Chasidut su Genesi 19:40
Sippurei Maasiyot
Regarding Lot it says, "Ha'hárah himmalét/ to the mountain flee for salvation" (Gen. 19:17) — this is a burgher [a play on words: Yid. barg mountain, pl. berg < Ger. Berg mountain; ME burgh city < OE burg fortified town; O. High Ger. Burg fortified castle, all from Indo-European root *bhergh], and from him comes [Heb. is born] Mashiach. [Note: Rabbi Nachman's surname was Horodenker, as his grandfather, also named Nachman, was from the Ukrainian city Horodenka, the name of which stems from Ukrainian gorod, city. Thus "Burgher" might be interpreted as an allusion to this name.]
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Kedushat Levi
We need to explain the absence of the expression: ויעש להם משתה, “he made a festive meal for them.” We find such an expression even when Lot served the angels a meager meal (Genesis 19,3) consisting primarily of unleavened bread of indeterminate age. We also find it when Esther prepared a sumptuous meal for her husband King Ahasverus (Esther 4,4, as well as 7,8) to which she had invited the wicked Haman, also. In that instance, it is clear that quantities of wine were served, hence the word משתה, which suggests liquid refreshments.
We have a rule that when a righteous person shares a meal with a wicked person, the wicked person’s spiritual status will become enhanced thereby. This is the moral justification for the joy at such a meal. During such a meal the tzaddik is able to elevate the sparks of the Shechinah which had descended into the terrestrial domains as a result of man succumbing to the seduction of the serpent. [Compare what we wrote on page 21-22.Ed.] The word משתה is basically a variant of the word שמחה, joy, so that when Lot offered the angels a meal which the Torah described as משתה, it was not a reference to the number of courses served, but to the atmosphere that prevailed during that meal. In that instance it was Lot’s moral status that became elevated due to the company of celestial beings at his table. As a result of the angels having eaten at his table, (and their having rescued him from Sodom) the soul of the messiah, that had lain dormant within Lot, was awakened somewhat so that he could become the father of a child whose descendant, Ruth, eventually became the ancestor of David, who in turn is the ancestor of the messiah. The joy generated at the meal Esther served the King and Haman, resulted in the salvation of the Jewish people at her time, due to her having elevated some of the sparks of the Shechinah that had lain dormant within her husband. Since Avraham was on a far higher moral/ethical level than either Lot or Ahasversus, there was no need for a משתה to bring the participants’ spiritual qualities to the fore. Hence there is no mention of this word, although Avraham had spared not effort to make it a tasty repast.
We have a rule that when a righteous person shares a meal with a wicked person, the wicked person’s spiritual status will become enhanced thereby. This is the moral justification for the joy at such a meal. During such a meal the tzaddik is able to elevate the sparks of the Shechinah which had descended into the terrestrial domains as a result of man succumbing to the seduction of the serpent. [Compare what we wrote on page 21-22.Ed.] The word משתה is basically a variant of the word שמחה, joy, so that when Lot offered the angels a meal which the Torah described as משתה, it was not a reference to the number of courses served, but to the atmosphere that prevailed during that meal. In that instance it was Lot’s moral status that became elevated due to the company of celestial beings at his table. As a result of the angels having eaten at his table, (and their having rescued him from Sodom) the soul of the messiah, that had lain dormant within Lot, was awakened somewhat so that he could become the father of a child whose descendant, Ruth, eventually became the ancestor of David, who in turn is the ancestor of the messiah. The joy generated at the meal Esther served the King and Haman, resulted in the salvation of the Jewish people at her time, due to her having elevated some of the sparks of the Shechinah that had lain dormant within her husband. Since Avraham was on a far higher moral/ethical level than either Lot or Ahasversus, there was no need for a משתה to bring the participants’ spiritual qualities to the fore. Hence there is no mention of this word, although Avraham had spared not effort to make it a tasty repast.
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Kedushat Levi
[There follows a paragraph that I have not been able to follow completely, so that I am not able to translate into English without possibly misrepresenting the author’s meaning. Ed.]
An alternate approach to the verse: “Yitzchok went for a stroll in the field close to evening, when he raised his eyes and beheld camels approaching” The Talmud (B’rachot 26), when commenting on this line says that Avraham, (compare Genesis 19,26) composed the daily morning prayer, the word ויעמוד “he stood,” meaning that he stood engaged in prayer, whereas Yitzchok composed the daily afternoon prayer, מנחה. According to the Talmud, the word שיחה when used in the Torah always refers to prayer, תפלה. [It does not occur again in the Torah, although it does occur in psalms 102,1.Ed.] Yaakov, the third of the patriarchs, introduced the evening prayer, מעריב. This is based on Genesis 28,11 ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש, “he met G’d there as the sun was about to set and spent the night there.” [The word המקום, meaning G’d, is not unusual. Ed.] We need to examine why a prayer is called מנחה, “gift.” The morning prayer being called שחרית, is easy to understand as the word שחר means morning, when the sun begins to shine. Calling the evening prayer מעריב is also easy to understand as it is offered in the evening, ערב. But naming the afternoon prayer מנחה appears somewhat difficult. Tossaphot Yom Tov, already recognized this anomaly and answers it by referring to the period when it is recited as מנוחת השמש, “when the sun rests.”
I propose a different explanation. I believe the root of the word מנחה is simply “gift,” not “rest.” This prayer is presented at a time, when man does not think that he has to either thank the Lord for having awoken well from his sleep, or after having completed the day’s chores without problems and entrusting our soul to G’d once more when we lie down, confident that He will restore it to us in the morning. Neither of these considerations motivates us to devote time to prayer in the middle of our daily activities. If we take time out to pray during the day nonetheless, G’d may consider this as a gift from us to Him.
An alternate approach to the verse: “Yitzchok went for a stroll in the field close to evening, when he raised his eyes and beheld camels approaching” The Talmud (B’rachot 26), when commenting on this line says that Avraham, (compare Genesis 19,26) composed the daily morning prayer, the word ויעמוד “he stood,” meaning that he stood engaged in prayer, whereas Yitzchok composed the daily afternoon prayer, מנחה. According to the Talmud, the word שיחה when used in the Torah always refers to prayer, תפלה. [It does not occur again in the Torah, although it does occur in psalms 102,1.Ed.] Yaakov, the third of the patriarchs, introduced the evening prayer, מעריב. This is based on Genesis 28,11 ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש, “he met G’d there as the sun was about to set and spent the night there.” [The word המקום, meaning G’d, is not unusual. Ed.] We need to examine why a prayer is called מנחה, “gift.” The morning prayer being called שחרית, is easy to understand as the word שחר means morning, when the sun begins to shine. Calling the evening prayer מעריב is also easy to understand as it is offered in the evening, ערב. But naming the afternoon prayer מנחה appears somewhat difficult. Tossaphot Yom Tov, already recognized this anomaly and answers it by referring to the period when it is recited as מנוחת השמש, “when the sun rests.”
I propose a different explanation. I believe the root of the word מנחה is simply “gift,” not “rest.” This prayer is presented at a time, when man does not think that he has to either thank the Lord for having awoken well from his sleep, or after having completed the day’s chores without problems and entrusting our soul to G’d once more when we lie down, confident that He will restore it to us in the morning. Neither of these considerations motivates us to devote time to prayer in the middle of our daily activities. If we take time out to pray during the day nonetheless, G’d may consider this as a gift from us to Him.
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