Ramban Parshas Vayera, Part 2

Last week we discussed, last time we discussed was around the pasuk of ki yedativ. Rashi's peshat ki yedativ that yediya sometimes is a lashon chiba. Rambam that means yediya mamash and yediya by Hakadosh Baruch Hu entails or subsumes hashgacha. Maybe we'll continue trying be'ezrat Hashem to reconstruct how the Rambam learns peshat in these pesukim. Just backtracking to pesukim. So Torah says: וה' אמר המכסה אני מאברהם Yud-Chet Yud-Zayin:

וה' אמר המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה. ואברהם היו יהיה לגוי גדול ועצום ונברכו בו כל גויי הארץ.

And then the pasuk:

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ה' לעשות צדקה ומשפט למען הביא ה' על אברהם את אשר דבר עליו.

So it's as follows: The Rambam writes in פרק א הלכות דעות; it says towards the end of Halacha Hey:

מצווים אנו ללכת בדרכים אלו הבינוניים והם הדרכים הטובים והישרים שנאמר והלכת בדרכיו.

The Rambam is going to make this explicit soon in Halacha Zayin. He identifies, he defines the דרכי הקדוש ברוך הוא, vehalachta bidrachav, as the derachim habeinoniyim.

כך למדו בפירוש מצוה זו מה הוא נקרא חנון אף אתה היה חנון מה הוא נקרא רחום אף אתה היה רחום מה הוא נקרא קדוש אף אתה היה קדוש. ועל דרך זו קראו הנביאים לא-ל בכל אותם הכינויים ארך אפים ורב חסד צדיק וישר תמים גבור וכיוצא בהן.

Any description we find of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so the purpose of that description is

להודיע שאלו דרכים טובים וישרים הם וחייב אדם להנהיג עצמו בהן ולהידמות לו כפי כוחו.

Any description we're given of Hakadosh Baruch Hu is for the purpose of teaching us that these are middot that we're supposed to cultivate. Then the Rambam says:

ולפי שהשם עושה אלו שנקרא בהן היוצר הן הדרך הבינונית שאנו חייבים ללכת בה.

All these descriptions which are used to describe Hakadosh Baruch Hu's interaction with the world because they're the

דרך הבינונית שאנו חייבים ללכת בה, נקרא דרך זו דרך ה'.

And here's the line that we need to especially note now:

והיא שלימד אברהם אבינו לבניו שנאמר כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ה' לעשות צדקה ומשפט.

So the derech Hashem in particular, what derech Hashem means in this context, Rambam says, is the midda beinonit, the Hakadosh Baruch Hu's hanhaga, the middot with which Hakadosh Baruch Hu governs the world or with which He exercises His providence, the middot that we're supposed to cultivate.

והיא שלימד אברהם אבינו לבניו דרך זו דרך ה' והיא שלימד אברהם אבינו לבניו.

The Rambam explains that we should understand that these descriptions of Hakadosh Baruch Hu are not because Hakadosh Baruch Hu has qualities, not because He has attributes. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is above and beyond. would provide for other people, provide them with all their needs, we would describe that person as rachum. So since we see that that’s how Hakadosh Baruch Hu is manhig habriya, so we accordingly describe him as rachum, etc. At times, we see if a person would kill, so we would describe that person as I don't know, we would say that he was taking nekama or we would say that he’s a ba'al cheima. So since there are natural events, there are earthquakes in which people die, there are tsunamis, etc. So that’s also a mida in that we see in hanhagat habriya. And accordingly, so we describe Hakadosh Baruch Hu as קנא ונוקם השם ושלם רחום. Then the Rambam continues and he says that in adopting and cultivating the midos of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, he’s referring now specifically to manhig hamedina, to the one who’s a governor, a king, a president, that as circumstances demand,

יהיה פעמים לקצת בני אדם רחום וחנון, יהיה פעמים לקצת בני אדם נוטר ונוקם, לא מתוך סתם כעס, תהיה מגמתו להפיק מה שיש באותה פעולה מן התועלת הגדולה לבני אדם, ולא שיהיו פעולות הרחמנות והסליחה והחמלה והחנינה באים מצד מנהיג המדינה הרבה יותר מפעולת העונשין.

