What is the Jewish secret of survival?
Table for Five: Vayera
In partnership with the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles
Edited by Nina Litvak & Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist
Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!”
Gen. 18:6
Rabbi Benjamin Blech, Professor of Talmud, Yeshiva University
Hopefully America survived.
The election is over. And we pray that after so many months of bitter enmity, hostility and hatred, our country will again rediscover the secret of Abraham .
What makes the Jews so special? Why are we the one nation that discovered the secret of historic survival? The Torah gives us the answer by way of the life of our first patriarch. Abraham taught us what it means to be a Jew. His very first act as a servant of God was to express loving care and concern for three passing strangers.
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, invite the stranger – acts of kindness and hospitality define us far more than all the protests and rallies and name-calling of those we continue mistakenly to define as moral examples of virtue.
For many months now politicians spewed insults, cursed opponents, vilified all who disagreed with any of their self-centered views – and insisted only they represented ethical virtue and divine character.
Abraham would have been profoundly ashamed.
But Judaism begins with the premise of human dignity, man “in the image of G-d”.
It is time to remember that just before the message of unity and love made its voice heard by the first Jew, it was the world of violence – biblically identified as “Hamas” – that was responsible for almost universal destruction from a divinely ordained flood.
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Thirtysix.org
The Talmud says: “Every action that Avraham performed himself for the angels, God performed Himself for Avraham’s descendants. Every action that Avraham performed through a messenger, God likewise performed for his descendants through a messenger” (Bava Metzia 86b). The Talmud likes to make statements as if they’re obvious when they are far from it. Firstly, why penalize Avraham’s descendants if he erred? I thought we only punish children for the sins of their fathers if they continue on with them. Secondly, What did Avraham even do wrong? Was he supposed to do everything on his own? One of the reasons Avraham involved Yishmael in the mitzvah was to train him to perform good deeds for others. Surely, that had to count in his favor, not against him. Perhaps the Talmud is not criticizing Avraham about how he cared for the wayfarers, but just pointing out a historical connection to what he did in his time and what happened later to his descendants in theirs. But not without reason, but to point out that what happens to us, the descendants of Avraham, as disconnected as it may seem from the past, is not at all. Even when F16s race across the Israeli skies on their way to do battle, it is connected to the lives of our forefathers. A tree can grow in unpredictable ways, but however it does and whatever it produces can be traced back to its roots. The same is true of the Jewish people in every generation.
Rabbi Lori Shapiro, Artistic Director, Open Temple
The greatest impact following this year’s Presidential election will not be decided by whether or not our candidate wins. Rather, history will be made by how we respond as Americans once a final result is revealed. It is our behavior with one another that determines America’s future far more than anyone in the White House.
Rambam and Rashi agree – Abraham requests an abundance of flour for the strangers and extracts its finest filament for his guests. He does not know who is visiting, but acts upon his instinct for divine service. Abraham provides this fine flour despite his bodily discomfort, the heat of the day or his lack of familiarity. These factors are irrelevant. Neither is anyone’s political agenda, affiliation or the color of their skin. All that Abraham knows is that they show up, and it is upon him to serve.
What would a world like this look like today? What if looked past political affiliation, sex and identity politics, and cared for the strangers in our midst? What if we open our “tents of being”, (aka our hearts and souls) on all sides, and expedited a feast of curiosity and compassion with everyone we come into contact?
There is nothing that we cannot surmount in this world when we work together. Perhaps the authentic stranger today is the one who believes this to be true. May Abraham’s wisdom speedily be served, and may all feast in a banquet of his nourishing message for peace, hope and redemption.
Rabbi Michael Barclay, Spiritual Leader of Temple Ner Simcha
Hospitality to guests is a primary value in Judaism, and at its essence, hospitality is the theme of this entire portion. As we see in this reading, Abraham demonstrates hospitality to strangers with passion and alacrity. Even though he had just been circumcised immediately prior to this incident, he jumps up to be hospitable to these strangers. As a result, he and his wife are rewarded with a child, Isaac.
Shortly after this experience of being hospitable, Abraham sees the results of the opposite type of behavior. God, in this portion, destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. Although many people think this is because of the illicit sexual practices of Sodom, our Sages recognize that the destruction of these cities is because of their unwillingness to be hospitable to strangers. The people of Sodom were only interested in sexuality with strangers, not even with local virgins. Although Abraham is able to negotiate with God that if even 10 people can be found who are righteous in the city it would be saved; the Sodomites were committed to abusing strangers… and for this, they were destroyed.
The emphasis on hospitality is clear: Abraham and Sarah are rewarded with a child for this act of hospitality to strangers. Sodom and Gomorrah, on the other hand, are destroyed for their lack of hospitality. I knew a man at LMU that always set an extra place setting at his dinner table in case a guest came by. A beautiful practice based in this reading that we all can and should emulate.
May we all take this lesson from the reading and choose in this coming year to be kinder, gentler, and more welcoming to everyone who crosses our path.
Yehudit Garmaise, Marriage and Family Therapy student, freelance writer, English and parsha teacher
In this pasuk, Sarah shares her holy secret of how to be both happy and gebenched. Sifting what corresponds to a whopping 53 pounds of flour (more than 10x what we use to make hafrashich challah), Sara expressed her considerable efforts toward separating herself from coarseness. While Hashem commanded Avraham to circumcise himself at age 99 to elevate him even further spiritually than he could ascend on his own, Sarah’s ascent to prophetess resulted from the personal refinement she achieved from sifting falseness and toxicity away from her life. Just as Sarah would only use finest flour to bake for her guests, spiritually, she engaged only with emes.
Instead of feeling threatened, triggered, and sad from challenging situations and difficult people, we can learn from Sarah to view them as “course flour” that must be left behind: untouched and unused. We must continually choose to “knead” only the “fine flour,” which represents the holiest and most sensitive ways in which to interact with others.
Sarah’s efforts to knead her dough into three cakes for her angels, was a positive and contrary action she took to counter the sadness she felt as a result of her childlessness, Rav Shlomo Wolbe tells us. When we are productive, helpful and connected to others, we feel true simcha.
When the very guests for whom Sarah baked relayed the joyful message that within a year, she would bear a child, we learn that our efforts toward positivity, purity, and productivity result in untold blessings.
Rabbi Benjamin Blech, Professor of Talmud, Yeshiva University
Hopefully America survived.
The election is over. And we pray that after so many months of bitter enmity, hostility and hatred, our country will again rediscover the secret of Abraham .
What makes the Jews so special? Why are we the one nation that discovered the secret of historic survival? The Torah gives us the answer by way of the life of our first patriarch. Abraham taught us what it means to be a Jew. His very first act as a servant of God was to express loving care and concern for three passing strangers.
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, invite the stranger – acts of kindness and hospitality define us far more than all the protests and rallies and name-calling of those we continue mistakenly to define as moral examples of virtue.
For many months now politicians spewed insults, cursed opponents, vilified all who disagreed with any of their self-centered views – and insisted only they represented ethical virtue and divine character.
Abraham would have been profoundly ashamed.
But Judaism begins with the premise of human dignity, man “in the image of G-d”.
It is time to remember that just before the message of unity and love made its voice heard by the first Jew, it was the world of violence – biblically identified as “Hamas” – that was responsible for almost universal destruction from a divinely ordained flood.
Image: “Abraham Serving The Three Angels” by Rembrandt, 1646
With thanks to Rabbi Pinchas Winston, Rabbi Lori Shapiro, Rabbi Michael Barclay, Yehudit Garmaise, and Rabbi Benjamin Blech.
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