorim of Avrohom and Soroh on my right hand side, Yitzchok and Rivka in front of me and Yaakov and Leah on my left. I can assure you that standing at the beginning of Shemona Esra and saying Elokai Avrohom, Elokai Yitzchok, Elokai Yaakov has a completely different feel, depth and even meaning when one is praying at the Meoras Hamachpela.

We have to be grateful to Soroh for having the presence of mind to travel specifically to Chevron, as well, of course, to Avrohom who skilfully purchased the Meoras Hamachpela so that future generations should be able to have the opportunity to visit this site and pray to Hashem that in the zechus of our ancestors, from whom Klal Yisroel became a nation, we should be saved from problems with Bnei Yishmoel. Furthermore, we should always say with kavannah וזוכר חסדי אבות . Hashem should remember the kindness of our forefathers ומביא גואל לבוי בניהם and He should bring the redeemer, Moshiach, his grandchildren and we pray that this should happen in our time.

24TH MARCHESHVAN 5767

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PARSHAS וירא

We read at the beginning of the sedra in the second posek
וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו וירא וירץ לקראתם מפתח האהל וישתחו ארצה
He (Abraham) lifted up his eyes and saw and behold there were three people standing next to him and he saw and he ran towards them at the door of the tent and bowed down to the ground.


It is brought in the name of numerous tzaddikim in the sefer ליקוטי יהודה that Avrohom Avinu saw into the future and the generations that were going to come. by his deeds he installed in later generations the strength to be able to keep the Torah and mitzvos and perform good deeds. This is implied in the expression מעשה אבות סימן לבנים namely that the strength and religious direction of the children (ourselves) came from the Ovos, Avrohom, Yitzchok and Yaakov.

Rashi explains that the three people were in fact angels who looked as if they were people and they each came with a different job to carry out. Namely, the first to heal Avrohom, the second to tell the good tidings that Soroh would have a child in a year’s time and the third to destroy סדם.

I believe that by examining the פסוק from a different angle one can also find an allusion to a different happening that took place 1,294 years later on.

We find that King Nebuchadnezar besieged Jerusalem some years before the Temple was destroyed. He ransacked the city and took away, as prisoners to Bovel with him, the cream of society החרש והמסגר . Among them were three youths of princely lineage, namely, חנניה מישאל ועזריה Chananiah, Mishoel and Azariah. The story of what happened to them and their colleague דניאל Daniel, is told in detail in the section of נ''ך known as דניאל. They were given name changes and the whole emphasis was to try and convert them to Nebuchadnezar’s religion and utilise their talents and skills for the good of his kingdom.

They were given food from the king’s kitchen but, as we read in דניאל they clung steadfastly to the laws of Torah and refused to eat anything which was not kosher. They requested from the chief of the kitchens that they should not eat anything other than vegetables and water. The official was very concerned that they would not maintain their health and that the king would take it out on him. But they persuaded him to let them try the new diet, by which they would not have to eat anything that was not kosher, and he agreed. Meanwhile, their great wisdom and knowledge was utilised by the king and they found favour in his eyes and in fact their physical appearance, if anything, improved.

Shortly after this, Nebuchadnezar had a dream which he forgot and he also forgot the interpretation. He called his advisors, soothsayers, astrologers etc., the chief of which were the כשדים, Chaldeans. They were aghast when he told them that they had to tell him what the dream was and also the interpretation and they could not help. However, דניאל, after praying to Hashem, had revealed to him the dream and the correct interpretation and he gave this to Nebuchadnezar who, therefore, elevated him above all other of his advisors. He, in turn, placed, חנניה מישאל ועזריה into very high positions. The Chaldeans and other advisors were very upset and looked for a way of having our four heroes removed.

Meanwhile, Nebuchadnezar had erected a very tall gold statue in a place called בקעת דורא Bikas Dura. He then instructed all of the officials, generals and other leading figures to come to the consecration of this large statue.

Following this, a proclamation was issued that all the populace should also come and pay their respects and bow down to this large statue. There was a warning that anybody who did not come and pay the necessary respects would be thrown into a burning furnace.

Dutifully, people came and did as they were told.

