Mailing List Service Felist.Com
-*--------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            Parshath Lech Lecha
          For the week ending 10 Cheshvan 5762 / October 27, 2001
                                     .
                             DATE WITH DESTINY
                                     .
"Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your fathers
                         house." Bereshith (12:1)
                                     .
                                     .
Wheeling his lone Lancaster above the target at eighteen hundred feet,
Freddy leveled off and tried to bomb the target one more time. Suddenly the
cockpit radio spluttered into life:
"Freddy! - What are you playing at?! Get out of there now! Theres more flak
around those dams than guests at a Buck House tea party!"
"Sorry, skipper. Im going in one more time - even if it means that youll
have to pick up my medal for me..."
 .
Hashem tested Avraham Avinu ten times. The first of these tests was to
leave his land, his birthplace and his fathers house.
 .
However, the "extra words" here - "for yourself" - indicate that Hashem
told Avraham that this journey was for his own benefit.
 .
If Avraham Avinu knew that leaving his roots was for his own benefit, how
could this be a test?
 .
The answer is that sometimes it is easier for us to serve G-d when we think
we are being self-sacrificing, than when we know theres something in it for
ourselves.
 .
It appeals to our innate sense of self-dramatization to see ourselves as
martyrs to the cause. Many are the epics that play in the cinemas of our
minds in which we have the title role of the selfless hero, taking arms
against a sea of troubles, and all without benefit or profit to ourselves.
 .
The test that Hashem gave Avraham was that he would have to work without
the romanticism of self-sacrifice and still do Hashems will with the same
enthusiasm as some dashing hero flying his plane to a date with destiny.
Based on Rabbi Yechezkel Weinfeld, as heard from Rabbi Daniel Travis
                           The Letter of The Law
"If so much as a thread or a shoe-strap; or if I shall take from anything
of yours! ... Far from me! Only what the young men have eaten..." Bereshith
(14:23,24)
For his part in defeating the four kings, the king of Sodom offered Avraham
a share of the victors spoils, as was Avrahams right. But Avraham would
take nothing, for he wanted to show his devotion to Hashem, declining
personal gain so that the king of Sodom could not claim that he made
Avraham rich.
However, Avraham applied this stringency to himself alone. When it came to
his followers, he permitted them to take everything that was lawful.
This teaches us a powerful lesson. Dont be "frum" (pious) on someone elses
spiritual expense account! If, after careful consideration, we want to take
upon ourselves stringencies, thats up to us. But from others, we should
never demand, or even expect, more than the letter of the law.
The Chafetz Chaim
         --------------------------------------------------------
(C) 2001 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Thank you for reading about http://www.kehilasmy.org 
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Buy books with 10% off from Artscroll and Artscroll will donate us 5% of your purchase: 
http://artscroll.com/linker/kehilasmy/home
-*--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=lit.kehilasmy

http://felist.com/                                   mailto:ask@felist.com