Dvar Torah Parashat Bereishit
Dedicated Leilui Nishmat Esther bat Mazal, Esther Srour A'h By Danny Srour and Family _______________________________________________________ Parashat Bereishit
Thank You Hashem!
The extraordinary events aboard the flydubai flight from Dubai to Eretz Yisrael are being described by passengers as nothing short of a tremendous neit—miracle, a remarkable chain of Hashgacha Pratis in which B’chasdei Hashem, with all 174 passengers alive. Passengers said Shema Yisrael as the Boeing 737 MAX plunged violently through the skies. A Muslim pilot stabbed his copilot and attempted to crash the plane into Ben Gurion airport. The injured pilot opened the cockpit door and Israelis rushed toward the cockpit to confront the danger. Additional pilots in the passenger seats took control of the plane, and despite a terrifying descent and visible damage to the aircraft, the plane remained controllable long enough to make a safe emergency landing. For the passengers and their families, there was one overwhelming feeling afterward: Hodu LaShem Ki Tov.
The First Neit - The Aircraft Survived the Plunge: The aircraft had been cruising normally at approximately 34,000 feet when it suddenly entered a terrifying nosedive. Within moments, the plane was hurtling downward, eventually reaching approximately 15,000 feet while accelerating to extraordinary speeds. Passengers described the aircraft plunging and spinning so violently that they were convinced their lives were ending. “It felt like, that’s it. It’s over. September 11 is happening again,” one passenger told Channel 12. After the aircraft landed, images revealed that part of its rear rudder was missing. Former Shin Bet aviation security chief Arik Zer told Channel 12 that the damage was likely caused by the tremendous forces generated during the violent descent, rather than by an external impact. And yet, despite everything the aircraft endured, it remained in the sky. The wings remained intact. The aircraft remained controllable. And ultimately, it was able to land.
The Second Neit - Critical Seconds: As the aircraft plunged, there was almost no time to act. According to an analysis cited by B’Chadrei Charedim, had the plane had experienced continued uncontrolled descent for roughly another 45 seconds, the aircraft could have crashed into the ground. It was during those precious moments that passengers and crew members sprang into action. Several Israelis rushed toward the cockpit, where a violent confrontation had taken place, and they helped subdue the attacker. One passenger later described three of the Israelis who rushed forward with two simple words: “Real heroes.”
The Third Neit - Pilots Were Sitting Among The Passengers: Then came another remarkable piece of Hashgacha Pratis. Additional flydubai pilots and crew members happened to be traveling aboard the very same flight. At the moment they were desperately needed, they were there. Flydubai has confirmed that an altercation occurred on the flight deck and that other flydubai crew members traveling aboard the aircraft helped secure the plane before it diverted to Saudi Arabia. With the original pilots injured and the cockpit engulfed in chaos, there were qualified aviation professionals aboard who could assist in bringing the aircraft under control. Had those individuals not been passengers on that particular flight, at that particular hour, the outcome could have been very different.
The Fourth Neit - The Plane Could Still Fly: Even after the immediate danger was brought under control, the ordeal was far from over. The aircraft had plunged thousands of feet. Its rudder had sustained visible damage. Both original pilots were injured. Passengers had witnessed a bloody confrontation inside the cockpit. And they were still thousands of feet above the ground. Yet the aircraft responded. Control was restored, the flight was diverted toward Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, and the damaged Boeing 737 MAX was brought safely onto the runway.
The Fifth And Greatest Neit - 174 People Came Out Alive: There were 174 passengers aboard the flight, including 27 children, according to the Israeli report. Not one passenger was killed. Not one of those families received the phone call that, during those terrifying moments, seemed frighteningly possible. Instead, the doors eventually opened in Saudi Arabia and the passengers walked off the plane. During the plunge, passengers said Shema Yisrael. Some later said they were convinced they had only moments left to live. Then came the safe landing. The courage of the passengers and crew members who acted during those critical moments cannot be overstated. But for the Yidden aboard that aircraft, there was something even greater behind it all. The right people were in the right seats. The passengers reached the cockpit at the right moment. Qualified pilots were aboard when they were suddenly needed. The aircraft remained intact. The controls continued responding, and B’chasdei Hashem, 174 passengers and the brave copilot lived to tell the story. Hashem was in control the whole time.
