Parashat Vayeira - Come as you Are (5 min read)

רפואה מן התורה
Healing from the Torah

     Last week we met Abram, who became Abraham, a man who was willing to separate himself from his past to explore a new future.  We also learned that unlike his predecessors Abraham was an active partner with God, both in his behavior and his flawed humanness. Abraham was given the charge והיה ברכה (to be a blessing) by lifting up the torch of Torah in his world, which he did by showing how a normal person (just like us) could traverse his “today” by walking toward a better “tomorrow.”  This week we are in Parashat Vayeira, Genesis 18:1-22:24, where we encounter more of Abraham as he continues his journey that began when he left the place of his birth. 

     Abraham’s world was a lot like ours; there were evil people, unfair rulers, wars, depravity, navigating seeming lose-lose choices, famine, parental decisions, relationship conflicts, family dynamics and personal belief systems (to just name a few). As he lived in his world our tradition says that Abraham taught us הכנסת אורחים (hospitality to strangers) when he attended to the three strangers who came to him while healing from his own circumcision. Likewise, as he intervened for the sake of Lot, his family and other upright folks in Sodom, Abraham teaches us the principle of צדקה (justice) in the affirmation of life.  Following the events in Sodom we finish this parasha with two like stories that we also encountered in Lech Lecha.   First like with Pharaoh, Abraham instructs Sarah to tell King Abimelech that she is his sister instead of his wife.  However, unlike Pharaoh who was fearful, when the king discovered that Abraham and Sarah were actually husband and wife he gave Abraham riches and respect since he was a  prophet of God.  Second, we have yet another story about the birth of a son to Abraham.  In Lech Lecha Abraham has a son (Ishmael with Hagar) who he eventually had to banish from his domain whereas here, when Abraham has another son (Isaac with Sarah), he believed his task was to sacrifice him on top of a mountain.  There are varied story-lines in Vayeira that each deserve time to be explored, but for now we will look at one passage to consider.

     The very first verse says, “And the LORD appeared (Vayeira) unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day” (cf. Genesis 18:1).  Why was Abraham sitting not only in the entrance of his but during the heat of the day?  Not surprisingly our tradition has differing views. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 87b) paints the picture of Abraham as a man who did not let the pain of his circumcision stop him for entertaining his quests.  The sun at the heat of the day was for healing that God sent because he cared about the welfare of Abraham (Rashi).  From Targum Jonathan we learn that Abraham while sitting still is given the opportunity to have the glory of God revealed  to him (just not appear).  With that understanding we then look to another Midrash (Genesis R. 48:7) that teaches Abraham would remain seated as he heals while the Shekinah stands before him and his children (Israel) to follow.  As such, the proof text that the Mishnah quotes to support the idea of the Shekinah standing before Abraham is אלהים נצב בעדת אל, “God stands in the congregation of God” (Psalm 82:1). The conversation ensues that then states, עומד אין כתיב כאן אלא נצב, “it does not say stand (עומד) but rather stand (נצב).”  The answer for this is - אטימוס (eh’tee’mos), which is a Greek word that means “present,” as opposed to just standing erect or a state of being.    In other words, using the Zohar to help understand “present” a bit better, the heat of the day is synonymous with the divine light of God that itself is revealed to Abraham has he sits in the entrance of the tent.  The entrance of the tent furthermore is seen as a portal between the lower and the upper worlds that stand between God and mankind (also see Perkei Avot 4:17).  The mystical tradition furthermore compares the sun to the sefirot of Chokhmah (wisdom) that sits right underneath Keter (Crown) as the essence of the divine light which descends from God into the lower world of mankind where Abraham dwells. 

     What can the mystical tradition teach us?  We learn that Abraham while sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of day was engaged with a God who he considered to be “present” with him.  In Abraham we see a sense of relationship with God on a personal level as opposed to the idea of “other” beyond human connection.  Abraham’s first act of kindness came to his three visitors and his second was the intervening on behalf of the righteous in Sodom; both acts reveal the core of Abraham’s conviction rooted in the values of Torah and therefore God. Abraham was not perfect, we know that, but again a lesson here is that as a normal person Abraham was committed to his own spirituality in both word and deed.   Abraham was a not a religious nut but a man who allowed himself to be in touch with his own spirituality, and Torah, gave him the opportunity to live out his convictions.  As we said, our tradition wants to repair that connection of the spiritual nature of humanity and the Torah that gives flesh to it, thus when we unify that duality we find the foundation of tikkun for self and others.