Portion of Vayera
Abraham, the tent dweller,versus Sodom, the
Urbanites
Reflections of Kristallnacht and Veterans Day
The Shabbat discussion is on this link:
https://youtu.be/JKvmSJ1q-xw?t=6768
It lead directly into the discussion.
This past Wednesday marked what we Jews refer
to as Kristallnacht- German Reichspogromnacht or NovemberPogrom( a more blunt
and honest description)
Nov 9-10, 1038
Then, we marked Veteran’s Day, in honor of our
US veterans, but originally Armistice Day. To mark end of WWI- the War to end
all wars, the War to Make the world safe for Democracy.
Such sad irony, that WWI led to WWII, for a
variety of causes, but surely, one inevitable factor, that Hitler successfully
used blaming the Jews to rise to power, and the world leaders failed to stop
him in then persecuting Jews. Kristallnacht was a warning to the world what
hatred of one’s fellow can lead to, the Jew as the canary in the coal mine.
The Jew as the eternal alien, the one
commonality of hatred across Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia, Christian
and Moslem civilizations, through antiquity and into modernity, even into
secular and anti-religious governments, as Germany and the USSR. But, while
Jews aren’t everywhere, some people will always be picked out somewhere as
targets of the frustrations and failures of the general masses of humanity
Here, in contrast, we have the figure of Abraham,
who is to be “ a blessing to the world”, who is to be the spiritual father of
the three Abrahamic religions .
Abraham, open tent, greeting wanderers, in contrast-
the urbanites of Sodom, who seek to rape the strangers in their walls.
Bedouin of the desert- three and a third day
rule: The guest must be made comfortable and cared for three and a third days.
Even if he is an enemy who has come seeking shelter.( the next day, the two can
go back to fighting!) That tradition is
well known in the Abraham accounts.
We have the story of Sodom- what happens when
we become urbanized, we have more than enough- instead of becoming generous, we
abuse those in need of help.
The Torah is not just denouncing the people of
Sodom- it is a veiled reference to the people of Israel—made explicit in the story of the concubine of Gibeah; Judges 19
The man is a Levite from Ephraim, the concubine
from Judah.
11 When they were near Jebus and the day
was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let’s stop at this city
of the Jebusites and spend the night.”
12 His master replied, “No. We won’t go
into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to
Gibeah.” 13 He added, “Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or
Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.” 14 So they
went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. 15 There
they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city
square, but no one took them in for the night.
Judg 19:17 He happened to see the wayfarer
in the town square. "Where," the old man inquired, "are you
going to, and where do you come from?" 19:18 He replied,
"We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the other end of the hill
country of Ephraim. That is where I live. I made a journey to Bethlehem of
Judah, and now I am on my way to the House of YHWH, and nobody has taken me
indoors. 19:19 We have both bruised straw and feed for our donkeys,
and bread and wine for me and your handmaid, and for the attendant with your
servants. We lack nothing." 19:20 "Rest easy," said
the old man. "Let me take care of all your needs. Do not on any account
spend the night in the square." 19:21 And he took him into his
house. He mixed fodder for the donkeys; then they bathed their feet and ate and
drank.
What happens next:
22 While they were enjoying
themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house.
Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring
out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.”
Here is where it gets brutal:
23 The owner of the house went
outside and said to them, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this
man is my guest, don’t do this outrageous thing. 24 Look, here is my
virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and
you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don’t
do such an outrageous thing.”
25 But the men would not listen to him. So
the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped
her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her
go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master
was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.
Note, the contrast , that the Levite and his
concubine would not spend the night with aliens, Jebusites, and then be
brutalized by their own Israelites.
Let’s go back to Abraham, and how we can read
his “ open tent” policy”
Why is Abraham to be the father of many
nations?
We see how the Bible text hints at, and then
Rabbinic tradition makes explicit= the sanctity of the human being.
1)
וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה
בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃ יהוה
God appeared* to him by the terebinths of
Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.
