On Thursday, November 28, Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman, Mashgiach of Yeshiva Ohr HaChaim, spoke at Khal Nachlas Yitzchok. He shared that Parshas Toldos has a haftarah, which is from Malachi, that tells us what happens right before the Mashiach comes. It is a special haftarah, but it wasn’t read this year because Rosh Chodesh was on Sunday [and Monday], so the Machar Chodesh haftarah was read instead.
The previous week’s parshah ended with describing the generations of Eisav. The last line says that Yishmael fell. The Baal HaTurim notes that the word “fell” is an unusual word used here, and this is followed by the beginning of Parshas Toldos, which says, “These are the generations of Yitzchak.” This teaches us that when we see Yishmael fall at the end of time, then we will see the world will go back to the way Hashem planned, and we will see the generations of Yitzchak. This will be in the time of Mashiach. Hopefully, we are living in that time.
Sefer Malachi teaches how to bring Mashiach. Hashem sent us an uplifting message. He said, “I always loved you.” Since the time when Avraham found Hashem, Hashem loved us. The Creator made a beautiful world. He’s letting people destroy it. Hashem is letting challenges exist until the time of Mashiach. Our challenge is to find the truth and to live the truth. We recite “Ahavah Rabbah” every morning. If we look at the fires in the world, we see hints that Hashem is there. He gave the example of the rainbow, which is a sign that Hashem is angry, but he won’t destroy the world. Today, a group of people who are not following the Seven Laws of Noach took the rainbow as their symbol. You can find Hashem even in the fires.
We all have challenges, but Hashem says: I love Yaakov and I hate Eisav, and I will destroy Eisav. What does this mean?
He shared a teaching from his rebbi to explain this difficult message. Hashem is saying: I love you because of the things you do that Eisav also does. I love you because of the different way you do these things. You both eat, dress, go to sleep, talk, etc., but Yaakov does these things in a refined Torah way.
He reviewed the three things that the Jews did in Egypt that enabled them to come out of Egypt. They kept their Jewish names, they dressed in a Jewish way, and they kept their holy language. We didn’t change our lifestyle. He noted how dressing with tz’nius applies today to men, as well, when the styles are not modest. The Jews living in Egypt had to speak Egyptian in everyday life, but they spoke in a refined way and never cursed or used any bad words. It’s not that Hashem has favoritism. To bring Mashiach, we do what Eisav does, but we follow halachah. We eat, sleep, talk, etc. in a different way.
We want to make Hashem happy. Thanking Hashem picks us up and makes us different.
Rabbi Finkelman retold the midrash that when Avraham realized the falsehood of idolatry, he broke the idols in his father’s idol shop. When his father asked who did this, Avraham responded that it was the idol holding the ax. His father said: but they can’t move. Avraham then said: so how can you worship them? His father sent him to Nimrod, who tried to convince him to believe in idols. Nimrod worked hard, but Avraham had answers to everything. Nimrod then decided to kill him, and he threw him into a fiery furnace. Hashem made a miracle and Avraham survived. Then Hashem told Avraham to leave his surroundings and go to the place He will tell him.
He shared a teaching of Rav Pam zt”l that Yaakov received both the brachah of the material and the spiritual, and that we have both brachos wherever we live in the galus.
The community thanks Rabbi Finkelman for sharing a beautiful shiur and Congregation Nachlas Yitzchok for hosting the shiur.
By Susie Garber
