Special Features RITE and REASON by Shmuel Pinchas Gelband (see review) Why do Siddurim begin with Shacharit, despite the fact that our days are reckoned night followed by day, as in VA'Y'HI EREV VA'Y'HI VOKER...
Note: the review of Rite & Reason will appear in next week's issue of Torah Tidbits, IY"H. In the meantime, just know that the book by Shmuel Pinchas Gelband was translated into English by Rabbi Nachman Bulman and is very enlightening. 1050 Jewish customs and their reasons. A very valuable sefer to have and to read. Rite and Reason (and its original Hebrew, Otzar Taamei HaMinhagim) are available in fine bookstores in town. Pirkei Avot tells us that Avraham was tested ten times and he passed them all. Those tests (usually called "tests of faith") span the two sedras of Lech L'cha and Vayeira. According to some reckonings, the first actually precedes Lech L'cha (the fiery furnace of Nimrod is counted by some) and/or follows Vayeira with theordeal of Sara's death and burial (counted by some, even though the Akeida is considered the ultimate test). Did he really? He left Eretz Yisrael because of a famine. Was that the right thing to do? G-d had sent him (t)here and promised him great success and blessings... in the Land. Maybe he should have stayed and "toughed it out". Rambam says that we learn from Avraham's actions that one may leave Eretz Yisrael temporarily,in the face of severe famine. He implies, however, that leaving E. Yisrael is not the preferred choice of options. He points to Machlon and Kilyon in this context. Ramban is stong is his view that Avraham sinned greatly (albeit inadvertantly) by leaving the Land. Commentaries claim that because Avraham went down to Egyptin the face of the famine, his descendants ended up in Egypt, enslaved and oppressed. It seems, then, that Avraham did not do so well in "handling" the "famine test". What does Avot mean that he passed them all? Should Avraham have thrown Hagar and Yishmael out, or should he have come up with a better solution to the problem? Was Avraham's deal with Avimelech the proper course of conduct? Maybe, maybe not. Irrelevant to the issue of "test of faith". Nothing that happened to Avraham caused him to question his belief and faith in G-d. Each trial could has caused Avraham to doubt. Caused him to turn his back on G-d. But none of the trials resulted in a weakening of Avraham's faith. He did not react to the faminewith, "Why have You forsaken me?". He chose to temporarily leave the Land. Maybe it was the right thing to do under the circumstances - maybe not. But his faith was unshaken. That earns him a passing grade. We, the children of Avraham, are continually faced with "tests of faith", as individuals and as a community. Sometimes we handle our situations correctly, sometimes we don't. But we should never lose faith in G-d. We should have a solid commitment to the idea that "G-d knows what He is doing". When challenged in life, we should carefully consider our options and alternatives, pray for G-d's guidance and help, and then "go for it". If we succeed or fail, if we acted properly or not, those would be the issues of concern. But our faith in G-d must remain intact, and evengrow from our experiences. Then we will be the true progeny of Avraham Avinu. Another question raised, concerns another one of the tests of Avraham's faith - namely, the Akeida. True, it is known as Akeidat Yitzchak, but it is viewed as a test of Avraham, and not necessarily as a test of Yitzchak. Why is this so? Rabbi Frand attempts to answer both questions with the same answer. An answer, I might add, that has significant application in our everyday lives as Jews and as human beings. The difference between the fiery furnace and a new life in Eretz Yisrael is that the former involves dying "by Kiddush HaShem" and the latter involves living a life that continually sanctifies G-d's Name. The difference in the Akeida for Avraham and Yitzchak is the same. Yitzchak faced death in an act of Kiddush HaShem. Avraham would go on living. Even though Yitzchak was to make the ultimate sacrifice, that of Avraham was much harder. Dying takes a moment. Living is for a lifetime. Giving up one's life (when required) is the fulfillment of "And you shall love G-d... with all your soul" - even if you have to surrender your soul. Living a life that sanctifies G-d's Name with every action - spectacular and mundane, is the fulfillment of "And you shall loveG-d...with all your heart... and all your might". The most a person ever gets is once chance for dying by Kiddush HaShem; the opportunities for living by Kiddush HaShem are countless. Without diminishing the one form of Kiddush HaShem, we must realize the very special (if not a dramatic) challenge of sanctifying G-d's Name in our daily lives. Commentaries explain that since one needs a pair of tongs to hold a piece of metal over the fire in order to make a pair of tongs (as well as other things), then all tongs can be accounted for except the very first pair. How do you get those? Some say that they were created by G-d among the final items of creation. Others refute this notion and say that the first tongs were made in some crude manner that allowed people to get around the problem of not having tongs, and then from that point on, the tongs were used to make more tongs and many other implements. We might say that either G-d gave humankind the first pair of tongs or He gave people the insight, intellect, or whatever is necessary to be inventive, and we took over from that point. One way or the other, there is something very special about the original pair of tongs. So too is it with Avraham Avinu. He was the tongs from which all other tongs are made. Every Jew in history is a descendant - actual or at least spiritual - of Avraham Avinu... except for Avraham Avinu. Converts to Judaism are called Ben Avraham. We call G-d ELOKEI AVRAHAM, MAGEN AVRAHAM. This can work for every Jew exceptAvraham himself. He is the unique original. Similar to the different ways of understanding the TZVAT B'TZVAT ASUYA, we can view Avraham in different ways. Did G-d have to "make" Avraham so that the future generations of Jews could then follow from him? Or