Page 12 - Mizrachi-RZC Sefer Berachot 5782

Desperation and Devotion
Lynn Kraft
Tanach Department Chair, Ida Crown Jewish Academy

On the first day of ה"ר, we read about קחצי תדיל. But we know that
the joy surrounding קחצי’s birth was preceded by much anxiety: הרש
was an הרקע, a barren woman, for many years.
The הרטפה we read immediately afterward is about another הרקע and
her struggle to conceive: הנח, wife of הנקלא, who was finally
rewarded with a son, לאומש, after davening to 'ד .

Why do we focus on initial barrenness and ultimate birth on the first
ר א
day of הנשה ש ?
These women are two of six תורקע we encounter in ך"נת :
חונמ תשא ,הנח ,לחר ,הקבר ,הרש, and תימנושה השא. Perhaps the most
fascinating parallel between their stories is that each of their
ק
children undergo a near-death experience: הרש’s son חצי is nearly
sacrificed to G-d by his own father, הקבר’s son בקעי is almost killed
by his vengeful twin brother, לחר’s son וי is thrown into a pit by
ףס
his brothers, חונמ תשא’s son ןושמש’s life is threatened by the םיתשלפ,
and the תימנושה השא’s son temporarily dies in the field.
Why is it that these children, born to תורקע, experienced threats to
their very existence? Perhaps 'ד was teaching these women that just
as He can give life to this child when He chooses, so too He can
take it away when He chooses. 'ד created this life as a gift, and He
therefore expects this gift of life to be devoted to serving Him.
ל
Why was אומש’s life never threatened like the others? Perhaps
because his mother, הנח, had already internalized this important
lesson. Even before לאומש’s conception, הנח dedicated her future
son’s life to serving 'ד in the ןכשמ. She understood from the
beginning that 'ד would have a claim on her son’s life, and she
therefore voluntarily placed him in His hands.
We learn from the תורקע that every single life is truly a gift from 'ד.
Not only our children’s lives, but our own lives as well. And
therefore 'ד expects us to serve Him with the life He has given us.
This message is particularly poignant on ה"ר, when we focus on
doing הבושת and devoting our lives, our personal divine gifts, to 'ד.
May we be הכוז this ה"ר to internalize the lesson learned from the
תורקע so that we are able to devote our lives, our children’s lives,
and those of all לארשי ללכ to 'ד תדובע.