B"H

Friday, Cheshvan 10, 5777 / November 11, 2016

In this week’s Parsha, Lech L’cha, we find that G-d blessed Abraham with children. Abraham was over seventy five years at that time, while Sarah, was over sixty five, but they didn’t have any children.

The first time G-d blessed them with children (13:16), G-d says to him, “I will make your descendants as the sand of the earth. Just as a person cannot count the sand of the earth, so too, your descendants will not be able to be counted.”

Later in the Parsha, G-d promises Abraham much reward for his good deeds. Abraham says to G-d, “What is the point of giving me much reward, when You have not given me any children to inherit all this reward? In reply to his question, G-d took him outside and said to him, “Look towards the heaven and count the stars. Are you able to count them? This is how numerous your descendants will be. And he believed in G-d and G-d considered this an act of righteousness.”

Q.Why did G-d compare Abraham’s descendants, the people of Israel, to the sand and the stars?

A.Maimonides, in a consolation letter to the Jews of Yemen who were being oppressed and suffered immensely, explains the comparioon to the sand of the earth. “Just like the earth, upon which everyone walks and tramples on, in the end outlasts all those who walked on it, so too, although the Jewish people are stepped on and trampled on, they will outlast all their adversaries and overcome.

One of the Chassidic masters explains the comparison to the stars: From earth the stars in heaven look very very small, yet, in reality they are very large. It’s only due to their distance from us that we view them as being small, but if we get closer to them we will see their true greatness. So too, with the Jewish people. From a distance we may view another Jew as being small and minute spiritually. But when we get closer and friendlier, we may see the great value within every Jewish soul.

On the lighter side.. In light of the U.S. elections: Moe (Moshe) Greenberg was running on the Democratic ticket for Senator from N.Y. State. Although he spent much money on the campaign, his opponent, Heimey Goldberg, the Republican, won the nomination.

Moe was besides himself. He took his loss very hard.

“I can’t understand it,” he complained to his opponent. “My campaign manager told me that if I gave every taxi driver and every waiter a big tip and told them I was the Democratic candidate, that would influence lots of voters and I would surely win the election. I spent a fortune, yet, I lost…”

“I did just the opposite,” replied Heimy Goldberg. “I didn’t give anyone a tip, and told them I was a Democrat…”

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montrealcandle lighting time: 4:09 / Shabbat ends: 5:14