When does this happen? The sentence before,
Abraham has just been circumcised. Therefore he is sitting, while God appears,
hence,. He can’t get up. So Rabbinc comments, “God comes to visit, to teach us
“ bikur cholim”.
(בראשית יח, א) וירא אליו
ה' באלוני ממרא והוא יושב פתח האוהל כחום היום מאי כחום היום אמר רבי חמא בר'
חנינא אותו היום יום שלישי של מילה של אברהם היה ובא הקב"ה לשאול באברהם
הוציא הקב"ה חמה מנרתיקה כדי שלא יטריח אותו צדיק באורחים
Baba Metzia 87a
It is the 3rd day, and he is healing.
God mad ethe sun glow hot, so there would be no travelers to bother Abraham.
וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא
וְהִנֵּה֙ שְׁלֹשָׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֔ים נִצָּבִ֖ים עָלָ֑יו וַיַּ֗רְא וַיָּ֤רׇץ
לִקְרָאתָם֙ מִפֶּ֣תַח הָאֹ֔הֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ אָֽרְצָה׃
Looking up, he saw three figures standing near
him. Perceiving this, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and,
bowing to the ground,
We, the readers, know they are angels. Does
Abraham know that?
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנָ֗י אִם־נָ֨א
מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ אַל־נָ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר מֵעַ֥ל עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃
he said, “My
lords!* If it please you, do not go on past your servant.
Who is Adonay( My Lords) here?
Who is Abraham talking to?
Adonay-My Lord( plural for singular, as
honorific)
If God appears to Abraham, with YHWH, and
Abraham answers” My Lord-Adonay”, the Implication is God, and he is asking God
to allow him to greet the strangers.
But , literal text,he is addressing the lead
angel .
Hence, Rashi
'ויאמר אדני אם נא וגו
AND HE SAID, MY LORD, IF NOW etc. — He addressed himself to the Chief of them;
calling them all “lords”, (אדני may mean “my lords”),
whilst to their Chief he said “Do not I pray thee pass away”, for he knew that
if he would not pass by, his companions would certainly remain with him. In
this explanation the word אדני has a “profane” sense
(does not refer to God, being merely a term of address, “Sirs”) .
Another explanation is that the word is “holy”
(referring to God): he asked God to wait for him whilst he ran and invited the travelers.
For although this is written after the words “and he ran to meet them”, yet the
conversation took place beforehand.
What is the basis for this double entendre?
Ein Yaakov,
Shevuot 4:9 כָּל שֵׁמוֹת הָאֲמוּרִים
בַּתּוֹרָה בְּאַבְרָהָם, קֹדֶשׁ, חוּץ מִזֶּה שֶׁהוּא חֹל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: (בראשית
י״ח:ג׳) "וַיֹּאמַר: אֲדֹנָי אִם נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ".
(חנניה) [חֲנִינָא] בֶּן אֲחִי רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה
מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר הַמּוֹדָעִי אָמְרוּ: אַף זֶה קֹדֶשׁ. כְּמַאן אַזְלָא
הָא דְּאָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה, אָמַר רַב: גָּדוֹל הַכְנָסַת אוֹרְחִים יוֹתֵר
מֵהַקְבָּלַת פְּנֵי שְׁכִינָה, כְּמַאן? כְּאוֹתוֹ הַזּוּג.
All the terms used in the Torah “ Adonay”My
Lords, refer to God, sacred, except where clearly intended for general use,
such as in this case of Abraham talking to the visitors. Said in the name of Rabbi Chananyah..in the name
of R. Elazar Hamodai,” Even here, it is the divine name, because hosting guests
is as greater than receiving God’s presence.
So we learn the sanctity of the human- if the
human is sick, even God pays a visit; if the human is sick, he sits, while God stands.
If the human is lost and hungry, God waits, till we feed the human. If we see
three humans wandering in the heat if the day, we see the presence of God.
Hence, the great contrast with Sodom and
Gomorrah, and the cities of the plain, land of wealth and abundance, that
becomes a Dead Sea.
No comments:
Post a Comment