Pine Street Parsha Parashat Vayera PPPParsha 8 November 2014 15 Cheshvan 5775 SIDRA 78 HAFTORAH 1134 1st Aliya: The three angels appear to Avraham and foretell the birth of Yitzchak. Upon hearing the news, Sarah laughs to herself. 2nd Aliya: The angels depart to destroy Sodom, and Hashem [G-d] tells Avraham about His plans for destroying Sodom. Pasuk 18:18-19 proclaims G-d's confidence in Avraham to teach the world the concept of justice. Avraham negotiates, unsuccessfully, on behalf of Sodom. 3rd Aliya: The story of the destruction of Sodom is told. Lot's generosity to the "two visitors" is rewarded and he, his wife, and only two of their children are saved from Sodom. 4th Aliya: Lot's wife looks back upon the destruction of Sedom and dies, and Lot and his two daughters escape into the mountains. Lot's daughters conspire to rebuild humankind, and taking advantage of Lot's drunkenness, they become pregnant from Lot resulting in the birth of Ammon and Moav. Avraham encounters Abimelech after which Sarah gives birth to Yitzchak in the year 2048. 5th Aliya: Yishmael and Hagar are forced out of Avraham's home, and an angel reassures Hagar of Yishmael's destiny. 6th Aliya: Abimelech and his general Phichol resolve their conflict with Avraham over water rights, and they "sign" a covenant of peace. 7th Aliya: In the year 2085, when Avraham was 137 and Yitzchak was 37, Avraham is commanded to sacrifice Yitzchak. This amazing story heralds the end of Avraham and Sarah's era, and the beginning of Yitzchak and Rivkah's era. Phone 011640 3101 fax 011485 2510 78 1061 Get Connected Email your new contact info to [email protected] Get Pine Street action at Pineshul.co.za Facebook/pineshul Follow Rabbi Gerson on twitter Clarify Your Life Purpose and Mission Your life's purpose and mission are the top topics about which to have self-conversations. If you are reading this now, that means that you are alive. What are you living for? What is your life purpose and mission? We all want to live a meaningful and purposeful life. Make it your number one priority to clarify your life purpose and mission. Some people are always very clear about what they really want in life. Great people are aware of a great life purpose. They are clear about their mission in life. What they think, say, and do is aligned with their essential values. This is why their thoughts, words, and actions create a great person. email [email protected] web www.pineshul.co.za Condolences to: Samantha Gosher, Lisa Traub and Gavin Birer on the passing of their beloved mother Sandra Birer. We wish the family a long and good life. Mazeltov to: Mike and Beverley Bricker and to Hans and Rina Maurer in Toronto on the birth of a granddaughter. Mazeltov to new parents Dale and Nicky and to great grandmother Edie Meyerowitz. Mike and Beverley are hosting the Shabbas morning Brocha in honour of their granddaughter. 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We wish those families commemorating a Yahrzeit a long and good life Friday 7 November 2014 Doreen Cohen – Father Shabbas 8 November 2014 Nicole Jammy – Father Wolfie Lack – Mother David Lurie – Father Sunday 9 November 2014 Lesley David – Mother Sydney Rebe – Uncle Sharon Lurie – Father Monday 10 November 2014 Eddie Gerber – Mother Michael Grevler – Mother Barbara Fine – Mother Bernice Britton – Mother Errol Stein – Brother Tuesday 11 November 2014 Jennifer Mattes Ray Lurie - Mother-n-law Wednesday 12 November 2014 Paula Durbach – Father Eta Smith – Father Mike Hellig – Wife Thursday 13 November 2014 Tony Ellis – Step-father Lorraine Marcus – Mother Shabtai Salitan – Malki Friday 14 November 2014 Denis & Iris Cohen – Hilda Jacobson Norman Sifris – Father Eta Smith – Husband The Haftorah for Parshat Vayeira The Prophet Elisha Performs Miracles Melachim Bet (Kings 2), Ashkenazim 4:1-37 The connection of the Haftorah to the Parsha: Just like Avraham (Abraham) and Sarah, the Shunamite women and her husband were old and childless. In both cases, Hashem miraculously granted them a child. The storyline of this week’s Haftorah: A poor widow complains to Elisha that she has no money to pay her debt to the Israelite King Achav & his evil Queen Eyzevel’s (Jezebel) son. Her deceased husband was the prophet Ovadiah, minister to King Achav. Ovadia had spent all his money on oil for the lamps that lit the two caves that hid the last 100 prophets from the evil King Achav and his evil wife Eyzevel (Jezebel). Elisha asks the widow if she has anything of value and she replies that the only thing she has left is a pitcher with a little oil. He requests that the widow bring as many empty pitchers as she can to him. Elisha miraculously enables the small amount of oil in her pitcher to fill many pitchers. Then, by selling the