In this week’s Parsha, Avraham is recovering a heroic feat. He did something exceedingly brave, courageous, and holy. He circumcised himself at the age of ninety-nine. Avraham went under the knife and received a bris milah. This resulted into a Divine Revelation where Hashem appeared to him. The pasuk says, Vayeira eilav Hashem – Hashem appeared to him. There is a big question here: The pasuk doesn’t say who Hashem appears to! Why the anonymity? Why the ambiguity? The pasuk should say Vayeira Hashem el Avraham, that Hashem appeared to Avraham. Shouldn’t the Torah specify who Hashem appeared to? Doesn’t Avraham deserve the credit? He did something so valiant. He put himself under the knife! Doesn’t he deserve the accolades and tribute? Why does the pasuk say Hashem appeared to him? Shouldn’t it say who that ‘”him” was?
I would like to share with you a powerful answer that I heard from my father, Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita: Rav Mottel of Chornobyl says that the pasuk says Vayeira eilav – that Hashem appeared to him because “him” can be anybody. The pasuk intentionally leaves it ambiguous because him could be you! It’s a fill-in-the-blanks!
Rav Mottel says that if you do something for Hashem – if you extend yourself and go above and beyond, then Hashem will appear in a sense to you! If you are willing to go outside of your comfort zone and you work on yourself then Vayeira eilav – Hashem will appear to you! He will do wonders for you! You are that him! What an amazing thing!
I would like to share with you an unbelievable story: There was a Yid from Brooklyn, a young man who was totally secular. He came to our Shul, BJX, to explore his roots. His soul thirsted for Yiddishkeit. His mind opened, his horizons expanded, and he wanted more. He wanted Yiddishkeit, but he was torn. For five years he’s been dating a non-Jewish girl. A girl who he said was flawless. It was a huge nisayon for him. He was struggling. My father suggested that he should go to Yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel for a bit, and he agreed. Later that week, my father was about to book his ticket, but he needed some details from him. My father called him, but he couldn’t reach him. He called again the next day, but it went straight to voicemail. My father couldn’t reach him for days.
Finally, almost a week later he called my father. My father said, “Where were you? Is everything ok?” He said, “Rabbi, I had to make the decision of a lifetime. I really didn’t know what to do with my life, so I went to the Poconos to meditate and get clarity. I sat there, and I davened. I prayed to Hashem. I brought with me a Tanach and I decided that I was going to open it randomly, for Hashem to guide me.” He said, Rabbi, you won’t believe what happened. “I opened the Tanach, and it opened exactly in Sefer Ezra, perek tes, where it speaks about the Jewish people returning to Eretz Yisroel, and giving up their non-Jewish woman. With tears in his eyes, he said to my father, “Rabbi, please book my flight. I’m going to Israel!”
This was a revealed, open miracle. Why did he merit this? He merited this because he was moser nefesh – He sacrificed for Hashem, and when one sacrifices for Hashem, Hashem does wonders for him. Hashem can do anything. Hashem can help us with whatever we may need. When we face our own personal crises or nisayonos we must try to persevere and stay strong. We must keep fighting and with Hashem’s help we too will see miracles!
