Parashas Lech Lecha

The Shabbos Parsha is Parashas Lech Lecha teaching of our Fore-Father Avraham and the Haftorah for this Sedra is in Yeshayahu Isaiah 40:27 - 41:16 , which also makes reference to Israel as Avraham's offspring , making it very clear to the World that only biological lines down from Avraham and proper Orthodox Torah Conversion is acceptable to be called Israel , HaShem's Servant .?

This Beautiful Parsha as I mentioned is called Parashas Lech Lecha . This having to leave his place of home and travel to A Place That HaShem Told him to go , purely on the Faith Emunah And Bitachon in HaShem , was one of Avraham's ten tests , that carry us Jews through the generations , for all that Avraham went through , gives us Jews merit and Avraham's life and travels , show themselves to be a fore-runner of the history of Israel .?

Avram was 75?years and Sarai was 65 years When HaShem Told them to Lech Lecha to go from their land and from their relatives and from Avram's Father's House to a Land HaShem Would Show him . It would be there That HaShem Would Make Avram a great nation , Blessing Avram and Making his name great and he would be a blessing , Where HaShem Would Bless those who bless him and Curse those that curse him ( Bereishis?Genesis?12:3 ) , where all families on the face of the Earth would bless themselves by him . So HaShem Tells Avram to " Lech Lecha , " to a Place That HaShem Would Show him . Avram being the holy man that he is , makes his final destination Canaan , traveling first southwards and spreading HaShem's Oneness . Avram was 75 years old when he left Haran . When he left , he took with him his wife Sarai and Lot , her brother , Avram's nephew and all that he had and the souls he had , as it says " , " made " in Haran and they left to go toward Canaan . These souls that are referred to that he " made , " meant those people that he brought into the True Belief , under The Oneness of HaShem . HaShem Appeared To Avram And Told him That this Land of Canaan would be given to his offspring , the Jewish people .?

There was a famine in the land , which was again another test for Avram and so Avram descended to Egypt . We note the word " descend , " which shows that an entry to egypt was a descent away from holiness . It was as they were entering there that Avram had tried to hide Sarai , for an agreement was made before that they would , in such a situation , make out that they are brother and sister , which was partly true for they were very closely related . Sarai was very beautiful and Avram knew that these egyptians were very immoral and would take a man's wife for their king and knowing of Sarai's lighter colour , she would be found very appealing by the egyptians and so Avram tried to hide her in a carry box but the egyptians insisted on them opening it and Sarai was taken and held captive by Pharaoh . Sarai then told Pharaoh who Avram was to her , but Pharaoh did not care . Sarai prayed to HaShem And HaShem Sent the Malach Gavriel to help her And Told her That as soon as she commands the Malach Angel Gavriel , Gavriel would strike Pharaoh's household . A severe plague was set upon Egypt By HaShem , through the Malach Gavriel and Pharaoh had no choice but to let her go . This was a forerunner of our coming to Egypt in Yaakov's time And finally Being Freed From bondage By HaShem Sending Plagues Against these egyptians . Pharaoh , before he let her go , gave her a region of territory called Goshen Goshnah , the very same region that we Jews lived in at the time of Moshe Rabbeinu . Pharaoh also gave Sarai , his daughter Hagar as a maidservant . Avraham and Sarai and all that they had , were escorted out of Egypt , just as it happened in the time of Moshe .?

During their sojourn in egypt , Lot who as I mentioned was Avram's nephew , saw the idol worship there in egypt and was again attracted to it . Lot's herdsmen argued with Avram's herdsmen , for Lot's herdsmen would not muzzle Lot's animals when in a stranger's fields and so they would thus eat of that which was not theirs . Avram's herdsmen argued with Lot's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen responded that seeing as Avram has no offspring , it must be Lot who might inherit from him and seeing as the grazing is taking place in lands Promised By HaShem To Avram , they ( Lot's herdsmen ) must have a right to the land for grazing . Avram's herdsmen argued that the Land was not yet given to Avram in full possession , even though Avram had traversed the Land ( a form of taking possession in those days ) and so , neither one of them thus had a right yet to partake of it . Avram asked Lot to separate from him and to choose which way he would go and Lot , noticing the idol worship and greener pasture toward Sodom , chose to go toward that direction and Avram separated from him . It was only then , That HaShem Appeared again To Avram , For HaShem Prefers Not To Appear To a holy man , while in the presence of an unholy man with him .?

