Parshat Chayey Sarah - Lineage over Righteousness

 BH

The Dilemma of Lineage and Righteousness

After the passing and burial of Sarah Imeinu, Avraham Avinu turns to the task of finding a suitable wife for his son Yitzchak. The Midrash explains that the Akeidah – the binding of Yitzchak – awakened Avraham to this urgency. When Hashem told him, “Through Yitzchak your offspring will be called,” and then commanded him to offer Yitzchak as a sacrifice, Avraham realized that had he already arranged Yitzchak’s marriage, there would have been continuity even if the Akeidah had occurred.

The Midrash teaches that Avraham faced a profound dilemma – Yichus or Tzidkut: should he seek a bride with pure lineage, descended from his own family, or should he prioritize righteousness itself, even from a different and base background?

At first, Avraham leaned toward lineage. His extended family – Nachor, Haran, and their descendants – were from the line of Shem, blessed by Noach. Avraham was living among the Canaanites, descendants of Cham, who had been cursed by Noach: “Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be.” Avraham feared mixing this lineage into the covenantal seed of Yitzchak.

Yet after the Akeidah, his perspective shifted. Seeing how close he came to losing Yitzchak, he said, “I should have already sought a righteous wife for him, even if not from my lineage.” He decided to consider the righteous women of his time – the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, his close allies and students, described by the Torah as ba’alei brito shel Avraham – partners in Avraham’s covenant with Hashem.

The Counsel of Mamre

When Hashem commanded Avraham to perform the Brit Milah, Avraham consulted these three friends. The Midrash says:

• Aner advised against it, fearing it would weaken Avraham and leave him open to attack.

• Eshkol warned it could lead to sickness or death.

• Mamre, however, rebuked Avraham: “You ask me? If Hashem commands you, there is no question – do it!”

Because of this, Hashem later appeared to Avraham “in the plains of Mamre” – rewarding him for the faith and clarity that Mamre had encouraged.

Rabbeinu Bachya offers a remarkable interpretation: the very name Mamre (ממרא) encodes the four miracles that Mamre reminded Avraham of – each proof that Hashem would protect him again:

• Mem – Melachim (the kings) whom Avraham defeated.

• Mem – Milah (the circumcision) itself.

• Resh – Ra’av (the famine) that Hashem saved him from.

• Aleph – Esh (the fire) of Ur Kasdim, from which Avraham was miraculously delivered.

Mamre’s name thus symbolizes his message: the same God who saved you before will save you again.

The Midrash adds another layer: the word Mamre connotes boldness – mered, holy defiance. As a devoted disciple, Mamre spoke sharply, even audaciously, to awaken Avraham’s clarity. Avraham, in turn, deliberately invited this test – he sought to manifest the Yetzer Hara through doubt, so that by choosing faith once more, he could overcome it.

Sparks from the Chamber of Exchanges

Reb Noson explains that Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre were not just random allies – they embodied sparks originating from the Chamber of Exchanges (Heichal HaTemurot). Their very spiritual root was tied to a domain where good and evil intermingle, where the Yetzer Hara swaps truth for falsehood and purity for impurity.

This is why their advice was risky territory. Even though they were righteous converts and loyal companions of Avraham, their spiritual footing remained connected to this unstable domain. And yet Avraham specifically sought them out when asking about Brit Milah.

Why?

Because Avraham wanted to channel the entire struggle of the Yetzer Hara into one front – he chose this to be the battleground. If he could withstand the challenge of doubt that came disguised inside the advice of people rooted in the Chamber of Exchanges, he would conquer the test at its source.

This explains:

• Why Mamre is mentioned last – acharon acharon chaviv – because he rose above the distortion of his spiritual root and gave the clearest answer.

• Why Hashem always revealed Himself to Avraham “in Elonei Mamre” – because Mamre’s clarity broke through a domain built on confusion.

This background sets the stage for the parshah’s central question:
Should Yitzchak marry based on lineage or righteousness?

Hashem’s Instruction: Lineage Comes First

After the Akeidah, Avraham momentarily thought:
Perhaps I should stop waiting for the perfect lineage. Let Yitzchak marry a righteous girl – even from Aner, Eshkol, or Mamre.

