Parashat Vayera 5769 in english
Rav David Daniel Hacohen שליט״א
Summary
At the start of Parashat Vayera, Avraham has just undergone the Brit Mila when Hashem visits him, and he interrupts the conversation to welcome three travellers who are in fact angels. The Rav explains that our Sages learn from this that welcoming guests is greater than speaking with Hashem. He asks who taught Avraham this, and answers that Avraham's body was so holy that each of his limbs moved easily toward a mitzvah and felt heavy toward a sin. This is why, at the Akeida, his hand did not want to take the knife, and Avraham wept, thinking he had been mistaken, until Hashem told him that he had been told only to bring Yitzchak up on the altar. The Rav concludes that in each of us the soul and the body are disconnected, and that studying and supporting the Torah makes us holier so that we are kept from sin, as Yosef was when he saw his father's face.
Highlights
- 0:05 Avraham after the Brit Mila and the visit of Hashem The Patriarchs Mitzvot
- 0:15 Three guests arrive: Avraham thinks they are men, not angels Angels The Patriarchs
- 0:45 Welcoming guests is greater than speaking with Hashem Halacha Mitzvot
- 1:16 Who taught Avraham this? His body was so holy that each limb knew mitzvot The soul Secrets of the Torah
- 2:29 At the Akeida, Avraham's hand does not want to take the knife Faith The Patriarchs
- 3:58 Avraham weeps: he fears his whole life's guide was mistaken The Patriarchs Repentance
- 4:26 Hashem answers: I told you to bring him up, not to kill him Faith The Patriarchs
- 5:24 Chesed and Gevurah: tying the right with the left Kabbalah Character traits
- 5:54 The soul is in every limb, but communication with the body is blocked The soul The evil inclination
- 6:26 Torah study keeps us from sin, like Yosef seeing his father's face Torah study The righteous
- 7:19 The light of Hanukkah gives the way of Avraham Hanukkah The Patriarchs