Torah then tells of the war of the four Kings against five . Amraphel is Nimrod and it was in this battle against Avram , that Nimrod was killed . The four kings mentioned here have a deeper reference in our Jewish History for if we look at the areas these four kings came from , we note that their areas were actually later Babylon ( Amraphel king of Shinar ) , later Media Persia ( Arioch king of Ellasar ) , later Greece ( Chedorlaomer king of Elam , where Elam was the son of Shem , where Shem was the son of Noach ) and also later Rome ( Tidal king of Goiim ) . All these four nations , later in history attacked Israel . These four made war on Sodom , Amorah Gomorrah , Admah , Zeboiim and Zoar , who were trying to rebel against the four king's control over them . Seeing as Lot was now staying in Sodom , he was taken captive . Amraphel Nimrod purposefully took Lot captive so that he could draw Avram into the battle so as to try and smite him , But HaShem Protects His Beloved Nation And People . Torah tells us that a fugitive came and told Avram about his nephew being taken captive . At the time that this fugitive came , Avram was busy making Matzah Cakes , for Avram kept the Torah , even before it was given . Thus the time that Avram went to war to save his nephew , was actually Pesach night . Seeing as Avram was busy making Matzah Cakes ( where Cakes in Hebrew is Uga ( pronounced Ooga ) thus was this fugitive's name called Ug / Og ) and it was then that the fugitive came to warn Avram . This fugitive , who was the Giant , descended from the Nephilim and so , ended up being called Ug ( Oog ) or as some today call him Og and so this is where the English word ' ogre ' comes from for a Giant . Og did not intend to help Lot or Avram by warning Avram . Og hoped that Avram would go into the battle and be killed , Chas Ve Shalom and then Og thought he could take Sarai for himself . Avram immediately prepared his men from his household , 318 in all and fought the four kings at night . Eliezer , Avram's beloved servant also came to help . There is an opinion that only Eliezer went to help Avram , and this opinion comes from the fact that the Gematriah of Eliezer's name comes to 318 . Avram and his men won the battle , but refused to take any of the spoils , referring to not wanting to take even a thread or shoe-strap , thus was Avraham acknowledging that it was Only Through HaShem That the battle was won And So , HaShem Did Reward Avraham for not taking a ' thread , ' for now , us Jews wear Tzitzis , to be close to and remember to keep HaShem's Commandments . This is just one reason we are Blessed to wear Tzitzis as Jews . It is after this battle that MalchiTzeddek King of Salem ( Yerushalayim ) comes out to meet Avram and Blesses him . MalchiTzeddek is none other than Noach's most holy son Shem . Avram being a Torah follower , gives him ( as / like a priest at the time ) the Tithe , a Tenth of everything .?

HaShem Then Appears To Avram and Avram Is Given the Vision and Covenant of the Parts . Avram is Taken " Outside , " in other words outside the physical of what would be in the stars for him and Avram Is Shown That the destiny of The Jewish people is above the stars and that Avraham will have children with Sarah . HaShem Took Avram up from the Earth And Took Avram To a vantage point from outside the Galaxies of Stars And HaShem Showed him how we Jews are above the destiny of stars and that the stars are only physical bodies And That HaShem Controls the Workings of His Multi - Universes ( plural ) , For HaShem Knew Avram's love of Astronomy And HaShem Knew That this would touch Avram very deeply . HaShem Showed how numerous the Stars actually are and when Avram was awed by the multitude of Stars and commented at The Vastness Of HaShem's Creation and at how numerous and beyond count the Stars are , Said And Answered HaShem , " So will your offspring from Sarah be . " I have often thought that Seeing As HaShem Compared Stars to Jewish Offspring , it could also mean that as each new Jewish child is born , So Does HaShem Create a new Star . When Avram showed a slight doubt of how he will know that he will have children , HaShem Took this as a lack of trust and so , as our Rabbis teach us , was our exile in Egypt ordained . HaShem Assures Avram That his offspring through Sarai , will inherit Israel .?

