Rabbi Binyamin Yuhanan Parshat Vaera 2

and that's what we see now in the world in places where people don't believe in God there is a lot of murder there's a lot of um abuse in in a in the name of benefiting the world when you don't believe in God then everything is permitted millions of people suffer that's what happened in uh Soviet Union that's what happened in China that's what happened in Nazi Germany and that's what's unfortunately happening in the United States as the country moving away further away from Hashem human rights are no longer respected one group of people takes advantage of another and um suffering comes why because when people remove God as their Guiding Light they start making their own decisions and they now are Guided by greed by Power by lust and uh they start making grave mistakes now we turn to page 95 a took flocks and cattle and servants and made servants and gave to Abraham and he returned his wife Sarah to him and to Sarah he said in verse 16 behold I have given your brother a thousand silver pieces of U thousand pieces of silver it's my apology to you and Abraham prayed to Hashem and God healed aik his wife and his maid servants and they were relieved because Hashem had completely restrained every orist in the household of aik they couldn't go to the bathroom and they couldn't give birth Earth and now Abraham prayed for them and they were relieved now we learn in chapter 21 about the birth of yak Hashem had remembered Sarah and Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son and they called him hak verse four Abraham circumcised his son isak at the age of8 days as Hashem had commanded him and ABR was 100 years old and Sarah said God has made laughter for me happiness for me whoever hears this good news will laugh for me in surprise and happiness and some people did believe that this was possible they thought that ab and Sarah adopted a a a baby so Sarah said I will nurse my baby in front of everyone and I will even challenge whoever wants bring your hungry children I will nurse that is why it says who is the one who said to Abraham Sarah would nurse children why children there only one child from here we see that she on that day nursed many children to show to everyone that she really gave birth to this baby verse eight the child grew and was weaned when he was 24 months old abrah made a great feast on the day that yak was weaned page 97 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian Ismael her son was mocking he was 14 years older thanak and when Yak grew up a little bit Ismael was making fun of him and he was saying I'm greater than you because uh you had bre Mila when you were only 8 days old I had breed Mila when I was 13 I'm much greater and y told him yeah but you are proud that you were willing to do Brit at at four at 13 I'm willing to give up my life for Hashem when Sarah heard that Ismael was making fun she said to Abraham Drive out this slave woman with her son and a Abraham inquired of Hashem and God said to Abraham don't be distressed over your son and your slave woman whatever sah tells you listen to her so Abraham gave some bread and water to Hagar and he sent her and Ismael away vers 15 when the water in the skin was consumed she dropped the the her son beneath one of the trees her son was already adult but he got sick and she carried him but the water finished so she dropped him by a tree she went and sat at a distance and she said I don't want to see how my son dies that's the difference between a Jewish mother and a non-jewish mother Hagar when her baby is suff suffering and he's about to die she say I don't want to see him die I want comfort so she went far away and was crying there verse 17 Hashem heard the Cry of the youth and an angel of God Called to Hagar from heaven and said her Hashem heard the Cry of the young child in his present state which means Hashem has Mercy on Ishmael and he healed him arise lift up the youth and grasp your hand upon him for I will make him a great Nation page 99 then Hashem opened her eyes and she perceived a well of water until now The Well of water was there but she was blind to it Hashem opened her eyes allowed her to see she saw the well she went and filled the skin with water and gave Ishmael to drink and Hashem was with Ismael he supported him and he grew up and he became an accomplished person and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt so yesma had a mother who was Egyptian and isma had a wife who was Egyptian now alliance with a at be at that time a and general of his Legion said to Abraham we know that God is with you please swear to me by God that you will not hurt us and verse 24 Abraham said I will swear and then Abraham disputed with aik regarding the well of water that aik's servants had seiz and excused him excused himself oh it's not me I don't know anything about it it's my servants so nevertheless Abraham made a deal with a he took flocks and cattle gave them to a and the two of them entered into a covenant and Abraham set two female sheep aside and asked him what are they for and Abraham said the seven sheep are a testimony that the well belongs to me that I dug the well and that's why the name of that city is called beeva the city the the city of The Well of seven of seven sheep or