Auf Ruf of Jeffrey Ostro

Acco Prison Escape

Mikros Gedolos – Oz Vehadar

My Torah on the Parsha

Genesis verse 12:3 –  וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃

Three Explanations – Rashi, Ramban, Rasbam

Lot

Yismael

Shabbos Activities – Auf Ruf of Jeffrey Ostro

First Shabbos back since we were in  Florida.  We left for Florida on September 20, 2023.  On Friday night Naftoli Glenner ate with us and Naftoli has to have liv-liv, so I get to eat chopped liver.

On Shabbos morning Serka and I walked to Congregation Yehuda Moshe on Touhy Avenue.  It is 2.8 miles from our house.  It was the Auf Ruf of Jeffrey Ostro.  He is marrying Noelle Bruno.   His mother, Gail Ostro, is our cousin, and my wife Serka is very close with her.  It was great having Kiddush with the Ostros and Gail’s family.  

My Torah below is inspired by the upcoming wedding of Jeffrey and Noelle Ostro, Noelle being a convert and giving Gail Ostro the Nachas of being able to walk her son to Chupa.  She saw her daughter, Elana, walking down with Gail’s grandchildren.

Acco Prison Escape

I was talking to Gail’s sister-in-law, Aurelia Malatzky-Ostro, and she tells me her father was an Irgun fighter in Israel’s war of Independence and that he was imprisoned in the infamous Acco prison. During the famous escape, her father  was the one who dropped the grenade between the prison bars to be able to escape.  His rabbi was Rabbi Aryeh Levin and Rabbi Aryeh Levin’s son married her and her husband, Mickey Ostro.  Quoting from the internet.

Looking to free Irgun and Lehi fighters imprisoned by the British in the fortress in Acco, the Irgun staged a daring and dramatic jail break. Having smuggled information and explosives to prisoners inside the prison, and staged a simultaneous attack from the outside by fighters dressed as British soldiers, the Irgun breached the prison for only the second time in its 800-year history.

By the end of the operation, 27 of the 41 escaped Jewish prisoners made it. Six were killed and eight captured. Of the Irgun attack force, three were killed and five captured; one British soldier was killed. The New York Times hailed it as one of the biggest jail breaks in history, Menachem Begin deemed it heroic, the Jewish Agency condemned it, the Yishuv loved it, and even the British acknowledged how bad it made them look. 

The prison break was immortalized in the 1960 film Exodus, starring Paul Newman.

Wikepdia has more information  The Mandate for Palestine aka Greater Israel by fact and law 1920: The Acre Prison Break, The Irgun: (May 4, 1947) – Draiman (themandateforpalestine-greaterisrael.blogspot.com)   

Aurilla Malatzky-Ostro also told me that her Shul, Shaarei Shomayim in Toronto, hosted Rabbi Meir Yaakov Solovechik as a scholar in residence and that he stayed for Shabbos in her house.  Serka and I were married at Shaar Shomayim.  Aurilla’s son, Jonathanl, is the President of the Shul.

Mikros Gedolos Oz Vehedar:

Last week I purchased a Oz Vehadar Mikros Gedolos.  It is a great Sefer and brings understanding of Chumosh to a new level.  There was the old Mikros Gdeolos which used Rashi script.  When I was younger it was hard to understand.   There was also the Penimin Mikros Gedolos from the 1950s which had a Perish Anshei Shem that is no longer printed and is almost gone.  I believe this Perish is in the Chok.    In 1990 the Hameor Institute  redid the Mikos Gedolos, removed errors, and changed the script to block letters, greatly enhancing the learning experience.  This is what I have used since it came out.  Artscroll came out with their version around 2015, however, I feel that it is really not an improvement over the Hameor and a little harder to use.  The Oz Vehadar is just on a completely different universe and leaves everyone in its dust.  I could only say the Pshat below using the Oz Vehadar.

My Torah from today:

Genesis Verse 12:3

וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃

At CUFI, banners are posted that say Genesis 12:3.    https://cufi.org/about/cufi-team/.  As Rabbi Bowman said, “and they believe in the Bible.”  Let us analyze the back half of the Passuk  וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה.

There are three explanations and a fourth comment:

1 – Rashi – his opinion is in green

2 – Ramban in his second explanation.  His opinion is in purple.

3 – Rashbam and Chizkuni.  Their opinion is in rust.

4 – Ibn Ezra criticizes the Rashbam and Chizkuni’s Pshat and agrees to the Ramban.  His opinion is in black.   

