Shalom my friends,
Today I have been studying some of the ideas concerning this coming Shabbats Torah Parasha. This Shabbat is a special portion because it is the beginning of our Torahs dealing with our Father Abraham. The story is fascinating on so many levels and so much has been written on the first three portions of the Torah {Beresheit, Noach, and Lech Lecha}.
I have posted before on JTF many great things about Abraham, his love of Chesed/Kindness, his strength, wealth and military might {slaying the four kings}. His awesome escapes from the grasps of evil { The Fiery Furnance + Pharoah & Abimelech }. Abraham and Sarah were able to spread the love of Hashem to everyone who they came into contact with and were said to have made souls.
This weeks Haftorah portion comes from Isaiah Chapters 40-41.... I will reproduce the Chabad translation here:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/TorahReading_cdo/AID/9169/section/haftorah
Chapter 40
27. Why should you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way has been hidden from the Lord, and from my G-d, my judgment passes"?
28. Do you not know-if you have not heard-an everlasting G-d is the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth; He neither tires nor wearies; there is no fathoming His understanding.
29. Who gives the tired strength, and to him who has no strength, He increases strength.
30. Now youths shall become tired and weary, and young men shall stumble.
31. But those who put their hope in the Lord shall renew [their] vigor, they shall raise wings as eagles; they shall run and not weary, they shall walk and not tire.
Chapter 41
1. Be silent to Me, you islands, and kingdoms shall renew [their] strength; they shall approach, then they shall speak, together to judgment let us draw near.
2. Who aroused from the East, [the one] whom righteousness accompanied? He placed nations before him and over kings He gave him dominion; He made his sword like dust, his bow like wind-blown stubble.
3. He pursued them and passed on safely, on a path upon which he had not come with his feet.
4. Who worked and did, Who calls the generations from the beginning; I, the Lord, am first, and with the last ones I am He.
5. The islands shall see and fear; the ends of the earth shall quake; they have approached and come.
6. Each one shall aid his fellow, and to his brother he shall say, "Strengthen yourself."
7. And the craftsman strengthened the smith, the one who smooths with the hammer [strengthened] the one who wields the sledge hammer; he says of the cement, "It is good," and he strengthened it with nails that it should not move.
8. But you, Israel My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, who loved Me,
9. Whom I grasped from the ends of the earth, and from its nobles I called you, and I said to you, "You are My servant"; I chose you and I did not despise you.
10. Do not fear for I am with you; be not discouraged for I am your G-d: I encouraged you, I also helped you, I also supported you with My righteous hand.
11. Behold all those incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded; those who quarreled with you shall be as nought and be lost.
12. You may seek them but not find them, those who quarrel with you; those who war with you shall be as nought and as nothing.
13. For I, the Lord your G-d, grasp your right hand; Who says to you, "Fear not, I help you."
14. Fear not, O worm of Jacob, the number of Israel; "I have helped you," says the Lord, and your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15. Behold I have made you a new grooved threshing-sledge, with sharp points; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them fine, and you shall make hills like chaff.
16. You shall winnow them, and a wind shall carry them off, and a tempest shall scatter them, and you shall rejoice with the Lord, with the Holy One of Israel shall you praise yourself.
This prophecy talks to us today and yet it also talks of Abraham and his grasping for Hashems hand in the world of unknown. The same kind of struggle which King David went through. Knowing that despite the tribulations which we are suffering that Hashem is with us, always.
2. Who aroused from the East, [the one] whom righteousness accompanied? He placed nations before him and over kings He gave him dominion; He made his sword like dust, his bow like wind-blown stubble. 3. He pursued them and passed on safely, on a path upon which he had not come with his feet. 4. Who worked and did, Who calls the generations from the beginning; I, the Lord, am first, and with the last ones I am He. 5. The islands shall see and fear; the ends of the earth shall quake; they have approached and come. 6. Each one shall aid his fellow, and to his brother he shall say, "Strengthen yourself."This seems to talk about Abram who came from the east, Hashem placed nations before him and he placed Abraham over the kings. He was able to militarily defeat the Four Kings and the Five Kings. Regardless of whatever wicked situation Abraham and Sarah landed in, Hashems providence was not far away. They were able to walk safely amid the confusion and craziness which was around them. Hashem sent Abraham to Caanan and then there was a famine... It was a path which he was not familiar with yet he continued to have unending love and trust in Hashem. Even in the clutchs of Pharoah, upon whom a terrible plague came upon because he had taken Sarah as his wife {because they pretended she was his sister in order to spare Abraham just in case such a thing should happen}, Abraham was able to maintain till the truth of Hashems existence was clear as day.
What we should hear echoing down from the generations of Abraham, and our patriarchs, is the chorus "Strengthen yourself". The prophets and the sages and the rabbis all are crying out from beyond this world and begging that we strengthen ourselves, to see the path of Torah and to be there when the glorious redemption occurs. Isaiah says it so beautifully and I hope that the words enter your heart and awaken your soul. We have a mission and we should fulfill our promise, that we will hear and we will do {Naase VeNishma}.
Good Shabbos Everyone!
More information on Lech-Lecha:
http://ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/4057http://www.ou.org/torah/ti/5764/lechlecha64.htmhttp://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/728623http://ohr.edu/tw/5761/bereishi/lech.htmhttp://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/4747/jewish/The-Pardon.htm
Topic: Strengthen Yourself! - Haftorah Lech-Lecha (Read 2055 times)