Chev also can mean sha the city of the well upon which they made an oath a a covenant because they the two of them took an oath now the reason why a and his General came to Abraham to make peace treaty was because now they saw that Abraham had a son until now they thought abrah is an old man he's going to die we don't have to worry about him now they saw Abraham had a baby and the baby grew up now we have to consider Abraham as a formidable for force and we have to make peace treaty for our own good verse 33 Abraham planted an Asel in be some say it was a tree under which he uh had he had guests and some say he built a house as a hotel for people for for guests now we turn to page 101 chapter 22 the 10th trial the AKA binding of on altar it happened after these things that God tested Abraham with his greatest test and he told him please take your son your only one the one that you love isak and go to the land of Moria bring him up as an offering upon one of the mountains which I shall tell you this is a greatest test why because number one it's his son his only one number two his whole life Abraham was fighting with Idol worshippers and telling them Human Sacrifice is not allowed and now Hashem tells him do human sacrifice his whole life's work has to be undone and that's very difficult and and and and the main reason is because Hashem said that your future is going to be in Yak the Jewish people are going to come from Yak if there are Jewish people they will accept the Torah there is reward in the next World there is if there is no there is no Jewish people no acceptance of Torah NOA and Abraham is willing to sacrifice everything to the point of even sacrific ing his own all the tests that he passed until now Hashem is telling him do you love me enough to kill yourself but not only to kill yourself I know you're able to kill yourself because you were thrown into fire for me but not only to kill yourself in this world to kill yourself in the next next world because by killing your son you are going to destroy the whole world you're going to destroy the whole spiritual world no Jewish Nation NOA the world of the souls will also be destroyed no gedan no reward for you you're going going to disappear a true self sa sacrifice and abam said yes and that is why we benefit from Abraham's act until today 3 and 1 half thousand years later Abraham woke up early in the morning he settled his donkey took two young men with him Ismael and elazar and took yak and took some wood and went to yusan page 103 3 days later he sees the place from far away he he drops off the two uh boys that were with him isma and elazar and they continue together when they arrived at the place they built an altar we're now in in verse 9 he bound Yak his son with ropes so that as he cuts his neck Yak should not twitch out of fear and and at that time Yak is already 37 years old and he's willingly doing it as we mentioned earlier he actually told Ismael that if Hashem asks me for it I will do it happily he placed him on the altar top of the wood he stretched his hand took the knife to slaughter his son and as he's doing it he's crying tears of happiness and at the same time tears of sadness that he has to slaughter his own son and as he's about to touch his son's neck with a sharp knife an angel of Hashem called out to him from heaven and said Abraham Abraham and abam says yes here I am and the angel said do not stretch out your hand against the boy nor do anything to him which means don't even put a little scratch on him don't even draw a little bit blood for now I know that you are God-fearing man you were willing to sacrifice everything literally everything for God since you have not withheld your son your only one from me together with your son your entire futurea the entire universe and Abraham still doesn't give up he still wants to offer something to Hashem Abraham raised his eyes and saw Behold a ram caught in a Thicket in a thick bushes by its horns page 105 Abraham went and took the RAM and offered it up as an offering instead of his son and Abraham called that place Hashem so until now that place was called shalam now Abraham added so now it became y as it says as it is said this day on the mountain on that mountain Hashem will be seen that's the Temple Mount where hashem's presence was visible and an angel of Hashem called out to Abraham again and gave him a blessing verse 17 I shall surely bless you and greatly increase your Offspring like the stars of the heavens and like the sand of the seashore and your Offspring shall inherit the Gate of its enemy and all the nations of the Earth shall bless themselves by your Offspring because you have listened to my voice AB returned to the young boys that were the young men that were waiting and they together traveled to be Sheva and it came to pass after these things that AB was told behold milka who was the wife of his brother also gave birth children to naor your brother and she gave birth to eight children o boo and B had a girl his her name is Rifka now we're getting closer and uh n also had a concubine who gave birth to four children so we introduce the Next Generation Rifka the next um tal portion will marry Yak with this the the paraa finishes thank you for listening shabbat shalom have a good night