Parsha-Insights
Vayera -- From Dust To G-dliness
By: Rabbi Yisroel Ciner
Chessed. Caring about others. A lacking in this midah {attribute} is reason
to suspect that someone might not be a true descendant of Avrahamthe
person who was the total embodiment of this midah.
Our parsha leads off with Avraham recuperating from his Bris Milah
{circumcision}, yet, peering out from his tent on a blazing hot day, hoping
for guests. When guests do arrive, in the form of three idol-worshiping
merchants who seem hesitant about bothering him, he runs out to greet them
and begs them to allow him to serve them. Making it seem that it wouldn't
be a bother for him by offering to serve them just a few items, Avraham and
his wife, Sarah, personally serve up a major, extravagant feast. Three
animals were prepared in order to give each traveler the choicest cut of meat.
Meanwhile, in a place that seemed like a different planet although it was
not too far away, a very different scene was taking place.
In Sodom and Gomorrah there were laws against hosting any guests. Acts of
charity were strictly forbidden as they feared it would lead to a depletion
of their accumulated wealth. The repercussions of breaking these laws were
most severe.
And then, amazing in her audacity, a young girl was caught smuggling. She
had hidden bread in her water pitcher to distribute to the poor when she
would ostensibly go out to draw water. We can just imagine the elders of
Sodom bemoaning just how hard it was becoming to bring up decent kids:
What's with the youth? Why aren't they following our morals? How did they
get involved in such contraband? Where did they learn such things from?
What will the neighbors say? An example had to be made to discourage others
from following in such a path.
This young girl was taken, covered with honey and hoisted atop the city
walls. Clouds of hornets attacked and her cries pierced the heavens as her
soul left her.
Just a short distance away from Avraham, yet a different world. A clash of
world views. A battle of values. A struggle between two opinions of how
this world should be run.
Hashem then approached Avraham. He told him that Sodom had to be destroyed.
Avraham should have been exuberant! The Cold War has endedhe's now the
only remaining 'super-power!' His path has been shown to be correct . . .
"Avraham came forward and said: 'Will you even obliterate righteous with
wicked? Perhaps there are fifty righteous people. Would you not spare the
place for the sake of the fifty? Perhaps the fifty will lack five. Will You
destroy the entire city because of the five? Perhaps forty . . . Perhaps
thirty . . . Perhaps twenty . . . Let my Lord not be annoyed, perhaps ten
would be found there?' [18:24-32]"
Avraham, the epitome of chessed. Sodom, the complete opposite. Why would he
pray for them?
In regard to Hashem we say: And His compassion extends to all of His
creations. The entire world only exists through Hashem's chessed. The
mission of mankind is to, the best of one's ability, emulate Hashem.
Avraham prayed for them. He cared for them, searched for some merit that
would protect them and begged Hashem to save them. Similar to Hashem,
Avraham's compassion extended to everyone. Although there was a battle of
ideologies, he viewed the people of Sodom as Hashem's children and as such,
tried to have Hashem's compassion extend to them.
And His compassion extends to all of His creations. Something for us to
strive towards.
Good Shabbos,
Yisroel Ciner
Copyright © 2003 by Rabbi Yisroel Ciner
and Torah.org