Because certainly the manhig hamedina is going to more often display and exhibit rachmonus and chanina than he is going to exhibit a harsh midas hadin, which is why in the yud gimmel midos, so most of them are midos harachamim. Okay. Fine. Now, lichora, what you have here and again, so part of studying and understanding midos Hashem is not only studying understanding the mida of rachmonus and chanina, but a person has to understand also the mida of velo yenakeh, a person has to understand the mida of כי אל קנא השם, the same way one has to understand the midos of rachmonus and chanina. So now the same thing mamash happens with Avraham. והשם אמר המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה. Let’s skip for the moment pasuk yud cheis. ואברהם היו יהיה לגוי גדול. We’ll come back to that one im yirtzeh Hashem. המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה. It’s unthinkable that I should conceal from Avraham Avinu what I’m about to do. Ki yedativ, because I know Avraham Avinu,

למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך השם.

Avraham Avinu is committed, devoted beleiv uvenefesh in terms of his own belief and behavior, in terms of transmitting that to banav uveiso acharay to be shomeir derech Hashem. What’s going to happen now with Sodom is a lesson in terms of derech Hashem. I can’t withhold from Avraham Avinu. Avraham Avinu, because leman asher yetzaveh, Avraham Avinu, what what. his sort of what defines his life and his life's mission is

אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ה'.

So what's happening now is an important aspect of derech Hashem. How can I withhold that from Avraham Avinu, not give him the opportunity to understand how derech Hashem is playing out in this context? How derech Hashem is being implemented. Again, the same way the Rambam says that ra'ui le-manhig ha-medinah that at times, based on the darchei Hashem,

יהא פעם עם מקצת מן האדם נוצב ונוקם ובעל חימה כפי הראוי להם.

The pashtus is that the hemshech hap'sukim according to the Rambam where Avraham Avinu is davening chamishim, arba'im ve-chamishah is not only tefillah, be-vadai it is tefillah, but it's not only tefillah, but it's also Avraham Avinu's attempt to understand better the darchei Hashem. So Ribbono Shel Olam, what is the derech Hashem? Is the derech Hashem that for fifty tzaddikim then you would spare them? Is it the derech Hashem that for forty-five, for forty, for thirty, it's all again ki yedativ lema'an that Avraham Avinu

אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ה',

so Avraham Avinu, so he needs to be given this opportunity to be able to observe and understand the derech Hashem as it's about to be implemented over here. What's this intervening pasuk now?

ואברהם היו יהיה לגוי גדול ועצום ונברכו בו כל גויי הארץ.

So how does that pasuk come in? It should have gone from hamchaseh ani me-Avraham, Avraham who's shomer derech Hashem, so how can I not reveal the derech Hashem to him? Right, al derech mashal, I think where is it, Gemara in Sukkah or something? The Gemara says that talking about a rebbe who's a big tzaddik, a big ba'al avodah, a big talmid chacham that כל המונע תלמידו מלשמשו מונע ממנו יראת שמים. That if the rebbe doesn't give the talmid the opportunity to be with him to observe and to learn, so then he's depriving him of yirat Shamayim. So it's al derech zo that Hakadosh Baruch Hu say המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה. How can I not allow Avraham Avinu this learning opportunity of understanding derech Hashem, that's Avraham Avinu

אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ה'.

Fine. But what's the intervening pasuk? Why is it relevant here? Rashi already struggles with it. Rashi says zecher tzaddik li-vrachah maybe? But what's the pshat? Haflei va-felle. The Rambam has in at least two, three places he tells us when he describes the the nisayon of the Akeidah, the sacrifice that Avraham Avinu is called upon to make. So the Rambam describes it as follows:

פרשת אברהם בעקידה כללה לשני עניינים גדולים הם יסודות התורה. העניין האחד הוא להודיענו גבול האהבה להשם יתעלה והיראה ממנו לאיזה גבול הגיע.

Just how far reaching ahavas Hashem is, yiras Hashem is.

לפיכך נצטווה בפרשה זו אשר לא יערוכנה לא מסירת ממון ולא מסירת נפש.

