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Yeshivat Nahar Shalom

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The Weekly Parasha

Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Head of the Yeshiva - Chizuk for the 8th of Nissan

By Yeshivat Nahar Shalom Staff•October 19, 2026
The Shield of Avrahamthe Three Levels of Trustpere adam yishmael is a wild manexile under yishmaelthe holy zohar as a refuge

Avraham our father trusted in Hashem with ultimate trust. When Hashem told him, "I am a shield to you with ultimate trust," Avraham surrendered himself to danger for the holiness of Hashem by going to war with the four kings so there would be no desecration of Hashem's name. Therefore, the blessing concludes: "Blessed are You, Hashem, Shield of Avraham"—not "Helper of Avraham," but Shield of Avraham, reflecting his absolute trust.

The following is based on Rabbi Shmueli's Hebrew Chizuk video for the 8th of Cheshvan 5787

Rabbi Shmueli

The Shield of Avraham and the Three Levels of Trust

8th of Cheshvan. With the help of Hashem, blessed be His name, we look at how the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Avraham: "Fear not, Avram, I am a shield to you, your reward shall be very great."

The Gaon of Vilna asks, why did He say to him, "Your reward, your reward shall be very great"? He explains that it is written, or we say in the prayer: "King, Helper, Savior, and Shield." What is the doubling of the language of "Helper, Savior, Shield"? Rather, this corresponds to the ways of trust by which a person trusts in Hashem, which consist of three levels:

  1. The First Level: A person makes some effort or cause on his part, and Hashem helps him. There is a person in a low state; if he performs some action so that Hashem will help him, he then relies upon this.
  2. The Second Level: A person who will do nothing, will do no action at all, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves him directly. Therefore it is written: "Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem, and Hashem shall be his trust."
  3. The Third Level (The Highest): A person sometimes makes a cause contrary to his own intellect purely for the sake of Hashem. Nonetheless, trusting in the Holy One, blessed be He, he surrenders himself to danger for the sake of Heaven—such as risking his life to save a Jew—and Hashem serves as a shield for him.

This explains the divine attributes: King and Helper mean that Hashem blesses a person's active efforts (Helper: you act, I help you). Savior means saving without an active cause, by Himself. Shield is a shield to all who take refuge in Him, standing against human intellect when people surrender themselves to danger for the sake of Hashem's honor.

Avraham our father trusted in Hashem with ultimate trust. When Hashem told him, "I am a shield to you with ultimate trust," Avraham surrendered himself to danger for the holiness of Hashem by going to war with the four kings so there would be no desecration of Hashem's name. Therefore, the blessing concludes: "Blessed are You, Hashem, Shield of Avraham"—not "Helper of Avraham," but Shield of Avraham, reflecting his absolute trust.

The Great Reward of the Master of Trust

Regarding this, the verse states: "Hope unto Hashem, be strong and let your heart take courage, and hope unto Hashem." The greatest reward that the master of trust (baal bitachon) will merit is that the Holy One, blessed be He, will strengthen and encourage his heart so that he will have even more trust, and more, and more. This is far greater than merely bestowing great wealth so that he no longer needs trust.

Chovat HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart) teaches that the measure of trust surpasses everything in value. Even someone with the ability to produce gold fears every day of illnesses and violent threats, but the master of trust possesses true tranquility. He fears no one and carries no worry. This is why his ultimate reward is that Hashem strengthens and encourages his heart to experience ever-deepening trust.

The Torah as a Shield and the Covenant of the Pieces

Our teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, used to explain the verse "I am a shield to you, your reward shall be very great" by connecting Anochi ("I am") to the opening of the Decalogue: "I am Hashem your L-rd." Anochi represents the Torah. The Torah acts as a shield, protecting and saving (Magena Umaztla). The Torah surrounds a person, shielding him from all sicknesses, diseases, and troubles. Everything in a person's life is properly arranged by the Torah.

We see a parallel in the Covenant of the Pieces (Brit Bein HaBetarim). When Sarah, Avraham's wife, gave Hagar the Egyptian to Avraham as a wife after ten years of dwelling in Canaan, Avraham initially did not want this. Sarah feared that if Avraham died without children, she would not need yibum (levirate marriage), raising the anxious question: Where would she go? Yishmael would take her—may Hashem protect us—or Nachor, which she wanted to avoid entirely.

When Sarah subsequently afflicted Hagar and she fled, the text indicates that Sarah sinned in this affliction. Yet because Avraham allowed it, Hashem heard Hagar's affliction and gave us a son destined to be a wild man (pere adam), who would afflict the seed of Israel. It is taught that the sons of Yishmael are destined to rule over the Land of Israel—an event that has already occurred in history. Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai) writes: "Woe to that hour when Yishmael was born." There is no nation in the world that hates Israel more than Yishmael. As Rambam (Maimonides) writes: "No nation has ever arisen against Israel that is worse than it," referring to the Yishmaelites.

The Trials of Yishmael and Protection through the Zohar

Woe is to us. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai writes in the Zohar that in future times, the Yishmaelites will arouse all the peoples to come to Jerusalem. They will make peace among themselves, and all of them will turn against Israel. What are we to do? May Hashem help, for it will take many salvations.

We are told that Yishmael is destined to rule strongly and harshly for nine months, but shortly thereafter, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring him down. Already five months have passed; soon it will be three, and down to nothing, lasting only a day or two before it is finished with the help of Hashem.

Scripture states: "And he shall be a wild man (pere adam)." The Maharil Diskin analyzes the Hebrew phrasing, noting that in Hebrew the noun usually precedes the adjective (e.g., a man who is wise, a man who is rich), where the essence is the man, followed by the descriptive attribute. Yet regarding Yishmael, the verse places the adjective first (pere adam), showing that wildness is his very essence. Woe is to us.

When faced with these tribulations, people once came to the Chafetz Chaim expressing their desire to ascend to the Land of Israel during the turbulent era of the 1929 Tarpat riots, which brought great fury to Jaffa and Hebron. (My father remembered this personally). When they asked him what they should do, the Chafetz Chaim told them:

"Do not fear. True, it is written 'And he shall be a wild man'? Meaning, this applies whether he is a professor or a lawyer—he remains a wild man. If we multiply our efforts in Torah and prayer, Hashem saves us from them."

What is our refuge? We must hide in the ark. What is the ark? The Holy Zohar. As written in the Zohar, the verse commands: "A tzohar [window/light] you shall make for the ark"—do not read it merely as tzohar (window), but as Zohar. The Zohar is the ark that protects us with the help of Hashem, through which a person finds healing and salvation.