Torah · ParashaSeeing the CloudRabbi Uri Nahum · October 27, 2026 · Vayera · Weekly Divrei Torah-15Play+30Position0:00—Save⌄ShareParashat VayeraTranscript0:00Hi everyone and welcome to our weekly Divrei Torah here from Midrash El Moed. This week's parasha is Parashat Vayera,0:07and0:08it's full. It's really, there's so much to talk about in this week's parasha.0:12But we want to focus on the end of the parasha, the famous story of the Akedah.0:17We all know that we still live off of the zechut of the Akedah.0:22The shofar that we blow on Rosh Hashanah,0:25we always bring the zechut of the Akedah; it should stand for us.0:28And although we didn't have shofar this year on the first day,0:32or we're not going to have also coming up on Rosh Hashanah on the first day,0:35but the zechut of the Akedah is still nonetheless existing. So I want to talk a little bit0:41about a small lesson from this story.0:45There's so much, again, there's so, so much, but we'll just try to see if we can limit ourselves to a small lesson.0:51So let's go through very quickly through the story. Hashem gives Abraham Avinu the ultimate, ultimate test,0:58where after a hundred years of waiting for a child, he finally has a child.1:02Finally this child is now a grown young man, about to get married. He's 37 years old,1:08and Hashem tells him, I want you to bring him up as a korban.1:12It was a shock to Abraham Avinu. Hashem had to break it down to him,1:16but it is what it is. Hashem told him to bring the korban. Once1:20Abraham Avinu saw that this is what Hashem wants,1:23he set out to do this mitzvah. He woke up early,1:26and he goes on this journey1:28to bring his son to a korban. Now where was he supposed to go? The Torah doesn't tell him exactly. It says,1:36El eretz haMoriah, to the land of Moriah.1:38Where is this land of Moriah? We know that's Har HaMoriah.1:41That's ultimately where the Beit HaMikdash is going to be. But Abraham Avinu didn't know yet the place.1:46Now Abraham Avinu didn't go alone. Obviously he went with Yitzchak, but he also took with him...1:50A donkey that was carrying the wood, which would be needed for the burning1:56of the korban, he also took with him a knife.1:59And it says in the pasuk that he took shnei ne'arim; he took two people with him. Who are these two people?2:05These were none other than2:07Eliezer, who was his rosh yeshiva, and Yishmael. Now, Yishmael was kicked out a while ago.2:15In this week's parashah, we see that he was kicked out. And although Yishmael was kicked out at the age of 14,2:20this is many years later. This is around2:2235 years later. Yishmael was brought back for this very, very holy mission.2:29Okay,2:31they're traveling, and by Yom HaShishi the pasuk says, On the third day,2:34Vayisa Avraham et einav, Avraham lifted up his eyes, Vayar et hamakom merachok, and he sees the place from a distance. What did he see?2:41How did he know that this was the place? Rashi tells us,2:46Raah anan kashur al hahar. He saw a cloud that was right there, tied up to the mountain.2:52Now, the next part is not brought in the2:55pasuk. It's not brought in Rashi, but Chazal tell us in the Midrash what happened next.3:00The next part3:01is as follows.3:04Avraham turns to Yitzchak. He tells him, Yitzchak, what do you see? Yitzchak says, I see a cloud on that mountain.3:10He turns back to3:13Eliezer and Yishmael, who are walking behind them. He says, What do you guys see over there in the distance?3:17Nothing. So, you see that mountain? Yeah. You see anything on the mountain? No.3:22So, I didn't see the cloud. So, Avraham tells them, Okay.3:25Pasuk says,3:28Shevu lachem po im hachamor. I want you to stand, sit here together with the donkey. Simply means,3:33while me and Yitzchak are going, we're going to serve God right now.3:37And you guys stay here, watch the donkey. However, Chazal tell us3:42that what he told them is as follows:3:46You can't see3:47what's there? Well, the donkey also can't see what's there. So therefore,3:53you, shevu lachem po, you stay here3:56im hachamor. Im can also be read as am hachamor, a nation of donkeys. A donkey couldn't see the clouds;4:02you also can't see the clouds, and therefore you stay back here with the donkey.4:07So this always bothered me.4:09What's going on over here?4:11We're talking about,4:12you know, two people that are not stam people. Yes, Yishmael was kicked out a while ago,4:18but at the end of the day, he brought him back for this mitzvah. It must be Yishmael was on a certain level.4:23Number two is we're talking about Eliezer. Chazal tell us in this week's4:28parashah, why is Eliezer called Damesek Eliezer? Rashi says two reasons. One is that he came from4:34Damesek. The other reason is because Eliezer was4:39doleh u'mashkeh miTorato shel rabbo. He was basically what we'd call the rosh yeshiva. Whatever Avraham Avinu taught,4:45Eliezer absorbed, and he went and taught other people.4:48It seems to be that he was a tremendous talmid chacham. To4:51find a wife for Yitzchak, which is going to be the continuation of the Jewish nation,4:57nobody else was picked except for Eliezer. And now Avraham comes and he calls him a5:04chamor. It's a big insult. Shevu lachem po im hachamor, stay here with the donkey.5:08What's going on over here? And also,5:11was there a cloud or was there no cloud?5:13If there was a cloud,5:15so everybody should have seen it. What's this thing that Eliezer and Yishmael couldn't see the cloud?5:20Why was Yitzchak and Avraham, how come they were able to see the cloud and Eliezer and Yishmael couldn't see the cloud?5:29So the answer to this is a very, very important answer.5:34There's