The WebYeshiva Blog

1. Lech Lecha: The Search for Holiness

Why is Hashem's command to Avraham to leave his homeland considered such a great nisayon, when He promises him children, wealth, and renown? And why does Hashem leave his destination unspecified? The Maor VaShemesh explains that Avraham's deepest desire was to attain greater deveikut and closeness to Hashem. Leaving his familiar surroundings was necessary for his spiritual growth, but Hashem deliberately left him to discover for himself the place best suited to that purpose. Through his own investigation and spiritual striving, Avraham recognized the unique holiness of Eretz Yisrael, and Hashem's subsequent revelation confirmed his discovery. The MvS further teaches that even a person who has achieved great spiritual heights may suddenly lose the inspiration he once experienced in prayer. Rather than despair, he must persevere, for what seems like a loss of deveikut may actually signal an ascent toward a higher level that he has not yet learned to grasp.  

2. Vayelech L'Masa'av: Recovering What Was Lost

Why did Avraham descend to Egypt when famine struck Eretz Yisrael, seemingly abandoning the land Hashem had commanded him to enter? And why does the Torah emphasize his return to his earlier encampments, especially when he came back from Egypt considerably wealthier than before? The Maor VaShemesh offers a remarkable interpretation: the famine was not merely a shortage of food, but a spiritual famine, recalling the prophet Amos's description of a hunger to hear the word of Hashem. Avraham had hoped to bring the inhabitants of Canaan closer to Hashem, as he had done in Haran, but they refused to receive his teachings. He therefore journeyed to Egypt, hoping to succeed there, only to encounter danger and suffer a decline in his own spiritual attainment. Although he returned materially enriched, he had lost something far more precious to him. Upon returning to Eretz Yisrael, he had to labor through prayer and renewed devotion to recover the madregot he had previously achieved. Thus, the Torah's account of his return to his earlier encampments describes not merely a physical journey, but the difficult process of spiritual restoration.  

3. Malki-Tzedek: Chesed Rather Than Din

The Gemara teaches that Malki-Tzedek, identified with Shem, lost the kehunah because he blessed Avraham before blessing Hashem. But why should this warrant such a severe consequence, particularly when he did praise Hashem? The Maor VaShemesh explains that the issue reflects a fundamental difference between chesed and din. Hashem created the world to bestow goodness upon His creatures and takes no pleasure in their punishment, even when they deserve it. The role of the tzaddik, and particularly the kohen, is to awaken divine mercy and sweeten harsh judgments at their source. Avraham embodied this quality: even when fighting the kings, his intention was to rescue Lot, not to destroy his enemies. Malki-Tzedek's blessing, however, revealed an appreciation of the judgment visited upon the kings, rather than a desire to mitigate it. His spiritual orientation was therefore inconsistent with the essential quality of the kehunah, which passed to Avraham, the embodiment of chesed.    

4. Eliezer and the Stars: Serving Hashem with Understanding

When Avraham laments his childlessness, he describes Eliezer as Damesek Eliezer, whom Chazal interpret as one who draws from his master's Torah and teaches it to others. Why would Avraham mention this apparently praiseworthy quality as part of his complaint? The Maor VaShemesh explains that Avraham feared the danger of mitzvat anashim melumadah: people learning to imitate a tzaddik's actions and practices without developing an understanding of their meaning. The teachings might be transmitted faithfully while the understanding behind them is gradually lost. Even the promise of a son could not fully answer this concern, for descendants, too, might simply imitate what they inherited. Hashem therefore showed Avraham the stars, which the Maor VaShemesh associates with intellect and understanding, invoking the verse “Vehamaskilim yazhiru,” those who possess understanding will shine. The promise “Ko yihyeh zarecha” was thus more than a promise of numerous descendants: each would have the capacity to serve Hashem according to an understanding of their own, rather than merely reproducing the practices of those who came before them.  

---

Use this source sheet for further exploration of Parshat Lech Lecha, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners.  Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.

The Covenant, the Rainbow, and Noach's Vineyard

In Parshat Noah why does the Torah repeatedly describe the animals as being “with” Noach, even after they have left the ark? The Maor VaShemesh explains that human beings, through Torah, prayer, and their connection to Hashem, have the ability and responsibility to elevate all of creation. He develops this idea through the rainbow, which represents the righteous person whose spiritual work sustains the world and transforms judgment into mercy. But the story of Noach's vineyard introduces a warning: engaging with the physical world to elevate it requires spiritual preparation. Noach attempts it prematurely and falls, while Shem and Yefet demonstrate how to remain connected to Hashem without becoming absorbed in material pleasures.  