After ten years of marriage between Avram and Sarai and still at that moment no children , it was the way at the time , for a husband then to take a second wife so as to beget children . Sarai gave her handmaid Hagar the egyptian , to her husband so that she might bare through her handmaid . When Hagar conceived , Sarai became lowered in Hagar's esteem , where Hagar would constantly make remarks to Sarai and others , that were totally untrue , making out that Sarai can't be so holy if she can't conceive , where Hagar kept mentioning how she ( Hagar ) straight away conceived . Hagar did not stop putting Sarai down . Sarai blamed Avram that he did not intervene strongly enough and Sarai became more harsh with Hagar and cast a ' negative eye ' on the child and so Hagar lost her first child . This is why the Angel tells Hagar later , after she ran away from Sarai , that she will conceive , even though it had said previously that she had already conceived , for she had actually lost her first child . Hagar as I mentioned ran away from Sarai and a few Angels encountered her by the spring of water . It was here that it was prophesied that her child would be named Ishmael and his offspring would bring violence , being a " wild ass of a man , his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him . " Hagar returned to Sarai and Avram and Hagar conceived and bore a son called Ishmael , when Avram was 86 years old .?

It Was after this That HaShem Appears To Avram As El Shaddai , Telling Avram to walk before HaShem and be perfect . Perfect is in reference to Completeness . This Attribute Of HaShem's Name El Shaddai Refers To G-D Who Has Completed And Done Enough " or " Dai " which means " Enough . " It Is Here That HaShem Adds To Avram's and Sarai's names , Renaming them Avraham and Sarah , who now are , as the names Avraham and Sarah , destined to have their beloved child . It Is Here That HaShem Commands Avraham To Circumcise his household and then himself and enter into the Covenant With HaShem , to complete the human body as man was originally Created ( Adam ) in the Beginning , For Adam Was Created Circumcised . The Command to Circumcise was to be at eight days from birth . Ishmael too was circumcised and he would beget twelve princes . But HaShem's Covenant Would Be Through Yitzchak , whom Sarah would bear to Avraham . Avraham is Told of the birth of Yitzchak and how we will become A Holy Jewish Nation Through whom , HaShem Will Keep An Everlasting Covenant , Through Avraham and Sarah's son Yitzchak . So ends the Parsha .?

We note That When HaShem Asks Avram To leave , HaShem Says " Lech Lecha " - " Go for you . " This Is Directly A Command From HaShem For Avraham's benefit , as the words directly say " Go for you . " But how would Avram leaving all that is familiar , including his family and him going to an unknown land , be for his benefit ? Our Rabbis use the analogy of Avram being like a fragrance that is kept closed in a bottle and only when opened and its aroma permitted to travel in the air , does it sweeten all those around it . For while it would still remain closed and sealed in the bottle , its potential remains closed and waiting to give off its goodness . The same is with Avram , where if he stays in the place he is , it is as if caging all the holiness he possesses in a single place and not letting his goodness and sharing Of HaShem's Oneness , spread to all the World around him . Avram Avraham was this kind of a Neshoma , with a task to share HaShem's Oneness and Truth to all . This he could only do , if he shared himself to all and so , become a Father of nations and so all families on Earth could thus bless themselves by him From HaShem , for he spent his life sharing the Truth and Oneness of our One and Only Creator HaShem HaKadosh Baruch Hu .?

HaShem Commanded Avram Avraham to go for himself " Lech Lecha " - " Go for you , " for he too , as us all , needs to grow spiritually and not be stifled in a place not suitable for our own growth and so Avram had to " Go for himself " so as to grow as well spiritually and become the holy man he was within . We see this in the words " Lech Lecha , " for these words can also be translated as ' Go to yourself , ' in other words , go to become the holy person you really are , Go To Become the real you . This is so much the case with us all for we too need to grow and work toward that holy part of us within us all that is the true us , that can climb spiritually to HaShem . In fact we need to spend our time ' Going toward ' our true selves and becoming who we are meant to be and aspiring to that holiness within us all that makes us who we really are , going day after day and hour after hour , minute after minute toward HaShem HaKadosh Baruch Hu , HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He . We all carry A Holy Spark Of HaShem and we need to work to earn this privilege for we all , every day carry a Spark Of HaShem , within our soul .?

