Vayera
He appeared — וירא
Note: The regular readings above are often interrupted with special readings on Jewish holidays, special Sabbaths, and Rosh Chodesh. Refer to the annual Torah Portion schedule for these special portions.
Portion Summar
The fourth reading from the book of Genesis is named Vayera (וירא). It means "And he appeared" because the first story describes how the LORD appeared to Abraham one day as he sat outside his tent. Section Vayera continues with the series of tests of faith for Abraham, concluding in one great and final trial
Portion Outline
· Torah
o Genesis 18:1 | A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah
o Genesis 18:16 | Judgment Pronounced on Sodom
o Genesis 19:1 | The Depravity of Sodom
o Genesis 19:12 | Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
o Genesis 19:30 | The Shameful Origin of Moab and Ammon
o Genesis 20:1 | Abraham and Sarah at Gerar
o Genesis 21:1 | The Birth of Isaac
o Genesis 21:8 | Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
o Genesis 21:22 | Abraham and Abimelech Make a Covenant
o Genesis 22:1 | The Command to Sacrifice Isaac
o Genesis 22:20 | The Children of Nahor
· Prophets
o 2Ki 4:1 | Elisha and the Widow's Oil
o 2Ki 4:8 | Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son.
Sarah’s Laughter and Messiah
After nearly 2,000 years, it seems laughable to imagine that Messiah is ready to return and that He may yet come this very day.
The Golden Gate in Jerusalem, Sha'ar HaRachamim (שער הרחמים), Gate of Mercy in
Hebrew. (Photo: Christian Kaehler/Adobe Stock)
The mysterious visitor said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son” (Genesis 18:10). Sarah was inside her tent, and she overheard the conversation. She laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
The Torah scholar Chofetz Chaim comments on this passage, saying that the story contains a hidden warning not to doubt the coming of the Messiah. Just as Sarah laughed at the notion that God would keep His promise to Abraham after so many fruitless years of waiting and hoping, we too are in danger of losing faith in the coming of the Messiah after so many years of waiting. After nearly 2,000 years, it seems laughable to imagine that Messiah is ready to return and that He may yet come this very day.
After decades of waiting for the promised child, Sarah had despaired of seeing the promise fulfilled. A similar situation occurred just before the redemption from Egypt. When Moses came to the Hebrew slaves, declaring the hour of their redemption, they did not believe him: “They did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage” (Exodus 6:9). The long years of suffering in Egypt had crushed their hopes, and they no longer had the strength to believe in the promised redemption.
If one truly believes in the possibility of Mashiach’s imminent arrival, then he will constantly be in a state of spiritual preparation, through Torah, good deeds and repentance. If, however, such is not the case, then it is apparent that our talk of his imminent coming is mere lip service; in reality, our faith is quite miniscule. This is alluded to in the words told to Sarah, “No, you laughed indeed.” (Chofetz Chaim)
In a similar teaching, the Apostle Peter tells us:
Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:3-4)
When Sarah finally received the promise and held her baby in her arms, she laughed with joy rather than cynical incredulity: “Sarah said, ‘God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me’” (Genesis 21:6). “Then our mouth was filled with laughter,” (Palm 126:2).
Abraham's Great Test
Life is full of tests, but tests are easier to pass when you already know the answers. Abraham knew the answers before he took the test.
Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio (c. 1603). (Image: Wikimedia
Commons)
Abraham's life was a life of faith, and the life of faith is a life of testing. At every juncture we are tested. Passing each test requires stubborn optimism, resolute confidence in God and steadfast obedience. Life's problems are opportunities to prove our faith and to improve our faithfulness. We fail life's tests when we give in to despair, lose confidence in God or turn away from obedience. Every difficulty and trial is a test of faith. Will we assess the problem through the eyes of faith or not? Will we respond in faith or faithlessness?