oil she is able to repay her debt and still have money to live on. Elisha, traveling with his servant Gaichazi, lodges in the home of a woman in Shunem known for her hospitality. The Shunamite women and her husband show Elisha great hospitality, and kindness; they gave him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in a room of his own. She insured that he always has a place to sit and learn when he came in to town. On Rosh Hashanah, Elisha sends his servant to ask the women how he can repay her. She does not ask for anything. Elisha does not want to accept that and Gaichazi tells him that she does not have any children. Elisha calls for her to come to him and he promises her that she will have a son. She does have a son, however tragedy strikes when a few years later, the child is playing out in the field has a heat stroke. His mother comes running out into the field to hold her son as he dies in her arms. The Shunamite woman travels to find Elisha to tell him of her tragedy. Elisha, with much compassion, sends Gaichazi to revive the child. Gaichazi's attempt at performing the miracle is unsuccessful. Elisha comes to Shunem to perform this great miracle himself. He puts his mouth on the child and says Hashem's name. The child sneezes seven times and awakens. I met with the Barmitzvah boys on Monday. We had an interesting discussion on Tefilin and other subjects. PG we will continue this coming week. I have had to undergo a sinus operation on Thursday. B’H all well. I hope to be up and about soon. It sounds like the Matrics are well into the thick of exams. Not long to go, pace it. Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Gerson Havdalah 7.02 pm SHIURIM – ON HOLD Tuesday Morning: 7-15am – 7-45am Rabbi Gerson – Gemora Shiur Brachot Wednesday Morning: 7-15am – 7-45am Rabbi Gerson – Gemora Shiur Brachot Friday Morning: 7-15am – 7-45am Rabbi Gerson – Gemora Shiur Brachot Rabbi Berel Wein on Parshas Vayera For the Jewish people, one of the hallmarks of our great founding parents was their ability to maintain communication with their Creator. God, so to speak, was a constant living presence in their lives, thoughts and actions. And they were able to hear God’s voice, though God has no voice, and to visualize God even though God has no physical appearance. God spoke to them through the inner voice of their own souls which was always longing to reunite with the source of life from which it came. When the stranger/angel guest informs Avraham and Sarah about the forthcoming birth of their son, this serves to confirm to Avraham the promise that he heard from God earlier regarding the same event. Previously Avraham heard it through his own inner voice of faith and attachment to God and now he and Sarah hear it in a literal sense, from the lips of the stranger/angel who stands before them in their tent. Midrash explains and reinforces this idea of hearing God through one's own soul and spirit. When Moshe was sent on his mission to redeem Israel from Egypt and to teach them Torah, he heard that call emanate from Heaven in the voice of his father Amram. We hear God, so to speak, through familiar voices that reverberate within our soul and heart. First, Avraham himself believes that he will have a son with Sarah and later he has no doubts when that message is communicated to him by the stranger/angel. Sarah, on the other hand, who did not spiritually “hear” these tidings beforehand, casts doubt and wonderment at the words of the stranger/angel. Avraham is made aware of this and explains to Sarah the source of her consternation. I feel that many times in our lives we sense within ourselves a divine message and voice. It is this combination of soul and intellect that drives all human hopes forward. But, since we are not at the level of constant communication with our soul and our Creator, we do not always hearken to that voice nor do we attribute it to its correct source. Jewish tradition teaches us that somehow the prophet Elijah appears regularly and constantly to human beings. He comes in different guises, forms and costumes. The truly righteous are able to identify him when he appears while we ordinary human beings are mostly unaware of his presence even as he stands before us. Avraham, in his righteousness and faith, is constantly prepared for such encounters with God. Ordinary human beings, to whom God is at best an abstract idea, certainly are unable to truly sense His presence. That is what the great rebbe of Kotzk meant when he said that when God said: “Go forth from your land and home and family” any human being had the potential to hear that message, not just Avraham. But unless one is attuned to “hear” God regularly through one's own inner soul, all heavenly messages will fall on deaf ears.