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The Haftorah discusses the interaction of Elisha with the wife of Ovadiah and then with the אשה השונמית. The Avudraham and the Levush explain the reason why this Haftorah was chosen for Parshas Vayera is because the second story is about אשה השונמית who had no children and was promised by Elisha that she would have a child. This is מענין הפרשה of Yitzchaks birth which says כעת חיה ולשרה בן and Rashi there explains this is the same expression Elisha uses when promising the אשה השונמית a child....

The Parshah begins with Hashem telling Avraham Avinu לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך. Although there are some who are of the opinion that the first נסיון Avraham encountered was the כבשן האש in אור כשדים which is not recorded in the Torah, the אבות דרב נתן and the Rambam in Peirush Hamishnayos אבות פרק חמישי are of the opinion that this command from Hashem was the first of the ten נסיונות....

Thursday Night Parsha Shiur...

This Shabbos is referred to as Shabbos Breishis, as opposed to other Shabbosos that we call it Shabbos Parshas Noach and the like. The Gemara in Baba Basra 121a actually refers to every Shabbos as “Shabbos Breishis” in the context that Shabbos does not require Kiddush Beis Din as opposed to the holidays of the year. However, the Minhag Yisrael is to refer to this Shabbos in particular as Shabbos Breishis which would seem to imply that that with this Shabbos we are beginning something new....

This week we read the Shirah of Haazinu. Rashi along with others learn that the obligation in the Pasuk ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת is referring to Shiras Haazinu. But the Gemara in Sanhedrin 21b learns from that Pasuk the obligation of כתיבה ספר תורה which would seem to mean that השירה הזאת in the Pasuk is referring to כל התורה כולה. The Rambam manages to explain both that really the Shirah in the Pasuk refers to Haazinu, it’s just that one can’t write פרשיות פרשיות and therefore one is required to write the whole Torah so ממילא we see that there is a Mitzvah to write the whole Torah....