He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:2)
When God first called Abraham he said, "Go forth from your country." The Hebrew for "go forth" is lech-lecha (לך לך). That was the first test of Abraham's faith. Near the end of Abraham's life, the LORD again tells Abraham, "Lech-lecha." He commands him to bring his son Isaac to the land of Moriah. The land of Moriah is the area of Jerusalem. God tells Abraham to bring Isaac to "one of the mountains of which I will tell you." Mount Moriah is the mount on which King Solomon built the holy Temple. Abraham built his altar on the very spot where the Holy Temple would one day be built.
Abraham did not object to God's commandment. Instead he rose early in the morning to carry out the terrible duty. Remember that he also rose early in the morning to send off Hagar and Ishmael. When we have a commandment from God, even if it seems disagreeable, we should not procrastinate.
Abraham passed the test. He demonstrated his confidence in God.
When Isaac asked about the lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham confidently replied, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (Genesis 22:8).
He demonstrated he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, even binding him, placing him on the altar and taking the knife to slaughter him. How could a loving father do this? The writer of the book of Hebrews explains:
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said [in Genesis 21:12], "In Isaac your descendants shall be called." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Abraham believed God with such absolute faith that he did not hesitate to obey. He knew God had made promises to bless and multiply his seed through Isaac, and He knew God would keep those promises, even if He had to raise Isaac from the dead.
The Sin of Sodom
For what great sin did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with
fire and brimstone?
The Description of Sodom and Gomorrah (Image: John Martin [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
The story of how the citizens of Sodom welcomed the two strangers gives us the impression that inhabitants of the city were judged for their illicit sexual sins. Jude, the younger brother of Yeshua, explains that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because they “indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh” (Jude 1:7). But sexual depravity was not unique to Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s still with us today, and we don’t see fire and brimstone falling out of the sky onto today’s centers of immorality. Were there other sins and vices charged against those cities?
From ancient times there have been differing theories attempting to identify the real problem with Sodom and Gomorrah. The Talmud preserves a list of opinions that includes charges of sexual immorality, stinginess, blasphemy, avarice, selfishness, burglary, encroachment, extortion and injustice. Several of these sins may be derived from a passage in the book of Ezekiel, where the prophet metaphorically refers to the kingdom of Judah as Sodom:
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
The prophet Ezekiel lists sexual immorality as the final straw after an accumulation of social injustices. Ezekiel charged the people with enjoying “abundant food and careless ease” while neglecting the poor—a charge that could be leveled against most of us living in the West.
Tradition says that the primary sin of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah was their inhospitable welcome of strangers. Jewish legend embellished the story with other tales of how badly the people of Sodom treated guests and strangers. The people of Sodom came to represent the opposite of hospitality. Not only were they sexually deviant, but even worse, they were inhospitable. Clement, the disciple of Peter, followed the Jewish explanation in that he also saw hospitality and inhospitality as the main issues in the Sodom and Gomorrah story:
On account of his hospitality and godliness, Lot was saved out of Sodom when all the country round was punished by means of fire and brimstone, the Lord thus making it manifest that He does not forsake those that hope in Him, but gives up such as depart from Him to punishment and torture. (1 Clement 11:1)
Yeshua may be alluding to the hospitality explanation for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah when He tells His disciples to seek hospitality in the homes and villages they enter. He tells them, “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” (Matthew 10:14-15).
The Friend of God
What did Abraham do to be called the friend of God?
Painting by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, French, 1836-1902
— God's Promises to Abram (Image: The Jewish Museum, New York. Public
Domain)
If God had said, take your son, your other son, Ishmael, whom you love, Abraham would have found the trial just as heartbreaking and difficult. The real test was not about Abraham’s affection for Isaac as much as it was a test of his faith in the promises of God. Everything Abraham believed and hoped for rested on Isaac.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” (Hebrews 11:17-18)
Abraham’s obedience testifies to his great faith in God’s promises and his selfless devotion to the LORD. The near-sacrifice of Isaac vindicated God’s choice of Abraham in our eyes and the eyes of the world. James the brother of our Master says that Abraham our father was “justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar … and he was called the friend of God” (James 2:21-23).