I started the Parsha at four in the morning and looked at Rashi on Verse 12:3.  I was stunned.  I always thought that this Passuk means that the world will be blessed  through Avrohom’s merit and great deeds.   Not only that Avrohom  brings Hashem’s goodness to the world, but through his actions, the world was a better place.  Just like Israel today.   My son Sholem for my birthday gave me the book, Start Up Nation.  The world benefits greatly from Israel’s innovations, discoveries,and patents in medicine, technology, and everything else.  If the world let, peace would break out from Israel.   Yet Rashi says that the simple meaning is that people will bless their children by saying, you should be like Avrohom.     

Interpretation 1:

Rashi says.

ונברכו בך. יֵשׁ אַגָּדוֹת רַבּוֹת, וְזֶהוּ פְשׁוּטוֹ, אָדָם אוֹמֵר לִבְנוֹ תְּהֵא כְּאַבְרָהָם, וְכֵן כָּל וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ שֶׁבַּמִּקְרָא, וְזֶה מוֹכִיחַ בְּךָ יְבָרֵךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר יְשִׂמְךָ אֱלֹהִים כְּאֶפְרַיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה (בר’ מ”ח):

 AND IN THEE SHALL BE BLESSED — There are many Agadoth concerning this but the plain sense of the text is as follows: A man says to his son, “Mayest thou become as Abraham”. This, too, is the meaning wherever the phrase ונברכו בך “And in thee shall be blessed” occurs in Scripture, and the following example proves this: (Genesis 48:20) בך יברך “By thee shall Israel bless their children saying, “May God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh”.

Interpretation 2:

Words of the Ramban on Pasuk 12:2: 

He starts by explaining the last two words of Pasuk 12:2.

והיה ברכה אתה תהיה הברכה אשר יתברכו בך לאמר “ישימך אלהים כאברהם” והוסיף עוד כי כל משפחות האדמה יתברכו בו לא אנשי ארצו בלבד או ונברכו בך שיהיו מבורכים בעבורו 

The Ramban uses Rashi’s explanation as the meaning of the last two words of verse 12:2 of  וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה. and first explains the וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה in 12:3 as a continuation of this idea that not only will your city bless there children saying too be like Avrohom but the entire world.

But then the Ramban has a second explanation for וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה    The Ramban says “ ונברכו בך שיהיו מבורכים בעבורו”.  The world will be blessed because of Avrohom.  You could explain this two ways and both are probably correct; 1 – through his righteous deeds, Hashem will bless the world, or 2 -because Avrohom was moral and good, he was an example for the world and the world was a better place because of him.  His goodzkeit spread to the world.  He was a world leader and people emulated him.  

The Ibn Ezra says Pshat like the Ramban, see the end of this piece of Torah., where I bring down the Ibn Ezra.

What do the Tragumin say?  (See Mikros Gedolos Oz Vehadar in their explanation of the Ramban)

Rashi aligns with theTargum Yonason Ben Uziel 

Targum Yonasan Ben Usiel

וַאֲבָרֵךְ יַת כַּהֲנַיָא דְפַרְסִין יְדֵיהוֹן בִּצְלוֹ וּמְבָרְכִין יַת בְּנָךְ וּבִלְעָם דִמְלַטֵט יַתְהוֹן אֵילוֹט וְיִקְטְלוּנֵיהּ לְפִתְגַם דְחָרֶב וְיִתְבָּרְכוּן בָּךְ כָּל זַרְעַיַת אַרְעָא 

And I will bless the priests who will spread forth their hands in prayer, and bless thy sons; and Bileam, who will curse them, I will curse, and they shall slay him with the mouth of the sword; and in thee shall be blessed all the generations of the earth.

Since the Tragum Yonasan uses the same word as the Torah uses, the assumption is that he is learning like Rashi

However Targum Onkelos and Targum Yerushalmi align with the Ramban:

וֶאֱבָרֵךְ מְבָרְכָךְ וּמְלַטְטָךְ אֵילוּט וְיִתְבָּרֲכוּן בְּדִילָךְ כֹּל זַרְעֲיַת אַרְעָא 

I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you, I will curse; and through you [and because of you], will be blessed all the families of the earth.

Targum Yerushalmi

וַאֲבָרֵךְ מַאן דִי בְרִיךְ יָתָךְ וּמַן דְלַיִיט יָתָךְ יֶהֱוֵי לִיט וְיִתְבָּרְכוּן בִזְכוּתָךְ כָּל זַרְעַיַת אַרְעָא:

And I will bless him who blesseth thee, and he who curseth thee shall be accursed; and in thy righteousness shall all the generations of the earth be blessed.

How do the English translations line up?

Like Rashi.

JPS 2006:

And all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.”

Artscroll 2018 (Avrohom Morgenstern on Targum Onkelos)

And all of the families of the earth will bless themselves by you.

Torah Yesharah –  Kahana 1963

all the families of the earth will bless themselves with the wish that they might be like you.”

(רש”י.)

Silverstein – 2013

and they shall bless themselves in you [i.e., in your name] all the families of the earth.

