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Table of contents
1) Perashat Hashavoua - Rabbi Eli Mansour
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad -
The Importance of the Shabbat Day Meal - Peninei Halacha
3) Holy Jokes!
4) For KIDS
This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Vayera- Life’s Tests and “Ayin Toba”
The Mishna in Pirkeh Abot (5:3) tells that Abraham Abinu was tested ten times, and succeeded in each and every one. The most famous of Abraham’s tests, of course, was the test of Akedat Yishak, when he was told to sacrifice his beloved son, Yishak, and he prepared to slaughter Yishak until, at the last moment, G-d told him to desist.
Rav Haim of Volozhin (Lithuania, 1749-1821) noted a subtle contrast between this Mishna, and the immediately preceding Mishna, which states, "There were ten generations from Noah until Abraham." There, in mentioning the ten generations from Noah to Abraham, the Mishna refers to our patriarch simply as "Abraham," whereas in mentioning Abraham’s ten trials, the Mishna calls him, "Abraham Abinu" – "our patriarch Abraham." Why?
Rav Haim of Volozhin explained that when it comes to the area of "Nisyonot" – the tests and trials of life, Abraham is truly "Abinu" – our father. He bequeathed to each and every one of us his remarkable strength and determination, the ability to withstand and overcome any difficulty and any hardship. By passing his ten tests, Abraham instilled within his descendants for all time the fortitude to withstand life’s tests, to triumph over adversity and come out of even the darkest situations stronger, more determined and more joyful than we were before.
The secret to this strength can be found in a later Mishna in Pirkeh Abot (5:19), which lists several attributes of Abraham Abinu, the first of which is "Ayin Toba" – "a good eye." This means that Abraham looked upon everything as good, firmly believing that everything that transpires is the will of G-d, who always does what is best. A person who lives with this pristine level of faith can overcome any test, any trial, and any form of hardship, because he trusts that as difficult and as painful as the situation seems, it truly is good.
Whenever we face a difficult challenge, let us remember that we are Abraham’s children, who inherited from him the extraordinary ability to withstand any test and withstand any hardship – and that he has taught us that the way this is done is through Emuna, through unwavering belief in Hashem’s goodness, that, as taught to us by Rabbi Akiba, "Everything Hashem does is for the best."
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
The Importance of the Shabbat Day Meal - Peninei Halacha
The daytime meal is more important than the Friday night meal, so the best foods should be saved for this second meal. Regarding kiddush, however, Friday night is more important, because we are meant to sanctify the day as close as possible to its onset. It is about honoring Shabbat that the daytime precedes the nighttime (Pesaĥim 105b; SA 271:3).
Some maintain that one who honors the Friday night meal more than the daytime meal should fear punishment because he has disrespected the day’s meal (Rashi, Gittin 38b). Therefore, some make a point of not eating fish on Friday night, to avoid a situation in which the meal by night might seem more important than the meal by day (Yam Shel Shlomo, ad loc.).
Others maintain that if it turns out that the Friday night meal is better because hot, fresh food can be served then, it does not reflect any disrespect. Therefore, one may prepare foods for Friday night that need to be served hot – such as fish, soup, or other foods that would go bad if they sat overnight – even if this means that the Friday night meal will be better than the daytime meal. However, when dealing with foods that can be served either by night or by day, such as wine and fruits, one should give precedence to the day’s meal. For many people, this is not a problem, because even though on Friday night they have hot, fresh food, they still prefer the foods that are generally served by day, such as cholent and kugel, whose unique flavor results from leaving them on the warming tray for a long time (AHS 271:9).
In practice, one who prefers the foods served during the day is certainly honoring the daytime meal. But one who does not prefer them must make a point of serving foods he especially loves by day, to show that it is the more important meal. He need not cut back on the Friday night meal to do so.
Some say that one should ideally eat a meal with bread immediately after making kiddush, and not have foods that are mezonot or other foods then, because the primary mitzva of enjoying Shabbat is fulfilled through eating a meal. If one eats various foods beforehand, he might have no appetite for the Shabbat meal. Nevertheless, there is no prohibition involved, because enjoying Shabbat following kiddush is also considered honoring the day. What is important is to not spoil one’s appetite for the second Shabbat meal, which will be celebrated with bread (Darkhei Moshe 249:4; BHL ad loc. 2 s.v. “mutar;” AHS ad loc. 12-13).
Some eat a light, dairy meal for the second Shabbat meal so that they will be alert, energetic, and able to learn Torah all day. They then have the main meat meal near evening at se’uda shlishit (See MT 30:10). It would seem that they too fulfill the mitzva, because the key is for the important meal to be eaten on Shabbat day.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
3) HOLY JoKeS!!
Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day
4) FOR KIDS
Click on the image to open the youtube video