The Bible calls Abraham “the friend of God” because God and Abraham had a mutual covenant partnership. Abraham was the “friend of God” in the sense that he was God’s “covenant partner.” God “tested” Abraham to test the extant of Abraham’s loyalty to the covenant relationship. Abraham passed the test. He proved his devotion by obeying God and bringing Isaac as a sacrifice. When God saw that Abraham had chosen to keep and honor the covenant, He reconfirmed the covenant, saying, “Because you have done this thing and not withheld your son …” (Genesis 22:16). In other words, the fulfillment of the covenant promises God made to Abraham were contingent upon Abraham’s obedience in offering his only son. Because Abraham willingly offered up his son, God agreed to keep His obligations to Abraham.
A covenant is a two-way relationship. Abraham met the test and proved his loyalty to his covenant friend. That left the ball in God’s court, so to speak. It was God’s turn to prove His own loyalty to the covenant. In so doing, the Almighty could not bring to the table less than Abraham had brought. Abraham demonstrated his covenant loyalty through willingly sacrificing his only son, and by doing that, he obligated the Almighty to reciprocate. Abraham’s demonstration of covenant loyalty demanded God’s demonstration of covenant loyalty. The sacrifice of Isaac not only foreshadowed the sacrifice of Yeshua, it demanded it.
In the Gospel of John, God Himself takes on the role of Abraham and demonstrates His faithfulness before the entire world by sacrificing His Son. In language so reminiscent of the first verses of Genesis 22 that it can hardly be coincidental, the apostle John says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). In another place John said, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). With similar language, Paul said, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The sacrificial death of God’s Son demonstrates God’s love and faithfulness. Christians take that for granted, but long before the story of Yeshua or the writing of the first gospel, there was Abraham—a father willing to sacrifice his only begotten and beloved son as a demonstration of faithfulness and love.
Marital Advice from Sarah and Abraham
Looking for tips for a happy home? Take another look at the marriage of your spiritual parents, Abraham and Sarah.
A couple in distress receive marriage counseling. (Image ©
Bigstock)
When Sarah heard the Angel of the LORD announce that she was to conceive a son, she laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Genesis 18:12). Peter commented on this verse of the Torah, telling wives that they should submit to their husbands "just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear" (1 Peter 3:5-6). Peter found it significant that Sarah referred to Abraham as “my lord.” He looked at the marriage of Abraham and Sarah as the ideal and model marriage, and he encouraged disciples to emulate Abraham and Sarah
A wife should submit to her husband freely and voluntarily, “not being frightened by any fear.” In other words, a worthy wife submits to her husband out of love and respect, not because she is afraid of him. Simon Peter taught that husbands should not demand submission from their wives with threats or stern and angry words. Instead, a worthy husband lives with his wife “in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman.” A worthy husband shows his wife “honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life” (1 Peter 3:7). Peter urged husbands to treat their wives as peers, not subordinates, “so that your prayers will not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). The prayers of a man who does not treat his wife with respect and dignity as a fellow heir (i.e., equal partner) will not reach heaven. Simon Peter concluded his advice on marriage as follows:
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)
Sarah referred to Abraham as “my lord,” but God told Abraham, “Whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her!” (Genesis 21:12). In the Hebrew idiom, “to listen” is to obey. Abraham was lord over Sarah, but in His service of God, he was subservient to his wife. This husband-wife relationship illustrates the Master’s kingdom principles of headship: “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). Kingdom leadership is far removed from the rigid, authoritarian, dictatorial standards whereby men are expected to lord it over meek and spineless women. The biblical model of a healthy marriage calls for mutual partnership where the man leads by service to Messiah and his wife.
Although Sarah laughed to herself in the privacy
of her tent, the LORD knew. He asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying,
‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’” That was not what Sarah
really said. The LORD omitted her words about Abraham: “My lord being old
also.” Why did God leave out those words?
