A friend of mine shared the
following story:
Cute story from my neighbor, her
daughter is in the army. The mother told her daughter that now that she’s
around all these chayalim, she should look out for a nice guy for herself. The
young woman, who is herself religious, answered: “A few days ago, I could have,
but now I can’t tell who is dati and who isn’t, every single soldier is
wearing a kippah and tzitzis!”
This week, Avraham Avinu goes to
war. After Avraham arrives in Canaan,
there is a war between one group of 4 kings and another group of 5 kings. And as the war progresses, the 4 kings take
hostages, including Lot, Avraham’s nephew.
Avraham finds out, he runs to
battle with his men, defeating the 4 kings, and saving Lot.
And after the war concludes, the
King of Sedom is so appreciative of all Avram has done for him, and they meet
in a place called ‘EMEK SHAVEI”.
But then, all of a sudden, there
is a visitor who comes to join the group:
(יח) וּמַלְכִּי צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם הוֹצִיא
לֶחֶם וָיָיִן וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן:
Malkitzedek the King of Shaleim
brought out Bread and Wine, and he is a priest to the Gd above.
Some explain that Malkitzedek is
really Shem the son of Noach. And that
Shalem is actually Yerushalayim.
And Malkitzedek offers a bracha to
Avraham, and a bracha to Hashem for allowing Avraham to be victorious.
But the whole scene is pretty
strange:
1) Why does Malkitzedek show up in
the first place?
2) Why does he bring wine and bread,
a feast?!
Rav Yehoshua Baumohl was the rav of Kahal Adas
Yeshurun in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the 1920s and the first president of
Aggudas Yisrael of America. He wrote a sefer, Emek Halacha, in which he asks these
questions and offers the following answer:
After the war was over, the people
in Avram’s life began to look at him differently. Before the war, they knew Avram as a Baal
Chesed. He was a kiruv master, bringing
the warmth of a life of monotheism to as many people as he could. He would spend time in his tent, offering
meals and discussing philosophy with anyone who would listen.
But then he had to go to battle. And in battle he was fierce and determined to
defeat the enemy.
And after the war, the people
surrounding Avraham don’t know how to view him anymore. Is he that kindhearted, softspoken, soulful
teacher they knew and loved? Or had he
changed? Had he become more like them?
And in fact, says Rav Baumol, this
explains the place where they meet Avraham.
It is called EMEK SHAVEI, which literally means, the valley of
equality. The people around Avraham
began to feel like maybe he was no longer this amazing, unique, Godly man
anymore. He had lost his luster, he had
become more like them. And so, they
began to view him as SHAVEI, as equal to them.
It is in response to this notion that
Malkitzedek arrives on the scene:
And he arrives with a message:
וּמַלְכִּי
צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן:
Malkitzedek, before he says anything, takes
out bread and wine. Why bread and wine?
Because there is a halachic principle when it
comes the laws of brachos, of blessings on foods.
When it comes to most fruits, for example, an
apple or an orange, the bracha is borei pri ha’eitz. However, when the fruit is
juiced, the bracha on the juice is shehakol nihiye bidvaro.
And the rule in general, is that the more
specific the bracha, the higher level it is.
So to drop from Borei Pri Ha’Eitz to Shehakol nihiye bidvaro is
considered a downgrade.
And this is true with most items that have
one bracha when they are whole and then the bracha is downgraded once it is
broken down. With two exceptions: Bread & Wine.
Bread comes from wheat. The bracha on wheat
is borei pri ha’adama, which is for all items that grow from the ground. But once that wheat is ground, turned into
flour, and baked into bread, the bracha is now: “HaMotzi Lechem Min Ha’Aretz”. A bracha SPECIFICALLY FOR BREAD ONLY.
And the same is true for grapes. Grapes on their own are a borei pri ha’eitz,
which applies to all fruits. But when it
is crushed, fermented, and turned into wine it receives a higher level bracha:
Borei Pri HaGafen, which is ONLY for wine.
For all other items, chazal say they are
Nishtane L’greiusa, they are changed in a way that downgrades their
status. When it comes to bread and wine,
yes they change, very significantly, they go through changes that can even take
months or years. And yet, when they
change, chazal tell us: Nishtane L’Maalyusa.