When Avraham Avinu is asked here it surpasses asking someone to give away all his money, it even surpasses asking someone to sacrifice his own life. אלא זה תכלית מה שאפשר להיות במציאות. This is the ultimate sacrifice. What? והוא שיהיה אדם ערירי. You have a person childless. There's nothing that he desires more fervently, more intensely, more profoundly than to have a child. ובעל עושר גדול ונשיאת פנים וחשוב בעיניו, and what does he want? shetehei mizaro uma. He doesn't just want a child. He doesn't just want that he should have a child, so then he can have einiklach, and then he can have great-grandchildren. He doesn't just want that his biological line should continue. Avraham Avinu wants to be mamyid an uma. Avraham Avinu, the tragedy of his childlessness goes beyond what Rachmana litzlan is the tragedy that people endure and suffer, because Avraham Avinu wants to be mamyid an uma. Avraham Avinu discovered Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and he wants that chohtsh there should be in this world a nation, a nation who knows Hakadosh Baruch Hu. He wants to be mamyid an uma. חשוב בעיניו שתהא מזרעו אומה. Rambam says it again later. Again, maybe we're not making too much of it, he says it again later. ארבעה אלה כל האבות ומשה רבנו succeeded that even when they were whatever else they were involved in, their machshavos were devukos baHashem.

ונראה לי עוד כי אשר גרם השארת הארבעה אלה כביטחת השם לפני השם והשגחתו בהם תמיד אפילו בעת התעסקם בהגדלת הממון.

What allowed these four, the Avos and Moshe Rabbeinu, to constantly be davuk baHashem, and that accordingly His hashgacha was constant, even when they were trading on the stock market? אפילו בעת התעסקם בהגדלת הממון, even when they were looking to amass money,

מפני שכל תכליתם היתה בכל אותם הפעולות להתקרב לפניו יתעלה קירבה כל שהיא מפני שהיתה תכלית סיעוסם במציאותם.

Listen, listen to what Rambam is saying. The goal in everything they did was המצאת אומה שתדע את השם ותעבדהו. There was one goal which they devoted their lives to, which was to establish, to create, to bring into existence

המצאת אומה שתדע את השם ותעבדהו, כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה,

quotes the pasuk. The third time you have it, Rambam, פרק ג הלכות עבודה זרה, Avraham Avinu discovers Hakadosh Baruch Hu, he transmits it to Yitzchak in addition to the teaching he did in the world, but in particular

הודיע ליצחק בנו ויצחק הודיע ליעקב ויעקב אבינו לימד בניו כולם,

jumping around a little bit, ויעקב אבינו לימד בניו כולם vehivdil Levi.

והיה הדבר ולשמור מצוות אברהם מצוות בניו שלא יפסיקו בני לוי ממונה אחר ממונה כדי שלא ישתכח הלימוד והיה הדבר הולך ומתגבר בבני יעקב ובנלוים עליהם ונעשית בעולם אומה שהיא יודעת את השם.

So let's see some of the psukim here that I'm sure the Rambam read these psukim, right? Hashem amar, look in the Chumash and you'll see. It's extraordinary, right? והשם אמר המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה. What's happening with Sdom is also is derech Hashem. What's happening with Sdom is derech Hashem. Avraham Avinu, hayo yihyeh, he's going to succeed, I'm going to let him succeed in what he's striving to do, what he's so determined and dedicated to do. He's going to succeed in that, היה יהיה לגוי גדול ועצום. And why is he going to succeed in that? And because of the lema'an asher yitzaveh, because Avraham Avinu, a nation that he will beget, a nation that he will establish will be a nation hayoda'as Elokeha, which will be veshamru derech Hashem. So Avraham Avinu again his whole metzius is to observe derech Hashem, is to be ma'amid a nation, a goy gadol ve'atzum that will be yoda'as Eloka, that will know that derech Hashem. So Avraham Avinu I can't I can't conceal from him that which this manifestation of derech Hashem which is going to happen in the world here with Sdom. Okay, move on to something we didn't get to last week the end of the parsha in terms of the Ramban about nisayon. If you have it, take a look.

הרמב"ן כותב ואלוקים ניסה את אברהם עניין הניסיון הוא לדעתי בעבור היות מעשה האדם ברשות גמורה בידו אם ירצה יעשה ואם לא ירצה לא יעשה יקרא ניסיון מצד המנוסה אבל המנסה יתברך יצווה בו להוציא הדבר מן הכוח אל הפועל להיות לו שכר מעשה טוב לא שכר לב טוב בלבד.