The Midrash Tanchuma
explains that God omitted the words that Abraham might find hurtful:
In the matter of our mother Sarah, the Holy One, Blessed be He, misrepresented her words … for the sake of peace. Why did He do this? So that Abraham would not resent her and thereby cause animosity between Abraham and Sarah. (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 18)
This story teaches that one must be exceedingly careful to maintain peace between a husband and wife. A person should never speak derisively to someone about that person’s spouse or relate any negative information that might cause friction or otherwise diminish a man’s respect for his wife or a woman’s respect for her husband. Instead, a person should mention only the virtues of a person’s spouse to engender love between a husband and a wife.
Abraham's Prayer
Sometimes, when you are praying about something for yourself, the best thing you can do is to forget about it and concentrate your prayers on the needs of others. If nothing else, you will discover gratitude for what you already have.
Abraham was one hundred years old. For all of his married life he had hoped for and prayed for the birth of a son, but Sarah, his wife, was barren. Her womb was closed. Ironically, when Abraham’s enemy Abimelech abducted Abraham’s wife Sarah, God sealed the wombs of all Abimelech’s wives. Even those women who were about to give birth found that they could not bear their children. The Talmud says, “It was stated at the academy of Rabbi Yannai that even the hens belonging to Abimelech could not lay their eggs” (b.Bava Kama 92a quoting Genesis 20:18).
After Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, he asked Abraham to pray for him. Abraham prayed for the healing of Abimelech’s household. Rabbinic literature uses this episode from Abraham’s life as a model of forgiveness:
From where do we learn that an injured person who refuses to forgive his injurer (when he apologizes) is called a cruel person? From the words, “Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech…” (b.Bava Kama 92a)
Whoever is merciful to his fellow is certainly a son of our father Abraham, and whosoever is not merciful to his fellow is certainly not a son of our father Abraham. (b.Beitzah 32b)
Ironically, Abraham’s prayer availed children for Abimelech and his wives immediately. Furthermore, immediately after the Torah tells us that Abraham prayed for Abimelech’s wives—that their wombs would be opened—we read, “Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age…” (Genesis 21:1).
Not until Abraham prayed for others was his prayer for himself and his wife answered. Rashi says that the Torah put the passage regarding Abimelech’s wives just before the conception of and birth of Isaac intentionally. It is to teach us that whoever seeks mercy for another by praying for his need when he himself is needful of the same will have his own need met. At the very least, we learn here the principal of praying for others before ourselves.
Remember Lot's Wife
Ordinarily, God doesn't turn people into pillars of salt. What is the story of Lot's wife really about?
Lot and his family lived in the wicked city of Sodom. The Apostle Peter tells us that "righteous Lot" was oppressed by the sensual conduct of the men of Sodom, and his "righteous soul" was "tormented day after day by their lawless deeds" (2 Peter 2:7-8). Nevertheless, when God sent two angels to rescue Lot before the destruction of the city, Lot seemed reluctant to leave Sodom.
The Torah attributes Lot's rescue to the merit of Abraham: "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow" (Genesis 19:29). The angels compelled Lot and his family to flee from Sodom, dragging them by the hands. Then they told them, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you" (Genesis 19:17). As they fled, though, Lot's wife looked back and "became a pillar of salt" (Genesis 19:26).
Why did she turn to salt? The region of Sodom and Gomorrah is in the area of the Dead Sea, also known as the Salt Sea. The Dead Sea is famous for its extremely high salinity. The shores of the Dead Sea are frosted in salt deposits. Because she turned into a pillar of salt, the natural salt of the Dead Sea area became a reminder of Lot's wife for the generations to come.
Yeshua often warned His disciples about the troubled times to come. He foresaw days of persecution, the coming destruction of Jerusalem and a catastrophic day of judgment at the time of His second coming. He warned His disciples that at the time of His second coming, people will be caught unaware and unprepared. They will be like the people Sodom and Gomorrah, utterly unprepared for the moment of judgment:
In the days of Lot they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:28-30)
Yeshua warns that we must be ready to let go of our things, our hopes, and our plans in an instant. We need to be able to let go of everything without turning back as Lot's wife did. He says, "Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it" (Luke 17:32-33).