Hashem immediately revealed otherwise:

“The true zivug for Yitzchak has just been born.”

That girl was Rivka, born at that very moment. Avraham was instructed to wait three years and then send Eliezer to his own homeland to arrange the match.

Thus, when Avraham made Eliezer swear not to take a wife from the Canaanites, he was reaffirming:

• Lineage must be preserved for Yitzchak,

• Because Yitzchak is “an olah temimah,” a pure, unblemished offering,

• And may not leave the Holy Land or be mixed with the cursed lineage of Canaan.

Only a girl from Avraham’s extended family – descendants of Shem – was suitable.

Even if a Jew falls and becomes entangled in the chamber of exchanges, he is never spiritually doomed

Eliezer’s Oath and the Backup Plan

Eliezer asked the obvious question:
What if the girl refuses to come? Should I bring Yitzchak there?

Avraham answered with absolute clarity:

• “No. Never take my son out of the Land.”

• If she refuses, Eliezer is released from the oath,

• And then Yitzchak may marry from the righteous daughters of Aner, Eshkol, or Mamre.

They were the backup plan – righteous but lacking lineage.

Rashi explains that while righteousness is usually the primary factor – even a mamzer talmid chacham is greater than a Kohen Gadol – Yitzchak was different.

Yitzchak was the foundation of Am Yisrael, whose descendants would later enter the diaspora – the spiritual counterpart of the Chamber of Exchanges. His roots needed to be completely firm, unblemished, and anchored in the purest possible lineage.

And in the end, Hashem provided both:

• Rivka had perfect lineage
• Rivka was personally righteous, even at age three
• Eliezer’s prayer was accepted

The zivug of Yitzchak and Rivka became the perfect union to build the next stage of the Jewish people.

The Enduring Strength of Yitzchak and Rivka’s Foundation

This brings us back to the core message of the parshah. Yitzchak could not marry from Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre – despite their righteousness – because he had to remain completely pure, an olah temimah. Their daughters may have been personally worthy, but their roots were still tied to the chamber of exchanges. That spiritual instability could, at any moment, reawaken and pull downward. Yitzchak, as a tzaddik ben tzaddik, required a wife who matched his lineage, not just personal merit, in order to establish a foundation capable of upholding the future of Am Yisrael.

Avraham, a tzaddik ben rasha (even though Terach eventually did Teshuvah, still, compared to the calibre of Avraham, he was considered unworthy), had the strength to elevate what was damaged; Yitzchak did not come from such brokenness, and therefore his foundation had to be firm, untainted, and pure. Rivka – born from the family of Shem – provided that foundation. Because of their marriage, every Jew carries within their spiritual DNA a point of holiness that cannot be extinguished. Even if a person falls into the chamber of exchanges, becomes confused, trapped, or spiritually distant, one thing remains unchanged: I am a Jew. I have a pintale Yid. I can always come back.

This is the power of lineage over personal righteousness in the specific case of Yitzchak Avinu. His marriage needed to produce a nation capable of withstanding endless exiles, distortions, temptations, and spiritual confusion – while still retaining the inner pull to return to Hashem.

Why Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre Remained the Second Option

Still, it’s no coincidence that Avraham lists all three as the fallback option. Though they were Canaanites and came from the chamber of exchanges, each of their names hints to a special virtue:

• Aner can be read as Ayin–Ner – 70 (the seventy nations / facets of Torah) shining as a ner, a candle. Aner hints at the ability to illuminate holiness hidden among the nations.

• Eshkol evokes Ish Eshkolot – the Torah’s term for a person of many talents, a cluster of virtues, someone who mastered many areas of Torah.

• Mamre, as seen earlier, embodied holy boldness and deep faith, his very name hinting to malchut, milah, ra’av, esh – the four salvations he reminded Avraham of. His name also connotes the exchange (המרה) of the chambers.

Each carried a powerful spark, even if their lineage was blemished. Had Rivka not existed, Avraham was prepared to rely on their righteousness – but only as a distant second choice, because their roots were spiritually unstable.

