November 12, 2005 Volume 20, Number 6

10 Cheshvan 5766 Parshat Lech Lecha

W
True Happiness Contemporary
Halacha
hen the Torah this Pasuk quotes a verse from in our lives. We grow up Kotev and Mochek
Rav Shuki Goodman

describes the separa- the book of Mishlei: “The around religious people, and in Halacha (Part 1)
tion of Avraham and Lot, we name of the wicked shall rot” therefore we often don’t think
are told that Lot and his fami- (Proverbs 10:7). Rashi is too much about what being
Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky

ly move just beyond Sedom. teaching us that Lot and the religious really means. We T he melachot of kotev and

The Pasuk notes, “And the rest of the inhabitants of wake up, daven, say Kiddush
mochek, writing and eras-

inhabitants of Sedom were
wicked and sinners to
Sedom were not the holiest of
people, and would therefore
on Shabbat…we go through
ing, raise many questions
which bear significant practi-
the routine. When people fail
cal implications. One such

Hashem, exceedingly” end up rotting. The difficulty to see the beauty in Torah,
question flows from a seem-

(Breishit 13:13). Apparently, it with this is that we already they may even begin to see it
ing omission of the Talmud:

did not matter to Lot that
these people were sinful, what
know that sinners will be pun-
ished. Why does the Torah
as a burden. As a result, some
The Talmud fails to address an
instance in which a person
people, Lot included, are even
causes the result of ketiva or

mattered to Lot was Olam need teach us the concept of tricked into thinking that
mechika to come about,

HaZeh - this world. In the reward and punishment here? being religious means giving
either without performing

hopes of living a life filled
with greater physical pleasure,
Rather, it must be that the
Torah is coming to teach us
up their share in this world.
any act of writing or erasing
whatsoever, or by writing in a
They believe that in order to
fashion that in no way resem-

Lot was ready to sacrifice his something different, some- fully enjoy this world, one
bles the classic acts of writing

spirituality and a relationship thing more fundamental. must be less religious, G-d
and erasing. One practical
example of this would be cut-
with his creator. Sometimes we are not fortu- forbid. ting the letters made with

Rashi, in his commentary on nate enough to see the beauty But in reality, just the opposite
icing on a cake. What is the
halakha in such cases?
continued on page 3 Perhaps the seminal source

I
regarding this subject is the
TableTorah Chesed and Gevurah Magen Avraham’s commen-

n Parshas Lech Lecha (Bereishis 15:1) Avraham is best known for his trait of chesed An analogy: Parents who wish to give their
continued on page 2
David Moster

Hashem tells Avraham “Don’t worry – loving kindness. The Sfas Emes explains that children the best possible upbringing would
Avram, I will protect you.” This statement Avraham was particularly worried that the use never provide them with “unlimited kindness,”
appears to be out of context! Avraham had just of gevurah – strength – in the war would eclipse such as an unlimited bank account or lack of
defeated his enemies in a battle to rescue his his quality of chesed. Hashem assures him that supervision, which would actually harm them.
uncle Lot. Why, after such an inspiring victory the use of appropriate strength against his ene- By committing oneself to a purpose and even
and show of strength, does Avraham now mies actually furthered his ability to later using a bit of force, one is able to show more
need G-d’s reassurance and protection? bestow kindness to others. chesed than he might have otherwise.
NEW YORK CITY SHABBAT TIMES
Candles Dawn Sunrise Shema (MA) Shema (Gra) Tefilla (MA) Tefila (Gra) Chatzot Mincha Ged. Shkia Havdala
4:23 P.M. 5:27 A.M. 6:39 A.M. 8:33 A.M. 9:09 A.M. 9:35 A.M. 9:59 A.M. 11:40 A.M. 12:05 PM. 4:40 P.M. 5:23 P.M.

This issue is sponsored anonymously in honor of the hard working Einayim staff !!
Avraham Avinu and Kotev and Mochek in Halacha continued from page 1
tary on Shulchan Arukh. The Practically speaking, the

T
Ahavat Hashem Magen Avraham1 rules that
one may not attach or detach
Mishneh Berurah8 rules strin-
gently like the Mordekhai, but

he Torah regards entire Talmud than to alter a

Ephraim Meth
silver letters from the shirt to is willing to rely on the Magen

Avraham Avinu as the single character trait.) How,

which they are attached, for Avraham to be lenient if the

paradigmatic theophile. He is then, can Hashem demand of

doing so would be a violation
of the melachot of kotev and
described by Yeshayahu ha- us an emotion? mochek. Others, such as R.
Navi as “Avraham, my lover Second, this problem is com-
Barukh ha-Levi Epstein, author
letters are written on the cake
itself.9 Furthermore, the
Mishneh Berurah is lenient if
one “cuts” the letters with his