Torah is Emmet
Before we can begin to understand Parashat Bereshit, we must believe with complete faith that the Torah is emmet, truth! The first passuk in the Torah begins with the words, “Bereshit bara Elokim et hashamayim ve’et haaretz—In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” The first three words, Bereshit, bara, and Elokim, end in the letters taf, alef, and mem, which re-ordered spell emmet!
At the end of the creation of Shabbat on the seventh day, “Hashem blessed the Seventh Day and sanctified it because on it He abstained from all His work, which Hashem created to make (2:3).” The last three words in this passuk, bara, Elokim, and la’asot also end with those same three letters: alef, mem, and taf, which together also spell emmet! This is just one of many hints to show that the Torah is TRUTH!
We must also remember that Hashem created us with only a minimum capacity to begin to comprehend His ways. The first principle of Rambam's Thirteen Fundamental Principles of the Jewish Faith is “Belief in the existence of the Creator, Who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.”
Hashem’s Creations
When Hashem created the world, everything He created was rounded or with curves, such as the sun, the moon, the trees, and the animals. There isn’t anything in nature that Hashem created that’s perfectly square, or with straight, inflexible lines. Round things have movement, flexibility, and imperfection. However, Torah and mitzvot, like tefillin, tzitzit, and Shabbat are all square: permanent, fixed, and unchanging! This metaphor teaches us that in the material world, nothing remains the same, but in the spiritual world, every word of Torah that is learned, every dollar that is given to tzedakah, and every act of chesed done is permanent and eternal in Olam Haba!
As Hashem was creating the world, the Torah tells us, “Vayar Elokim ki tov—G-d saw that it was good.” Ki tov applied to the land and seas, plants and trees, sun and moon, and insects and animals. All the creations apart from man were accorded the words “ki tov.” Hashem looked at His handiwork after each creation and declared that “it was good.” But when He made man, no declaration was made that man was a “good” creation. Rabbi Yosef Albo explains that every element of creation, apart from man, was a finished product. From the insect to the elephant, they will remain as they are and will never rise or fall in stature. It is for this reason that those creations can be evaluated as “good.”
Man, however, is a work in progress, a tremendous bundle of potential whose final form is not yet determined. Man is given free will and the responsibility for his own development and improvement. Will he rise in spirituality to the great levels of his potential, or will he sink to mediocrity? These questions must be answered by each and every one of us throughout our lifetime. Now we understand that there can never really be a time when man can be considered a finished product, and therefore humans cannot be declared “good.” Man is, and always will be, in a state of potential.
Appreciate Our Blessings
The Torah then goes on to say: “Now any tree of the field was not yet on the earth and any herb of the field had not yet sprouted, because Hashem had not sent rain upon the earth and because there was no man to work the soil (2:5).” On the words “Hashem had not sent rain,” Rashi comments: “And what is the reason that He had not sent rain? Because ‘there was no man to work the soil,’ and there was none who could recognize the goodness of the rain.” Up until this point, there was no vegetation because there was no rain, and there was no rain because there was no human being to appreciate the rain!
The Maharal elaborates in the Gur Aryeh. Why not bring rain anyway, even though there was no one to appreciate it? The answer is that it is forbidden to do a kindness for a person who does not recognize it as a favor. Therefore, as long as there was no man, no rain fell. It is not worth giving a gift or favor to someone who does not have the ability to appreciate what you are doing for him.
Most of us would have assumed the opposite from the Maharal. Our instinct would be to say, “No, give the favor anyway, even if it will not be appreciated.” However, the Maharal infers a principle of proper behavior from the rest of Rashi’s comment: “When Adam came and realized that the rains are a necessity for the world, he prayed for them and they came down, and the trees and all types of vegetation sprouted.”