Like the Ramban and Onkelys:

Artscroll 1993: 

And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.  

Soncino

And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Interpretation #3:

There is a third interpretation of וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה and that is of the Rashbam, Chizkuni, and the Daas Zekeinim.  No English Chumashim translate it this way.  The word ונברכו is translated as  מבריך ומרכיב – grafting trees and layering – bending a tree branch back into the ground to grow a new tree.  Meaning that the non Jewish nations will want to marry into the Jewish nation.

Rashbam:

ונברכו – לשון מבריך ומרכיב, כלומר, יתערבו במשפחתך משפחות האדמה, שהרי משקל רפי הוא.

Chizkuni:

ונברכו משקל רפה, לשון ״‎מברכך ומרכיב״‎ (שביעית ב,ו), כלומר בך יתערבו משפחות שרי הארץ ולא תחשב כנכרי וגר ביניהם ולפיכך כתב כאן משפחת האדמה.

Daas Zekeinim:
ונברכו בך וגו’. כי יתערבו כל המשפחות שהכל יתאוו להתחבר עמך ונברכו לשון המבריך:

What is the source of the Rashbam et. al’s Pshat.  It appears to be a Gemora in Kidushim.

וְאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה״, אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְאַבְרָהָם: שְׁתֵּי הַבְרָכוֹת טוֹבוֹת יֵשׁ לִי לְהַבְרִיךְ בְּךָ: רוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה, וְנַעֲמָה הָעַמּוֹנִית.

 ״כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הָאֲדָמָה״ — אֲפִילּוּ מִשְׁפָּחוֹת הַדָּרוֹת בָּאֲדָמָה אֵין מִתְבָּרְכוֹת אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל. ״כׇּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ״ (Bereshis 18:18)— אֲפִילּוּ סְפִינוֹת הַבָּאוֹת מִגַּלְיָא לְאַסְפַּמְיָא אֵינָן מִתְבָּרְכוֹת אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל.

And Rabbi Elazar said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “And in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed [nivrekhu]” (Genesis 12:3)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Abraham: I have two good shoots to graft [lehavrikh] onto you: Ruth the Moabite, the ancestress of the house of David, and Naamah the Ammonite, whose marriage with Solomon led to the ensuing dynasty of the kings of Judea. “All the families of the earth” means: Even families that live in the earth, i.e., who have land of their own, are blessed only due to the Jewish people. Similarly, when the verse states: “All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him” (Genesis 18:18), it indicates that even ships that come from Galia to Hispania are blessed only due to the Jewish people.

Maharsha:

שתי בריכות כו’ לכאורה מכל משפחות גו’ מריבויא דכל דריש אפילו משפחות האסורות לבא בקהל יבריכו בך נקיבות שלהם דעמוני ולא עמונית מואבי ולא מואבית ואך יש לדקדק דמעיקרא דריש ונברכו מלשון הברכה ולבסוף דרשו ליה מלשון ברכה ממש אפי’ משפחות הדרות באדמה אין מתברכות אלא כו’ וע”כ נראה דמלתא באנפי נפשיה הוא בא לדרוש כל דמשפחות גו’ כמו שדרשו כל הגוים גו’ כמ”ש התוס’ והשתא אפשר דמעיקרא לאו מריבויא דכל דריש אלא משום דכל הני קראי דכתיבי כיוצא בזה כמו והתברכו בזרעך מתפרשים כי אדם אומר לבנו תהא כאברהם תהא כאפרים ומנשה אבל הכא שינה הכתוב למכתב ונברכו מלשון נפעל ע”י אחרים דהיינו שיעשה הקב”ה מהן שתי בריכות בתוכך או מלשון שיתברכו מן השמים ודו”ק:

The Gemora in Kedoshim is a little difficult to understand, it does appear that the Gemora translates  ונברכו in two ways, grafting and being a blessing.

Rashi clearly does not go like the Gemora in Yevamos at all..  The Rashbam is going like the Gemora in Yevamos, but only in the Gemora translation as grafting.  Why did the Rashbam choose grafting and not blessing,  It would seem that blessing would be the more plain meaning.  Perhaps he felt from the last two words of 12:2 והיה ברכה meaning that the world will be blessed through Avrohom, therefore the Rashbam has to explain that the meaning of Genesis 12:3 is grafting. 

The Gemora itself only talks about two people, Rus and Naama.     Perhaps the Gemara means Rus and Naama and all converts who convert to the Jewish nation.  The genoira seems to be saying that Rus and Naama who converted were beneficial to the Jewish nation and the Jeiwsh nation needed them.  The Rashbam says it refers to all converts from all the nations of the earth. The nations of the world will want to be part of the Jewish people and that the converts will be accepted as Jews. The Rashbam seems to be taking it that the non Jewish nations will want to feel a connection to the Jews.

