Vayerah: the glimmer of hope
Lets start with the most celebrated story in the parsha, the story that is part of the liturgy, the akeida, the binding of Isaac. Avraham is told to take this very special son, the miraculous one, the son designated by Gd to be the legacy and offer him as a Holocaust. Abraham is commanded to do an absurdity. To violate the most fundamental principles, to violate the covenant of the children of Noah.
He proceeds with dispatch. But when he instructs the assistants who to wait at the foot of the mountain, he says that he and the boy will return (22:5). Rashi quotes the Midrash Tanchuma: the statement implies that Abraham נִתְנַבֵּא שֶׁיָּשׁוּבוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם prophesied that they would both return. When Isaac asks the obvious question: Where is the sheep for the sacrifice, Abraham answers: E will see to the sheep. This statement is taken as a communication that if there is no sheep, Isaac will be the slaughter. But it also means what it says. There is another way out of this predicament: E will provide a sheep. And that is just what happens!
He proceeds with dispatch. But when he instructs the assistants who to wait at the foot of the mountain, he says that he and the boy will return (22:5). Rashi quotes the Midrash Tanchuma: the statement implies that Abraham נִתְנַבֵּא שֶׁיָּשׁוּבוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם prophesied that they would both return. When Isaac asks the obvious question: Where is the sheep for the sacrifice, Abraham answers: E will see to the sheep. This statement is taken as a communication that if there is no sheep, Isaac will be the slaughter. But it also means what it says. There is another way out of this predicament: E will provide a sheep. And that is just what happens!
This story is the epitome of the religious experience. The extremely improbable, the black swan, intervenes and saves the day. When the adventure is recounted, we find that the original message was misunderstood. Communication with the Divine is cryptic.
The parsha begins with a puzzling story of messages. The three "men" or "angels" come to Abraham to announce the laughably improbable event of the birth of Isaac to 90 year old Sarah and the plan to destroy the 5 towns ( Sodom, etc). These are Divine communications. How dare Sarah laugh at this! Is anything too wondrous for the LORD? ( 18;14)
How can anyone appeal an edict from On High to destroy the evil nations! Given how cooperative Abraham is at the end of the parsha, when he hastens to bring his son to the sacrificial altar, it is shocking to see how doggedly and cleverly he works to rescue the residents of Sodom,etc - people whose evil he has previously recognized. Perhaps he exhausted his authorization to argue with Heaven. The failure of his efforts does not take away from his willingness to confront the greatest of authorities, armed with almost nothing.
Lot is a distorted mirror image of Abraham. He is ready to sacrifice his daughters to rescue to the visiting strangers who have come under his aegis . This turned out to be unnecessary since they were supernal beings. How did this act impact their subsequent incestuous plot?
Lot also negotiates a reprieve for one of the towns, Tzoar. He ties the amnesty for this younger town to his own rescue. He was looking for a mutually beneficial solution. These are often no solution at all.
When Ishmael and Hagar are sent away they run out of water. It should be noted that on her previous excursion into the desert, water had not been a problem for Hagar . In fact, on the first journey, An angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness (16;7), ( which was now gone). Avraham did not expect that she would need a miracle to rescue her and Ishmael. But she does!
I am often confronted with desperate problems. Most people come into the diagnosis of cancer with the expectation that there will be no satisfactory solution. They have been brought to the sacrificial alter. They have been sold out by their genes. They have run out of water. They need a miracle . Sometimes it happens
How can anyone appeal an edict from On High to destroy the evil nations! Given how cooperative Abraham is at the end of the parsha, when he hastens to bring his son to the sacrificial altar, it is shocking to see how doggedly and cleverly he works to rescue the residents of Sodom,etc - people whose evil he has previously recognized. Perhaps he exhausted his authorization to argue with Heaven. The failure of his efforts does not take away from his willingness to confront the greatest of authorities, armed with almost nothing.
Lot is a distorted mirror image of Abraham. He is ready to sacrifice his daughters to rescue to the visiting strangers who have come under his aegis . This turned out to be unnecessary since they were supernal beings. How did this act impact their subsequent incestuous plot?
Lot also negotiates a reprieve for one of the towns, Tzoar. He ties the amnesty for this younger town to his own rescue. He was looking for a mutually beneficial solution. These are often no solution at all.
When Ishmael and Hagar are sent away they run out of water. It should be noted that on her previous excursion into the desert, water had not been a problem for Hagar . In fact, on the first journey, An angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness (16;7), ( which was now gone). Avraham did not expect that she would need a miracle to rescue her and Ishmael. But she does!
I am often confronted with desperate problems. Most people come into the diagnosis of cancer with the expectation that there will be no satisfactory solution. They have been brought to the sacrificial alter. They have been sold out by their genes. They have run out of water. They need a miracle . Sometimes it happens
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 10:36 PM
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