He was referring to literally fleeing for one's life in a time of tribulation and cataclysm, but His warning also carries an important spiritual lesson. Lot and his family were nearly swept up in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah along with the rest of the inhabitants, not because they were wicked like the rest of the city but because they had allowed themselves to become attached to the place and the people. They did not indulge in all the vices of the material culture around them, but neither had they maintained a healthy distance from that culture. When it came time to flee, they found that they could not let it go. The angels had to drag them from the city, and even then, Lot's wife could not help but look back.
For Lot's wife, who went forth with him, being of a different mind from himself and not continuing in agreement with him as to the command which had been given them, was made an example of, so as to be a pillar of salt unto this day. This was done that all might know that those who are of a double mind, and who distrust the power of God, bring down judgment on themselves, and become a sign to all succeeding generations. (1 Clement 11:2)
Disciples of Yeshua are to be in the world, but not of the world. It is easy to let the comforts and mundane things of everyday life lull us into a sense of complacency. We tend to cling to the material world. It's busyness, pleasures, and concerns distract us from matters of spirituality and godliness. If we cannot let go of materialism, we will be double-minded like Lot's wife.
Hungry Angels
The rabbis say that angels neither eat nor drink nor sleep. So how did Abraham feed the three angels that visited him?
Three angels came to visit Abraham. He served them milk and meat: "He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate" (Genesis 18:8). Forget about whether or not milk and meat are a permissible combination or not. The bigger question is, "Do angels eat?" The sages of the Talmudic age taught that angels do not eat:
Six things are said of human beings. They have three things in common with the ministering angels, and three things in common with animals. The three things they have in common with angels are that they have understanding like the ministering angels, they walk erect like the ministering angels and they can talk in the holy tongue [i.e. Hebrew] like the ministering angels. The three things they have in common with animals are that they eat and drink like animals, they reproduce like animals and they relieve themselves like animals. (b.Chagigah 16b)
Yeshua also taught that angels do not reproduce. One may safely assume that they do not eat or relieve themselves, but if that is the case with angels, how is it that Abraham served them and they ate his food? The sages explained that the angels only pretended to eat. They "seemed to be eating and drinking, the courses disappearing in order of arrival" (Leviticus Rabbah 34:8).In other words, while Abraham stood by, they made the appropriate chewing motions and miraculously dematerialized the food. Rashi says, "They only appeared to eat. From this we learn that a person should keep the local custom so as not to be offensive."
The concept that angels do not actually eat food explains a mysterious passage in the gospel of Luke. When the resurrected Yeshua appeared to his bewildered disciples, they first assumed that He was a ghost or an angel. To prove that He was really a human being, He asked for some food to eat:
While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. (Luke 24:41-43)
Isaac and Rosh HaShanah
Why do we read about the birth of Isaac on Rosh Hashanah? Is there a connection between the birth of Isaac and the coming of the Messiah?
The birth of Isaac can be compared to the coming of Messiah. Isaac is the promised and long-awaited son. Just as Isaac was born at the appointed time, so too Messiah will come at the time appointed by the Father. The Master told us, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority,” (Acts 1:7) and “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36) Nonetheless, the appointed time of Rosh HaShanah with its service of trumpet blasting is an appropriate time to celebrate the anticipated second coming of Yeshua.
In Genesis 18:14, God tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son “at the appointed time.” The Hebrew word for “appointed time” is mo'ed (מועד), the same word that the Torah uses to refer to the biblical festivals, God’s appointed times. As such, its appearance in Genesis 18:14 and 21:2 invited the sages to speculate that Isaac might have been born on a festival. One opinion has it that Isaac was born at the appointed time of Rosh HaShanah .
Genesis 21, which tells the story of the birth of Isaac, is the synagogue’s primary Torah reading for Rosh HaShanah:
Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time (mo'ed, מועד) of which God had spoken to him. (Genesis 21:2)
Many biblical heroes were born in a miraculous manner. Sarah was the first of several barren women who miraculously conceived and gave birth to sons. The Bible uses a miraculous birth to indicate that God has set aside that child for some great purpose. When a barren woman gives birth to a son, a miracle has occurred. The supernatural conception in a barren womb indicates that God has singled out that child for a great destiny.
