Rabbi's Blog

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote my last message. The hiatus of writing my weekly or so message can be attributed to the Yom Tov season followed by travel and the exciting changes happening at Beth Jacob. These matters took up time and I pushed off this part of my schedule. In truth, these are only excuses, perhaps legitimate ones but nonetheless reasons why I have not done so. As legitimate or not, the reality is that any time a person stops doing something from a consistent part of their life needs a new starting point. A person who exercises regularly and then stops needs to get back and restart their mission and get back to what and where they were before. One can ask, what is the secret to getting back on track to something we need and enjoy doing?

There truly isn’t a secret to this question, the simple answer is, to forget about the past and start again as if today is the first time I am doing so. Just as I made up my mind to initially do something, and take on i.e. learning, exercising, dieting, or writing, I must just start doing it again. So, for me I am trying to jump back in and share a short dvar Torah that may relate to this concept.

In this week’s Parsha Chayei Sorah the Torah relates how after Sorah Immeinu passes away Avraham goes and takes (or retakes) another wife named Ketura. The Torah states in Bereishis 25:1 "ויסף אברהם ויקח אשה ושמה קטורה"  “And Avraham added (married) and took a woman in marriage and her name was Keturah”. Immediately in the next verse the Torah goes on to list the six children that Avraham had with Ketura who according to many opinions was none other than Hagar the daughter of Pharoah. (If you recall Avraham sent Hagar and her son Yishmael out of his house). It is at this point when Sorah died, he re-takes her as a wife. Avraham has another six children and this advanced age is not questioned by any of the commentaries. The question is why not?

We are familiar with the story and birth of Yitzchok in last week’s Parsha Vayeira whereby Sorah miraculously had a child at the age of ninety. At the same time Avraham was one hundred years old and no mention of he needed such miracles to sire a child like his wife had. One anecdotal answer could show the reason Sorah was different from Yocheved who gave birth to Moshe at one hundred thirty, forty years older than Sorah! The commentaries easily differentiate that Sorah’s miracle was she did not even have a womb and had a child while Yocheved at that point had children already. Therefore, Yocheved having Moshe at an advanced age was not viewed as something so miraculous. Yet there is another angle to the ability of Avraham to continue having children at the end of his life. The Netzi”v, Rav Naphtoli Tzvi Yehuda Berlin in his commentary Haamek Davar explains the nuance of Avraham having these new children. The Netzi”v writes “even though Avraham was much older since the time he sired Yitzchok, nevertheless we do NOT see this as a miracle”. Miracles are occurrences that take place without a history of that situation. Once the ability for something to occur, even in a small way opens the possibility for greater things to happen later. So too here, once the channel of having a child earlier in his life it remained open for Avraham later as well not requiring a miracle. Once Avraham had a child his body worked through “Teva” nature in having more children even though older and like an old dried out piece of wood. The Netzi”v connects this and compares this to the story of the rock that gave forth water to Bnei Yisroel in the desert.

We know that Moshe (in sefer Shmos) initially was told to hit the rock and later in sefer Bamidbar was told to speak to the rock. Moshe was severely punished for that infraction of hitting and not just speaking as he was commanded. Putting aside the fact Moshe did not listen to Hashem we can understand from a nature versus miracle equation as to the difference and why Moshe did not need to hit the rock a second time. A rock does not spring forth water unless it happens miraculously. For that to happen God commanded Moshe to hit the rock and bring forth water. But now, once this miracle took place and the rock miraculously gave water it was now part of its ability to give forth water again almost naturally. So in reality there was no need for Moshe to hit the rock, just have patience speaking to the rock and let its natural ability continue from the miracle that took place.

The lesson we see from Avraham’s having children as an old man is seen by having the ability to do so already. The proof the Netzi”v brings from the rock not needing to be struck a second time as it performed giving water already. Personally, I didn’t need a miracle to start writing a message because I had done it before. So too anyone in life who wants to do something and restart a project or commit to something just needs to do it. Especially if we have done so before we have it within us to easily do it again!  

Ah Gutten Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky