 Torah Thoughts
This week we read the Torah portion
"VaYera" (Genesis 18-22). VaYera contains 147 verses
and no mitzvot.
Our portion is action-packed. Let us first get an
overview of the events.
After the promise of an heir and the covenant of
circumcision, Abraham was recovering at the entrance of his tent. He was
visited by strangers who informed him that he and Sarah would have a child
the following year.
Abraham was then apprised of G-d's intention to destroy
the wicked city of Sodom.
Abraham pleads with G-d to spare the inhabitants for the sake of the righteous
among them. There was no quorum of righteous people in Sodom. Its fate was sealed. Only Lot (Abraham's nephew) and his family were to be
rescued.
Sodom and its suburbs
were destroyed as Lot and his daughters fled
to the mountains. The daughters thought that all of humanity had been
destroyed. If mankind was to be perpetuated, they would have to be
impregnated by their father. His daughters plied Lot
with alcohol and in his drunken state he cohabited with them. They later bore
him sons who founded the nations of Moab and Ammon.
Abraham traveled to the land of the Philistines. There,
the charming Sarah was abducted by the king Avimelech. G-d threatened
Avimelech in a dream, and so he released Sarah.
Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Hagar, the concubine, and her
son from Abraham, Ishmael, were expelled from Abraham's household, when Sarah
saw that Ishmael was a threat to Isaac's life. This painful expulsion was one
of the ten tests endured by Abraham. Ishmael was saved from death in the
wilderness and G-d promised Hagar that Ishmael's descendants would become a
great nation.
Our Torah portion concludes with the famous episode of
the binding of Isaac, the final test endured by Abraham.
Abraham, in Jewish thought, represents the epitome of
Chesed (kindness). At the beginning of our portion, Abraham,
despite the pain of his recent circumcision, sits in the searing heat at the
entrance to his tent watching for potential guests. We sense his
excitement as he ran toward the passing strangers entreating them not to pass
by, but to have their feet washed and eat something. He speaks modestly about
offering them a piece of bread, but asks Sarah to bake cakes, has butter and
milk brought and has an animal slaughtered (according to the Midrash- he has
three bulls slaughtered so that he can offer each of his guests the tongues,
a delicacy).
We see Abraham begging G-d to spare the evil inhabitants
of Sodom for
the sake of the minority of righteous individuals.
Yet it seems that Abraham's quality of kindness is often
assailed and challenged by the tests to which G-d subjects him. The kindly
Abraham is told by his wife to expel his older son, Ishmael and his mother
Hagar. G-d commands Abraham to heed Sarah's directive. Abraham wakes early in
the morning and suppresses his innate compassion to send Ishmael and Hagar
into the wilderness.
Our portion ends with the greatest challenge to
Abraham's compassion. He is commanded by G-d to take his beloved son Isaac,
his hope and heir, and to bring him as an offering at an undisclosed location.
Abraham once more was called upon to ignore his paternal love and his innate
benevolence to do G-d's will.
Compassion and kindness are certainly positive
attributes which we should all strive to inculcate in ourselves and our
children. Indeed, chesed is one of three defining characteristics of a Jew.
However, unbalanced and unbridled chesed can unleash destruction. A parent
who does not discipline a child running toward the highway, is not being kind
to the child, but is inflicting untold cruelty.
Misplaced kindness is ultimately selfish and cruel.
The Torah itself uses the word "chesed" in a most unusual context.
In describing the sin of incest (Leviticus 20:17) it is written that "it
is a chesed". In this carnal context, "chesed" refers to an
inappropriate, egocentric act of giving.
Our sages teach that displaying kindness and
compassion to the wicked and cruel is itself cruelty. Those who do not share
our values will perceive the compassionate act as a sign of weakness.
They will use it as an opportunity to regroup and prepare for their next
assault.
The echoes of King Saul's act of sparing the life of
Agag, king of Amalek (see I Samuel 15) are still heard in cries of the
victims of anti-Semitism throughout history.
We may only speak the language of compassion with
those who understand it. G-d challenged Abraham to withhold his altruism to
teach us that there are occasions when this virtue is inappropriate; that we
must develop the strength to withhold it when necessary. Evil must be utterly
destroyed. Ignoring it or justifying it by "searching for its
roots" is an indulgence the civilized world cannot afford.
HAFTARA
II Kings 4:1-37. Our Haftara relates two episodes
involving the prophet Elisha. In the first story, a poor widow (according to
our tradition-the wife of the prophet Obadiah) was being hounded by a
creditor, who was threatening to take her two sons as slaves in order to pay
off her debt. She turned to Elisha in desperation. He asked her what she had
in the house. All she had was a jug of oil. He told her to gather as many
containers as she could and to pour the oil into them. Miraculously, the oil
kept coming out until all the vessels were full. She was then able to sell
the oil and pay off her debts. We see that G-d's blessings are miraculous,
but that the blessing needs a substrate on which it can act.
Only faith combined with human effort can bring the
blessings to fruition.
This story introduces the next.
Elisha, on his peregrinations, would stay at the home of
a couple in Shunem. The lady of the house was an extremely kind and gracious
hostess. She had a special guest suite added to the house to accommodate
Elisha. He wished to bless her. When he asked how she could be repaid, she
responded that she is simply one of the people and did not want any special
favors. Elisha was told that she and her elderly husband did not have any
children (reflecting a motif in our Torah portion). Elisha promised her a
child (using similar language to the promise given to Abraham) the following
year.
The child died suddenly. The woman, without informing
her husband, exhibited tremendous faith and called Elisha. The child was
miraculously revived.
These two stories, as does the story of Abraham and
Sarah having a child, teach us that the limitations of the natural order fall
away in the face of perfect faith.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Baruch Price
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