However, Jewish people, and in particular דניאל, and חנניה מישאל ועזריה did not come. The Chaldeans seized the opportunity to report them to the king. Nebuchadnezar, of course, was most upset and called חנניה מישאל ועזריה in and told them in no uncertain terms that he had heard that they had not bowed down and that he wanted them to do this immediately in public with accompanying music (the word symphonia סימפוניה is used obviously meaning a symphony). He also warned them that if they did not listen to his instructions, they would be thrown into the burning furnace.

They answered Nebuchadnezar, “the king”, as follows “We only serve one Hashem in heaven and if He wishes to save us from such a fate, He will do so. We will not bow down, in any circumstances to the statue”. Nebuchadnezar became very angry and ordered them to be thrown into the flames.

Nebuchadnezar was not present whilst this was being done. The palace was not in the immediate vicinity of the furnace, but he ordered the soldiers to chain the three together and throw them all in at once. This was done and a miracle took place. The people who threw them in were burnt by the flames that were going up and the three of them חנניה מישאל ועזריה, could be seen walking around in the furnace, apparently unharmed.

Nebuchadnezar was informed and immediately came to see himself. In a state of wonder, he said “I can not only see that the three who were chained are walking around I can even see a fourth one walking with them together.” He ends by saying ורוה די רביעיא דמה לבר אלהין and the appearance of the fourth one is similar to that of an angel. The Gemora, in fact, says that this was the angel Gavriel. (When Nebuchadnezar was with Sancheriv when their armies were destroyed, Isaiah 37)

They emerged virtually unscathed and Nebuchadnezar proclaimed that the true ruler of the world is Hashem Yisborach. (Incidentally, the name of the place בקעת דורא Bikas Dura translates as the “shallow depression of the furnace” and it obviously has a connection with this famous story.)

Where did חנניה מישאל ועזריה take the strength and conviction to be able to withstand all the pressures even to the extent of being thrown into a fiery furnace from? They were, after all, youths who had been taken into captivity, exposed to an irreligious, idol worshiping society and had learned sadly of the Bais Hamikdosh being destroyed only a few years before,.

I would suggest that they took their brave decision as result of the example given by Avrohom Avinu who was thrown into the אור כשדים the burning fire at Ur of the Chaldees by Nimrod. As we know, he also emerged unscathed.

They not only prayed to Hashem to save them when they were being thrown into the fire they also implored that the zechus, the merit, of Avrohom Avinu should help them.

Let us now examine the wording of the posek I brought right at the beginning. וישא עיניו and Avrohom lifted up his eyes, וירא and he saw, I would suggest that he saw into the future and witnessed the confrontation between Nebuchadnezar and our three heroes, חנניה מישאל ועזריה. As they were thrown into the fire, והנה שלשה אנשים there were three people namely חנניה מישאל ועזריה who were frantically standing next to him נצבים עליו and begging him to intercede with Hashem on their behalf וירא and he saw this vision of the future happening וירץ לקראתם and he ran towards them to try and help them. What he did was וישתחו ארצה and he bowed down ויאמר and he said אדנ' Rashi comments that this was a request to Hashem על נא תעבור מעל עבדיך do not forsake your servant. Please help these three individuals be saved from a horrible fate.

And so they were saved miraculously.

When Nebuchadnezar went to look at this extraordinary happening and miracle, he exclaimed “There is a fourth one there who looks like an angel”. I would venture to suggest that it was, in fact, Avrohom Avinu, known as one of the רגלי המרכבה the wheels of the celestial chariot, who had come to assist in their salvation.

You will recall that I mentioned that the people who had thrown them into the furnace were, themselves, consumed in flames. There is a parallel in a midrash that says when Avrohom Avinu was thrown into the furnace at אור כשדים likewise the people who carried out the act also were burned alive. This is known as מידה כנגד מידה

I mentioned earlier on that the word אדנ' applied to Hashem. Rashi, in fact, quotes a midrash where there are two explanations. One is as mentioned above, namely Avrohom was speaking to Hashem. An interesting fact is that the person who makes this comment in this midrash was named חנניה the nephew of R Yehoshua, חנניה you will recall, is the same name as one of the three who was saved and the name Yehoshua means, Hashem should save. It all ties in together.

I had mentioned earlier on that this took place 1,294 years after the time when Avrohom had his bris mila. This is arrived at as follows.

