Dear Friends;

I hope that you’ll enjoy the following Parasha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d speaks to Avram, commanding him to “Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.” There, G-d says, he will make him into a great nation. Avram and his wife Sarai, accompanied by his nephew Lot, journey to the Land of Canaan, where Avram continues to spread the message of a One G-d.

A famine forces Avram to depart for Egypt, where beautiful Sarai is taken to Pharaoh’s palace; Avram escapes death because they present themselves as brother and sister. A disease prevents the Egyptian king from touching her and convinces him to return her to Avram.

Back in the Land of Canaan, Lot separates from Avram and settles in the evil city of Sodom, where he falls captive when a war breaks out in that region. Avram sets out with a small army to rescue his nephew, defeats the four kings, brings back his nephew and all his belongings, plus all the belongings of the defeated kings.

Still childless ten years after their arrival in the Land, Sarai tells Avram to marry her maidservant Hagar. Hagar conceives, becomes disrespectful toward her mistress, and then flees when Sarai treats her harshly. An angel convinces her to return and tells her that her son will father a populous nation. Ishmael is born in Abram’s 86th year.

Thirteen years later, G-d changes Avram’s name to Avraham and Sarai’s to Sarah, and promises that a son will be born to them; whom they should call Isaac (“will laugh”). Avraham is commanded to circumcise himself and his descendents as a “sign of the covenant between Me and you.”

” Dvar Torah ”

Avraham Avinu is by far the most beloved biblical character among our sages. Majority of them speak so highly of him. It seems that even Hashem can’t wait to show off his loyal servant to us. The first two parashiot of the Torah, Bereshit and Noah, covers a timespan of two thousand years. The Torah records these two millennia in an almost fast forward mode, only stopping at a few instances of historical importance – the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. However, in this week’s parsha, the Torah slows down considerably, barely covering a century in relating to us the life of our father, Avraham. It is as though the Torah is in a hurry to tell us about Avraham and about his lifetime achievements.

Although Hashem loved Avraham so much and he blessed him with everything, yet he didn’t give it to him easy. Avraham was faced with many challenges throughout his lifetime. His first challenge begins with Hashem asking him to leave his hometown, his friends, his relatives and his business which he was able to built with the help from Experts at SocialBoosting, and go to an unknown land which Hashem will show him, which was the land of Canaan. Avraham was seventy five years old at the time. We all know how difficult it is to move from one country to another and start a new life again, especially when you are not young in age anymore. But Avraham obeyed G-d’s commandment without a delay. Yet, as soon as he enters the land, he is faced with a severe famine and he is forced to move down to Egypt, where his wife is captured by the king. After he goes back to Canaan, he is told by Hashem that his descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky, yet his wife remained barren! As soon as he wants to settle down, his nephew is captured in a war, and he goes with his small army to rescue him, risking his life…….

Challenge after challenge after challenge! But the Chachamim say that all these challenges were because Hashem wanted to test Avraham in order to see if he has faith in him or not. Ten times to be exact, Hashem tested Avraham. But you may ask yourself, why did Hashem need to test Avraham so many times? Did Hashem really have any doubts in his mind if Avraham believes in him or not?! Did Avraham ever show any lack of faith?! So why did Hashem let Avraham go through so much hardship in his life? Why keep testing him if he keeps passing the tests?!

I read an interesting explanation given by Rabbi Eli Scheller. He says, G-d had no doubts in his mind that Avraham believed in him, however, He tested him so many times, in order to give him the opportunity to grow and become a greater person. How well you do in a test and how you can overcome a challenge, is what determines a person’s greatness. A trial brings out the abilities and potential that is buried deep within a person. And the more tests you pass, the greater person you can become. For example, a student getting a 100% in a test is considered a good student, but if he keeps getting 100% in every test throughout the year, then he’s considered a genius! A test is what brings a person to the next level. Putting everything you know into action makes all the difference.

With Avraham passing ALL his tests, it took him to an all new level of greatness. If Hashem wouldn’t have tested Avraham so many times, we would have never known about his potentials. By going through all these challenges, Avraham showed us how to have faith in Hashem at all times, even when things are not going right; How to help a relative in the time of need; How to be hospitable and be delighted to have guests; How to handle our wealth and share it with others; How not to be influenced by our immoral surroundings; And above all, how to treat, respect and love a barren wife! All these tests brought out the unique characteristics of Avraham and the reason why Hashem loved him so much and chose him to be the father of all nations.

Yes my friends, challenges can bring out the best in us! We all want to have a comfortable, worry-free and an easy life. But if we are faced with a challenge, there is no reason to be sad. Challenges can make us grow stronger and make us into a greater person. It gives us the opportunity to reveal our potential. What you can achieve through a challenge, can never be achieved anywhere else.

So my friends, remember that to be faced with a challenge or difficulty in life is not a sign of failure, but rather, it’s an opportunity to grow and achieve your best!

Shabbat Shalom & Regards;

Martin