KYP - Vayeira
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Vayeira
Leilluy Nishmas HR’R Mordechai Ben Chaim Dovid Z’L
147 Pasukim (verses), 5 Perakim (chapters)
1st Aliyah (Kohen)
Hashem appears to Avrahahm while he is sitting at the entrance to his tent during the heat of the day in Mamrey.
Avraham sees 3 Malachim (angels) and runs and bows down to them.
Avraham begs them not to decline his offer which is to bring them water to wash their feet, to rest under a tree and to have something to eat.
Avraham asks Sarah to hurray and make cakes from fine flour.
Avraham has a youth prepare a tender calf and Avraham gives them cream, milk and the prepared calf to the Malachim.
One of the Malachim asks Avraham where Sarah is and then tells him that next year at this time Sarah will have a son.
Sarah is listening and laughs at what the Malach said because she and Avraham are old.
Hashem asks Avraham why Sarah laughed and asks is there anything that He (Hashem) can not do.
Hashem repeats the Bracha that next year at this time Sarah will have a son.
2nd Aliyah (Levi)
Sarah denies laughing but is told her that she indeed laughed.
Avraham escorts the Malachim as they go towards Sodom.
Hashem decides to tell Avraham that He intends to destroy Sodom because Avraham is beloved by Hashem because he has his family serve Hashem by giving Tzedakah and doing kindness.
Avraham tries to save Sodom by asking Hashem to spare them it if there are no less then 50 righteous people in the city.
Hashem in theory agrees.
Avraham proceeds to ask the same thing if there are 45, 30, 20 and 10 righteous people and again Hashem in theory agrees.
Hashem departs from Avraham and Avraham returns home.
3rd Aliyah
Two of the Malachim go to Lot in Sodom in the evening.
Lot had to urge them to accept food and stay with him.
The people of Sodom gather at Lot’s house and demand that he hand over the Malachim to them.
Lot goes out to decline their demand and to offer his two daughters to them instead.
They crowd then threatens Lot so the Malachim pull Lot back into the house.
The crowd are then stricken with blindness.
The Malachim tell Lot to take his family with him and leave the city.
Lot tells his sons-in-law but they find the idea to be a joke and do not join him.
The Malachim tell Lot to take his wife and daughters and leave.
Lot is hesitant so the Malachim grab him, his wife and daughters and take him out of the city and tell them to just flee and not to look or stop.
Lot begs to be able to stop and rest in a small city which he names Tzohar.
4th Aliyah
Lot is granted his request and the little city is spared.
Sulfur and fire rain upon Sodom and Amorah and they are turned upside down
Lot’s wife turns around to see what happened and she turns into a pillar of salt.
The next day Avraham sees the smoke rising from Sodom and Amorah.
Lot and his daughters move to a cave in the mountains because he is afraid to stay in Tzohar due to what happened.
Lot’s daughters think that there aren’t any men left to marry so they agree to get their father drunk and then to take turns on different days to be with their father in order to have children.
Both daughters give birth; the older gives birth to a boy and names him Moav and the younger names her son Amon.
Avraham goes with Sarah to Gerar.
Avimelech, the king of Gerar, is told that Sarah is Avraham’s daughter so he takes her.
Hashem tells Avimelech in a dream that he is about to die because he took a married woman.
Avimelech tells Hashem that he is innocent; Hashem tells him that He knew he is innocent and therefore He prevented him from sinning.
Hashem tells Avimelech that he should go to Avraham and ask him to Daven that he should live.
Avimelech asks Avraham why he did this and Avraham replies that he saw that there wasn’t any fear of Hshem in that place.
Avraham then explains that Sarah is his sister from his father but not from his mother.
Avimelech gives Avraham animals,and servants as gifts and he gives Sarah 1000 pieces of silver and tells them that they can go live wherever they want in Gerar.
Avraham Davens to Hashem to heal Avimelech, his family and servants.
The Pasuk explains that Hashem blocked the opening of their bodies on account of Sarah.
Hashem remembers Sarah and she gives birth to a son which Avraham names Yitzchak.
Avaraham circumcises Yitzchak at 8 days old.
5th Aliyah
Sarah says that whoever hears that she has a child will laugh for her.
Avraham makes a party when Yitzchak is weaned.
Sarah sees Yishmael, the son of Hagar from Mitzraim, mocking so she requests from Avraham to send him away so only Yitzchak will inherit from Avraham.
Hashem tells Avraham to listen to what Sarah says as Yitzchak children will be considered his; However Yishmael will also be a nation.
Early in the morning Avraham gives Hagar bread and water and sends her off with Yishmael; she wanders in the desert of Beer-Sheva.
When the water is depleted, Hagar put her son under a tree and distances herself from him as not to watch him die and then she cries.
Hashem hears the cry of Yishmael and an angel tells Hagar to not to fear as Hashem will make him into a great nation.
Hashem “opens Hagar’s eyes” which causes her to see a well of water and gives Yishmael to drink.
Yishmael grows up and becomes an accomplished archer.
Yishmael lives in Paran and his mother takes a wife for him from Mitzraim.
6th Aliyah
Avimelech and Feechal, his general, go to Avraham to make a treaty.
Avraham complains about Avimelech’s servants who had seized his wells; Avimelech denies knowing about it.
Avraham gives Avimelech some livestock and they make a treaty.
Among what Avraham gave are 7 ewes to represent that he dug the well there which is called Beer-Sheva.
Avimelech and Feechal go to the land of the Pelishtim.
Avraham plants an Eshel tree in Beer-Sheva and calls Hashem “The G-d of the Universe”.
Avraham sojourns in the land of the Pelishtim many years.