The change UPGRADES their status.
It makes them greater than they ever were before.
Malkitzedek arrives at EMEK SHAVEI, a place
in which the people tried to tell Avraham that because he had acted as a
warrior that he must have turned into them.
And he arrives with bread and wine to deliver a message to everyone
present, but especially to Avraham himself:
Yes, you HAVE changed. You have
gone from being a baal chesed, and a rebbi, and a teacher, and you have become
a warrior who goes out to battle to protect his family. But don’t you DARE BELIEVE that this change
has caused you be degraded. Chalila
v’Chas. Just the OPPOSITE! This change, this willingness to go to battle
in defense of your family, risking your life so they can live theirs, has
elevated you to a place in the world that you never have reached before!
Yes, you have been Nishtane. You have changed. But it has been a shinui
l’maalyusa! A change that has elevated
you even more!
We all know, either in our own
families, or through our friends, beautiful, sweet, amazing young men and women
who spend most of their lives living elevated lives as Jews. They are mothers and fathers, doctors, lawyers,
rebbeim in yeshivot. These are kind,
respectful, chesed-oriented people who have been required to turn themselves
into warriors. Not because that is what
they want, but because that is what the moment calls upon them to do.
And yet we know, that with all
they are going through at this very moment, and with all the change they
experience in these moments, they are elevated, they become our greatest heroes
and they are our role models. And their
greatness is not only found in how they come back from war, but in how they
execute war in the first place!
I saw a photo this week of Rav
Avigdor Nevenzhal, the rabbi of the Old City of Yerushalayim, visiting an army base where our
own Eitan Martin is stationed. And
Rav Nevenzhal points out in his sefer on the parsha that Avraham is only called
Ha’Ivri, the Avraham who was different from the rest of the world, who was
unique and elevated, when he engages in WAR.
Because it is in war that you
really see the difference between different types of people. When those who are willing to be honest with
themselves see the difference between how Hamas wages war and how l’havdil elef
havdalos, TZAHAL engages in war, that is all you need to know about who we are
as a people.
And yet, as we know, it is not
only the soldiers of the IDF who are at war now. We join them in that battle. Whether that is by providing funding for their
equipment, sending letters of chizuk, davening and learning with more intensity
than ever before, or our willingness to stand up and advocate for Medinat
Yisrael.
And let’s be honest, some of these
activities are a challenge for us. But
if we are willing to push ourselves to become MORE ACTIVE IN OUR CHELEK, OUR
RESPONSIBILITY in the war effort, then we, too, have the opportunity to be
NISHTANIM L’MAALYUSA! To be changed for
the better!
At this moment, we don’t know
exactly what is happening in Gaza, but if you were paying attention before
Shabbos, there was a significant incursion on the ground by IDF forces. They were stepping up their intensity, and we
MUST do the same.
And I believe that for each of us,
that place to step up should NOT ONLY be the place where we are most
comfortable. It should ALSO be in the
place that CHANGES US.
–
If tefillah is not something we
typically do with much regularity during the week, NOW IS THE TIME TO START!
–
If we haven’t been consistent with learning,
NOW IS THE TIME TO FIND A CHAVRUSA OR A SHIUR OR A SEFER.
–
If we aren’t as active in giving tzedakah,
NOW IS THE TIME TO PUSH OURSELVES TO GIVE MORE than EVER!
–
And if we aren’t so comfortable being
involved in Israel advocacy, attending rallies, sending emails to
members of congress and the President who have been extremely supportive of
Israel and NEED TO HEAR FROM US EVERY DAY – NOW IS THE TIME TO START!
Yes, these activities will CHANGE
US TOO, and they will be a SHINUI L’MAALYUSA.
We have an opportunity to stand alongside our chayalim, to change
ourselves and ELEVATE OURSELVES right along with them!
As this war continues, we need to
pace ourselves, but we also cannot let our guard down. We cannot stop pushing ourselves. The
soldiers are not going to stop, so we cannot either. And as we continue to push ourselves to grow
and to change and to go to war alongside our brave chayalim, may Hashem see all
of our changes as changes L’maalyusa, and may He respond by protecting all of
Am Yisrael, so we can bring a more elevated way of life to the entire world.