Filed under: Thoughts of the Week
This week’s Torah portion relates several interesting stories -
the appearance of 3 angels to announce that Sarah would have a child in her old age,
Abraham’s almost comical bargaining with the Divine to save Sodom if there were at least 10 good people in the city,
Lot’s hospitality to 3 guests in his home – to the point of offering his daughters, instead of allowing the townspeople do what they would to his guests,
the destruction of Sodom
Lot and his daughter’s refuge in a cave, the daughters’ plans to continue their family’s existence, their descendants becoming neighboring peoples of Israel – Moab and Ammon,
Abraham’s calling Sarah his sister in Abimelech’s camp to assure his own safety,
Abimelech’s dream and compensation for taking Sarah,
the birth of Isaac – laughter – for he was born to an old Sarah,
Sarah’s demand that Hagar and Ishmael be exiled from the camp,
the divine promise that Ishmael would also be the father of a great nation,
Hagar’s despair that her child and she would die in the desert,
their rescue by an angel who showed Hagar a well,
Abraham’s treaty in Beer-Sheba, negotiating water rights,
the Divine test of Abraham’s loyalty – the potential sacrifice of Isaac.
Each of these stories would be good topic for a discussion. In the next paragraph, I will explore another idea – the emphasis on seeing in this week’s portion.
A source for determining the readings of a week may be found at http://www.hebcal.com/sedrot/. The reading for פרשת וירא for the first third of the triennenial cycle is Parashat Vayera Genesis 18:1-33, according to http://www.hebcal.com/sedrot/vayera.html. The Haftarah for Ashkenazim is II Kings 4:1 – 4:37 – about Elisha and his reviving of the son of a Shunammite woman.
The entire portion, Genesis 18:1 – 22:20 is filled with references to seeing. Using http://bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=1&chapter=18&verse=1&portion=4, I found over 20 references to seeing, related to the Hebrew root – Yod-Resh-Hay, or to the Hebrew for eyes. There were also references to a related word – fear/afraid – from the same root, for seeing may lead to fearing.
| 18:1 | First Reading God appeared to [Abraham] in the Plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the hottest part of the day |
| 18:2 | [Abraham] lifted his eyes and he saw three strangers standing a short distance from him. When he saw [them] from the entrance of his tent, he ran to greet them, bowing down to the ground |
| 18:16 | The strangers got up from their places and gazed at Sodom. Abraham went with them to send them on their way. |
| 18:21 | I will descend and see. Have they done everything implied by the outcry that is coming before Me? If not, I will know.’ |
| 19:1 | Third Reading The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, while Lot was sitting at the city gate. Lot saw them and got up to greet them, bowing with his face to the ground. |
| 19:11 | They struck the men who were standing at the entrance with blindness – young and old alike – and [the Sodomites] tried in vain to find the door. |
| 19:17 | When [the angel] had led them out, he said, ‘Run for your life! Do not look back! Do not stop anywhere in the valley! Flee to the hills, so that you will not be swept away!’ |
| 19:19 | I have found favor in your eyes, and you have been very kind in saving my life! But I cannot reach the hills to escape. The evil will overtake me and I will die! |
| 19:26 | [Lot's] wife looked behind him, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. |
| 19:28 | He stared at Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole area of the plain, and all he saw was heavy smoke rising from the earth, like the smoke of a lime kiln. |
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| 20:11 | Abraham replied, ‘I realized that the one thing missing here is the fear of God. I could be killed because of my wife. |
| 20:15 | Abimelekh said, ‘My whole land is before you. Settle wherever you see fit.’ |
| 21:9 | But Sarah saw the son that Hagar had born to Abraham playing. |
| 21:16 | She walked away, and sat down facing him, about a bowshot away. She said, ‘Let me not see the boy die.’ She sat there facing him, and she wept in a loud voice. |
| 21:17 | God heard the boy weeping. God’s angel called Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What’s the matter Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy’s voice there where he is. |
| 21:19 | God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, giving the boy some to drink. |
| 21:23 | Now swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my children, or with my grandchildren. Show to me and the land where you were an immigrant the same kindness that I have shown to you.’ |
| 22:2 | ‘Take your son, the only one you love – Isaac – and go away to the Moriah area. Bring him as an all-burned offering on one of the mountains that I will designate to you.’ |
| 22:4 | On the third day, Abraham looked up, and saw the place from afar. |
| 22:8 | ‘God will see to a lamb for an offering, my son,’ replied Abraham. |
| 22:13 | Abraham then looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. He went and got the ram, sacrificing it as an all-burned offering in his son’s place. |
| 22:14 | Abraham named the place ‘God will See’ (Adonoy Yir’eh). Today, it is therefore said, ‘On God’s Mountain, He will be seen.’ |
There are other phrases in the Torah that focus on seeing, or hearing, or remembering. I would suggest that there is no other place that has as concentrated emphases on one way to gain information in the world as in this portion. The portion starts with the Divine appearing to Abraham in the form of 3 strangers, with whom Abraham shares a festive meal, demonstrating the hospitality that was one of his greatest virtues.
Seeing is also dangerous; Lot’s wife looked back at the destruction of Sodom and became a pillar of salt. Hagar placed her son at a distance so that she would not see him die, then her eyes were opened and she saw the path for survival.
Abraham’s test – the Akedah – the binding of Isaac, also refers to sight. Abraham tells Isaac when asked that the Divine will see to the lamb. Abraham sees Mount Moriah – the Divine will see – from a distance. Abraham saw a ram caught in the thicket.
The emphases on seeing, all of the references, suggest that one does need to see to believe. Seeing may lead to fear but it may also lead to solutions to problems. Avoiding seeing, like Hagar did, may be overturned when one opens one’s eyes to the options and resources in life, when one sees new ways to accommodate the difficulties of life. Belief may allow one to use sight for the benefit of oneself and others.
The mount that was the site of the near-sacrifice of Isaac is now, by tradition, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the site where the followers of the three religions of the children of Abraham wrestle to share its holiness. It is known as Mount Moriah, “the Divine will see”. With belief, one will also see the best in life and see on the horizon the coming of better days. May we see it in our own days.
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