Dvar Torah for Parshat Vayera

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Hilkhot Kibud Av v'Em 4

'Said [Yitzchak to Avraham], ÔHere's the fire and the wood"but where is the lamb for the offering?Ó
(Genesis 22:7)
'Honor your father and mother....Ó
(Exodus 20:12)

To give honor to Hashem (God). Not only very noble, but the purpose of Creation, the purpose of your being here! And that's why Hashem incorporated into Creation the ability to reproduce. This way the world can continuously regenerate and mankind, which more than any other creature is able to honor the Creator, can always be around with everything it needs to honor God.

Accompanying the physical container manufactured via reproduction is the soul, one's true identity. (Souls are of various degrees of holiness. The holiness of your soul is not static. It rises, or the opposite, according to your choices. Choose wisely!) The Arizal writes that for human beings to draw new souls into the world they have to rise to a very high 'place,Ó a 'placeÓ higher than the actual source of the souls themselves. This 'placeÓ is called mamar hasatum, the concealed Utterance. It refers to the first of the 10 Utterances with which Hashem created the universe: 'In the beginning...Ó (Genesis 1:1). But.

The mamar hasatum, because it conceals God's presence, is also a breeding ground (no pun intended) for kelipot, the husks/shells of impurity, whose function it is to distract and confuse us and thereby prevent us from honoring God. This is why the area of reproduction is a war, a raging world war. Very, very few come out of this war unscathed, untainted by the kelipot. Nonetheless, one who follows the Torah's instructions in this area, even though s/he may get 'wounded,Ó will not be a casualty.

But is the Torah applicable in this area of life? Can Hashem be found in a place so filled with the kelipot of pretense and passion, pleasure and pain, anticipation and disappointment? Is He there? Definitely yes. And it is the very asking for Him, the very searching for Hashem, that drives away the kelipot and reveals His glory. This allows one to heed the instructions which further honors Hashem, because to fulfill someone's request is to honor her (Yerushalmi Peah 1:1; cf. Sefer Chassidim §152).

One way these kelipot are manifested is with the 'putrid dropÓ from which every one of us if formed (Avot 3:1). When you honor your parents"one of the 10 Commandments!"you reveal God's glory that is so tremendously hidden. Because potentially, as a walking, talking 'putrid dropÓ which so very much conceals Hashem's honor and glory, one might add more"and worse"concealment that could totally eclipse God's glory. However, when you honor your parents you simultaneously honor Hashem (Kiddushin 30b) and break the kelipot which opens the way for giving Him even more honor.

(The mamar hasatum is, as mentioned above, very high. It is the source of tshuvah [repentance] which can transform every thing into good. Therefore, kaddish, the loftiest of praises to Hashem, is said for a departed parent. This fixes any shortcomings the parent may have left uncorrected.)

This is the explanation of what Yitzchak Avinu (Yitzchak our Patriarch) said to his father Avraham Avinu: 'Here's the fire and the wood"where is the lamb for the offering?Ó You told me that God sent us on this journey. Now, here we are trudging empty-handed to the top of a desolate mountain. All I carry is the fire of passion and the woodeness of my mission. How do I overcome these misdeeds of my heart, the distractions and confusion brought on by the kelipot? By asking: 'ÔWhere' is God's glory?Ó and remembering that the very question, the search itself, 'is the lamb for the offering,Ó is an offering to God.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!