Castle Conflagration
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Noach ends with recording all the generations from Noach to Terach, and with Terach settling with his family, including Avraham Avinuwith his wife Sarai, in Charan. We have no other details of Avraham's life until Parshat Lech Lecha when Hashem speaks to Avraham Avinuand tells him to leave his past and go to the land that I will show you. In order to understand why Hashem chose Avraham, we must rely on medrashim to fill in the gaps to explain the character of Avraham Avinuand his suitability for the mission Hashem set for him and his descendants.
Rav Yitzchak presents an interesting parable that will form the basis of our discussion: A person was passing from place to place and saw a certain בירה/palace ablaze. He questioned whether there could be this palace without a supervisor. At this question, the owner of the palace peeked out from the palace and revealed himself as the Master of the palace/world.
Rabbi Zaks zt”l, the Menachem Zion, asks the following questions on this analogy. First, why does the palace have to be on fire? Then why does the person noticing it need to be going from place to place? Finally, how come no one else asked the question?
In reality, we are all passersby in this world. If we stop to contemplate the great cosmos or the complexities of the human body, writes Rabbi Gershon Edelstein zt”l, we would all be great believers in the Creator. However, as the Rambam zt”l teaches us, Enosh and his generation began with an error that evolved into worshiping the celestial bodies. They reasoned that Hashem had created the universe and then put the heavenly bodies in place as His emissaries to rule the world in His absence. The Enosh generations reasoned that, as emissaries of the King, these objects deserved to be honored. Soon they built them temples and prayed to them, believing that the Creator had absented Himself from the world and had given authority over the world to the sun, the moon and the stars.
While they still believed in the Creator, writes Rav Scheinerman, they stopped believing in His continued involvement in the world. What Avraham Avinurealized was that even though the sun, the moon, and the stars seemed to be moving on their own, there must be an energizing force, a "fire" that animates them and directs their movement. Thus the entire cycle of the world proves that there is a force, a Director actively involved in the progression of the world. Avraham Avinurecognized Divine providence; He was the first to recognize Hashem as אדון עולם, the Master of the world. As Rabbi Schwadron zt”l notes, Hashem, although hidden, is peering through the cracks, observing the world.
This quality of not taking things at face value, of questioning, is the hallmark of the Jew. Avraham Avinuquestioned the fiery palace and sought answers, just as Moshe RabbenuRabbeinu later saw a burning bush and turned, looking for the answer to this phenomenon, writes Rabbi Kolman in Machaneh Dan. Just as Hashem revealed Himself to Moshe Rabbenuat the burning bush only after Moshe Rabbenuturned to find an answer, so here, too, Hashem revealed Himself only after Avraham Avinustopped to question.
This is in stark contrast to Esau who takes everything at face value. When Esau arrives home from hunting, all he sees is the color of the food, asking "Pour some of this red stuff into me." It's not even soup or stew, just red. This is why we praise Hashem in Hallel, for, unlike those "who have eyes but do not see, ears that do not hear...," Bnei Yisroel uses these senses to question and arrive at great truth. As Rabbi Kolman ironically notes, how many people pass a "wet paint" sign daily, and after several weeks, still do not check if the paint could still possibly be wet.
Although we are aware that nothing happens by itself, we are inured by routine, and enter into a state of trancelike apathy, writes Rabbi Schlesinger. We go through life without even trying. Even our tefillah is rote, When we wake up and appreciate the world the Master has created, our tefillah will be transformed. We must find a way to break the cycle and create purpose in our lives.
The focus of the Six Remembrances focuses us on our experience at Har Sinai, not just on hearing Hashem's words, but on the total experience. The Torah urges us to remember what our eyes saw, the blazing mountain, the thunder, the darkness, and the Voice emanating from within. It is this personal and national experience we are to constantly remember. Not only Avraham Avinuand Moshe, but we ourselves were witness to this fire. This intimate connection with Hakodosh Boruch Hu can be accessed on Shabbat, the day the Torah was given to us. Let us begin by building that connection in our passionate observance of Shabbat.
