The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Vayeira!

The Rebbe says:

1. This week’s Torah portion tells us about how Avraham Avinu (Abraham our forefather) was the first and only Jew in this world and the whole world was against him . However once the people saw how Hashem (G-d) was with Avraham Avinu in all that he did and protected him from any harm, even Avimelech King of the Philistines wanted to make a covenant of peace with Avraham Avinu .

Towards the end of the Torah’s description of Avraham Avinu’s life in the land of the Philistines the Torah tells us that Avraham Avinu planted an “Eishel – (simply translated as) a tree” there , he publicized G-dliness and faith there , and he lived there for many days. Immediately after this the Torah begins discussing the Akeida (the Binding of Isaac) .

2. The Rebbe now questions the Torah’s narration of this story with the intention of uncovering the Torah’s deep messages:

Question one: Why does the Torah tell us that Avraham Avinu planted an “Eishel” in the middle of this narrative? The Torah is in the middle of describing how great Avraham Avinu was; it tells us that even though he was the only Jew in the whole world he went around publicizing faith in the One G-d. So why does the Torah include in this narrative that he planted an “Eishel”?

Question two: As we mentioned earlier, immediately after the Torah tells us about Avraham Avinu’s life in the land of the philistines it tells about Akeidas Yitzchok (the Binding of Isaac). What is the connection between Avraham Avinu planting an “Eishel” and Akeidas Yitzchok?

3. The Rebbe begins his explanation by examining all possible meanings of the word “Eishel”:

The literal translation of the word “Eishel” is “tree” : Avraham Avinu planted a tree with big leafs so that travelers passing through the dessert would have a place of shade to rest in.

However the Talmud cites two other opinions :

One opinion says that an “Eishel” is not just one tree, it was a whole orchard of trees bearing all different kinds of fruits, and these fruits were brought for guests during their meal.

The other opinion holds that the “Eishel” was an inn which Avraham Avinu would use to first serve his guests a full meal including meat, wine, and all other kinds of tasty delicacies, in addition to the assortment of fruits he placed before them, and then he would give them the option to lodge at this inn , . The Midrash even goes as far as saying that Avraham Avinu set up a Beis Din (a court house which adheres to the law of Torah) to answer the travelers questions which may have arisen during their journey !

4. The Rebbe now spells out what the Torah is telling us and how this answers our first question of how this fits in with the narrative about how great Avraham Avinu was:

The Torah is obviously telling us how great Avraham Avinu’s Hachnasas Orchim (hospitality) was: Avraham Avinu was not satisfied with giving his guests the bare minimum of bread, salt, and water to satisfy their hunger, he went to great lengths to offer them all different kinds of luxuries- fruits, meat, wine, all different kinds of treats, a place for lodging, and he even set up a Beis Din to answer any questions they may have had. And, he did all this for total strangers!

5. The Rebbe now explains the lesson that every Jew must learn from this:

Every singe Jew has charity and kindness built in to their hearts and we have to know that this trait- which is an inheritance from our Forefather Avraham – is not only to give the bare minimum, but even to give the luxuries of life. And this is not only in the material sense, it is even in the spiritual sense: A Jew is engrained with the feeling of wanting to help out another in any way possible.

This feeling of goodness to the point of giving others the opportunity to enjoy the possibilities that life has to offer and not just the bare necessities, is especially rooted in parents regarding their children:

Parents give their children everything they need and even everything they want (and obviously they do not calculate whether the child will pay them back or not). This is especially so with regards to their education: Parents spend exorbitant amounts of money to send their children to the best schools out there even though they could have gone to cheaper ones.

By Jewish people, and for example Avraham Avinu, this trait even extends to another person’s child: It is engrained in every single Jewish heart to give away money which they have earned through their hard work and sweat so that someone else’s child can also have a full Jewish education.

This kind of conduct is higher then logic: To give away money so that another person will have bread to eat, even the mind understands and agrees to. However to give away hard earned money so that another person can enjoy the best possibilities that life has to offer is a totally different thing, this comes from a goodness which is higher than reason.

This is why whenever Jew’s arrived at places which didn’t have Torah institutions yet, even if it was a country which did not allow this, they immediately set out to build Yeshivos (Rabbinical schools) and Talmud Torah’s (Talmudic academies) and made sure that everyone’s children could go there.

6. The Rebbe now answers our second question of how this brings us to Akeidas Yitzchok:

It is now understood why the Torah first tells us that Avraham Avinu planted an “Eishel” and then immediately tells us about Akeidas Yitzchok:

The Torah is telling us how Avraham Avinu and Yitzchok Avinu (Isaac our forefather) had the strength to withstand the test of the Akeidas Yitzchok even though they were living in the free land of the Philistines- where they were neither oppressed nor uncomfortable in any way- for “many days”:

The answer is that they had the strength from planting the “Eishel”: Through having immeasurable kindness which was higher then reason they were able to call upon inner strength and withstand the test of Akeidas Yitzchok.

7. The Rebbe now finishes off by telling us the lesson that we can learn from all of the above and blesses us:

If we want our children to grow up in the Torah path and have Mesiras Nefesh (totally putting ones own desires aside for the will of Hashem) for Judaism, we must have Mesiras Nefesh for their Torah education. We must make sure that their Torah education is not just the bare minimum but that it is to the fullest degree and that every single Jewish child has a chance to experience this.

When we conduct ourselves in this manner, we have Hashem’s promise that He will not repay us “a dollar for a dollar”; he repays many times as much (just like we see by Avraham Avinu: he started off with one child (Isaac) and was promised by Hashem to multiply his seed like the stars in Heaven and like the sand on earth). And surely this is not only monetarily, but also with health, long life and Nachas (enjoyment) from our kids.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume three, second Sicha.