The Tower of Babel: When Unity Becomes Dangerous

What exactly was the sin of the generation that built the Tower of Babel, and why was the punishment the confusion of languages? The Maor VaShemesh offers a surprising interpretation: Nimrod sought to unite the nations under one language and purpose in order to undermine the future Jewish people. Hashem's response was to divide the nations, preventing their unified opposition to Israel. The teaching raises a provocative question about unity itself: unity is not necessarily virtuous. Its moral value depends on the purpose for which people unite.  

---

Use this source sheet for further exploration of Parshat Noach, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners.  Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.

In this week’s Maor VaShemesh on Parshat Bereishit, we explore three teachings about what it means to be human. The first begins with the creation of Adam and the remarkable idea that the possibility of teshuvah was built into us from the beginning. The Divine name Ehyeh, “I will be,” points to our ability to say that whatever I have been until now, from this moment forward I can become something different. A person’s failures do not have to define what comes next. The second teaching begins with the strange description of the world before rain had fallen. Rashi explains that rain waited for Adam to recognize its necessity and pray for it. The Maor VaShemesh develops this into a teaching about yearning itself. When a person truly longs to come closer to Hashem through Torah and prayer, even the breath and cry that emerge from deep within can carry what words cannot express. When Jews gather together in prayer and Torah study, those individual longings combine and become a source of blessing for the Jewish people. Finally, the Maor VaShemesh offers a striking interpretation of the serpent’s promise that eating from the Tree of Knowledge would make human beings “like G-d, knowing good and evil.” The temptation was not simply knowledge. It was the arrogance of believing that we know enough to judge another person, to decide whether their path is good or bad. We see what is visible; only Hashem sees the heart. True humility therefore means recognizing the limits of what we know about another person and resisting the instinct to define them by what we think we see. Meor vShemesh B1 Berishit 5787 Taken together, the three teachings offer a powerful picture of the human being at the beginning of the Torah: we are always capable of becoming more than we have been, our deepest yearning can itself become a form of prayer, and wisdom begins with knowing how much about another person we do not know.  

---

Use this source sheet for further exploration of Parshat Bereishit, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners.  Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.  

Sukkah

Why does the Torah move us from Yom Kippur towards Sukkot, into the sukkah? The Maor VaShemesh calls it the tzila d’meheimnuta, the shade of faith. After the purification of Yom Kippur, we can receive God’s light only me’at me’at, little by little. The days of preparation and the week in the sukkah lead us toward the deeper deveikut of Shemini Atzeret.

Arba Minim

Having prayed to be inscribed and sealed for life, we take the arba minim on Sukkot. The Maor VaShemesh reads their names as a way of drawing down chesed for banei, chayei u’mezonei: children, life, and sustenance. Through the Four Species, we ask that dinim, harsh judgments, be softened at their source and that Divine mercy flow into the year ahead.  

---

Use this source sheet for further exploration, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners.  Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.  

Parshat HaAzinu

In Parshat HaAzinu the Maor VaShemesh offers a remarkable way to understand notzer chesed, God “preserving kindness.” Sometimes God looks ahead to the teshuvah we have not yet done, the mitzvot we have not yet performed, and the person we have not yet become, and gives us kindness now because of that future. That gives these days of teshuvah a different perspective. Perhaps some of the blessings we received this past year were not rewards for who we were, but advances on who we might still become. Teshuvah, then, is not only about repairing the person we have been. It is about becoming the person God has been waiting for us to become.  

Shabbat Shuvah:

The Maor VaShemesh asks why the opening words of the Haftarah, “Shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha,” address all of Israel in the singular. Drawing on the Gemara’s teaching that a person should see the entire world as balanced between merit and guilt, he explains that teshuvah requires us to act as though the world depends upon us. Teshuvah may begin with the individual, but its consequences are collective: our choices affect our families, communities, and people in ways we may never know. During these days we naturally ask, “What do I need to change?” The Maor VaShemesh adds another question: How might the world change if I change?  

Yom Kippur:

The Maor VaShemesh asks why the people in the Temple courtyard fell to the ground when the Kohen Gadol pronounced the Divine Name on Yom Kippur, when that Name was pronounced in the Beit HaMikdash throughout the year. He explains that on Yom Kippur, the normally hidden light of Keter was revealed, a holiness so overwhelming that the people could not remain standing. He finds this hinted in the word “titaharu,” “you shall be purified,” whose numerical value, 620, equals Keter. Yom Kippur is therefore not only a day when we reach upward toward G-d through teshuvah, prayer, and fasting. It is also a day when G-d’s normally hidden light reaches down toward us. Purification is something we struggle to achieve, but it is also something G-d bestows upon us.  

---

Use this source sheet for further exploration of Parshat HaAzinu, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners. Also, source sheets for Shabbat Shuva and Yom Kippur Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.