28 Oct LECH LECHA- WE WON THE LOTTERY OF LIFE

We read in Parashat
Lech-Lecha of
Hagar, an Egyptian
woman who become
the maidservant of
Sara Imenu. The
Midrash teaches that Hagar was actually a
princess, Pharaoh’s daughter, and Pharaoh
gave her as a maidservant to Sara upon
seeing Avraham and Sara’s greatness, and
realizing what a privilege it would be for
his daughter to work in their home. Later,
after Avraham and Sara lived together for
many years without children, Sara had
Avraham marry Hagar. Hagar immediately
conceived, resulting in tensions between her
and Sara. Sara mistreated Hagar, and Hagar
fled. She ended up meeting an angel, who
urged her to return to Avraham and Sara’s
home, despite the hardships she would face
there. Hagar complied.
Hagar’s return to Sara conveys a powerful
lesson to each and every one of us. She
understood the immense value and benefit
of joining Avraham and Sara, even when
this entailed a degree of hardship. It was
difficult for Hagar to live in the home,
given the tensions that arose between her
and Sara, but she nevertheless accepted the

angel’s advice, coming to realize that it is
worth enduring this unpleasantness for the
sake of the great privilege of living with
Avraham and Sara.
The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (31a) tells
the famous story of a non-Jew who came
before Shammai and said that he would
convert to Judaism if Shammai could teach
him the entire Torah in just a few moments,
within the amount of time he could stand
on one foot. Shammai sent the man away,
figuring that he could not possibly be serious
about embracing Judaism if he demanded to
learn the entire Torah in just a few seconds.
The gentile then came to Hillel, and said the
same thing – that he would convert if Hillel
could teach him the entire Torah while he
stood on one foot. Hillel warmly embraced
him, and said, “That which you dislike – do
not do to your fellow.” He explained that
this concept encapsulates the entire Torah.
This story is often understood as contrasting
the approaches of Hillel and Shammai,
showing how Shammai followed a stricter
policy, whereas Hillel was more patient and
tolerant. However, I would like to suggest
an additional angle to this story. Perhaps,
the gentile’s experience with Shammai
is told not as a point of contrast with his

experience with Hillel, but rather as the
background to his experience to Hillel.
Meaning, Hillel quite possibly accepted
this prospective convert as sincere and
well-meaning precisely because he
continued in his quest even after being
rejected by Shammai. The fact that the
man did not relent, and persisted in
his attempt to join the Jewish Nation,
even after a rejection, demonstrated
how highly he regarded the privilege of
being a Jew. His perseverance testified
to his sincerity, showing that he was
prepared to go through a lengthy process
for the priceless opportunity to join Am
Yisrael. He in fact was not just looking for
an easy route; like Hagar, he was prepared
to do whatever it took to become part of the
Jewish People.
We declare each morning during the
Shaharit service, “Ashrenu Ma Tob
Helkenu, U’ma Na’im Goralenu, U’ma Yafa
Me’od Yerushatenu” – “We are fortunate,
how good is our portion, and how pleasant
is our lot, and how exceedingly beautiful is
our inheritance!” At the beginning of every
day, we are to remind ourselves of how
privileged we are to belong to Hashem’s
special nation, to be able to devote our lives

to His service. We remind ourselves that no
matter what we will have to do deal with
over the course of the day, we’ve won the
lottery of life, we have received a precious
gift. Yes, throughout any given day, a Jew
is going to confront challenges. He might
struggle with a challenge to his faith, a
challenge posed by his sinful inclinations,
the hardships that arise when seeking to
meticulously observe the Misvot, or the
hostility so often shown to us by other
peoples. Belonging to Am Yisrael is not
always going to be easy. But we can and
must look to Hagar for inspiration, to be
reminded that we are truly fortunate, that
any difficulties that we endure are a small
price to pay for the great privilege that we
have been given to serve the Almighty.