The Ramban says the pshat in a nisayon, again it's a test, it's a trial from our vantage point, not from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows the future, Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows how the person would react. The nisayon is, it's described as a test, as a trial mitzadenu. What's the purpose? Why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu give nisyonos? So that the person, so that the tzadik will earn schar ma'aseh tov. Not simply שכר לב טוב בלבד, but schar ma'aseh tov. Then the Ramban continues,

ודע כי השם צדיק יבחן כשהוא יודע בצדיק שיעשה רצונו וחפץ להצדיקו יצווה אותו בניסיון.

And so Hakadosh Baruch Hu only brings nisyonos upon tzadikim because the point of the nisayon is to increase his merit to give him more schar.

ולא יבחן את הרשע שלא ישמע והנה כל הנסיונות שבתורה לטובת המנוסה.

The midrash here kayadu'a presents two shittos in nisayon.

ויהי אחרי הדברים האלה והאלוקים ניסה את אברהם כתיב נתת ליראיך נס להתנוסס. בשביל לנסותם בעולם בשביל לגדלם בעולם כנס הזה של ספינה.

So the first pshat in Chazal. So the first pshat in Chazal is that you find the lashon that neis can mean a banner, the שא נס לקבץ גלויותינו. That neis can be the what's it called the mast of a boat which is on high. And the point of nissayon is to elevate the person that the rest of the world should be able to see this person's example. And the point of nissayon is Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows who Avraham Avinu is. Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows the depth and the extent of Avraham Avinu's yiras and ahavas Hashem but the rest of the world should know, that the rest of the world should learn, that the rest of the world should have that example, so that that's pshat in nissayon. That's what the Ramban goes with this mahalach from Chazal. And Rashi has it as well. Then the Midrash has another pshat. Quotes the same pasuk here that the Ramban quotes, Hashem tzaddik yivchan.

אמר רבי יונתן הפשתני הזה כשפשתנו לוקה אינו מקיש עליה ביותר מפני שהיא פוקעת וכשפשתנו יפה הוא מקיש עליה ביותר למה שהיא משתבחת והולכת כך הקדוש ברוך הוא אינו מנסה את הרשעים למה שאינו יכול לעמוד ואת מי הוא מנסה את הצדיקים שנאמר ה' צדיק יבחן.

L'maiseh if you just read a little bit carefully, Chazal here are giving a different, this isn't the pshat the Ramban says. Chazal say that the pshat nissayon is, they give a mashal that if you have quality pishtan, flax, so then beating the pishtan improves the pishtan. The nimshal being that the nissayon, the challenge that a person is given, in his response to the challenge, he develops potential which otherwise would only have remained latent, and he achieves that greatness which otherwise he wouldn't have achieved. So like the Ramban, it's l'tovas haminuseh. And like the Ramban, nissayon is therefore limited to tzaddikim. But it's not just to, it's not an exercise in allowing as it were Hakadosh Baruch Hu to give more s'char, but on the contrary, it's because some things we only develop, we only fully develop and only fully actualize when we're pushed to the limit, when we're challenged, and then in response to that challenge, when we find ourselves in that position being pushed to the limit, then a person develops. But this is not what the Ramban says, right? Because otherwise the Ramban clearly is saying no, it's just an exercise in being able to as it were, it's an excuse for Hakadosh Baruch Hu to be able to give greater s'char, to give s'char for a maiseh, not just for a lev tov. So lich'ora the pshat, this havana in Chazal, I mean avada is true. The Ramban is not taking issue with it. I think everyone knows from just from personal experience that avada it's true, that sometimes a person finds himself in situations where he's challenged to do things that otherwise he never would have done and a person rises to that challenge and meets that challenge. So why, so isn't the Ramban almost sort of shortchanging and truncating what the point of a nissayon is by depicting it in terms of s'char? So yisochen the pshat Ramban is as follows. In giving his pshat the Ramban would tell us. The reason he's putting forth this peshat and not Chazal's is because his peshat will allow for and account for nisyonos that that this mahalach from Chazal doesn't. And specifically as follows. I'm back to Perek Tes. When he's talking about the midda of zerizus, he says something so so important. מי שמרגיל עצמו למנהגים האלה. Someone wants comfort, doesn't want to exert himself, he indulges the midda of atzlus. בקשת המנוחה הגופנית ושנאת הטרחה. Yeah, again, he wants ease and comfort and despises exertion. He says מי שירצה לאכול אכילתו בכל הישוב והמנוחה. Every every meal is very slow and ולישון שנתו בלא טורד. Doesn't own an alarm clock. וימאן ללכת אם לא לאיטו. You know, a stroll. הנה יקשה עליו להשכים לבית הכנסת בבוקר. It's gonna be hard for him to get up for minyan in the morning, so far just hard, right? או לקצר בסעודתו מפני תפילת המנחה בין הערביים. Or he's gonna have to abbreviate his snack to make sure he davens Mincha before shkia. או לצאת לדבר מצוה אם לא יהיה אז בטובו. U'mi she'margil, listen to this line rabbosai, ומי שמרגיל עצמו למנהגים האלה. One who allows himself to become habituated to these types of behavior, איננו אדון בעצמו לעשות הפך זה כשירוצה. He doesn't have the ability, he isn't sovereign, literally he isn't sovereign to act differently when he wants, כי נאסר רצונו במאסר ההרגל הנעשה טבע שני. Because his ratzon has been literally arrested, has been tied up in with bonds of habit, ha'na'aseh teva sheni. The Ramchal says that sometimes the cumulative effect of entrenched habit denies us of bechira on the spot. It's an incredible incredible yesod.