The miraculous conception and birth of Yeshua served the same function. A virgin conception is even more supernatural than a barren woman’s conception. The narrative of the virgin birth shows us that God destined Mary’s child for an exceptional, supernatural destiny. Just as the miracle of His conception far exceeded that of Isaac’s conception, so too Messiah’s purpose and destiny far exceeds that of Isaac.
After the birth of Isaac, Sarah laughed again. She said, “God has made laughter for me.” Isaac (Yitzchak, יצחק) means “laughter.” A year earlier her doubt and incredulity inspired her cynical laughter. Now she laughed from joy over the birth of the child.
The Master tells us, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21). When will the mourner’s weeping turn to laughter? When Messiah comes, we will all laugh with joy, as it is written, “Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful song” (Psalm 126:2). Then we will all declare, along with Sarah our mother, “God has made laughter for us.” Hence it is fitting that the promised seed of Abraham should be named “laughter.”
Messiah is called “Isaac (Yitzchak, יצחק),” as it says, “All who hear will laugh (yitzchak, יצחק) with me,” and it is written, “Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful song.” (Pirkei deRabbeinu HaKadosh)
May you be inscribed for a sweet new year. “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)
Unlocking The Secret To Immortality
Parashat Vayeira (Genesis 18:1-22:24)
Followers of Yeshua generally understand the concept of life-after-death. Our eternal hope is in the resurrection of the dead and the life we will enjoy in our immortal bodies. Yeshua speaks of this eternal life in Matthew 25. Paul explains this reality by saying, “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53). Our eternal resurrection will be the defeat of the ultimate enemy: death. This is the understanding many have of immortality and how we enter into it. However, there may be another aspect of immortality and a way we can achieve it now, even while we live in this world. Let’s turn to our parashah to help us understand this concept.
In Parashat Vayeira Abraham and Sarah are visited by three men who turn out to be angelic messengers. They have come for at least two specific purposes. The first is to deliver the good news to Abraham and Sarah that Isaac will be born to them the following year. But they have also come to bring judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns. At first it appears that they will forego letting Abraham in on their plans. However, as they begin to set out toward Sodom, the LORD says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Genesis 18:17–18). He chooses to reveal His plans to Abraham.
But in the very next verse, Hashem gives the reason He has chosen Abraham to occupy a special place in His mission among all mankind:
For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. (Genesis 18:19)
Although this statement seems to be related to the reason the LORD is telling Abraham his plans about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, it is also related to the angels’ first mission, the news of Sarah’s pregnancy. God chose Abraham (and was now blessing him with children) because he would teach his children to keep the ways of the LORD. The end of this verse, however, doesn’t seem to make sense. Agreeing with the Midrash (Midrash Rabbah 49:4), Rashi finds a deeper significance in this phrase. One would think that it should say, “so that the LORD may bring to Abraham’s children what he has promised him,” because eventually God would give Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan. But Abraham himself, however, would never receive this promise.
Commenting on this verse, Rashi says that because the Torah doesn’t say the promises would be given to Abraham’s offspring, but to Abraham himself there is a deeper meaning intended. Abraham will indeed receive what he has been promised on account of the actions of his descendants long after he is departed. Therefore, it must mean that Abraham still lives through his children in some way. Rashi concludes by saying that a person who raises a righteous son is as if they never died. This is the secret to unlocking immortality.
For those of us who have children, we have to opportunity to invest into our offspring to produce righteous children who will carry on the work of the Kingdom in our place. For those of us who do not have physical offspring of our own, we still have the opportunity to disciple others so that they can carry on in our stead. Either way, we have to opportunity to step into immortality by investing into others just as Abraham did. Abraham lives on because his descendants (both physical and spiritual) continue to live out their faith, pursue Torah, and work towards the realization of the Messianic Kingdom.
