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Shabbat Parashat Lech Lecha 5786

Lech Lecha | 10 Cheshvan 5786 | 01/11/2025

Parashat Hashavua: The Journey … from Charan to Mt. Moriah and Beyond

The call to Avraham of “Lech lecha” (I will unsatisfactorily translate it as “you shall go”) is found twice in Bereishit. Opening our parasha, Hashem tells Avraham to go to the land he will show him (Bereishit 12:1). In Vayeira, Hashem tells him to go the Land of Moriah and offer Yitzchak as a sacrifice (Akeidat Yitzchak) on a mountain He would tell him (ibid. 22:2).

Ask the Rabbi: Kohen Who Has Trouble Standing

I, an elderly kohen with weak legs and poor balance, walk with a cane. I walk up to duchen with a cane, stand near a wall, and lean during Birkat Kohanim (=BK). Is that valid? Can you suggest a good plan of action?

Moreshet Shaul: Inability to Pass on Abandoned Tradition – part II

If we see an unusually large flame, in a place where we are used to a normal, stable flame, we should assume that it is not good, but that it is a sign of catastrophe. There must have been an eruption – perhaps a storehouse of petrol caught fire. The great flame is a sign that in a relatively short time, there will be nothing left.

P'ninat Mishpat: A Seller with Questionable Rights to the Property – part I

Multiple plaintiffs (=pl), each paying different amounts, bought land from a company (=def1), owned by def2, dealing with land sold by Arabs, in the periphery of a yishuv. Def1 was also supposed to handle the registration of the property in pl’s names. Years went by without the deal being completed, so pl demanded their payment back according to par 5.6 of their contract. Although a different document states that pl cannot get their money back, it was never signed, and the signed one says that it supersedes other agreements. Pl claims that def violated their agreement by not advancing it over years. More fundamentally, the sale should be void because pl was misinformed, as def has not provided any proof they own the property they purported to sell. Def1 claims they have 25% holdings in the company (=comp2) that arguably has rights to the property (the subject of court cases), but there is no record of def1’s portion in comp2, which makes it a very suspicious claim. Def1 responds that he is very close with comp2’s owner, so there is no need for official records of his rights. Pl also claim that even comp2’s rights seem out-of-line with what def2 assured pl. Def1 counters that the nature of their operation is to deal with complex legal cases, as pl knew, and they should have done as much research as they wanted. [We will discuss other elements of the dispute in future weeks.]

Lech Lecha 5786
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Lech Lecha 5786

We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for:
Tal Shaul ben Yaffa
Nir Rephael ben Rachel Bracha
Itamar Chaim ben Tzipporah
Ori Leah bat Chaya Temima
Arye Yitzchak ben Geula Miriam
Neta bat Malka
Meira bat Esther
Together with all cholei Yisrael

Hemdat Yamim is dedicated
to the memory of:

Those who fell in wars
for our homeland

Harav Moshe Ehrenreich zt"l

Nissan 1, 5785

Prof. Yisrael Aharoni z"l

Kislev 14, 5783

Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l
Iyar 10, 5771

Rav Reuven & Chaya Leah Aberman z"l
Tishrei 9 ,5776 / Tishrei 20, 5782

Mr. Shmuel & Esther Shemesh z"l

Sivan 17 / Av 20

Mr. Moshe Wasserzug z"l

Tishrei 20 ,5781

R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l

Rav Carmel's father

Iyar 8 ,5776

Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky

bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h.

Tamuz 10 ,5774

Rav Asher & Susan Wasserteil z"l
Kislev 9 / Elul 16, 5780

R' Meir ben

Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l

Mrs. Sara Brachfeld z"l

Tevet 16 ,5780

R 'Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha

and

Chana bat Yaish & Simcha

Sebbag, z"l

Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l
Cheshvan 13, 5778

Rav Benzion Grossman z"l
Tamuz 23, 5777

R' Abraham & Gita Klein z"l

Iyar 18, /5779Av 4

Rav Moshe Zvi (Milton) Polin z"l
Tammuz 19, 5778

R' Yitzchak Zev & Naomi Tarshansky z"l

Adar 28, 5781/ Adar II 14 5784

R' Yitzchak Eizik Usdan z"l

ben Yehuda Leib Av 29

Mr. Yitzhak Aharon & Doba Moinester z"l

Elul 5, 5782 / Elul 23, 5774

Nina Moinester z"l

Nechama Osna bat

Yitzhak Aharon & Doba

Av 30, 5781

Rabbi Dr. Jerry Hochbaum z"l

Adar II 17, 5782

Mrs. Julia Koschitzky z"l

Adar II 18, 5782

Mrs. Leah Meyer z"l

Nisan 27, 5782

Mr. Shmuel & Rivka Brandman z"l

Tevet 16 5783/ Iyar 8, 5781

George Weinstein z"l

Gershon ben Yehudah Mayer

lover of the Jewish Nation Torah and Land

Hemdat Yamim
is endowed by
Les z"l & Ethel Sutker
of Chicago, Illinois
in loving memory of
Max and Mary Sutker
& Louis and Lillian Klein z”l

A weekly divrei Torah leaflet: A Glimpse at the Parasha, Ask the Rabbi, From the writings of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, zt”l, Pninat Mishpat (Jewish Monetary Law).