Recap for 18 Cheshvan 5777 (Parsha Vayeira)

This shabbos, we discussed parsha Vayeira, including commentary by Rav Yeager.  We also discussed some of the halakhah of shabbos.  I would like to thank David and Linda for hosting our kiddush.  David Schlesinger led discussion.

We discussed some of the halakhah of Shabbos.  On Shabbos, we are not allowed to turn on a flow of electricity.  We discussed that if we accidentally turn on a light by walking through a neighbor’s sensor, it is not a violation, however we should try not triggering the sensor in the future.  We discussed that in some cases, even if we are certain to turn on a light, we are allowed to do it.  For example, we discussed the opinion that we are allowed to trigger a neighbor's sensor going in and out of our front door on Shabbos.  However, we all need to check with our Rabbi on this.

Rob brought up some interesting issues that may become more and more important in the future.  Rob shared his thoughts that there will be more and more video surveillance cameras in our neighborhoods.  There may be many that we are not aware of.  Or we may be aware of them, but it is extremely difficult to avoid them.  These cameras may be programmed to turn on when alerted by sensors.  These are issues that we should all discuss with our Rabbi, especially a local Rabbi who is familiar with our neighborhood.  

We discussed how the work prohibitions on Shabbos apply to Yom Tov.  We discussed that on Yom Tov we cannot start a fire from scratch, however we can use an existing flame to start one.  We are not allowed to put out a fire, either, however, we do not have to stop a fire from going out due to a diminishing fuel source.  We do not have to feed logs to a fire in the fireplace.  One of the interesting things we discussed, is that we can cut off the gas supply to a stove or fireplace, however we cannot put a fire out with water.

Yaki spoke about how Judaism is based on faith.  He emphasized the importance of believing, even if we do not completely understand.  We discussed what would happen if we only believed in what we understood.  In this case, we would not follow halakah such as kosher laws, and fail to follow many of Hashem’s commandments.  We discussed that it is important to follow all of Hashem’s commandments whether we understand them or not.

In his dvar torah, Efroni discusses how Abraham did not question Hashem about the commandment to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but did question Hashem about the plan to destroy Sodom.  Dave W mentioned that with the commandment to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham was told exactly what he was to do.  Efroni mentions this as well, and how Abraham was not told explicitly what to do with the plan to destroy Sodom.  Efroni commented that Abraham figured out that Hashem wanted Abraham to talk him out of his plan, although Hashem did not come out and explicitly ask Abraham to talk him out of it.

The same way Abraham had to figure out what Hashem wanted with respect to Sodom, when we encounter something new or unusual in our lives, we should ask ourselves what Hashem wants us to do.  This is a point made by both Efroni, in his video dvar Torah, and David.  The Torah does give us some very specific commandments, but sometimes Hashem wants us to do things that we figure out on our own.  When we meet people, or encounter events, we should apply the Torah and ask ourselves what it is that Hashem desires. 

We discussed this Shabbos, the connections we have with our children.  We discussed that we can gain connections with anyone, however, these connections are conditional on friendships that are not guaranteed to be permanent.  Our connections with our children are unconditional.  The same way Hashem gives us unconditional love, we give our children the same.  David shared that we should try to influence our children, rather than control them.   This is what Hashem does with us.  We talked about how we tend to put more focus on our children than on our parents.  We discussed that this may be because we are descended from Adam who had no parents.

Finally, Dave W mentioned that the custom to have dairy before meat comes from the week’s parsha.  Also, we discussed the difference between “good enough” and being perfect.  We discussed that our best use of time may be to be "good enough" with one thing, and then moving on to another, rather than trying to be perfect with everything.

This is a summary of what we discussed.  No halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.