Transcript
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Do you want to understand how to make
peace between people?
Take a look at the pots on your stove.
You have fire underneath
and water inside.
If you put them together directly, you
have a problem. The water puts out the
fire or the fire boils away the water.
But if you put a pot between them,
you can make dinner.
The Gemara in Berakhot says that
somebody who sees a cooking pot in a
dream, a kedeira,
should anticipate peace. It is a sign of
peace.
Rabbi Mordechai Banet explains, "Look
what the pot accomplishes. It keeps the
fire and water apart
and allows them to work together."
Now, listen to the Baal HaTurim in
parshas Lech Lecha.
Avram's shepherds and Lot's shepherds
are fighting.
Avram tells Lot, "Please, let there be
no quarrel between us. We are brothers."
And he proposes that they separate. The
Torah describes their separation with
the words, "They separated one from his
brother." Ish me al achiv, with the next
word being Avram.
The Baal HaTurim says that if you look
at the final letters of those four
words,
ish is shin, me al is lamed, achiv is
vav, and Avram is mem. That spells out
the words shalom.
They moved apart
so they could remain at peace.
You know, we sometimes assume that if a
relationship is going to work, we have
to spend more time together, talk more,
visit more, do more things together. And
sometimes, yes, that's true.
And sometimes, though,
every visit ends with somebody getting a
little hurt. Maybe the visits need to be
shorter. Maybe certain subjects need to
stay off the table.
Maybe two relatives
who care about each other should not be
partners in business. A little space can
sometimes give people room
to appreciate each other again.
Think about that pot. Because of the
separation,
fire keeps burning, the water keeps
cooking, and everybody gets fed.
Sometimes, the way to stay close is to
give each other a little room.
And Avram and Lot needed that space
to create shalom.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
