Tag: parshas Lech Lecha

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Lech Lecha -Shemiras Eiynayim: A Trick On How To Guard One’s Eyes

In this week’s Torah portion of Lech Lecha, the Torah relates that Avraham had to go down to Egypt because there was a famine in the land of Canaan: “And it occurred, as he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘See now, I have known that you are a woman of beautiful appearance…'” (Breishis 12:11).

Rabbeinu Bachye explains this pasuk “according to the medrish, when it says ‘See now, I have known that you are a woman of beautiful appearance,’ Avraham said to her that normally the travails of traveling depreciates beauty and removes the shine from the face, but you still stand in your beauty, behold I now know you are a woman of beautiful complexion. Chaza”l understood that he had never gazed at her until now. This is because Avraham, out of his great humility, made a covenant with his eyes, just as Iyov said, ‘I had made a pact with my eyes’ (Iyov 31:1). This is because righteous people make covenants with their limbs that they will not damage them just like a person making a peace treaty with his enemies, to not hurt them. Similarly, it writes, ‘You shall not seal a covenant with them and their gods’ (Shemos 23:32). For there is no worse enemy that harms a person then one’s own mis actions….'” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
Avraham Avinu was known to have complete control over his senses. Normally one sees whatever is in front of him. A person would have to turn his head or turn away to not look at something, but Avraham was on a level that he had the sense to not look at things he shouldn’t be looking at. The  Rabbeinu Bachye says that is because Avraham didn’t want to harm his body in any way by doing anything which might be inappropriate. This held true for all of his senses; he was able to control his sense of smell and hearing just like he was able to turn on and off his sense of sight. Even though this goes against human nature, as senses are automatically flooded with things around them. But Avraham worked on himself and made a pact with his body to ensure that he safeguarded himself from anything that might harm him spiritually or physically, just like a nation might make a peace treaty with their enemy to stop hurting each other. His guarding of his eyes from mundane, physical things was so complete and he was on such an unusually high level that he  had never even gazed at his own wife until that point. But when he saw that her face beautifully shinning, even after a long journey, he knew that she was always a very beautiful lady.

 What is interesting to note is that the motivation for his drive to safeguard his eyes from inappropriate gazing was based on his great humility. But wouldn’t it have made more sense for it to have been based on watchfulness (זהירות), which is the middah of not giving in one’s physical desires? Or perhaps even the middah of strength of willpower, as the first mishna in the fourth perek of Pirkei Avos says, “Who is mighty? He who subdues his personal inclination, as it says ‘He who is slow to anger is better than the strong man, and a master of his passions is better than a conqueror of a city” (Mishley 16:32). If that is truly the case, then what does this have to do with humility?

It would seem that Avraham Avinu was indeed using his character trait of immense humility as a motivator to take care of his senses and body. Just like a person who has been in battle with his enemies in a seemingly endless war, one still has to humble and restrain himself from hurting that enemy once he signs a peace agreement or treaty. So too Avraham used his trait of humility to encourage and motivate himself to be extra careful to care for his eyesight and other parts of his body, to not hurt them spiritually or physically in any way. Even though he, as a person, was in charge of himself and could choose to do whatever he wanted with his body, out of humility he realized it would not be right to harm his body. Therefore he made a pact or covenant with his senses and limbs to not harm them. He worked so hard to uphold that covenant to the point that he reached great heights of self-discipline, to the point that he was able to control and turn on and off his senses at appropriate times.

We see how the trait of humility can be used as a motivational force to do the right thing.

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Lech Lecha – Unity: Acknowledging Your Piece of the Puzzle

For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.
 The Rosh on this week’s Torah portion of Lech Lecha explains a gemara in Nedarim 32a that discusses an argument about why Avraham was punished by his descendants being enslaved for 210 years in Egypt. Shmuel says it is because he questioned Hashem’s decree when he said “How am I to know that I will inherit it” (Breishis 15:8). The Rosh explains that the way he expressed himself, the words that came out of his mouth, was inappropriate (not that he actually felt in his heart what he said). (Click here for Hebrew text.)

The other answer given by Rebbe Abahu in the name of Rebbe Elazar is because he recruited Torah scholars to aid him in the war against the four kings, as the Torah states “and he mobilized his trained men, those who were born in his house” (Breishis 14:14). The Rosh explains that Avraham Avinu was punished for sending his students, who he taught mitzvos to, as his vanguard in war. (Click here for Hebrew text of gemara Nedarim.)
Avraham joined the war of the four kings verse the five kings in order to save his nephew Lot who was captured. It was a personal matter of life and death and the Ra”n in Nedarim says the problem was that he took his students who he taught Torah into war, and Rashi there describes that he taught them Torah like a person who poured liquid from one vessel into another, that is how he taught them Torah. These people were obviously close confidantes of Avraham who he trusted as the best soldiers to weaponize for war to save his nephew, Lot. Why should he be punished for the decision that he made? Anyone else that he could have recruited, let’s say his normal servants (besides Eliezer who was his most trusted servant, which one opinion in that gemara holds was the only other person who joined Avraham in battle.) or outside friends or mercenaries, who says they could be trusted? His students were the closest ones to him who could be most trusted; so why was Avraham punished?

It would seem that those that were learning Torah were meant to be staying and learning. Each person has a purpose in life and has their own role in contributing to the fight. The Torah student’s role is to accrue merits for the fighters through their learning and prayers that brings spiritual protection to the fighters on the front line.  Taking them away from their main role, on some slight, minuscule level, was a lack of faith in Hashem’s choice for giving individualized purpose to every person. In fact, the Rosh in Nedarim says the real sin was clearly stated as being questioning Hashem, as Shmuel said but Rebbe Abahu in the name of Rebbe Elazer held that this sin of sending the Torah learners out to war was the precursor punishment that allowed Avraham to fall into the trap of questioning Hashem of saying the expression “bameh aidah“.

We see how important it is for everyone to acknowledge that each individual has a certain purpose in the world, to recognize that purpose and to excel at it as much as he possibly can because that is Hashem’s destiny for that individual.

Sending the Torah student to war would be like requiring someone to always walk on their hands. Granted it’s possible and the more one works at it the better he’ll become but a person is not supposed to walk on their hand. Hands are made to work with, and feet are made to walk with, each one has their own purpose, and one will be a much better walker or runner by foot than by hand no matter how much practice he has.

It is possible that some people’s purpose is to learn Torah and to go out into the battlefield to fight. Everyone’s purpose is not black or white, it could be gray, but the point is that one has to figure out and then excel at their own purpose in life and others cannot criticize if someone is doing something different than them if that is supposed to be their purpose in life since everyone is different and has their own unique role in the world.

We are all like a piece of a puzzle, each piece is different and belongs in a specific place some pieces are similar to each so you know they belong in that area but they each have their own unique role, and when unified the complete picture can be seen and understood.