Parasha: Lech Lecha 5785/2025 (פָּרָשַׁת לֶךְ-לְךָ) reading:
B’reisheet (Genesis) 12:1-17:27
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 19
Mattityahu (Matthew) 1, 13
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The following are topics of discussion in the video.
Welcome. Parashat Lech Lecha 5785 (2025): “Avraham, Ishmael, and the Three Measures of Meal” explains about the covenant Yahweh made with Avraham through Sarai and the seed line of Yitzhak (Isaac), the blessings prophesied for Ishmael, and the relationship between Ishmael and Esav.
It also explains about what the Three Measures of Meal are and the leaven that is found inside them, and about the kingdom parables spoken by Yeshua HaMashiach in Mattityahu (Matthew) 13.
Introduction:
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:1
1 In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters.B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:3-4
3 Then Elohim said, “Let there be light“; and there was light.
4 And Elohim saw the light, that it was good; and Elohim divided the light from the darkness.B’reisheet (Genesis) 2:15
15 Then Yahweh Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 11:4
4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 10:6, 8, 9
6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before Yahweh.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 11:27-29
27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot Avram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot.
28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
29 Then Avram and Nahor took wives: the name of Avram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran…
B’reisheet (Genesis) 11:30-32
30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 And Terah took his son Avram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Avram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.
32 …and Terah died in Haran.
Torah portion:
B’reisheet (Genesis) 12:1-2
1 Now Yahweh had said to Avram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.
2 “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.B’reisheet (Genesis) 12:3
3 “I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Wikipedia: Birkhat HaMinim (death curse)
For the apostates, let there be no hope, and uproot the kingdom of arrogance speedily and in our days. May the Nazarenes and the sectarians (minim) perish as in a moment. Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written together with the righteous. You are praised, O Adonai, who subdues the arrogant.Wikipedia: Birkhat HaMinim (death curse)
This is embedded in a baraita of the tractate on Blessings (b. Ber. 28bb–29a) written during the Mishnaic period….B’reisheet (Genesis) 12:6-7
6 Avram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
7 Then Yahweh appeared to Avram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.B’reisheet (Genesis) 12:8-9
8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh.
9 So Avram journeyed, going on still toward the South.B’reisheet (Genesis) 13:3-4
3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Avram called on the name of Yahweh.B’reisheet (Genesis) 13:6-7
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Avram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.B’reisheet (Genesis) 13:8-9
8 So Avram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 13:14-15
14 And Yahweh said to Avram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward;
15 “for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.B’reisheet (Genesis) 13:16-17
16 “And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
17 “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 13:18
18 Then Avram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.B’reisheet (Genesis) 14:12-13
12 They also took Lot, Avram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Avram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Avram.B’reisheet (Genesis) 14:14-15
14 Now when Avram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.B’reisheet (Genesis) 14:16-17
16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.B’reisheet (Genesis) 14:18-20
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of Elohim Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Avram of Elohim Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be Elohim Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:1-2
1 After these things the word of Yahweh came to Avram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Avram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Avram said, “Adonai Yahweh, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:3-4
3 Then Avram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
4 And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:5-6
5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in Yahweh, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:7-8
7 Then He said to him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8 And he said, “Adonai Yahweh, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:9-10
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:11
11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Avram drove them away.Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:8-9
8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them:
9 that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage.Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:10
10 Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go.Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:11
11 But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:15
15 “Then you recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name.Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:16
16 “Then you turned around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom he had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:17
17 “Therefore thus says Yahweh: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,’ says Yahweh, ‘to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth.’Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:18-19
18 “And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it—
19 “the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 34:20
20 “I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:12-13
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Avram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13 Then He said to Avram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:14
14 “And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:17
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.B’reisheet (Genesis) 15:18
18 On the same day Yahweh made a covenant with Avram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:1-2
1 Now Sarai, Avram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Avram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Avram heeded the voice of Sarai.B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:3-4
3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Avram to be his wife, after Avram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:5-6
5 Then Sarai said to Avram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. Yahweh judge between you and me.”
6 So Avram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:7-8
7 Now the Messenger of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:9-10
9 The Messenger of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
10 Then the Messenger of Yahweh said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:11-12
11 And the Messenger of Yahweh said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
12 “He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:13-15
13 Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, You-Are-the-El-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Avram a son; and Avram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.B’reisheet (Genesis) 16:16
16 Avram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Avram.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:1-2
1 When Avram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Avram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai; walk before Me and be blameless.
2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:3-5
3 Then Avram fell on his face, and Elohim talked with him, saying:
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:6-7
6 “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your descendants after you.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:8-9
8 “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their Elohim.
9 And Elohim said to Avraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:10-11
10 “This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 “and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:12-13
12 “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
13 “He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:14
14 “And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 44:9
9 Thus says Adonai Yahweh: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:15-16
15 Then Elohim said to Avraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16 “And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:17-18
17 Then Avraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
18 And Avraham said to Elohim, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:19
19 Then Elohim said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yitzhak; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:20-21
20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21 “But My covenant I will establish with Yitzhak, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:22-23
22 Then He finished talking with him, and Elohim went up from Avraham.
23 So Avraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Avraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as Elohim had said to him.B’reisheet (Genesis) 17:24-25
24 Avraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Haftarah portion:
Wikipedia: Lech Lecha (Haftarah)
The specific text read following Parashah Lech-Lecha varies according to different traditions within Judaism. Examples are: for Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews: Isaiah 40:27–41:16Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 19:16-17
16 In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of Yahweh of hosts, which He waves over it.
17 And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of Yahweh of hosts which He has determined against it.Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 19:18-19
18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by Yahweh of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.
19 In that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh at its border.Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 19:20-21
20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to Yahweh because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them.
21 Then Yahweh will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to Yahweh and perform it.Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 19:22-23
22 And Yahweh will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to Yahweh, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 19:24-25
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land,
25 whom Yahweh of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”
Brit Chadasha portion:
Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:18-19
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:20-21
20 “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 “yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:22
22 “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:23
23 “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:24-26
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 “but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:27-29
27 “So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
29 “But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:30
30 “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:31-32
31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:33
33 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:44
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:45-46
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
46 “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:47-48
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
48 “which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:49-50
49 “So it will be at the end of the age. The messengers will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just,
50 “and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:51-52
51 Yeshua said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Adon.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Shalom
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