Lech Lcha Excerpts

לך לך

Shabbat Shalom

Lech Licha- H' tells Abraham to go to Israel for himself. You in this shule have taken this lesson the wrong way. Everything you guys do is for yourself...for once, we are not going to focus on you...

Abraham (still known as Avram) then leaves Israel. There was a famine in Israel, and as all Jews do when things are going bad, Avram left Israel.

But then we see that Avram does not tell Paroh that Saray (Sarah) is his wife. Paroh rightfully asks (12:18-19) 'Why did you not tell me she is your wife?'...Avram gives no answer, kind of like when we couldn't find the Stella Dora cookies at kiddush last week and Chaim said nothing...Sitting there with a big mouth full of pareve chocolate and a plastic cookie holder in his hand...All of you holding back information. It would have been nice to know that your daughter's Bat Mitzvah was going to be dairy last Sunday night. Thank you Mike...hope you have leftovers from all the fleishik people that showed up, expecting a fun party and food they can eat...People have BBQs on Sundays, Mike...pasta has too many carbs...

Paroh figured it out. Unlike us, who were not able to eat at Rivka's Bat Mitzvah...we did give gifts like Paroh...

The Egyptians may have killed Avram, as Avram suggested to Saray. But why does Avram say Saray is his sister?

Why did Mike say there was going to be good food?

Do we have to praise Avram for sitting back and enjoying his gifts that he is getting for not saying Saray is his wife?...Hope you are enjoying the gifts Mike...and the leftovers...

It all comes back to the main reason- 12:13- 'And my soul will live because of you.' At certain points we have to look out for our lives. Safety comes first.

When we drive on the highway, we wear a baseball hat- so that when we go to TCBY, which is only frequented by Jews- over McDonalds, where everybody else is eating- we can be safe. This way we will not be discovered as Jews. So too, Avram asks Saray (Sarah) to protect him, to be his baseball hat. Asking her to be put in danger a little, to save his life. Kind of the way a baseball hat protects us from the sun. Can we ask for other people to protect us, and put themselves in danger? That is a good question...Can we trust the people in this synagogue enough...not Mike.

The kinds of hats that have been purchased are an embarrassment to our community. 'This is a Streimel' written on your baseball hat is not a good way to hide you are Jewish...

Earlier in that verse:

'So that good will happen to me because of you'- which Rashi explains as 'gifts,' which Abram was hoping for. The Ran explains that these gifts of nobles that Avram was hoping for, to show that they were important- keeping the immoral Egyptians from attacking them- was not what ended up happening, but rather Paroh takes Saray as a wife...It is not right to take advantage of your daughter, like that Mike...Rivka's Bat Mitzvah.

We have plans, but the plans sometimes backfire. Maybe Avram should have figured a different way, to warn people and not put his wife in danger. Maybe Mike should have figured out a different way to have a Bat Mitzvah we all enjoyed. 

But safety comes first and even Paroh agreed. The sheitels are a danger to this community. Go to Israel before the Americans take your spouse...We don't need Paroh to tell us. We have anti-Semites in this community who are telling us to get out...

The Americans are taking your daughters. Maybe it is about time you told them you were married Pini...