Chasam Sofer On This Weeks Parsha

Parshas Hashavua

לך לך

The Chasam Sofer Al Hatorah (Parshas ויחי P 245) quotes the Kuzari who says that לעתיד לבא (in the near future) מצרים will be part of ארץ ישראל.

At the ברית בין הבתרים, Hashem promised the land to Avraham Avinu extending the border all the way to נהר מצרים

The תרגום ירושלמי & the תרגום המיוחס לר' יונתן בן עוזיאל translate מנהר מצרים -

מנילוס מצרים

(Breishis 15-18)

The Ibn Ezra, Rashi & others agree with the Targum.

The border of Eretz Yisroel will extend

all the way to the Nile (Cairo)

The Radvaz and other Rishonim argue and claim נהר מצרים can't be the Nile.

(They seem to hold נהר מצרים is possibly The Wadi El Arish)

when, where & by who?

Parshas Hashavua-Parshas Lech Lecha 

When, where & by who is this ברכה recited?

"ברוך אתה ה' אמ"ה אקב"ו במצות וחוקים של אברהם אבינו"

for answer click here

Parshas Lech Lecha- Bless Me

The מדרש writes, that when אברהם אבינו was about

to perform the ברית on himself he was somewhat hesitant,

so Hashem held on to him.

Hence וכרת עמו הברית, (together with him), and this is also

one of the sources of having a סנדק holding the baby at a ברית.

---

The Steipler Zt"l was questioned regarding the מנהג requesting a

ברכה from the סנדק

Where is the מקור for this מנהג?

He responded that he was unaware of any מקור for this מנהג.

---

Perhaps the מקור for asking a ברכה from the סנדק is from a בפירושע תניא .

The גמרא ברכות ז' ע"א says תניא א"ר ישמעאל

-R Yishmael ben Elisha said that he once entered לפני ולפנים to be מקטיר קטורת and HKBH asked him for a ברכה

---

We see that the ברכה of a מקטיר קטורת

is so valuable & powerful that even HKBH כביכול desired

a ברכה from him.

סנדקאות is compared to a הקטרת קטורת and therefore the Sandek's

ברכה is also considered valuable and worth pursuing. אמבצי

Story Told By Rav Shach Zatzal -Parshas Lech Lecha

מרן הרב הגאון ר' אלעזר מנחם מן שך זצ"ל told the following story: Reb Shach    The  ר' יעקב בן *יעקב משה לורברבוים מליסא נתיבות who was in a bad marriage and suffered terribly from his  wife, tried divorcing her but she refused to  accept a גט. ר' עקיבא איגר זצ"ל got involved and tried to  convince her to accept a גט. She responded,  “ My husband is such a  great צדיק and holy man. I would  never accept a גט from such a great צדיק.”   Rav Shach commented ” Even though she recognized her husband's greatness and holiness, yet she still made him צרות גדולות עד לשמים .”   Similarly, said Rav Shach “We find in the פסוק ונברכו בך כל משפחות  All of mankind  will recognize the greatness of אברהם אבינו - (כלל ישראל)  yet there will be ומקללך, haters of אברהם אבינו who would  curse and try harming his children. *His father died before he was born

sandak

 

The Midrash writes, that when אברהם אבינו was about to perform the ברית on himself he was somewhat hesitant, so Hashem held on to him. Hence וכרת עמו הברית, (together with him), and this is also one of the sources of having a סנדק holding the baby at a ברית. The Steipler Zt"l was questioned regarding the Minhag requesting a ברכה from the סנדק, where is the מקור for this Minhag? He responded that he was unaware of any מקור for this Minhag. Perhaps this can be considered as a source. The גמרא ברכות ז' ע"א R Yishmael ben Elisha said that he entered לפני ולפנים to be מקטיר קטורת and HKBH asked him to give a Bracha. We see that the Bracha of a מקטיר קטורת is so valuable & powerful that even HKBH כביכול desired a Bracha from him.  סנדקאות is compared to a הקטרת קטורת and therefore the Sandek's ברכה is also considered valuable and worth pursuing. אמבצי

Most hateful enemy

 

 לו ישמעאל יחיה

The ר'בחיי writes, (Breishis 21:14) "אברהם אבינו saw with his נבואה that his children the בני ישראל will suffer in the future from ישמעאל. No other nation will hate the בני ישראל as much as the ישמעאלים,

He therefore treated his son as an enemy and supplied him with bread & water, the way it says in משלי כ"ה

אם רעב שונאך האכילהו לחם ואם צמא השקהו מים"

Even though the Nazis killed six million Yidden, however as much as they hated Yidden the ישמעאלים hate us even more.

