Parashat Vayeira

This weeks' Parasha - VaYeira - marks the 15th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah.  It also marks the first anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah since my father was niftar.  This will be the first year that, after leining maftir (b"eH), I am not greeted by a handshake and a kiss from my father upon returning to my seat.  I have no doubt that this will be a difficult shabbos.....



There are many occurances of great significance in VaYeira - Avraham is visited by the 3 angels, Sarah becomes pregnant and gives birth, S'dom is destroyed and, of course, Yitzchak is sacrificed (well, almost...).

Avraham was 100 and Sarah 99 when Yitzchak was born to them.  It would seem strange for Hashem to make them wait so long for a child only to then have the child sacrificed.  Certainly, it would seem that Avraham must have misinterpreted Hashem's instructions.  After all, who would want to sacrifice their "only" (Avraham had another child with Hagar) child that they waited a century to have??  And yet, upon hearing Hashem's words, Avraham went without hesitation.

Personally, I consider myself to be a G-d fearing Jew.  I like to think that I do what I'm supposed to and I do it properly.  When faced with a choice between right and wrong - I believe I choose right.  That said, I can't deny the fact that, when faced with a very difficult choice, I sometimes look for a valid "reason" why I should choose the path that I prefer rather than the correct path.  I think many people do this.  We try to justify our actions by arguing this, that and the other.  The reality is though, we aren't the ones justifying our actions - the Yetzer Hara is!

Picture the following scenario:  You're walking into the supermarket with just enough cash on you to pay for your intended purchase (you also have a credit card on you with plenty to spend).  As you approach the entrance, a poor man sticks out his hand and asks if you can spare some money.  Ideally, you would smile at him and hand him a few dollars.  Sadly though, many of us would tell the man we have nothing to offer and justify it by thinking "I only have enough cash for my purchase" - neglecting the credit card I mentioned earlier that's in our pocket.

This is a perfect example of where we use reason to pass up the opportunity to do a mitzvah.  Rather, it's a perfect example of where the Yetzer Hara uses reason to convince us not to do a mitzvah.

All our lives, we are taught of how cunning the Yetzer Hara is.  We are told to beware of his logic - as the excuses he gives us will always seem valid.  Nonetheless, time and time again we fall victim to his tricks and pass up on these precious opportunities.

The midrash teaches us that, while enroute to sacrifice Yitzchak, the Satan approached Avraham in an attempt to deter him from his task.  During the encounter, the Satan continued to present Avraham with reason after reason as to why he should retreat - all of them valid.  Avraham, however, was determined to serve Hashem and continued to press forward.

May we all be zoche to gain the dedication and devotion that Avraham possessed so that, we too, can fight passed the Yetzer Hara and in the merit of these mitzvot may Mashiach come speedily in our days.

Shabbat Shalom!