God appears to Abraham. Three strangers pass by and Abraham offers them hospitality. One of them tells Abraham that Sarah will have a child. Sarah, overhearing, laughs in disbelief. God then tells Abraham of the judgment He is about to visit on the people of Sodom. Abraham engages in a momentous dialogue with God about justice. God agrees that if…
…Joseph Dweck is the Senior Rabbi of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom. A Closer Look Delving deeper into the thoughts shared by Rabbi Sacks on Vayera, Rabbi Dweck shares his reflections on the main piece of the week. What do you see as the main message from ‘To Bless the Space Between Us’? A challenge for us…
…a tree to the plants that grow beneath. The role of love, human and Divine, is, in the lovely phrase of Irish poet John O’Donohue, “to bless the space between us”. ● These questions come from this week’s Family Edition to Rabbi Sacks’ Covenant & Conversation. For an interactive, multi-generational study, check out the full edition at www.RabbiSacks.org/covenant-conversation-family-edition/vayera/to-bless-the-space-between-us/ How does…
…in developing their religious faith, while becoming independent thinkers? When is your faith in God tested? What helps you stay strong and committed in times like these? Parsha in Passing In Vayera, we see Avraham’s extraordinary kindness, hospitality, and family challenges. First he and Sarah are visited by three angels disguised as men, and they swiftly provide them with food…
…famously taught the idea of “the child’s right to respect” was Janusz Korczak, creator of the famous orphanage in Warsaw who perished together with the orphans in Treblinka. See Tomek Bogacki, The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak (2009). [10] Freud argued, in Totem and Taboo, that the Oedipus complex was central to religion also. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR VAYERA What moral dilemma…
It is the hardest passage of all, one that seems to defy understanding. Abraham and Sarah have waited years for a child. God has promised them repeatedly that they would have many descendants, as many as the stars of the sky, the dust of the earth, the grains of sand on the seashore. They wait. No child comes. Sarah, in…
…to Abraham, “Leave your land, your birthplace and your father’s house,” were said using the name Hashem. It even says, just a few verses later (Gen. 12:7), Vayera Hashem el Avram: “Hashem appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So God had appeared to Avram as Hashem. And in the very next verse it…
…his responsibility, not mine.” Then, in this week’s parsha of Vayera, comes the great moment: a human being challenges God Himself for the very first time. God is about to pass judgment on Sodom. Abraham, fearing that this will mean that the city will be destroyed, says: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are…
…the Education Companion section (below in grey). Educational Companion Torah Trivia: this week’s answer A: In Chayei Sarah which we read this week, we see Ephron begin his job as a police officer (shotair) – see Rashi, Bereishit 23:10 – and last week in parshat Vayera it was Lot’s first day as a judge (shofait) – see Rashi Bereishit 19:1….
…Genesis 18:1–2 Thus Parshat Vayera opens with one of the most famous scenes in the Bible: Abraham’s meeting with the three enigmatic strangers. The text calls them men. We later discover that they were in fact angels, each with a specific mission. The chapter at first glance seems simple, almost fable-like. It is, however, complex and ambiguous. It consists of…