7th Aliyah
Hashem tests Avraham by telling him to take his only son and go to Har Harmoriyah and offer him as a Korban to Hashem.
Avraham takes Yitzchak and two men with him as well as wood for an offering.
One the 3rd day of traveling, Avraham tells the two men to wait with the donkey and he continues with Yitzchak to where he is supposed to offer Yitzchak.
Yitzchak asks where the animal that is to be offered and Avraham informs him that it is he who is supposed to be offered; they resume on their way together.
When they arrive to the appointed place, Avraham binds Yitzchak on the Mizbeach and takes his knife to slaughter his son.
At that point, a Malach of Hashem tells Avraham not to continue and that now Hashem knows that he is a man who fears Hashem.
Avraham sees a ram caught by its horns in the thicket and offers it as a Korban instead.
Avraham call the area “Hashem Yireh” because Hashem will be seen on that mountain (Har Harmoriyah).
The Malach again speaks to Avraham and promises Avraham that on account of this deed, Hashem will make Avraham’s descendents like the stars and sand; and Avraham’s descendents will inherit the gate of its enemy and the nation will bless themselves on account of Avraham’s descendents.
Avraham returns to the two men and they all return to Beer-Sheva.
Avraham hears that his brother Nachor and his sister-in-law (and niece) Milkah have children; the Pasuk lists their descendents.
Haftorah (Melachim(2) Ashkenazim 4:1-37 - Sefardim 4:1-23)
A widow of one of the disciple prophets cries out to Elisha that a creditor wants her two sons to be taken as slaves.
Elisha asks the widow what she has in her house.
The widow replies that she has nothing but a jar of oil.
Elisha tells her to borrow as many vessels as possible; she should then close the door after she and her sons are inside and to pour the oil from the jar into the vessels.
The widow does this until there are no more vessels to put oil in.
Elisha tells the widow to sell the oil, pay back her debts and she and her sons can live on whatever is left.
Elisha travels to Shunem and a prominent woman invites Elisha to stay by him; from that time and onwards whenever Elisha went to Shunem, he stays by her.
The Shunamite woman tells her husband that Elisha is a holy man and that they should make a room in the attic for him so stay.
One time when Elisha was staying by the woman in Shunem he tells attendant, Geychazi, to ask the woman what he can say to the king or chief of staff on her behalf in return for her hospitality.
The Shunamite woman answers Geychazi that “she dwells among her people”.
Geychazi tells Elisha that she doesn’t have children and her husband is old.
Elishe tells Geychazi to summon her; Elisha tells her that next year at this time she will be embracing a son; she asks that Elisha doesn’t disappoint her.
The Shunamite woman gives birth to a son; one day the son complains about his head to his father while he is in the field and then he collapses.
The son is put in his mothers lap; he dies at noon time; the mother lays the dead boy on Elisha’s bed and closes the door.
She asks her husband for an attendant and donkey in order to visit Elisha; the husband asks why she is going to him as it wasn’t Rosh Chodesh or Shabbos.
Elisha sees the Shunamite riding towards him and sends Geychazi to inquire if all is well by her, her husband and her son; she replies to Geychazi that all is well.
The Shunamite woman then grabs Elisha’s legs; Geychazi tries to push her away but Elisha tells him to leave her as something is wrong but Hashen hasn’t told him what it is.
The Shunamite woman reminds Elisha that she had asked of him not to disappoint her.
Elisha sends Geychazi to the boy with instruction to put his staff on the boy’s face; and not to greet or answer anyone on the way there.
The Shunamite woman swears that she won’t leave Elisha.
Geychazi did as Elisha has instructed but he reports back to Elisha that nothing happened.
Elisha goes to the boy and shuts the door; he Davens to Hashem and then put his mouth on the boys mouth and does the same with his eyes and palms of his hands. Elisha then goes off the boy and walks this way and that way and then returns to the boy as he was before.
The boy sneezes 7 times and wakes up.
Elisha tells Geychazi to summon the Shunamite woman; she bows to Elisha, takes her son and leaves.
Parsha Nuggets
1) In Pasuk 18:5 Avraham tells the Malachim that he will bring them some bread to eat but in Pasukim 18:6-8 Avraham has various things prepared for them to eat.
The Gemarah in Bava Metziah 87a says that we see from Avraham that righteous people say little and do a lot.
2) Question: If the 3 men that Avraham invited were Malachim, why in Pasuk 18:8 do they actually eat the food that he served them?
Answer: The Gemorah in Kedushin 32b answers that we learn from the Malachim that one should not differ than the local custom. Since they visited Avaham, they ate like humans do. However, when Moshe went up to the heavens (for 40 days) he didn’t eat just as they do not eat up there.
3) “…Hashem said [to Sarah] not so, rather you did laugh.” (Pasuk 18:15)
The Gemorah Yerushalmi Sotah (87a) points out that Sarah is the only woman which Hashem directly speaks to. (At least as seen in a Pasuk.)
4) Question: What is meant by the term “Rabah” in Pasuk 18:20 (as in “The crying out from Sodom and Amorah is Rabah (great).”)?
Answer: The Gemorah Sanhedrin (109b) explains that the term Rabah can also refer to a maiden. The Pasuk is alluding to the story of a maiden in Sodom who was caught giving food to the poor so the people dowsed her in honey and put her on the city wall. Then bees came and she died from them.
5) Question: What is meant by the phrase “Hashem listened to the voice of the youth [Yishmael] as he was” (Pasuk 21:17)?
Answer: The Gemorah Rosh Hashanah (16b) explains that despite how a person will turn out, Hashem judges a person according to their present deeds.