Going forward from the time of the bris mila, one year later Yitzchok was born. 400 years subsequently Yitzias Mitzraim took place. 480 years after that was the year that King Solomon consecrated the first Temple. That stood for 410 years. This all totals 1,291 years. It was 3 years after that the story of the statue in Bikas Dura took place.

If you add together the numerical value of והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים the complete gemmatria thereof is exactly 1,294. Namely, we are talking about 1,294 years later. If you take the rest of the words in that phrase, namely וישא עיניו וירא עליו they total 796. This is the exact same gemmatria as חנניה מישאל עזריה.

One might ask, why is it that it was only at this juncture after Avrohom’s bris mila that we find this hint to his assistance to חנניה מישאל ועזריה and not some time earlier, as we find that he saved Lot in the previous sedra.

The gemmatria of אברהם , Avrohom, is 248 which is exactly the same as the 248 limbs רמ''ח איברים . All of these, bar the bris mila were perfected by him but it was only when he actually had the bris mila that he was completely perfect as it clearly states in Torah at the end of Lech Lecha והיה תמים את בריתי תשמור and the Torah goes on to tell Avrohom to perform the bris mila. Once he carried this out, he was in a position to assist others such as חנניה מישאל ועזריה.

The word מילה equals 85 which also is the gemmatria of פה.

Avrohom now had the power of פה his mouth to beseech Hashem and intercede on behalf of חנניה מישאל ועזריה.

Rashi actually quotes that when Avrohom pursued the four kings, when he reached Don, he lost his strength because he saw that the tribe of Don would erect an idol, פסל מיכה there. Why could he have not prayed that they should not erect the idol.

What I am suggesting is that because he had not yet had the bris mila he was not yet in the same position of strength and perfection as subsequent to the bris mila.

We are all descendants of Avrohom Avinu and his shining example and zechus are with us in all generations to help us in all our trials and tribulations. He, by his deeds and words, gave the will to later generations to keep the Torah and mitzvos and perform good deeds.

To sum up, I feel that you will agree that there are much greater depths in Torah than appear on the surface.

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LECH LECHA The relationship between Avrohom and Lot

It is interesting to note that the description of Lot in relation to Avrohom is not constant.
In the beginning of Lech Lecha posek ד, וילך אברם- וילך אתו לוט with no description of the family relationship. The next verse commences with the wordsויקח אברם את שרי אשתו ואת לוט בן אחיו here Lot is referred to as his nephew (brother’s son). In fact, we read at the end of Noach that Lot was the son of Horon. Avrohom’s brother.

Further on, in chapter 13, verse ה, we have, with no description, וגם ללוט ההלך את אברם. In posek ח we have ויאמר אברם אל לוט – כי אנשים אחים אנחנו, we are brothers. In chapter 14, posek יב, we have ויקחו את לוט ואת רכשו בן אחי אברם וילכו brother’ son (nephew) and immediately afterwards, in posek יד, we have וישמע אברם כי נשבה אחיו his brother (not nephew). In posekטז , we have וגם את לוט אחיו ורכשו השיב again referring to Lot as his brother. So we see that Lot is described on occasion without any particular relationship, also as the son of his brother, that Avrohom refers to him as brother, אנשים אחים, later on he is again referred to as the son of the brother of Avrohom, followed by him being referred to as his brother. Very puzzling, I believe.

One other important point to bear in mind is that both when Avrohom went down to Egypt with Soroh and again when Avimelech enquired after her, Avrohom referred to his wife, as אחותי, my sister.

In order to understand the nuances and apparent contradictions, one has to bear in mind a very important point which is perhaps not well know. Not only was Lot the son of Horon, the brother of Avrohom, the son of the brother who had been burned in the Ur Chasdim, in place of Avrohom (Rashi, quoting the medrash at the end of Noach), in fact, Lot was also Avrohom’s brother in law. Because Soroh was also the daughter of Horon as Rashi once again brings at the end of Noach, namely that יסכה and שרי were one and the same person.