Another reason that Avram had to go " for himself , " was that in the place he was , he was not ordained to have offspring and only when he would change his place , would he beget children . Our Rabbis talk ever so much about the idea of changing one's place and name that it can change our destiny and we can now see where it comes from , for Avram did change his place And As HaShem Said , that with his name change to Avraham and his wife's name from Sarai to Sarah , he and his wife Sarah bore Yitzchak .?

So we see That Even When HaShem Asks something of us , it is really for our benefit . Every Law , every Mitzvah we do , is to bring us higher and higher toward HaShem and help us grow in holiness toward HaShem . Every Commandment we obey , is a Spark Of Love From HaShem , to help us grow higher in Holiness . And through Avraham's line , By HaShem's Will , those nations that bless Avraham and us Jews who are his offspring , will be blessed and the opposite will happen to those that do the opposite . The words " Lech Lecha , " have within them two Hebrew Lameds and two Khafs , and if we take these letters and put them the opposite way , we get the words ' Kol Kol , ' as a repetition . The word ' Kol ' means ' All , ' and this shows us that in going toward the true holy part of us within and going and doing HaShem's Mitzvos , it brings us ' All , ' in other words , it brings us ' Completeness . ' It brings us to our holy true destination within ourselves getting closer and ever closer to HaShem HaKadosh Baruch Hu HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He . Thus Holiness and Completeness , is brought about by leaving our own wishes and what is comfortable and what we want to do and going in faith and trust Emunah and Bitachon toward HaShem .That is exactly what Avram did in obeying HaShem , for we note That HaShem Did Not Give him a destination point , But Just Told him to go " El Eretz Asher Ar'Echa , " - " To go to the Land That I ( HaShem Would Show you ( Avraham ) ) . " So this was quite a test for Avram Avraham who never knew , when he was told to pack up everything and go and leave all that was familiar , to which destination he was actually going . Avram followed HaShem purely on pure Faith and Emunah and Bitachon and Trust . This is the true Jew . This is who we are and what we as a people are about . Just as we Jews accepted the Torah without asking what is in it , so are we the children of Avraham , who will follow HaShem into the Wilderness as we did in Moshe's time and we know with love and faith That HaShem Will Provide For us Always . That is the True Jew and that is the True Jewish heart . HaShem Also Wanted Avram Avraham to leave and be who Avraham is , the one who teaches the World about HaShem And His Oneness , so that all may come to HaShem and follow HaShem's Way And Path to Holiness . Thus did Avram Avraham have to " Lech Lecha , " to bring the World back to HaShem , in true faith and belief and trust Emunah and Bitachon .?

We note that the Gematriah of the words " Lech Lecha , " are 30 + 20 + 30 + 20 = 100 - the number of completion , just like the letters spell ' Kol , ' that I explained above , where ' Kol ' refers to ' Completion . ' So Avram was there also to bring the World back to HaShem , after it had gone astray and so , put it on the road to Completion . And what is at the Heart of everything and completion in Creation ? HaShem Who Is One . This is hidden within the words " Lech Lecha , " which has a Gematriah of 100 as I showed and if you take this number 100 and bring it to it's deepest single value , we get 1+0+0 = 1 , The Oneness Of HaShem And So The Completeness Of Creation , is to return To The Oneness Of HaShem . May it happen soon in our days , With The Love Of HaShem HaKadosh Baruch Hu HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He .?

I wish Beloved HaShem With Everlasting And Forever Beautiful Love , A Very Beautiful And Special And Sweet Shabbos Kodesh With Deepest Eternal Love and to all my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , a very Beautiful and Special Shabbos Kodesh with love .