by Rabbi Yair Hoffman We are a blessed generation that we have a remarkable gadol in our midst in Rav Yeruchem Olshin shlita.  What follows is a restatement of the Vaad he has given on this week’s Parsha in a simpler English with guided headings to facilitate greater readability and comprehension.  I mostly used the ENglish names of things so as to help those not-so-familiar with the language of Divrei Torah.  If there is any public interest in this please email me at yairhoffman2@gmail.com.  Have a great Shabbos, yh INTRODUCTION: ABRAHAM’S FIRST DIVINE REVELATION AND THE PROMISE OF LAND At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, the text tells us: “And Hashem appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your children I will give this land.’ And he built an altar there to Hashem who had appeared to him.” RASHI’S INTERPRETATION OF ABRAHAM’S ALTAR Rashi explains that at that moment, the Creator was giving Abraham two incredible pieces of news: That he would finally have children That his children would be given the Land of Israel According to Rashi, it was in recognition and gratitude for these two pieces of news that Abraham built an altar. OR HACHAIM’S ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION However, the Or HaChaim gives an entirely different explanation for the altar that Abraham built. According to the Or HaChaim, this verse reveals the incredible love that Abraham had for the Creator. Here, Hashem had appeared to him and given him the amazing news that he would finally have children, and those children would be given the Land of Israel. Yet, that wasn’t his reason for building the altar. The altar was built as a show of gratitude and joy that he had merited to experience divine revelation. ABRAHAM’S PRIORITIZATION OF DIVINE REVELATION The Or HaChaim explains that in Abraham’s eyes, compared to the merit of experiencing divine revelation, those two incredible pieces of news were worth nothing at all. Consider this: For decades upon decades, Abraham had waited for and begged for a child. Pleading with the Creator, he had said, “What will You give me, as I go childless?” The pain was unbearable. And now, finally, Hashem appears to him and tells him that he will have children and a land of his own. Yet, that isn’t what causes him to build an altar. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIVINE REVELATION While he was, of course, thankful and joyful about those two pieces of news, in comparison to the merit of experiencing divine revelation, they were insignificant. So, he builds an altar for one reason only – “to Hashem who had appeared to him” – in recognition of and gratitude for the fact that he had merited to experience divine revelation. In his eyes, there could have been no greater reason for joy. THE PSALMS CONNECTION This altar demonstrated the verse in Psalms 16: “The fullness of joy is in Your presence.” The altar was Abraham’s expression that no joy could possibly be greater than the merit of experiencing divine revelation. BAAL HATURIM’S INTERPRETATION AND JOSEPH’S CONCERN However, the Baal HaTurim gives an entirely different, incredible explanation. “Tivaresh,” says the Baal HaTurim, means “lest you become impoverished in your learning.” Joseph was therefore telling Jacob, “It is better for you to come here, even though it means leaving the Holy […]