Onkelos wanted to be connected to the Jewish people and he was a Torah scholar.  He published the first legitimate translation of the Torah into a foreign language.   He may have been the nephew of Titus.   Onkelos – Wikipedia. 

Ibn Ezra

There is no Ibn Ezra on this Pasuk in the regular Mikros Gedolos, however, the Oz Vehadar brings an Ibn Ezra on 12:3 from another source and it is simply great.  The Ibn Ezra was born in 1089 and lived to about 1164.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_ibn_Ezra

The words of the Ibn Ezra:

בשיטה אחרת:  חכם גדול אמר בּספרד כי ׳ונברכו בך׳ מגזרת הברכת האילן (עיין רשׁבּ״ם), ולא ידעתי מי הביאו צרה ההזאת.  רק ׳ונברכו׳ מבנין נפעל על דרך נכבד, כי ׳מתברך׳ הוא כמו ׳מתכבד׳, והנה הטעם שיהיו משפּחות האדמה בעבורו מבורכות וראה גם מה שכתב רבינו להלן (יח יח) בביאור ׳ונברכו׳[ואינו כפירוש רש”י שאנשי העולם יברכו זרעם בו]

Translated as – a wise man from Spain said it means grafting. I love the Ibn Ezra criticizing the Rashbam’s explanation by saying  ולא ידעתי מי הביאו צרה ההזאת.  I do not know who brought this trouble.

Perhaps Ibn Ezra wrote this line because of the conversion of his son to Islam in 1140.  And perhaps he saw  that people converting to Judaism was leading to importing foreign ideas into the Jewish people and in his time it was not beneficial.  

Wikedpeia writes: 

Little is known of ibn Ezra’s family from outside sources; however, he wrote of a marriage to a wife that produced five children. While it is believed four died early, the last-born, Isaac, became an influential poet and later convert to Islam in 1140. The conversion of his son was deeply troubling for ibn Ezra, leading him to pen many poems reacting to the event for years afterward.^[3]

Lot – Avrohom’s Nephew

Genesis Verse 12:4 and 12:5

וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט וְאַבְרָ֗ם בֶּן־חָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּצֵאת֖וֹ מֵחָרָֽן׃ 

וַיִּקַּ֣ח אַבְרָם֩ אֶת־שָׂרַ֨י אִשְׁתּ֜וֹ וְאֶת־ל֣וֹט בֶּן־אָחִ֗יו וְאֶת־כׇּל־רְכוּשָׁם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר רָכָ֔שׁוּ וְאֶת־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֣וּ בְחָרָ֑ן וַיֵּצְא֗וּ לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ אַ֥רְצָה כְּנָֽעַן׃

12:4 says that Lot  goes with Avrohom.  The first Pasuk says that Lot went with Avrohom.  12:5 says that Avrohom took Lot.   Is there a difference between the first Pasuk implies that Lot went on his own decision, while the second Pasuk seems to say that Avrohom took him, as if Lot did not know what to do and Avrohom grabbed him and siad your our coming with me.  Is there something to be learned from this?

In 12:4 its says  וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט and not וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ ל֑וֹט אִתּ֖וֹ .  Does this word usage mean anything?

I saw a Ramban that I cannot find that Avrohom had no family going with him and Lot stepped up so Avrohom would have family with him.  I cannot find the Ramban.

Yismael:

Bereshis 15:15

By the Bris Bein Habesarim hashem tells Avrohom –

וְאַתָּ֛ה תָּב֥וֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם תִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה׃

As for you, You shall go to your ancestors in peace; You shall be buried at a ripe old age.

And Rashi says this means  that Yismael will repent in Avrohom’s lifetime.

Rashi:

תקבר בשיבה טובה. בִּשְּׂרוֹ שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה יִשְׁמָעֵאל תְּשׁוּבָה בְּיָמָיו, וְלֹא יֵצֵא עֵשָׂו לְתַרְבּוּת רָעָה בְּיָמָיו; וּלְפִיכָךְ מֵת ה’ שָׁנִים קֹדֶם זְמַנּוֹ, וּבוֹ בַיּוֹם מָרַד עֵשָׂו:

Why when Hagar was kicked out of Avrohoms’s house and Yismael was dying of thirst, the angels wanted Hashem to deny water to Yismael so he would die.  How do we understand this because Yismael will become a Tzadick and we also know that Avorhom loved Yismael.  The fact that 1,000 years henceforth, Yishmael’s descendants will kill  fleeing jews with thirst, we Jews have plenty of enemies.  In fact the Northern kingdom attacked the Yehuda during the first temple period.  Do we say that Hashem should have only had two tribes.  I will have to answer this next week.