The Eternal Gift We Inherited

And so the parshah reveals a profound encouragement for us. Even if a Jew falls, even if he becomes entangled in the chamber of exchanges, he is never spiritually doomed. Our foundation – sealed through the holy union of Yitzchak and Rivka – is unshakeable. That pure lineage means that no matter how far we drift, we retain an eternal ability to return.

This is why their names are highlighted in the Shabbat morning tefillah, in Befi Yesharim Titromam, where the rashei teivot spell “Yitzchak” and “Rivka.” And this is why Nishmat – the tefillah of pure gratitude – is tied to them. Their marriage formed the bedrock of Jewish identity, enabling us to say Modeh Ani every morning with sincerity. I woke up. I am a Jew. I have a foundation. And because of that, I can give thanks.

May we merit to appreciate this deep gift – the strength to rise, to return, and to reconnect – no matter the darkness or confusion around us. Shabbat Shalom.

Meir Elkabas

This article also appears on the BRI breslov.org website: https://breslov.org/lineage-over-righteousness/ 

For a video presentation of this article: https://youtu.be/SU_g76aIKOk

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Parshat VaYeira - The Ratzon in Sodom

 BH

The Plea for Sodom and the Secret of “Ho’alti”

In Parshat Vayeira, Hashem reveals to Avraham Avinu His plan to destroy Sodom and Amorah for their extreme wickedness. Their sins had reached such depravity that, as the Torah says, there was no longer any justification for their existence. Yet Avraham, the embodiment of kindness, seeks to find merit even for these corrupt cities.

He begins his dialogue with Hashem: “Perhaps there are fifty righteous people within the city… will You destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are within it?” (Bereishit 18:24). Hashem answers that if fifty are found, He will spare the entire region. But there weren’t fifty, so Avraham continues—forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, ten—pleading each time for mercy.

What stands out are two unique expressions he uses during this negotiation: “Hinei na ho’alti ledaber el Hashem” – “Behold, I have begun to speak to Hashem” (v. 27, v. 31). Rashi shows the two interpretations of ho’alti: it can mean “I have begun”, or it can mean “I desire, I want to speak.”

The problem, though, is that Avraham had already begun speaking earlier when he asked about the fifty. So what does he mean by “I have begun to speak” again at forty-five and then at twenty?

The deeper answer, drawn from the teachings of Rebbe Nachman and Reb Noson, is that both meanings—beginning and desire—are intertwined. True beginnings in life come only from ratzon, the inner will to draw close to Hashem. Each new level of Avraham’s pleading reflected a deeper awakening of will.

At fifty, he was reasoning; by forty-five, he was yearning. And by twenty, he was activating his deepest ratzon, his innermost desire to arouse compassion from Hashem. Avraham wasn’t simply repeating the same request – he was ascending through levels of will, revealing that even when logic fails, desire itself becomes the vessel of mercy.

The Secret of 45: The Nine Chambers and the Power of Ratzon

Why did Avraham Avinu choose the number fifty to begin his plea? The Zohar explains that the number fifty represents the Fifty Gates of Understanding, the Nun Shaarei Binah – the highest levels of spiritual perception. Avraham hoped that perhaps fifty tzaddikim, ten in each of the five cities, could awaken the merit of these fifty gates and save Sodom. But when Hashem indicated that there were not fifty righteous people, Avraham descended to a new calculation – forty-five.

Forty-five equals nine tzaddikim per city. As Rashi notes, when there are nine, Hashem Himself joins them as the tenth – Hashem mitztaref la’asara, “Hashem joins to complete the ten.” But beyond the numbers lies a deep secret: the number nine represents the Nine Chambers – nine inner vessels of consciousness formed when the human mind “bounces back” from reaching toward the Keter, the highest crown of holiness.

When a person strives for the Infinite Light—for closeness to Hashem—he must often experience this “bounce back.” Instead of linear progress, he meets resistance that humbles and refines him. The collision with the Keter fuses the three faculties of the mind—Chokhmah, Binah, and Da’at—multiplying them into nine. These nine chambers express a mind that has learned to perceive holiness through challenge and recoil.