מי שמרגיל עצמו למנהגים האלה איננו אדון בעצמו לעשות הפך זה כשירוצה.

Sometimes the way a person responds instinctively is not a reflection of his bechira chofshis at this moment. it's a reflection of his bechirah chofshis for the past 20 years, 5 years, 10 years, or whatever. It's a reflection of his bechirah chofshis. It's not being imposed on him, it's not being dictated to him. But there are cases where it's a reflection where one's instinctive reaction on the spot is again is a product not of his bechirah at this moment because there are times when a person has positioned himself that he's not going to be able to act differently, when his bechirah now is just being dictated by his past bechiros for the past 10, 20, 25 years. Now obviously gradually he can undo this, doesn't mean that for the rest of his life that he's he's locked into the into this into this position. He can gradually undo it, but on the spot to overcome it on the spot right now there can be situations where a person can't do it. The pshat what the Ramban is saying is aderaba aderaba Chazal say is true, that when we're challenged, when we're pushed to the limit, so then we develop and we actualize potential that otherwise yitachen would have remained dormant and would have remained latent. But some nisyonos, some nisyonos, the Ramban isn't commenting only on the akeidah, he he he refers back to this subsequently in in other places in the parsha of the Torah, that some nisyonos which require immediate instinctive reactions so then what's happening there is not that the person is developing and actualizing. What's happening in such a case when the nisayon again is a person's going to be put into a position and and is going to be in a position to have to work harder than he ever worked before in his life. Okay, so then that takeh that nisayon, that's what Chazal are talking about, that nisayon that's what Chazal are talking about, that nisayon takeh will will push him to actualize, to realize what otherwise perhaps would have remained only potential and and would have remained dormant. But some nisyonos where the person is called upon to react on the spot, that nisayon isn't to develop because that nisayon like Ramchal is telling us, that's already just going to be a reflection of of how I've been living for the past 5, 10, 20, 20 years. So what's the point of that? Why does why is the tzadik being given that nisayon? That's not developing him, that's not actualizing. So Ramban says no. So that's why I'm telling you that in addition to what Chazal said you should know that there's an inyan that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants to reward ma'aseh tov not just the lev tov. Even even when the lev tov is there that this person can react instinctively on the spot, if he can do it instinctively on the spot, so then he's not developing it. It's not in response. That idea what Chazal are talking about, the mashal of beating the pishtan, that's when a a nisayon is a protracted nisayon, when it doesn't just call for an instinctive reaction. I want to give you a hakdama in in nisyonos that will understand that sometimes tzadikim are given nisyonos, again Ramban isn't commenting only on the akeidah here. I want you to understand says the Ramban a hakdama in in nisyonos that you'll recognize no that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has a reason for even giving a nisayon where the reaction is is supposed to be instinctive. If the reaction is supposed to be instinctive, that's not the mashal of of beating the the pishtan. That's just a function of of the lev tov that he already has. So then what's the point what's the point then of a nisayon? That's what the Ramban says no. So that will be for schar. But aderaba aderaba it's true what Chazal say and the Ramban doesn't mean to he can't disagree with this. Just everyone knows from experience that that it's true that that when a person is pushed, he he he reaches down in a way that that otherwise often often we don't.