Let us now go through the various verses quoted above. When Avrohom left the town of Haran, to go to Eretz Yisroel, the Torah states וילך אתו לוט, Lot went with him. Really this could have been for one of two reasons, either because he was his nephew or because he was his brother in law, or for both reasons. The Torah, in the next verse, clarifies this, because we are told that Avrohom took his wife and his brother’s son (not his wife’s brother). Avrohom felt a responsibility for Lot. The medrash tells us that Avrohom was thrown into the fire on the orders of Nimrod and miraculously survived. Horon who was watching this, was not quite sure which side he should come down on, that of Avrohom or that of Nimrod. He reasoned to himself that if Avrohom would emerge unscathed, he would come down on Avrohom’s side. When he was asked by Nimrod “and whose side are you on” he said, Avrohom’s side. He was promptly thrown into the Ur Chasdim, the furnace and died because he was not the righteous person, the Tzaddik, that Avrohom was. Because of this, Avrohom felt a responsibility to look after his son, Lot as he felt that, to some small extent, he, Avrohom, had contributed to Horon’s (Lot’s father) death.

Avrohom journeyed to Egypt after a few months in Eretz Yisroel due to a famine. He was asked, “Who is this beautiful woman?” and he stated, אחותי she is my sister. Can you imagine Lot’s feelings when he hears about his sister that her husband (Lot’s uncle and brother-in-law) was saying, Soroh is my sister. Soroh was, of course, in a certain manner his sister being in fact his niece. Lot kept his mouth shut and, in fact, Rashi quotes later on, that because of that zechus, merit, Lot was saved from the fate of Sedom.

Avrohom, therefore, was grateful to Lot and held him in great esteem.

With this, we can also understand the fact that when they returned from Egypt, not only Avrohom had considerable possessions which had been given to him by Pharoh and the Egyptians, but Lot also had sheep, cattle and tents. Where did he have this from? Well, we are told that Lot looked very similar to Avrohom and, therefore, it would be reasonable to assume that in order to curry favour with the whole family, not only did they give Avrohom matonos, presents, they gave somebody who looked like his younger brother, namely Lot, presents. Their objective at the time was that Avrohom and Lot should agree to the “betrothal” of Soroh to Pharoh

When they returned to Eretz Yisroel and the shepherds of Lot started acting as if they already owned land, Avrohom remonstrated with Lot and at that stage, he called him, my brother, כי אנשים אחים אנחנו. Lot, no doubt, had indicated to Avrohom that Avrohom had used a subterfuge in calling his wife, his sister, and therefore, what his shepherds were doing was nothing so terrible. However, pure stealing is not comparable to calling a niece a sister, as we all appreciate. We see from the way Avrohom begged Lot to just step away from him, but that he would, nevertheless, come to his assistance if ever necessary, that Avrohom still retained this feeling that he had to look after Lot as mentioned earlier on.

We then turn to the story of the four kings who came from the region of Iraq and rampaged through our Holy Land. The chief one being אמרפל whom we are told was actually Nimrod. They captured Lot and he is referred to, at that stage, as בן אחיו, the son of his brother, of Avrohom Avinu, of course, because Nimrod had an old account to settle with Avrohom.

Avrohom, on the other hand, when informed of what had happened, chased the kings with all their prisoners and booty as he had heard כי נשבה אחיו, that his brother had been captured. This refers to Avrohom’s memory that Lot had not revealed to the Egyptians that he, Lot, was, in fact, the brother of Soroh and that Avrohom by describing Soroh as his sister was becoming like a brother to Lot (he was his brother-in-law). Therefore, when Avrohom defeated the kings and וגם את לוט אחיו ורכשו השיב, he returned Lot and his possessions and freed them, he once again emphasised the aspect of them being brothers and, of course, the possessions were a direct result of Lot being given presents in Egypt because of that whole incident, as I mentioned earlier on.

One, therefore, can see the necessity for the different titles and names being utilised, as mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Although Lot was by no means an ideal character, he had the zechus of fathering two nations מואב and עמון from whom came רות המואביה and נעמה העמונית. The first being the great grandmother of Dovid Hamelech and the second being the mother of Rechavom, the son of Shlomo Hamelech. Perhaps one could suggest that this was a reward for him having twice heard his own sister being referred to as the sister of Avrohom and him having kept quiet and because of that two of his descendents, generations later, married into the Royal family of Yehuda.

ז מרחשון

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