Vayerah: Rescue
Vayerah: Rescue
This week's
parsha is full of ambivalence. Abraham begs the migrants to have a
meal with him, he begs for the sparing of Sodom (the worst people in the world).
He then expels his firstborn son and his (maidservant) mother. He is ultimately
willing to offer his (remaining) beloved son as a human burnt offering!
Abraham presses the
wayfarers (who turn out to be Gd's representatives) to come and share a meal
with him. Abraham is the model of generosity. Related to this visit, Gd reveals
the plan to possibly destroy Sodom and environs, depending upon the findings of
the scouts. Abraham takes the opportunity to negotiate for the protection of
these cities. Ultimately, 10 righteous people are enough to spare the
city from destruction.
The argument begins with the statement הַאַ֣ף
תִּסְפֶּ֔ה צַדִּ֖יק עִם־רָשָֽׁע׃ “Will You sweep away the
innocent along with the guilty ? This translation follows Onkelos ( the
official translation). צַדִּ֖יק
has come to mean the righteous. Reading צַדִּ֖יק
as righteous implies that the small population of exceptional people support
Gd's tolerance of a population. Read as “innocents”, it means that
perhaps Gd does not make the special effort needed to rescue people who have
not participated in the evil, but have tolerated it.
The rescue of Lot
from Sodom does not clarify this. It does demonstrate the feasibility of
the individual rescue, but Lot's status: innocent, righteous ( he takes in the
wayfarers and gives them matzoh and wine), guilty ( his later behavior in the
caves) is not clear enough. I think that this is something that
should be left ambiguous. Ones should try to be righteous enough to save
the city, but don't count on a rescue if you are merely tolerant.
My existence may
depend upon the story of Lot and the
strangers in Sodom. Like Abraham, Lot invites the strangers into his
home. In Sodom, where Lot lives, keeping the travelers off the streets means
saving them from xenophobic/xenophilic hordes who mean to abuse them.
When the Sodomites come to Lot's door to check the identity (papers) of the
strangers ( הוֹצִיאֵ֣ם אֵלֵ֔ינו וְנֵדְעָ֖ה אֹתָֽם׃,
there are various translations for נֵדְעָ֖ה),
Lot desperately (perhaps inappropriately) tries to rescue them. They end up rescuing
him. Lex talionis; attempting to rescue others leads to his own
salvation. ( see Baucis
and Philemon.)
The Stycz
family, who took in my parents when they were hounded by the Nazis (and their Polish neighbors) may have been inspired, in
some small part by this story. Was their righteousness enough to spare
their nation from guilt? And what about the protectors of persecuted who were
murdered for their goodness?
The end of the
parsha, the banishment of Ishmael and Hagar, and the binding of Isaac seem to
conflict with the beginning. The first stories are about welcoming and
rescuing, the last about expulsion and killing.
The drama of Hagar's
dehydration is a diversion from the issue of Abraham alienating his other
family. The real problem was that the only solution for the blended
family was to choose one of the two. The fluid that Hagar and Ishmael lacked
was the love that brings protection. There just was not enough to go
around. They were disenfranchised.
I have previously
explained that Hagar’s lack of water was
based upon a misunderstanding. Abraham had sent Hagar to the land of
seven wells. There should have no lack of water. In the following
story, we learn that the servants of Avielech had stolen the wells. They
were no longer available. Fortunately, an angel intervened for Ishmael.
The binding of Isaac
is a testament to Abraham's (consistent) world-view : defer to the will of
Gd. Abraham does not understand the world well enough to contradict the
decision of the entity that destroyed Sodom and gave him an heir at age 100. By
keeping that deep humility, he could find the solution: a ram caught by its
horns. Never abandon the hope for a solution. This is a value that is
deep in me (and I hope you)
Consider the author of these words.
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 11:27 AM
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