Lech Lcha Excerpts

לך לך

Shabbat Shalom

Abraham is told to go for himself. I am telling the Shteinwitz kids to go for me...Why is it that every time I tell be to go, they don't leave?...

Sarah isn't going to be barren anymore. That's a positive. We wouldn't have our nation if it wasn't for this...The Shteinwitz children are not from Sarah. Something weird happened in Europe and now we have our shul.

Avraham is told he will have a kid and he laughs. He's old. He's allowed to laugh about this stuff. He can repeat his jokes. But he doesn't. This is a new one... Yeah, this was happening all the time before the flood. But the water did something to the reproductive system. 200 year olds stoped giving birth...

So you can laugh. It's OK to have a sense of humor, Bernie...Those are bad. Not even jokes. You're not Henny Youngman. Avraham knows how to share a laugh.

(17:15-17) Avraham is told that Sarah is going to give birth. 'And Avraham falls on his face and laughs. And he says in his heart, "can a 100 year old give birth. and Sarah, is 90, can she give birth?"' From here we see that a 10 years difference can work in marriage.

We also see that Avraham had a hearty laugh. He fell on the floor. That is a good laugh. The real laugh. Starts with the foot stomp, than hits the floor with the body and the face. Does a little role. That is not a mocking laugh. That is a real laugh.

(18:11-13) But Sarah is blamed for her laughter. Why? Because she laughs at it, and questions it. It is not a laugh of genuine care, but question. A mocking laugh. A sarcastic laugh. One of those questioning laughs. Not from the heart. Those are not allowed. You're not allowed to do the morning breakfast political mocking laugh, which has nothing to do with funny.

H' questions that. (18:14) 'Is it too much for me to do anything?' H' turns it on them. He is not playing. Kind of like the time Mark made fun of Jim's mother, and Jim said she was dead...

You all have to learn how to laugh right. The cackle, not acceptable. The hiccup, not acceptable. The breath lost laugh is acceptable. Ephraim, show them...Now that is a great laugh. That is why we all love Ephraim and not Mark. Love the snort Ephraim. It's genuine.

H' did not question Avraham's laugh. (17:19) He went along with it, and said, 'You will call his name Yitzchak.' H' tells his son's name will be laughter. And through him 'I shall fulfill My covenant.' Through laughter, we connect with H.' We do His will. Through laughter, we exist as a people.

We are talking about the covenant here. that H' is giving the land of Canan (17:7-13). And it is going to be given to Abraham's offspring. But what do we have to do? Circumcise. That is it. 

(17:14) An uncircumcised male, ' that soul will be cut off from its nation. He has invalidated My covenant.' It is based on the circumcision. Otherwise, we don't deserve Israel. No laughter. Just mockery...

(17:18-20) Avraham is now worried about Yishmael. Which offspring will the covenant be given through. It is going to be Yitzchak. Laughter. But H' still blesses Yishmael. He doesn't bless Yishamel with the covenant, because his laugh is wrong. (21:9-10) Sarah notices that he is mocking her son, Yitzchak, with his laugh...I've seen the kids singing nahnahnah kishkish. That hurts.

(17:22-27) After H' leaves Avraham and ensures him all will be good with Yishmael as well, Avraham circumcises everybody in his house, workers, all the men. Avraham took circumcision seriously. There was no laughing with circumcision.

At 99 years of age he does it...Bernie can't even look at the children getting circumcised. The last Bris, he fainted from the wine.

There were cameras... That's not the idea. No idea why we are getting it on video... Proof? This isn't something the kid wants to see

Laughter is a good thing when done right. When it brings joy and not mocking the good. Mocking the bad is OK...Mocking Bernie is fine.

When it comes to shock and joy, we can laugh. We can turn hard times, such as barrenness into laughter. But we don't laugh at the covenant. We don't laugh at Gd. Laughter comes from trust and belief that all will be good. no matter how messed up it is. No matter how many Shabbasim I have to be in Topeka, without a vacation...No more listening to George Carlin in this congregation.

Only real laughs from now on. Because real laughs don't bring you to lewdness (Pirkei Avot). Laughter of mocking brings you to lewdness. Real laughs bring you to circumcision. Connection. Covenant. Real laughter leads you to care for your children. You don't laugh at circumcision. The Shteinwitz kid has a real bad laugh...You don't laugh at lost appendages. You covenant that.

When you laugh with others, for others. When you ask people to go for themselves, that is care. And that is where laughter should come from. Love and care. Not a wanting to bring down. That is why I asked the Shteinwitz kids to go. For the congregation. Because I care about the congregation.

Go for us. It is probably a bad Bris.