another midrash that you need to know.5:37On the way to the Akedah, on the first two days as they were traveling,5:41Abraham and Yitzchak were ahead5:43of Yishmael and Eliezer. Yishmael and Eliezer walking next to each other.5:47So for two days, you know, what do you do? You got no phone.5:50What do you do?5:52So Eliezer and Yishmael were talking to each other,5:56and they were smart people,5:58and they realized what's going to happen.6:00They said, you know, it looks like we're going to bring a korban. There's a knife, there's firewood, there's no animal. It must be6:07Abraham must be, he's bringing Yitzchak as a korban. This is the only thing that makes sense.6:12They were genius and very intelligent people. Keep in mind, Yishmael is half Abraham. He is the son of Abraham.6:19So then a debate6:21broke out between Eliezer and6:24Yishmael. Eliezer says, Well, if Yitzchak is going to die, then all the wealth that Abraham has is going to become mine.6:30I am the next inheritor. He has no other children.6:33Yishmael says, What are you talking about? I'm a half a son.6:37I, you know, I should get—I'm a son of—he's my father. I should get the wealth.6:42So Eliezer says, What are you talking about? You got kicked out. You don't inherit. That's why you got kicked out.6:46You're not getting anything. He says, But who are you? You're a slave.6:50Back and forth, they're arguing who's going to get the money,6:53who's going to get Abraham's wealth, being that Yitzchak is going to die. Now, even Yitzchak picked this up.6:57Yitzchak realized, Hey, if there's no sheep, we're going to bring a korban, what's going on? And he asks his father.7:04So it comes out7:05that as Yitzchak and Abraham are going to do7:10the holiest, holiest mitzvah in history,7:14the ultimate test to mankind, to sacrifice his own son.7:19What were Yishmael and Eisav doing? What were Yishmael and Eliezer doing?7:25They were busy: who's going to make the money? Who's going to inherit the money? Who's going to have the wealth?7:32And therefore, when they came to Har7:35HaMoriah, there was a cloud, but this was no regular cloud that we see on a regular day.7:40This cloud was a spiritual cloud. It was a cloud that was visible to people7:46that are in the world of ruchaniyut, in the world of spirituality.7:50Eliezer and7:53Yishmael were so busy with7:57chumriyut, with gashmiyut, with wealth and8:02olam hazeh, on the way to go to do the holiest act, what are they busy with?8:06They're busy talking about their money, busy about who's going to make the money.8:12So when Avraham said, Could you guys tell me what you see? they couldn't see. It was impossible for them to see. You know why?8:19Because they were too preoccupied with8:22olam hazeh. I'll give you a mashal. You know, you're not allowed to bow down on stone floors. So even on Yom Kippur, when we8:29emulate what goes on in the Beit HaMikdash,8:32and we say, VehaKohanim veha'am, when they heard the name of Hashem, they would all bow down.8:36So everybody gets on the floor and bows down. Now, in a lot of shuls,8:40they have tile floors. So since you can't bow down on the floor, so they put8:45tablecloths. So in some shuls, like in the olden days in Israel, they would actually put8:50newspapers. They didn't have tablecloths for everybody, so they took newspapers and just put it down. So Rav Shimshon Pincus says once,8:57when he was in the shul,8:59he got on the floor and, you know, they did the bowing down.9:02This is like the holiest part of the day, we're emulating what goes on in the Beit HaMikdash,9:07and he noticed that one of the guys who bowed down was actually reading the newspaper.9:11Are you kidding? Now on Yom Kippur,9:14now when we talk about the avodah, this is what you're busy with?9:16How could you expect to feel Yom Kippur? You're busy reading the newspaper.9:22And this is why Avraham tells them, You're9:28am ha'amor. The amor means9:30chomriyut. You're people that are so busy with9:33this world,9:35you can't come with us to the mountain.9:38You are not ready to see such a thing. You're not on the level.9:43Rabotai, it is the same thing with us9:46on every Shabbat. Shabbat is equivalent to Har HaMoriah. It's that cloud.9:53You ask some people about Shabbat and say, How's Shabbat? They say, Shabbat is9:58me'ein Olam Haba. Shabbat is the most wonderful thing. You ask other people,10:02Eh, meh, I can't. When is Shabbat over? They look at their watches.10:06Where is your head at?10:09What are you looking for? What are you living for?10:13If your whole mind is preoccupied with chomriyut, with gashmiyut, with things10:18that are for your own self-pleasure, for making money, you're not going to appreciate Shabbat. Shabbat stops you.10:27Shabbat prevents you from doing what you want to do.10:30You're not going to feel that spirituality of Shabbat.10:32I'm sorry, you're not. But if you come in, what they call today, if you lock in to Shabbat,10:38you totally absorb into Shabbat. There's nothing else that exists. It's Shabbat.10:42I'm going to eat, enjoy my food for Shabbat. I'm going to say divrei Torah. I'm going to read the Torah.10:47I'm going to go to classes. I'm going to read a little bit more. I'm going to connect with Hashem more.10:52And this is what Shabbat is for you. You're going to recognize, you're going to feel what Shabbat is.10:57That is the difference between Abraham and11:00Yitzchak versus Yishmael and Esav. Let's not be Yishmael and11:04Esav. Let's not be11:06Yishmael and Eliezer even.11:08Let's focus on ruchaniyut, and you'll see when you lock in to ruchaniyut, you'll feel the ruchaniyut and you'll see that cloud. Shabbat shalom.