Avraham Avinu understood this. His prayer for forty-five reflected not despair, but recognition that perhaps there were nine tzaddikim in each city who, through being “bounced back,” could access the deepest desire—ratzon—to reach Hashem. Even if they were not ten, if they possessed this fiery ratzon, Hashem Himself would join them.

Even when redemption seems impossible, desire itself becomes a vessel for mercy

The Five Paths of Joy

Reb Noson teaches in Likutey Halachot that when a person faces setbacks and remains filled with ratzon—with longing and will to serve Hashem—it reveals that his motives were pure. He is not serving for honor, comfort, or intellect, but purely out of love. When such a soul meets resistance, instead of falling to sadness, he turns his fall into yearning.

Rebbe Nachman connects this process to the five forms of joy, the “five voices” of simchah:

1. Joking and acting silly – breaking sadness through lightheartedness.

2. Music and dance – uplifting the heart through movement and song.

3. Finding good points – discovering sparks of holiness within oneself and the moment.

4. Thanksgiving – expressing gratitude to awaken joy.

5. Borrowed joy – drawing happiness from the future redemption when all will be revealed as good.

These five avenues of joy, Rebbe Nachman says, are the tools of “fake joy” that lead to real joy – simchah shel emet.

So when Avraham pleaded for Sodom, he wasn’t only negotiating numbers. He was invoking a cosmic formula: nine chambers of ratzon and five paths of simchah. The five cities of Sodom hinted at these five modes of joy. If nine tzaddikim in each city could awaken the ratzon and use these five channels of joy, perhaps even Sodom could be redeemed. That’s why Avraham used the phrase ho’alti ledaber—“I want to speak”—when he reached forty-five. His words expressed not mere logic but longing: the plea of the soul that refuses to give up hope.

The Second Ho’alti and the Secret of the Keter

The final time Avraham Avinu says ho’alti is when he pleads for twenty tzaddikim – two cities. The number twenty, represented by the letter kaf, corresponds to the Keter, the crown of Divine will. In Kabbalah, Keter channels Divine energy downward to all the sefirot—from the highest level of the ten down to Malchut—and then ascends again. It distributes life-force to each level, yet remains untouched itself. Ten descending and ten ascending together form the number twenty, symbolizing a complete cycle of giving and returning.

By invoking ho’alti again here, Avraham was appealing to the same power of ratzon—desire and will—that connects the soul to the Keter. Even though he was now asking only for two cities, he was trying to activate that transcendent light of compassion, hoping the Keter’s mercy could redeem them. But Hashem’s answer was still no.

When the Spark Is Gone

Why did Avraham’s prayers fail? Rebbe Nachman and Reb Noson reveal that in every created thing there is a spark of holiness that sustains it. As long as that spark remains, Hashem allows it to exist. Once the spark is gone, destruction comes naturally – not as cruelty, but as truth.

Sodom and Amorah had reached a level so corrupt that no spark of goodness remained. The only remnant of holiness was hidden within Lot and his daughters, who carried the potential ancestry of King David and Mashiach. Once they were rescued, the Divine spark was withdrawn – and with it, the cities’ right to exist.

Avraham’s plea reflected the compassion of the tzaddik, who sees beyond Divine justice to a higher level of mercy. Reb Noson writes that sometimes Hashem appears to limit His compassion precisely to awaken a tzaddik to reach deeper, as in the story of Moshe Rabbeinu after the Golden Calf. Hashem said, “Leave Me [to destroy the Jewish Nation]”, and Moshe understood that Heaven was hinting: Don’t leave Me – pray harder. Through that deeper compassion, the Jewish people were spared.

Avraham Avinu tried the same approach with Sodom, pushing the limits of mercy. But in this case, Heaven revealed that there truly was no good left to redeem.

Hope Even at the Bottom

From this episode, Reb Noson teaches a powerful lesson for life. Sometimes a person feels he has fallen so low that there is no hope – that after years of serving Hashem, one failure has erased everything. But the very fact that you are still alive means that Hashem has not given up on you. If you truly had no spark left, you would no longer exist.

The Breslov elders taught: as long as a person can wake up in the morning, wash his hands, put on tefillin, and face another day, that is proof that there is still holiness within him – proof that Hashem still wants him in the world. The only souls that are truly lost are those whose spark of good has completely gone out.

