What do we “see” in Vayera!
Vayera means “he appeared,” evoking the ideas of vision, revelation, and communication between the Creator and us. It is the Creator who approaches us because He wants to establish the same relationship with us as He had with Abraham Avinu, our father Abraham. Although the Almighty spoke to Abraham and shared many things with Him, He also spoke to others, unlike Abraham, like the King of Gerar, telling him that what he was doing with Sarah was not right. God has relationships with all types of people.
He reveals Himself to us because He wants us to “see” (לראות lirot) something we don’t know. His revelation comes to us in various ways. Today, we often use the word “conscience”, which means different things to different people. When those of us with a conscience do something wrong, we get an uncomfortable feeling; that’s to tell us that we need to make it right. What is that inner voice that speaks to us? Many say that it’s just our conscience, our sense of guilt, but to me, it has a far greater meaning.
From the beginning in Bereshit, the Borei Olam, the Creator, made us in His likeness and image. In so doing, He has breathed His Ruach (Spirit, Breath) into us, imparting the characteristics that make humans unique among the rest of creation, compared with animals, vegetables, and minerals. He gave us two distinctive qualities: Emunah (Faith) and Bechira Chofshit (Free Will). It may seem that there is a conflict between these two, as we see at the end of this portion, in the Akeda (the Binding of Isaac). We sometimes miss the point the Creator wants to reveal to us through these stories in the Torah. Where is He leading us? What is He teaching us? What can we get from His Word, beyond just the literal understanding? There is something we need to discover, little by little, in our own lives, as we walk in our relationship with Him.
If I ask you, as married couples, “How well do you know your spouse?” most of you would say, “ I know them pretty well”, but the truth is, you really don’t know them well. Getting to know another person takes time and communication; that is what develops the relationship. When a couple doesn’t communicate, the relationship ends. The Creator is showing us that He wants to have a relationship with us in which He walks with us, communicates with us, and listens to us. He allows us to disagree with Him and to present our perspective to Him even though, as the Creator, He knows everything about us. Instead of destroying us, He listens to us even when He knows we are wrong. He has infinite patience and allows us to go through the learning process. That is what brings growth.
That is how we need to teach our own children. When they are babies, we simply tell them “NO” in order to protect them from harming themselves, because they don’t know better. As they get older and can understand more, we can explain to them why they shouldn’t do something. As we mature, the Creator gives us more room to exercise our free will. He allows us to communicate with Him to check whether we are doing right or wrong. How can we do that? Not only by speaking to Him, but by checking with each other. Some people think they are the only ones who have a relationship with the Creator, but in the Torah we find a story in which even a donkey can speak when necessary. Being in a community with those who have a relationship with GOD affords us the opportunity to seek their advice. Without realizing it, anyone (even a donkey!) can give us the answer we are seeking and set us on the right path.
Now, let’s look at some key words in this parashah that give us a picture of what God is teaching us. The first is they “saw” or they “looked at”. The word “see” appears in various other stories in the Torah, such as when Lot’s wife turned back to “see” Sodom. Abraham Avinu “saw” the three men or angels; he “saw” Mount Moriah, and he “saw” the ram caught in the bush. He “saw”. This has more meaning than simply looking at something with the naked eye. Intention!
The second word is “laughter”. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they heard that she would become pregnant. Their son’s name, Yitzchak יִצְחָֽק, means laughter. But when Ishmael was making a “mockery” (m’tzchak מְצַחֵֽק) of Isaac, we see a different intention behind this word, which is a derivative of “to laugh”.
The third word is “Hineni” – I am here, I am available. What a beautiful word. When the Creator speaks to us, He knows that we are truly ready to answer Him with “Here I am, LORD”. My desire for all of us in this community is that we each say, Hineni…I am here. We are from many countries and continents and speak many languages, but isn’t it interesting that we all have a relationship with the one Creator, that we all have the “intention” to serve Him, to do what is right before His eyes, to help each other, and to work together.
The Akeda, or the binding of Isaac, took place on the Temple Mount in modern-day Jerusalem. Hineni is mentioned three times in this story. When Abraham was asked by his son, Isaac, “Where is the lamb for the offering?” he answered, “Adonai Yireh,” meaning “the LORD will see to it” (or “provide”). It is all about seeing! That area used to be called “Shalem”. Yiru (we will see) and Shalem (complete or peaceful). We will see complete peace. It is on that Mount – Yerushalayim, Jerusalem – that the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple, would later be built by King Solomon. The prophet Isaiah said that this house would be a house of prayer for all nations. We repeat this phrase at every Shabbat service.
This parashah is filled with ideas that can be very difficult to understand, even for our sages who have more questions than answers about them. For instance, three men or angels, Malachim, who will go to destroy Sodom, appear suddenly to Abraham. Malachim is also translated as messengers. Was the Creator speaking through the men? Does the Creator speak from a different position when He said, How can I go to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and not share this with Abraham Avinu? And when he did share it with Abraham, Abraham negotiated over and over for the city. Our sages say that Sarah was a greater prophetess than Abraham because they questioned why Abraham would defend Sodom and Gomorrah and his nephew Lot, but he didn’t intervene or plead for the life of his own son Isaac. And when Sarah asked him to get rid of Ishmael, though he didn’t want to, he did so only because the Creator told him to follow his wife’s advice. GOD would take care of Ishmael, who would later bring forth a multitude of nations.
There are so many teachings in this parashah that we could spend all night discussing only one, but the bottom line is: What does the Creator want to teach us through all these incidents? There are two basic principles: One, let us always be ready to receive His revelation, to hear from GOD. Whether we call it conscience, intuition, or whatever, the Creator wants to have a relationship with us, and that requires communication. Second, we need to learn not to take everything so seriously. Sarah laughed. It was impossible for her, an old woman, to imagine having a child. She was resigned to ending her days childless. And poor Abraham, he was an old man; how could he do anything? But Abraham had the last word. After Sarah died, he married Keturah, with whom he had more sons after he turned 137, in addition to his other concubines… which showed that he could still perform well. This reminds us that we need to have a good sense of humor. And last but not least, let us be willing to say to GOD – “Hineni”-“I am here.
The most important question I can ask you today: Are you ready and available to serve Him, to follow Him?
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Netanel ben Yochanan