Messianic pioneer, Rabbi Isaac Lichtenstein understood this principle. In his biography, The Everlasting Jew, he taught, “Only in our descendants, in our children, are we imperishable and immortal on earth, for they continue, complete, and fulfill that which we begin, and undertake, and strive for.” May we each find immortality in this life through teaching others to “keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice.” Eternity is waiting on you.
Our Father Abraham
Parashat Vayeira (Genesis 18:1-22:24)
Many people are familiar with the children’s song, “Father Abraham.” It begins, “Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord.” Through repetition and a series of choreographed movements, this song ingrains the concept into a child that Vayeira, this week’s Torah portion, is indeed true. Abraham did become the father of many nations and is affectionately called Avraham Avinu, Our Father Abraham. Paul says that Abraham is “the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:12). We who have put our trust in Yeshua have become the spiritual offspring of Abraham, the father of our faith.
According to our Torah portion, the LORD chose Abraham as the father of many nations for specific reasons:
The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:17–19)
Abraham was chosen in order “that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness (tzedakah) and justice (mishpat).” In Hebrew, doing righteousness is a synonym for taking care of those in need. And when native Hebrew speakers use the word tzedakah, righteousness, most often they mean charity. By Yeshua’s day this concept was in full force. In Matthew 6, Yeshua uses the word in this manner when he says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people” (Matthew 6:1). Justice, mishpat, on the other hand, often connotes strictness. The midrash tells a story to explain one way that Abraham did righteousness and justice.
Abraham and Sarah were known for their hospitality. According to the midrash, they used to take in travelers and give them food and lodging. Once they had enjoyed a wonderful meal, Abraham would ask them to give thanks to Hashem. If they refused, then he would demand payment for the food they had consumed. Because he demanded such a high rate for the food, they would be happy to bless his God. Abraham began with tzedakah (charity), but would add to it mishpat (strictness).
According to a more literal reading of the text, however, the righteousness and justice Abraham would teach to his children would be in relationship to the basic principles of Torah ethics. Even though the Torah had not yet been given to Israel, Abraham would live out its very basic principles and teach his children to do likewise. His example would set the pattern for his descendants after him, as it is said, “The deeds of the fathers are the portents for the children.” Therefore, to be a child of Abraham is to follow in his footsteps.
How can we follow in our father Abraham’s footsteps? Hospitality is an obvious way. Obedience is another. We could list a host of others. May we look to Avraham Avinu as an example of our faith, following his lead at living a life that is pleasing to Hashem and passing that life down to the next generation.
Parashat Vayeira - Genesis 18:1-22:24
Cloning from Abraham’s DNA
One of the most well-known and riveting stories in the Torah is the binding of Isaac, found at the end of this week’s Torah portion. In Hebrew, it is referred to as the Akeidah, or the Binding. It is considered the final (and most difficult) of ten trials through which God tested Abraham. There are many lessons we can learn from this single event. We will attempt to bring out a few important aspects here.
At the very beginning of this passage, the Torah tells us, “After these things God tested Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Why did God need to test Abraham? Doesn’t He know everything about every person on earth? Many times we tend to view the hardships of life as attacks from the adversary. However, just as Abraham, the father of our faith, was tested, we—the spiritual children of Abraham—should also expect testing. And we should not only expect testing, but we should embrace it. The fact is that tests are not for God, but for man. When we pass our test it demonstrates our faith in God to the world. And sometimes passing that test lets us know that we are capable of even more than we realize.
When Hashem told Abraham to bring his beloved son to Mount Moriah to offer him up as an olah, a burnt offering, Abraham’s response was to rise early in the morning and make all of the preparations for the mission he had been given. Abraham demonstrated a character trait known in Hebrew as zerizut, or alacrity. When he had a job to do, even one as difficult as this, he did not delay, but took to it immediately with fervor. Whereas anyone with lesser faith would have hesitated or even delayed obeying Hashem’s instructions due to their severity, Abraham was eager to carry them out as quickly as possible.
