DIVINE INTUITION
Excerpted from Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky’s talk
The importance of these parshios is that they introduce us to the Fathers and Mothers of our nation. They are the foundation of our people and as such, as we gain insight into their strengths and their personalities we gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.
As I read our Parsha, Vayeira, I am struck with a quandary. When HaShem informs Avraham of the impending destruction of Sodom, he pleads with HaShem to spare them. Later, when Ha-Shem instructs Avraham to bring his son Yitzchok as an offering he complies with not a word on behalf of his only beloved son! How do we make sense of this?
The Mishna in Pirkei Avos teaches us; “Make His Will like your will in order that He will make your will like His Will.”
At first glance the Mishna seems to be saying that you should cancel your own wishes and aspirations to do His Will so that He will make your wishes and aspirations to be His wishes. Naturally, this is an oxymoron. If my interests are to do His interests than I have no interest other than His. What will He do for me?
Let us contrast two relationships; the provider-client relationship and the husband-wife relation-ship. In the former, the provider wants the client to be a satisfied customer and will make sure that the client’s needs are filled. He does this in order that the client will respond in kind and satisfy the provider’s need for business. There remains two separate sets of interests which serve each other.
Contrast this with the latter. The husband’s entire desire is that his wife should be happy. He has no other interest. (It becomes a bit complex because the wife’s entire desire is that her husband be happy. She will therefore adopt his interests to be hers.) In this arrangement there is only one set of interests; the wife’s. The husband, however, has one problem. He does not know what exactly are his wife’s interests?
The Mishna teaches us that in our relationship with HaShem we should adopt the latter and make our entire interest to do His Will. There should be only one set of interests; His Will. Regarding the problem; how can we know what His interests are, the Mishna tells us that HaShem will make our will to correspond to His. The Mishna is teaching us that HaShem will grant us the gift of being able to discern His Will. He will make our will to reflect His will. We will be able to intuit His Will.
HaShem refers to Avraham as “My beloved”. The relationship he had with HaShem reflected exactly the second relationship mentioned above. HaShem gave Avraham the gift of being able to intuit HaShem’s Will. Although HaShem told Avraham of His plans of punishing Sodom, Avraham discerned that the true Will of HaShem was that He does not wish for the death of the wicked. HaShem wants that they repent and return to Him. Avraham therefore took the liberty to plead on behalf of those Sodomites that they be spared.
It is for this reason reason that Avraham prefaces his pleading with indicating that “I am but earth and ash”. He was telling HaShem that he has no interest of his own. His entire interest is the Will of HaShem.
Regarding HaShem’s request of Avraham to bring Yitzchok as an offering, Avraham intuited that HaShem’s Will was, in fact, to bring Yitzchok as an offering. He, therefore, did not ask HaShem to change His wish. Quite to the contrary, Avraham wanted to fulfill His Will completely and had no desire to alter that Will.
If the Torah teaches us the incredible closeness and dedication of love that our Father Avraham had for HaShem, it is a lesson to us that every one of his grandchildren holds that deep love inside them. We need only to tap into it and bring it out. There is a second lesson as well. The love Ha-Shem had for Avraham which gave Avraham the ability to intuit His Will continues with his grandchildren. Every grandchild of Avraham should know the infinite love HaShem has for them. We need only to be aware of it and connect.
Have a wonderful Shabbos
Paysach Diskind