(41:8).” This means that pounded by the nature of our

of the Arukh ha-Shulchan,2 dis- teeth, as part of the process of

Avraham properly fulfilled the love’s intended recipient. It

agree, claiming that attaching eating the cake. Modern-day

mitzvah of Ahavat Hashem, would be fine if Hashem

and detaching letters does not poskim generally follow these

one of the most difficult and commanded us (as he indeed

fall under the rubric of rulings of the Mishneh

important mitzvot in the did) to love our wife, our fam-

halakhic writing. Berurah.10

Torah. Rabbeinu Tam derives ily, every Jew, or every human

In fact, it is possible to trace
this question to the commen-
the boundaries of Mitzvat being. People are tangible, tary of the Mordekhai, a
Ahavat Hashem by analyzing observable. We can love them
medieval authority, whose col-
It should be further noted that
most poskim hold that one
should avoid cutting pictures
as well11 , based on the

the scriptural and Midrashic in a concrete and definite way.

lection of the rulings of Yerushalmi12 and Rambam13

narratives about Avraham But how are we to love

German and French scholars who apply the melacha of

Avinu1 . By Hashem,
appears in the back of the kotev to drawing pictures, as

doing the
Talmud. The Mordekhai 3 well. Finally, it would seem
the intan-
same, we
quotes the Maharam mei- that one may cut in between
gible and
How are we to Rutenberg, who ruled that the letters, as long as the
can address love Hashem, the i nv i s i b l e, one may not slice letters that shape of each individual letter
some rele- who even
appear on a cake, on the basis remains intact.14
intangible and
vant issues forbids the
of the melacha of mochek.

that sur-
invisible, who
even forbids the m a nu f a c -
The Rama quotes this pesak of 1 Orach Chaim 340:s”k 10

round this
possession of any ture or
the Mordekhai in Shulchan 2 ibid., s”k 33

mitzvah.
Arukh,4 and the Gra5 and
possession
3 Masekhet Shabat, ot 369
Magen Avraham6 similarly
The com- representation of of any
4 Orach Chaim 340:3
uphold the ruling of the

mandment icon or
Maharam. The Magen 5 ibid., s.v. asur
Himself?
to love representa-
Avraham, however, does raise 6 ibid., s”k 6

Hashem (Devarim 6:5) pres- tion of Himself ?

the possibility that if the letters 7 See Taz, Dagul mei-Revava, and

ents us with two difficulties. The Rambam mentions that

are part of the cake itself – as Peri Megadim ad loc.
opposed to when they are
First, how can the Torah the study of Torah and the
8 ibid, s”k 15
written in icing, which is gen-
require us to possess an emo- study of nature can aid a per-
9 This case is to be treated more
erally added later on – there is leniently, explains the Mishnah

tion? We can force our bodies son in acquiring Ahavat

more room to rule leniently. Berurah, because the letters are

to don tefillin, we can make Hashem2. This definition

not halakhically defined as a ketiva,
Many acharonim question the

our mouths pray. We can stems from the Rambam’s

but merely as part of the cake.
ruling of the Mordekhai entire- Letters only constitute halakhic

even, with persistent effort, synonymization of love of

ly,7 for a wide range of rea- writing, according to this

divert our cognitions from G-d with knowledge of G-d.

sons. One of the considera- approach, if they are originally a

negative pursuits to positive One can know a distant

tions that is raised revisits the separate entity, and are later
question debated by the appended onto the cake.

ones. In contrast, our emo- author from his literary works, Magen Avraham and Arukh 10 Shemirat Shabat ke-Hilchata

tions spring from a source a distant sculptor from his

ha-Shulchan: Here, the act of 11:7; Rabbi Ribiat’s The 39

that is more deeply rooted in statues; one can know

Melochos vol. 3, pg. 987.
11 ibid.
“erasing” the letters on the

our being than any of these. Hashem from the Torah that
cake seemingly does not

(Reflecting on this reality, he wrote and from the world

resemble the normal act of 12 Shabat 7:2

Rabbi Yisroel Salanter said that he formed. (Thus, Rabbi

erasing. They wonder, does 13 Hilchot Shabat 11:17

that it is easier to finish the Yosef Dov Soloveitchik

this mean that one does not 14 The 39 Melochos, pg. 988
violate the melacha of mochek
in such a case?
continued on page 3