Rav Shimshon Pincus, ZT’L, makes the following comment in his wonderful sefer, She’arim B’Tefilla: “All this vegetation was right there – the shrubs, the trees, the grass, the plants, the flowers, the beautiful earth – but it was necessary for someone to pray for it. Once Adam prayed for it, then that tremendous favor (of rainfall) comes automatically.”
Sometimes Hashem is ready to shower blessings upon us, but unless we pray for them, we will not receive them. Hashem intended that there should be plants and trees and shrubs and grass and flowers, but He was not prepared to “release rainfall” until someone was there to (a) appreciate it and (b) pray for its arrival. There are tremendous favors from Heaven that may await us, but we need to ask pray to Hashem that those favors be “released” to us.
Rabbi David Ashear told a story about a man named Daniel who had excruciating back pain for 12 years. He went to doctors in Israel and America, he went to specialists, holistic doctors, and even surgeons. His pain would not let up. He couldn’t sit in a chair, or learn with his son, he couldn’t pay attention to his wife, or hold a job. He became very depressed. Harav Menachem Stein saw how broken he was, and he gave him a few words of chizuk. He said, “Every year on Rosh Hashanah, Hashem creates a whole new world. Everything on earth is created anew, even people! There is even a halacha that says that if you haven’t seen someone in over a year, you would say a beracha with Hashem’s name—the beracha of Mechayeh hametim.
Daniel said, “Mechayeh Hametim? But he didn’t die!” Rabbi Stein continued, “The Chafetz Chaim said that when a person goes through Rosh Hashanah, he’s given new life, it’s as if he was brought back from the dead. We read about Sarah Imenu on Rosh Hashanah because Sarah literally did not even have a womb. When Rosh Hashanah came, she prayed with all she had, and Hashem created her anew. She had a baby at 90 years old.” Daniel was so inspired, that when Rosh Hashanah came, he took upon himself to fast and did a taanit dibbur. He didn’t eat or talk for 48 hours. He prayed with everything he had for Hashem to create him anew.
After Yom Kippur passed, Daniel was still in a tremendous amount of pain. He went to his back doctor to get a refill on his pain medication. His doctor had an emergency elsewhere, and a very young doctor, fresh out of medical school, saw Daniel that day. The doctor saw Daniel’s history and was very hesitant to give him a refill for his medicine. Daniel said, “Please, I’ve been taking this for 12 years. I’m in excruciating pain, please just fill it so I can go home to lie down.” The doctor said, “Did you ever think about checking your kidneys? I’d like you to go get an ultrasound to check them. After that, I can refill your prescription.”
He had been to over 20 doctors in 12 years, and this guy was a rookie. He didn’t even have any kidney symptoms. Daniel had no interest, but the doctor was holding his prescription hostage. When he got to the ultrasound, the technician found that his left kidney had a 20% blockage. Not enough for there to be kidney symptoms, but enough to cause severe pain when left untreated. Daniel couldn’t believe it. It was an easy fix, and after a small procedure, his back pain was gone!! He thought back to Rabbi Stein’s words and realized that after his intense prayer, Hashem created him anew, and put the words into this young doctor’s mouth to cure his supposedly incurable disease.
Where Are You?
After Adam and Chava eat from the forbidden fruit, Hashem calls out to Adam, “Ayeca—Where are you (3:9)?” Aderet Eliyahu comments that Hashem was of course not referring to Adam’s physical whereabouts, but rather to where he had fallen in respect to his exalted spiritual level, now that he had eaten from the forbidden fruit.
Baal HaTanya says that Hashem was not just speaking to Adam, but to all his descendants. Hashem is asking us, where are you in your life? We all have our own little world, our own purpose in life, and things we want to achieve. Hashem is asking us, what have you accomplished in all your years so far? Have we come any closer to fulfilling our purpose in life? Where are you is a question that Hashem asks each one of us and a question that we should be asking ourselves every day! Hashem did not just put us in this world to exist without a purpose in life. Instead, we all have a purpose and potential, and Hashem gave each one of us the precise tools to achieve that potential. It is our job to constantly ask ourselves: “Where am I in relation to reaching my own personal potential?”