could a mere human come to the realizations and beliefs of Avraham Avinu on his own? From various sources, we actually find a combination. Avraham made certain personal discoveries of G-d, which was no small achievement in light of his family background and the unpopularity of his newfound beliefs. And then there is G-d's helping hand to the process. G-d appearing to Avraham would certainly tend to strengthenAvraham'scommitment and resolve. It would be as if mankind had been left to invent the tongs but were also shown a model or diagram. Concerning the tests of faith that Avraham endured... they will always be unique for the same reasons that Avraham is. Any Jew that faces any kind of test of faith is armed with a Tradition that can see him through difficult times. It does not mean that things are easy all the time, but it must help. A Jew who heeds the call to come on Aliya has a built in support system including fellow Jews who live here, as well as a rich history with Eretz Yisrael at its epicenter. Avraham Avinu did not have any of that. He and Sara were alone. No Aliya Shali'ach. No interest free unlinked loans. Now help with housing. We owe a lot to Avraham and Sara and the other Avot and Imahot. It sounds corny to say it, but we probably take too many things for granted. When commentaries say that the Avot did things so that we would be able to do them, it should be understood not just literally, but conceptually as well. We are who we are a a specialpeople, because we descend from very special ancestors. The Mishna B'rura adds: specifically before KORBANOT (the portion about Temple sacrifices) [since it deals with the "ultimate" sacrifice, the complete dedication of the individual to G-d - PC] The Akeida is positioned in Shacharit, right after Birchot HaTorah and Birchot HaShachar, and before Korbanot. Not all Siddurim have Parshat Akeida. Many people skip it, some for lack of time, others because of custom. The Akeida is not a required part of the davening, but it is recommended as "good to say every day..." In most Siddurim, the Akeida is introduced by a prayer to G-d that He remember us in a good light, by remembering the love of the patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, the covenants, the kindnesses, the promise that He made to Avraham on Mt. Moriah, and the Akeida of Yitzchak on the Altar, as it says in the Torah: This introduction is optional, but it does serve to focus one's Kavana. After reading the Akeida, we have this "optional" concluding prayer to the: Although the host breaks bread for his guests, it is proper to let a guest lead the Birkat HaMazon (except for the Pesach Seder, when the Baal HaBayit should lead the benching, for he is the Seder leader and the benching is part of the Seder). The answer to the first question might be that angels do one TYPE of mission - an angel that destroys does only that. Healing the ailing and saving someone are similar tasks that can be performed by the same angel. In other words, had G-d sent two angels to Abraham - one to heal him and one to tell Avraham and Sara aboutYitzchak- then after they had done so, one could then go on to destroy S'dom and the other to save Lot. Perhaps that would not be possible, for the abovementioned reason. But - you say - the rule against Moabites applies to the males but not the females, so there's no problem with Ruth. Good point, except that what permitted the Sages to say that the rule applies only to the males? The key is the Torah's reason for excluding Moabites (and Ammonites), namely, that they refused us food anddrinkfollowing the Exodus. This cruel lack of human decency precludes their joining the People of Israel... ever. Was this inhospitable behavior a sin of all the Moabites, or just the men? The answer is that men would go out to encounter the approaching Israelites; women would modestly remain in their homes. Therefore,we faultonly the males of these two nations and we do allow their women to convert and marry Jews. At this point, the angel that had come to heal Avraham received a new mission, to save Lot. No angel was originally dispatched because Lot was not worthy of being saved at the time. Then Yitzchak asks his father about the the sacrifice itself, and the indication from the text is that Yitzchak understood what was to happen. And the Torah again tells us that they walked on together. Avraham Avinu had rediscovered G-d on his own. His parents and whole environment were idolators. He had no help on his road towards belief, no Baalei T'shuva yeshiva to guide him, no support system. He came to belief of G-d on his own. And that belief was so powerful, that trust in HaShem was so strong, that he was preparedtosacrifice his son, despite the total illogic of the situation. Yitzchak, on the other hand, was taught by his father to believe in G-d. Yitzchak was neither a baby nor a young child, as some pictures of the Akeida seem to convey. He was 37 years old and quite aware of what was happening. His confidence and trust, and belief was not the result of direct personal discovery; it was basedon the new, short, Chain of Tradition. Yitzchak's certainty that they were doing the proper thing was no less than Avraham's. And they walked on TOGETHER. In a way, this is the key to the greatness of the episode of the Akeida. That an individual can rise to the great heights of belief in G-d is one thing. That he is so successful in transmitting that system of beliefs to the next generation is truly remarkable. That Moshe received the Torah from Sinai is one thing. That he successfully gave it over to Yehoshua is the crucial thing. One link is not a chain; it is a circle (or oval) of gold. But two links is already a chain. Not everyone comes to Judaism, to Torah, to belief in G-d on their own. At least, not at the beginning. Most of us are introduced to Torah by our parents and teachers. Our commitment to the Torah must be not less strong that those who stood at Sinai and declared NAASEH V'NISHMA. The Baal T'shuva and his son, an FFB, willhavecome to Torah in different ways. Their success will be VAYEIL'CHU SH'NEIHEM YACHDAV. [The Vayeira Homepage]
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