The Nazis weren't מוסר נפש to kill Yidden whereas the ישמעאלים commit suicide and allow their own people to get killed as long as they can ח"ו kill Yidden.

Perhaps this is what אברהם asked from Hashem "לו ישמעאל יחיה " 
הלואי ישמעאל would care & yearn life for his own people and for himself.
An enemy who is a  Kamikaze fighter is the most dangerous
hateful enemy one can have.
אמבצי

Where is קבר רחל?

                        Where is קבר רחל?  

  (הוא מצבת קברת רחל עד היום (בראשית לה:כ                                         

Is Kever Rochel in Bais Lechem,
south of Yerushalayim or in
Ramat Shlomo (north Yerushalayim)?

According to the some Rishonim, 
(רלב"ג, חזקוני, *רמב"ן פרשת ויחי)
Kever Rochel is not in Bais Lechem (south 
of Yerushalayim) but in רמה (north of Yerushalayim
- Ramat Shlomo-Shuafat area)

According to these ראשונים, three difficulties are solved.

1) In 'שמואל א': י':ב it says "קברת רחל בגבול בנימן" -  Seems
the Kever is in Binyamin, Bais Lechem is in Yehuda,
not Binyamin**.

2) Rashi in Parshas ויחי quotes the פסיקתא רבתי, " Yakov
toldYosef he buried Rochel on the road ע"פ הדיבור so she
will help her children when נבוזארדן will forcefully take
them from Yerushalayim to Bavel.
When they will pass by Kever Rochel, she will come out
from her Kever and cry -  'רחל מבכה על בניה וכו--

If Kever Rochel is in Bais Lechem (south of Yerushalayim)
they would not be passing her Kever on the way to Bavel
which is north of Yerushalayim?

3) In ( ספרי (פרשת וזאת הברכה, פסקא שנ"ב it says
, ר' מאיר אומר בחלקו של בנה מתה Rochel died in her
sons חלק (Binyamin & not Yehudah)

The חזקוני explains it is a כבוד to be buried in her children's
חלק (family plot).    

* The Ramban changed his mind in פרשת וישלח
** See Rashi 'שמואל א': י':ב

Chasam Sofer -Parshas Lech Lecha

Parshas Hashavua לך לך The Chasam Sofer Al Hatorah (Parshas ויחי P 245) quotes the Kuzari who says that לעתיד לבא (in the near future) מצרים will be part of ארץ ישראל.   At the ברית בין הבתרים, Hashem promised the land to Avraham Avinu extending the border all the way to נהר מצרים The תרגום ירושלמי & the תרגום המיוחס לר' יונתן בן עוזיאל translate מנהר מצרים  - מנילוס מצרים  (Breishis 15-18) The Ibn Ezra, Rashi & others agree with the Targum. The border of Eretz Yisroel will extend all the way to the Nile (Cairo) The Radvaz and other Rishonim argue and claim נהר מצרים can't be the Nile. (They seem to hold נהר מצרים is possibly The Wadi El Arish)

What's The Story

On the second day Shachris Rosh Hashana we say
in the סילוק, (long Yotzer before Kedusha)

"ונחבא בארץ י"ג שנים שלמים ולא ראה שמש וירח"

Avraham Avinu was hidden underground for 13 years
and didn't see the sun & moon.

What's the story?*


READ HERE TO FIND OUT 

* Don't bother looking for the story in the
Yiddish Kol Bo Machzor. They have it wrong.

The Story -Parshas Lech Lecha

Whats the Story 

The story :

The Seder Hadoros (year 1948) writes:

The night Avraham Avinu was born Nimrod's elders & magicians came to celebrate in Terach's house.

As they left the house they looked up  at the sky and saw one large star swallowing up four other stars.

The magicians told this to the king (Nimrod) and recommended that the child should be killed.

The king went to Terach and asked him for his son. After a long discussion, Terach asked the king to hold off for three days. After the three days, Terach gave the king a baby boy born to one of his slaves.

Terach took his son Avram and hid him for ten* years underground so that no one would suspect him of what

he actually did.

This is what the Payton was referring to when he wrote "ונחבא בארץ י"ג שנים שלמים ולא ראה שמש וירח"

*The Girsa in our Piyut is 13 years