Rabbi Lawrence shares that a friend of his met Rabbi Zachs from Eretz Yisrael, a grandson on the Chofetz Chaim. Rabbi Zachs said that the Chofetz Chaim told his daughter (Rabbi Zachs’ mother) that they will not see Moshiach in their lifetime. However, he guaranteed that his grandchildren will see the arrival of moshiach. Rabbi Zachs and his sister are the last two remaining grandchildren of the Chofetz Chaim, and they are over eighty years old. We should be all use the challenges of the upcoming year to become better people and not break under pressure. With that we should merit to see the arrival of Moshiach soon!
May we all continue to ask ourselves the question ayeca, so that we can constantly reevaluate our spiritual status in our lives and strive to grow continuously. May we always know that Torah is emmet and have Torah and mitzvot propel us to reach the potential that Hashem has set for each and every one of us! Amen!
Shabbat Shalom Rabbi Amram Sananes, written by Jack Rahmey
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This book is a compilation of Divre Torah from the weekly parasha classes from Rabbi Sananes’ teachings over the last 10 years along with my own experiences in those classes which has stimulated my Torah growth. I’ve included many pertinent stories and life lessons to grow from at your Shabbat table. There’s also questions and discussion points at the end of each Parasha to stimulate a Torah conversation at your Shabbat table for the whole family to participate in. Also, included is a holidays section at the end of the book to use for all of our special holidays and Yomiim Toviim. Now available in all Jewish bookstores and Amazon! Scan the barcode on the right to purchase from Amazon. |
Rabbi Sananes and I look forward to hearing your feedback. Sincerely, Rabbi Amram Sananes and Jack E. Rahmey AmramSananes@me.com and jrahmey@rahmeyfinancial.com (917-226-6276) |
Le’ilui Nishmat…
Eliyahu Ben Rachel Rabbi Shimon Chay Ben Yaasher Avraham Ben Garaz Sarah Bat Chanah Esther Bat Sarah Avraham Ben Mazal Shulamit Bat Helaina Rabbi Meyer Ben Chana Rahamim Ben Mazal Batsheva Bat Sarah Esther Rafael Ben Miriam Ovadia Ben Esther Rav Haim Ben Rivka Moshe Ben Mazal Moshe Ben Yael Yitzchak Ben Adele Avraham Ben Mazal Meir Ben Latifa Chanah Bat Esther Yaakov Ben Rachel Malka Bat Garaz Moshe Ben Garaz Avraham Ben Kami Yaakov Ben Leah Mordechai Ben Rachel Chacham Shaul Rachamim Ben Mazal Natan Ben Rachel Saadia Ben Miriam Eliyah Ben Latifa Simhon Margalit Bat Mazal Ovadia Haim Ben Malaky Rabbi Aharon Chaim Ben Ruchama Luratte Bat Masouda Esther Bat Menucha Uri Ben Rahel Rivka Bat Dona Shalom Ben Zahra Rachel Bat Sarah Shalom Ben Zahra Chava Yvette Bat Jamile Yehoshoua Ben Batsheva Aharon Ben Matel Yehudis Yitzchak Ben Mazal Chana Baila Bat Fruma Refuah Shelemah…
Rachel Bat Devorah Gimol Sarah Ester Bat Batsheva Haim Ben Miriam Rachmim Ben Leah
Anyone interested in dedicating this Divre Torah Le'ilui Nishmat or Refuah Shelemah or In Honor of someone, can email me at jrahmey@rahmeyfinancial.com. Checks can be made out to “A Life of Torah” for $101 and mailed to 2387 Ocean Ave Suite 1G, Brooklyn, NY 11229 (please put in the memo “Divre Torah”). Anyone interested in past parshiot please go to the website ParashaPerspective.org |
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