Our connection can also be advanced by leaving our trancelike state and asking ourselves constantly, "Is this what Hashem would want of me?" As Rav Dessler zt”l points out, "The ways of Hashem are straight; the righteous walk in them and the sinners will stumble over them."(Hoshea 14:10) Both our intellect and our senses are tools Hashem has given us to teach us right from wrong, to follow the right path. Everything around us is instructive, writes Rabbi Tuvia Weiss zt”l, if we truly wake up fully when we arise in the morning and stop taking it all for granted. Train yourself to observe and be grateful.
Sometimes, as Hashem told Avraham, writes Rabbi Kolman, we must step away from our old habits and surroundings, and appreciate the newness around us. We must shift our perspective. As the Sefas Emes notes, we must maintain our curiosity, like a baby who is not caught up in old habits. This was Avraham Avinuwho went from place to place.
The parable teaches us something more about Avraham Avinuat that time. Avraham Avinusaw the building lit up, even though everyone in the palace was undoubtedly asleep. Avraham Avinuunderstood that the building was lit up to benefit everyone, the passersby who would not even realize that Someone was providing light so they would not fall. Writes Rav Meir Chadash zt”l, this attribute of chesed towards others was what Avraham Avinurecognized and wanted to emulate, and this is the attribute most closely associated with Avraham AvinuAvinu. As Chochmat Hamtzpun adds, Avraham Avinuunderstood that we must actively go out and search for opportunities to perform chesed for others.
The goal is to do chesed for chesed's sake, for everyone, especially for those we do not know are receiving our chesed. Chochmat Hamatzpun suggests that the custom some have of reciting Psalm 91, יושב בסתר עליון/Whoever sits in the refuge of the Most High..." is for the purpose of extending Shabbos so that those whose souls are destined to dwell in Geihinom and who have been reprieved in honor of Shabbat are given an extended reprieve as long as we extend Shabbat. If Hashem can do chesed for the reshaim on Shabbat, we are merely emulating His chesed by extending their stay through our Shabbat extension and shortening their suffering.
Finding opportunities to do chesed is not difficult. The impact of a complimentary letter can be enormous. How often do we find cherished thank you letters from relative strangers among the memorabilia of loved ones?
However the, the Imrei Chen, Rabbi Elchanan Halperin, provides a different perspective on the burning palace. Avraham AvinuAvinu's question, posits the Imrei Chen, is why is this house burning; why is this world being destroys by the reshaim? Then Hashem peers out and reassures Avraham Avinuthat Hashem Himself is indeed in charge. As Rav Scheinerman, citing Rav Shimon Schwab zt”l, explains, this is a model for natural disasters and for the age old question of why the righteous often suffer while the wicked are living peacefully. Again, Hashem tells Avraham Avinuthat this is His will, and Avraham Avinumay not question it.
As Kllal Yisroel, we must understand that this vision is not esoteric, but represents the history and destiny of our nation, writes Rabbi Menachem Zaks zt”l. Whether it is the burning building in this medrash or the burning bush that Moshe Rabbenuencounters, Kllal Yisroel is surrounded by fires that try to consume us, whether in the Holocaust, or most recently October 7, we are massacred, but we will never be consumed. These are the moments that tests our emunah. We must continue to have faith that Hashem has His plan, a plan that extend unto eternity.
Each of us is also caught up in the fires of our own passions, continues Rabbi Zaks. We must not allow ourselves to be consumed by these fires. We must always realize that Hashem is our true "Owner."
What was it that Avraham Avinurealized? The fire is burning, reaching upward. Although this is a physical world, writes the Sifsei Daas, it is fueled by an energy from above, and the physical world is constantly being drawn to connect to its life force, to Hashem.
The Novominsker Rav zt”l presents a beautiful interpretation of our medrash. While we have been translating בירה as palace or building, the word is very often used to designate the capital, central building. The Novominsker Rav reminds us that we are each tasked with building that palace, that dwelling place for Hashem within ourselves. But even with this palace within ourselves, some cannot move out of their comfort zone without losing the connection to the Fuel, while others can move out confidently and spread the light of that fire. When Avraham Avinupicked up his wandering stick, he realized that this light existed within himself and needed no outside help. Then Hashem revealed Himself and told Avraham Avinuthat the light he felt came from Him and would remain with him throughout his travels.
This is the fire within each of us, a fire that will not be extinguished. We keep the fire alive through emulating Hashem with our continuous acts of chesed and with maintaining our faith, even when we do not understand.