Parshas Vayera

28 Tevet 5756
Saturday, January 29, 1996

Guest Rabbi:
Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld
Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, New York


In the beginning of this week's Parsha, HaShem speaks to Moshe and reminds him that "I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". Now we all know that these were the Patriarchs of our people. Thus, there will be no reason to have to explain their relationship to us. Yet, we find Rashi saying, to "the forefathers". Many of the commentators raise the question as to why Rashi found it necessary to describe Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as "our forefathers". After all, it is a fact that is so well known and, therefore, the commentary of Rashi seem completely superfluous.

As many questions as there are regarding this difficulty, there are as many explanations, many of which seem a little far fetched and forced.

It seems to me that Rashi here describes the basic relationship between the nation of Israel and its Founders and us. When for example, we speak of the Founding Fathers of the American Republic, we do not really regard them as our ancestors. We do respect and pay homage to them because they established the
true democracy which inspires the American people to this very day. When we speak to Americans and ask them about their fathers, they will think in terms of Irish, Italian, Norwegian or British ancestry. The Founding Fathers, as great as they were, have no direct personal link with the American people.

With the Jewish people it is a totally different story. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not only the Founding Fathers but they were and are to this day the real fathers of the nation of Israel. What Rashi wishes to emphasize is that we are not dealing with names, revered as they may be, of mere historical figures in the history of our people. When we mention Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we think of them as real fathers who are our direct ancestors. They were not the Jeffersons and Washingtons of the Jewish people but true ancestors whose blood runs in our veins and whose soul breathes in our bodies. It is for this reason that Rashi tells us that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were, indeed, our fathers. As such, our relationship to them is based on the Mitzvah of Kibud Av and not merely as those who established the original
nation of Israel. We obey the Mitzvot because, as children of our forefathers, we have an obligation to do so in line with our traditional observance of Torah.

When the Al-Mighty wanted to destroy Soddom and Gemmorah and consulted with Abraham, He gave as a reason the fact that Abraham would "command his children to follow him to walk in the ways of HaShem". To us the Torah is a family heirloom, a real heritage and inheritance . It is in this spirit that Rashi makes the comments that he does.

Finally, the land of Israel, Eretz Yisroel, was promised not to those who established the Jewish nation but it was promised literally to our fathers to be handed down from generation to generation. Our loyalty to the land and our love for it is based not on political or geopolitical reasons but on the fact that it is "the land of our forefathers".