One thing that is remarkable about the entire event was Isaac’s complete agreement with his father. According to tradition based on the timeline of biblical events, Isaac was around thirty-seven years old at the time of the Akeidah. Therefore, he had an acute awareness of what was about to happen:
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:6–8)
The Hebrew expression, “Vayelchu sheneihem yachdav” appears twice in this section. It is usually translated to mean that they simply journeyed together. However, the Hebrew connotes more than simply journeying together. It implies joining together in purpose. They were yachdav, “as one.” The first time this phrase appears is after the wood is placed upon Isaac and they begin their journey. The second time it appears is when Isaac has the sinking realization that the missing lamb was intentional and that he would be the one placed upon the altar. But yet the two of them continued on “as one.”
Isaac, bearing the greatness of his father’s spiritual genes, was one with Abraham in purpose. This unity was so great that Isaac wanted to ensure that his sacrifice was carried out properly. The midrash relates that Isaac was so concerned that he would instinctively react to the knife approaching that he asked to be bound so that he would not flinch and invalidate himself as a sacrifice. This was the depth of his oneness with his father.
There is an expression in Hebrew that says, “Ma’aseh avot siman lebanim.” It means, “The actions of the fathers are portents for the children.” In this test Abraham becomes not only a testimony of faithfulness and complete trust for all future generations, but also a pattern by which his children will be recognized. His spiritual DNA, so to speak, is passed down from generation to generation. This is why Paul says that Abraham is "the father of all who believe" (Romans 4:11). When our actions line up with Abraham, we become somewhat of a replica, a clone, so to speak, of the father of our faith. We are not only demonstrating our spiritual lineage, but we are establishing a pattern of faithfulness for our children and grandchildren as well. May we all live in a manner that reflects the unwavering faith of our father Abraham to our children and all subsequent generations.
Parashat Vayeira - Genesis 18:1-22:24
The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:17–19)
Many people are familiar with the children’s song, Father Abraham. It begins, “Father Abraham had many sons and many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord.” Through repetition and a series of choreographed movements this song engrains the concept into a child that this week’s Torah portion is indeed true. Abraham did become the father of many nations and is affectionately called Avraham Avinu, Our Father Abraham. Paul says that Abraham is “the father of all who believe” (Romans 4:12). We who have put our trust in Yeshua have become the spiritual offspring of Abraham, the father of our faith. He is our father as well.
According to our Torah portion, the LORD chose Abraham as the father of many nations in order “that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness (tzedakah) and justice (mishpat).” In Hebrew, doing righteousness is a synonym for taking care of those in need. And when native Hebrew speakers use the word tzedakah, righteousness, most often they mean charity. By Yeshua’s day this concept was in full force. In Matthew 6 Yeshua uses the word in this manner when he says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people” (Matthew 6:1). Justice, mishpat, on the other hand, often connotes strictness. Therefore, the midrash tells a story to explain one way that Abraham did righteousness and justice.
Avraham and Sarah were known for their hospitality. According to the midrash they used to take in travelers and give them food and lodging. Once they had enjoyed a wonderful meal, Abraham would ask them to give thanks to Hashem. If they refused, then he would demand payment for the food they had consumed. Because he demanded such a high rate for the food they would be happy to bless his God. Abraham began with tzedakah (charity), but would add to it mishpat (strictness).
According to a more literal reading of the text, however, the righteousness and justice Abraham would teach to his children would be in relationship to the basic principles of Torah ethics. Even though the Torah had not yet been given to Israel, Abraham would live out its very basic principles and teach his children to do likewise. His example would set the pattern for his descendants after him, as it is said, “the deeds of the fathers are the portents for the children.” Therefore, to be a child of Abraham is to follow in his footsteps.
How can we follow in our father Abraham’s footsteps? Hospitality is an obvious way. Obedience is another. We could list a host of others. May we look to Avraham Avinu as an example of our faith, and follow his lead at living a life that is pleasing to Hashem, and passing that life down to the next generation.
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