Even then, the Torah reminds us that Divine mercy is unfathomable – from the descendants of Haman himself came righteous converts who sat in the Sanhedrin. If Hashem allows life, it means there is still something precious to redeem.

The Light of Ratzon

Avraham’s repeated ho’alti teaches us that ratzon—the yearning for good—is how we reach the Keter. Even when redemption seems impossible, even when all logic says it’s over, desire itself becomes a vessel for mercy. Sodom was destroyed only once its last spark was gone. But as long as there is yearning, as long as there is movement of the heart toward Hashem, there is life.

Shabbat Shalom, and may we never give up hope – may we value every breath, every spark of holiness within us, and remember that as long as we live, Hashem is still saying: I want you here.

Meir Elkabas

This article also appears on the BRI breslov.org website: https://breslov.org/the-ratzon-in-sodom/ 

For a video presentation of the article: https://youtu.be/ttTO9ALLK6Y

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Parshat Lech Lecha - Collecting Holy Sparks

 BH

The Descent to Egypt: A Test of Exchanges

In Parshat Lech Lecha, the Torah begins Avraham Avinu’s journey toward spiritual perfection. Hashem commands him, “Lech lecha”—go forth for yourself. The Sages explain that the word lecha equals fifty in gematria, alluding to the Nun Sha’arei Binah, the fifty gates of holiness. Hashem was calling Avraham to ascend toward the highest spiritual level attainable in this world.

Rebbe Nachman teaches that halichah—movement and walking—represents joy. When a person is happy, he advances; when he is sad, he stagnates. Hashem’s command, then, was not only geographical but spiritual: “Go with joy. Move forward in life with simcha. Rise to the fiftieth gate.”

Yet in order to ascend, Avraham first had to descend—to enter domains of impurity and redeem the sparks of holiness trapped there. This is the essence of the Heichal HaTemurot, the Chamber of Exchanges, where holiness is taken captive by the side of evil, and man’s mission is to retrieve it through faith and joy.

Avraham Avinu’s life becomes a model of this process. Immediately after arriving in Eretz Yisrael, a famine drives him down to Egypt, the most immoral civilization of the time. Egypt was the embodiment of impurity and lust, and Sarai Imeinu’s great beauty made their descent even more perilous.

The Descent for the Sake of Ascent

When Pharaoh’s officers discovered Sarai and brought her to the palace, Avraham’s test reached its peak. Sarai, whose holiness was radiant, invoked the protection of Heaven. The Midrash teaches that angels struck the Egyptians with diseases, preventing Pharaoh from touching her.

When the ordeal ended, Pharaoh returned Sarai untouched and showered Avraham with gifts—livestock, silver, and servants, etc.. At first glance, these seem like material spoils, but the Torah reveals something far deeper: each gift represents sparks of holiness released from Egypt’s impurity. Avraham’s wealth was not mere gold—it was the restoration of divine light hidden within the material world.

Hashem Himself had orchestrated the famine to send Avraham into Egypt so that he might free those sparks. This descent into darkness was the price of ascent. Sarai’s suffering and Avraham’s test of faith were not punishments, but instruments of redemption.

Avraham emerged from Egypt not only richer, but spiritually transformed—having reclaimed the fragments of holiness that rightfully belonged to him.

Rescuing the Spark within Lot

After Avraham Avinu’s descent to Egypt and his extraction of holiness from there, the Torah presents the next great test – his separation from Lot. Lot’s growing attraction to the materialism and corruption of Sodom revealed that their paths could no longer remain united. Yet Avraham’s compassion did not end with distance. When Lot was taken captive in the war between the four and five kings, Avraham risked his life to save him.

Rashi asks: why would Avraham endanger himself for someone who had chosen such a wicked environment? The answer, say our Sages, is that Avraham saw a holy spark hidden within Lot – a spark destined to shine through the generations. From Lot’s descendants would come Ruth the Moabite, and from Ruth, King David, ancestor of Mashiach.

To redeem that spark, Avraham had to enter the spiritual danger of battle – again descending into the Heichal HaTemurot, the Chamber of Exchanges – to retrieve the holiness trapped within Lot’s soul. His victory over the kings and his refusal to take any material gain symbolize this act of pure extraction: entering darkness only to elevate light.