EINAYIM L’TORAH • 2
vhv, ohn, Avinu and Ahavat Hashem continued from page 2
Avraham
pointed out that women, who are
exempt from studying Torah for its own
sake, might still study it in order to
acquire Ahavat Hashem.) The Rambam,
then, does not identify the command-
ment to love Hashem with an emotion.
Rather, he believes that it binds us to
pursue those actions that condition such
emotions in man.
Rather than focus on the causes of
Ahavat Hashem, Rabbeinu Tam focuses
on its results. Love of G-d, says Rabbeinu
Tam, imbues man with the desire to learn
True Happiness continued from page 1
is true. Hashem gave us the Torah
because he wants us to enjoy this world.
And the surest way to get the most out
of our stay here is by constantly moving
closer and closer toward Him.
After a wedding I was at in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, I started talking to the
photographer, who happened not to be
Jewish. I asked him if this was the first
Orthodox wedding he had attended. He
replied that it was not, and that in fact,
he had done quite a few before.
Nevertheless, he said that he continues
to express his amazement at the level of
Simcha—the incredible amount of hap-
The Greatest Jewish Music
Tzvi Simcha Cohen • (646) 387-8573 • TSimcha@gmail.com
and teach Torah. Thus, Avraham explicat-
ed the tenets of monotheism and dissem-
inated them amongst his entire genera-
tion, as the Torah testifies in no fewer
than three places3. It similarly leads him to
endure calamities and insults with calm-
ness and stoicism. Therefore, the Midrash
records Avraham’s tranquil acceptance of
Nimrod’s horrific punishment for
destroying his father’s idols4. Our charge,
then, is not simply to love Hashem. It is
to act as we would if we loved Hashem.
Both the Rambam’s focus on the roots of
piness that he always sees at Orthodox
weddings. But he said that the most
amazing part of it all, what impresses
The only other
time he sees
people this
excited and this
happy is when
they’re drunk!
him so much each and every time—is
that all these people who are so happy
love and Rabbeinu Tam’s emphasis on the
manifestations of love do not displace the
feeling and emotion that lies at the mitz-
vah’s core. Nor are their explanations
mutually exclusive. However, they do help
us understand not only what Hashem
asks of us in this difficult commandment,
but also how he asks it of us.
1 Cited in Shenei Luchot ha-Berit, Derashot 3-4.
2 Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Positive Commandment 3, Hilchot
Yesodei ha-Torah 2:1-3, Hilchot Teshuvah 10:1-3.
3 Bereishit 12:8,13:4, 21:33.
4 Yalkut Shimoni 14.
aren’t drunk. The only other time he sees
people this excited and this happy is
when they’re drunk!
Have we ever thought about a wedding in
this light? Do we think about the hun-
dreds of people who came to this wed-
ding, simply because they’re happy for the
bride and groom? The next time we for-
get how lucky we truly are, how the great-
est gift in the world is being Jewish, let us
remember –“Ashreinu, Mah Tov Chelkeinu”
- “How fortunate are we, and how great is
our lot!” We are the luckiest people on the
planet, because we have Torah and
Mitzvot. Let us never forget it.
Want Einayim in your shul?
Shul Rabbis or Administrators
please email us at
pr@einayim.org
If you are interested in
sponsoring or advertising in an
issue of Einayim L’Torah please
email us at
business@einayim.org
PARSHAT LECH LECHA • 3
Parsha Points in Lech Lecha
Ephriam Meth
• Hashem instructs Avraham to travel to Israel. He promises Israel to Avraham’s descendants.
• Avraham and company depart for Egypt to avoid famine in Israel. Pharaoh captures Sarai.
When Hashem miraculously punishes him, Pharaoh sends them away with riches. Einayim L’Torah
• Lot’s shepherds quarrel with Avraham’s shepherds, so Avraham proposes separation to avoid 500 W. 185th Street
argument. Lot moves to Sodom, and Avraham to Chevron. New York, NY 10033
www.einayim.org
• The king of Eilam captures Lot in a war against Sodom. Avraham musters his household and
editor@einayim.org
rescues Lot (and Sodom) from Eilam and its allies.

• In the Berit Bein ha-Betarim, covenant between the pieces, Hashem informs Avraham of his
descendants’ 400 year exile in foreign-held lands. Only the fourth generation will return to
Israel. Editors In Chief
Pinchas Friedman
• Sarai encourages Avraham to marry her maidservant, Hagar. Hagar becomes pregnant, disre-
Yehuda Brand
spectful, and oppressed. She absconds to the desert, where an angel informs her that her child
Yishmael will be a wild man. Executive Editors
• Hashem commands Avraham to circumcise every male in his household. Hashem informs him Zev Koller
that Yitzchak will soon be born. Yitzchak, not Yishmael, will share Avraham’s G-d-given responsi- Dovid Skversky
bilities and privileges.
Associative Editor
Josh Weinberg

Literary Editors
Eitan Bitter
Sruli Ginsberg
Yosef Lindell

Public Relations
Benjamin Fakheri
Yoni Noble
Oren Kaufman
Ephraim Meth

Design & Layout

Graphic Content
646.387.8573

Einayim L’Torah is published

weekly by The Student
Organization of Yeshiva,
a student council in
Yeshiva University.

To order this poster, please email:

poster@soyseforim.org
EINAYIM L’TORAH • 4 PARSHAT LECH LECHA