Chaye Sarah

Gen. 23:1-25:18

 

Précis: The parasha begins with the counting the days of the life of Sarah (Chaye Sarah) and with her death. It continues with a detailed description of the purchase of the cave of Machpela by Abraham for a family burial site. Abraham orders his servant to go to Abraham’s ancestral home to obtain a wife for Isaac, and after a series of fulfilled signs, the servant finds Rebecca. Rebecca returns with the servant; she and Isaac meet, fall in love at first sight, and become man and wife. The parasha ends with the death of Abraham, and his burial by Isaac and Ishmael in the family plot.

 

Gen 24:12-14: “Eternal One, God of my master Abraham, please bring me luck today, and do a kindness for my master Abraham. Here I am standing at the water-fount, and the daughters of the townspeople are going forth to draw water; the girl to whom I say, ‘Tip your pitcher and let me drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink; and let me water your camels, too’ - let her be the one You have designated for Your servant Isaac; that is how I shall know that You have done a kindness for my master.’”

 

            Rabbi Kari Tuling has used these verses to discuss the efficacy of prayer (10 Minutes of Torah, 11/6/23)

            Abraham’s servant Eliezer is sent to find a wife for Isaac, and as he approaches his destination, he stops to pray for a very specific sign that he has found the correct bride. He sought a righteous woman, and found her in Rebecca. While the text does not explicitly state that God answered the prayer, it does seem rather obvious that the prayer was in fact heard and fulfilled immediately.

            Rabbi Tuling cautions us to “be careful here.” Is this indeed what we are supposed to take from this story? She examines another prayer which we recite (all too frequently of late), the prayer for healing. It begins with the phrase “mi shebeirach” (meaning “the One who blesses”). Would it not be wonderful if we could pray for a miracle and receive one every time we pray? But life does not work that way. The prayer is not a magical incantation. Instead, it is a statement of what she calls “desired outcomes.”​ 

            Viewed​ in this light, Eliezer’s prayer might be understood as a sincere request to know how to respond to his challenge. When we recite mi shebeirach, it can be understood as a sincere request to know how to face the challenge when we want someone to be whole again. It is also an acknowledgement of our fear that this will not occur. But it can be seen as a way to channel our spiritual energy so that our prayers might be heard, and that God will grant a refuah shleimah to those for whom we pray.

For the Sake of Innocents

 Vayera

Gen. 18:1-22:24

 

Précis: God “appeared” (vayera) to Abraham in the form of three travelers to whom Abraham shows hospitality. They promise the birth of Isaac, overheard by Sarah (who laughs). God reveals His plans for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham argues for its salvation for the sake of any innocents who might dwell there. The scene shifts to Sodom where Lot lives, and he and his family are rescued first from an unruly mob and then from the destruction of the city itself. Lot’s wife glances back and turns into the pillar of salt. His daughters, fearing that they are the last females alive, make Lot drunk and engage in sexual relations with him, later giving birth to founders of the tribes of Moab and Ammon (traditional adversaries of the Israelites).

            Back with Abraham, Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac. She becomes unhappy with the continued presence of Ishmael and prevails upon Abraham to expel Ishmael and Hagar from the household, which he does (after being promised by God that Ishmael, too, will be the father of a great nation). Thereafter, the story continues with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, called “the Akedah” (the Binding of Isaac).

 

Gen. 18:23-33 “Abraham came forward and said, ‘Will you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty? What if there be fifty innocents within the city…? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death to the innocent as well as the guilty…’  And Adonai said, ‘I will forgive the whole place for their sake.’ And Abraham said, ‘What if the 50 innocents will lack five? Will you destroy the whole city for want of the five?’”

 

            Our tradition suggests that when we act as God acts, we live righteously. God is the ultimate “dugmah” (model for behavior). Thus, midrash suggests that God appears to Abraham to comfort him following his circumcision, and so we should visit the sick. Here, however, is a unique challenge: Abraham argues with God, who eventually agrees to spare the city if 10 “innocents” dwell there. Apparently, they did not, and so the city was destroyed.

            Nevertheless, the destruction of Sodom must have included the destruction of some innocents, be they a handful of good men, or children or aged. Yet God proceeds to destroy the entire city. During World War II, the Allies undertook the intentional destruction of entire cities, including Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Dresden. As regular readers of my weekly musings know, I am no fan of PM Netanyahu. Nevertheless, he was quite accurate this past Monday when he said that no one told the Allies to stop targeting Germany because of the human toll of their bombing raids. "You didn't tell the Allies, 'Don't stamp out Nazism because of such tragic consequences,'" he said. The concept of “collateral damage” to innocents is protected under international law, and is recognized as a price which must be paid to prevent greater death.

            Today, Israel is at war with Hamas – evil and chaos. There is a second front to the war: Jews on American college campuses (including my own alma mater, Cornell) and Jews around the world have been threatened if not attacked by antisemites because of support for Israel. 

             Those who threaten we Jews because of our support for Israel may think of themselves as modern-day Abrahams, arguing for an end of destruction for the sake of the “innocents.” What they fail to understand is that Israel is fighting in self-defense against an enemy who terrorizes not only Israel, but those they rule as well.