Hashem’s command—Lech Lecha—is the call to to stay positive and trust that every descent hides a divine ascent waiting to unfold

The Hidden Purpose of Yishmael

The pattern continues with Hagar and Yishmael. Sarah, barren for many years, told Avraham to take her maidservant, Hagar, saying, “Perhaps I will be built through her.” On the surface, this seems perplexing. Why would such a righteous couple bring an Egyptian maidservant into their lives?

But once again, Rebbe Nachman’s teaching about the Chamber of Exchanges reveals the inner dimension. Holiness had been trapped within the impurity of Egypt, and Avraham had to release it. Hagar, though Egyptian, had refined herself to become worthy of Avraham’s household. Through her, Yishmael was born – a soul containing sparks of good that, though deeply concealed, would contribute to the unfolding plan of redemption.The birth of Yishmael served as the trigger that opened Sarah’s womb, leading to the miraculous birth of Yitzchak.

The Covenant and the Future Exile

The Brit bein haBetarim – the Covenant between the Parts – also reveals this pattern. Hashem promises Avraham two eternal gifts: the Land of Israel and a holy nation to inherit it. But He also tells him that his descendants will descend into exile – into the darkest domain of the Chamber of Exchanges.

This exile in Egypt was not a punishment but a mission. Just as Avraham had extracted sparks from Pharaoh’s palace, his children would descend into Egypt to extract the remaining sparks of holiness buried there. The Torah later describes the Exodus as leaving Egypt “like a river with no fish left” – meaning that not a single spark of holiness remained behind.

The descent, the suffering, and the eventual redemption all followed the same divine design: to redeem holiness from impurity, to transform darkness into light, and to fulfill Hashem’s purpose for creation.

The Letter Hei – Joy Restored

Through every stage of Avraham Avinu’s journey – leaving his homeland, descending into Egypt, rescuing Lot, and even fathering Yishmael – we see one recurring theme: the descent is for the sake of ascent. Each challenge concealed sparks of holiness that could only be retrieved through courage, faith, and simcha.

Reb Noson teaches that this same process plays out in every person’s life. We are born into difficult circumstances, confusing surroundings, and spiritual tests that seem unfair. We may wonder, “Why was I placed in such a family, in such an environment? Why did I have to struggle so much just to find Hashem?” But all of it, he explains, comes from the Chamber of Exchanges – where the good within us has been misplaced and must be reclaimed.

The only way to win this lifelong battle is through simcha. Sadness feeds the forces of confusion, but joy liberates holiness. Avraham’s entire greatness lay in his ability to stay joyful and confident in Hashem even while walking through darkness.

At the end of the Parshah, Hashem gives Avram the command of circumcision and changes his name to Avraham – adding the letter hei. Reb Noson reveals that this hei corresponds to the five voices of joy mentioned in the blessings of Sheva Berachot: kol sason, kol simcha, kol chatan, kol kalah, kol omrim hodu laHashem. The hei, whose sound is the laughter of “ha ha ha,” represents pure happiness.

By passing each test without fear, Avraham merited the hei of simcha. He became the embodiment of strength through joy – the man who could descend into impurity and emerge with holiness restored.

Walking with Joy through the Narrow Bridge

Rebbe Nachman famously said, “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the main thing is not to be afraid.” Fear paralyzes; joy moves us forward. Hashem’s command Lech Lecha – go forth – is the call to keep walking, to stay positive and trust that every descent hides a divine ascent waiting to unfold.

When we face our own confusion and setbacks, we must remember Avraham’s path. Each challenge conceals something holy that belongs to us. Through simcha, patience, and faith, we can extract what has been exchanged and reclaim our true light.

May we all merit the hei of Avraham – the joy that turns darkness into clarity, exile into redemption, and every struggle into a step closer to Hashem.

Shabbat Shalom.

Meir Elkabas

This article is also found on the BRI breslov.org website: https://breslov.org/collecting-holy-sparks/ 

For a video presentation of this article: https://youtu.be/AmhdeLPi9Uo

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