Parshat Vayeira: The Beauty of a Laugh

This week, we will read the Torah portion of Vayeira.  Upon an initial reading of the text, I am struck by the numerous similarities between Vayeira and  last week’s portions, Lech Lecha.  In both parhsiyot, Avraham claims Sarah is his sister.  Twice Avraham is seemingly innocently involved in a business dispute.  And twice Avraham saves his nephew, Lot.  

What I would like to focus on, however, is an interesting juxtaposition of two instances of laughter.  In last week’s parsha, Avraham laughs when God tells him that, despite his old age, he and Sarah will be blessed with a child.  This week, Sarah has a similar reaction.  God and Jewish tradition, however, have two very different interpretations of their laughter.  Let’s look at the text in both instances:

Abraham’s Laughter:

And God said to Abraham,  As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.  I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her.  I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her.  Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed, as he said to himself, Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety? And Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!  God said, Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac; and I will maintain My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring to come.  [Genesis 17:15-19]

 

Sarah’s Laughter:

Then [one of Avraham’s guests] said, I will return to you [Avraham] next year, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.  Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped having the periods of women.  And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment – with my husband so old?  Then the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?’  Is anything too wondrous for the Lord?  I will return to you at the same season next year, and Sarah shall have a son. [Genesis 18:10-14]

God’s reaction to Sarah’s laughter seems to stand in sharp contrast to that of Avraham.  The way I have heard it most often explained is that Avraham’s laughter was laughter of joy and therefore God did not question the laughter as he knew it was done with complete faith that God would do as he said (this interpretation is taken up by Rashi).  Sarah’s laughter, on the other hand, was viewed as being almost cynical with disbelief that she would actually bear a son in her old age.  [There are also less-well-known commentaries critical of Avraham’ s laugh; e.g. Yalkut Shimoni 82.]  Therefore, God openly criticizes Sarah.  It appears to me, however, that the text can be read in another way (and is perhaps even more easily read this way). 

To begin, Avraham “threw himself on his face and laughed” seemingly similar to one who falls out of their chair in laughter due to an absolutely ridiculous statement that someone said.  Then, when God replies to Avraham’s laughter he begins with the Hebrew word “Aval”.  I have seen this translated in this context as nevertheless (above), nay, and but (which reads a bit awkwardly).  In short form, God is saying with this word: Avraham, despite your disbelief and your hope that Ishmael will find My favor, Sarah will be given a son!  Perhaps this is because it is not just Avraham who God is blessing with a son who will upkeep a covenant with God.  Sarah, too, has won God’s favor (see my other post linked above) and God therefore says despite Avraham’s reaction God will be giving him a son because Sarah is the primary one that God is blessing with Isaac.  Avraham would have been happy with Ishmael as his only son, as is apparent through the verse: O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!  Sarah, however, would have died barren and without a legacy.  Isaac was more of a blessing for Sarah than for her husband.

Sarah’s laughter, which very well may be in disbelief, may not be in anyway directed toward God.  Avraham laughed directly at God, face-to-face.  Sarah, however, was not in direct conversation with Him.  Rather, she is overhearing a conversation between her husband and men (God’s messengers, perhaps angels) that she has not just never met, but never seen (as can be assumed from the fact that the Rabbis emphasize she stayed in the tent for modesty reasons).  God’s messengers, who Sarah believes are just passersby, deliver God’s message to Avraham; Sarah merely overhears this message.  Her reaction is no different than what is to be expected from an elder woman who has been barren her whole life.  Not until God speaks directly (rather than through the messengers) does Sarah realize that the men were not ordinary men but carried a divine message.  Upon this realization, she responds to God’s claim that she laughed, lying and saying: I did not laugh.  Only then does God speak directly to Sarah: You did laugh.  Simple as that.

Neither Avraham or Sarah’s laughter result in any changes in God’s will.  In neither instance does he rescind his promise of Isaac being born to Sarah.  This makes their inclusion in the Torah even more interesting.  The Torah is very brief and includes only essentials; the Talmud and Midrashim fill in the details behind what is actually written in the Torah.  Why aren’t the verses describing Sarah and Avraham’s laughter relegated to a Midrash?  To this, I do not have an answer. 

Perhaps it is to teach us something of human nature, of the human psyche.  Perhaps it is to show the importance of a name, as Isaac (“Yitzchak”) is named after laughter (also “Yitzchak”).  Or perhaps the effect of our fore-father and –mother’s laughter was only felt in later generations (Rabbi Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Levi claims this). 

No matter the reason for its inclusion, in this week’s Torah portion we are shown the beauty – and the complex dynamics – of a laugh. 

Shabbat Shalom.

Parshat Vayeira: Sarah, Avraham's Sister

This week I was asked to prepare a podcast on the parsha for KOACH.  Here is a link to the recording, and below is the script.

This week we read the Torah portion of Vayeira.  While it is replete with action-packed stories and plenty of drama, I would like to focus on one story that seems to be a near repeat of something that occurred in last week’s parsha, Lech Lecha.  In Lech Lecha, when Avraham and Sarah go into Egypt, the Torah tells us that Avraham said to his wife: If the Egyptians see you and think “she is his wife,” they will kill me and let you live.  Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive on your behalf.  (Genesis 12:12-13)

Similarly in this week’s parsha, when Avraham and Sarah enter the land of Gerar, the Torah relates: Avraham said of Sarah his wife, “she is my sister.”  So King Avimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. (Genesis 20:2)

My initial reading of these verses left me with an odd feeling.  It is hard to believe that Avraham would throw his wife under the bus for a second time!  The first time that Avraham and Sarah play the brother-sister card, the Ramban comments:

Know that our father Avraham sinned grievously, albeit inadvertently, in placing a sinful obstacle in the path of his virtuous wife because he feared for his life….  He should have trusted in the Lord.

I understand the Ramban’s criticism, but I can also reasonably believe that Avraham had good intentions.  Pharaoh and Egypt represent impurity and immorality; they are a corrupt society and Avraham did what he felt was necessary.  But this week, the situation in parshat Vayeira is different.  Avraham is not dealing with Pharaoh, but with Avimelech of Gerar – a land that seems to be just and righteous – the land in which Avraham will raise Isaac.  As Ramban says: [Avimelech was] innocent and just and his people as well are good, but Avraham suspected them and would say to everyone ‘She is my sister.’  I would add that not only was Avimelech innocent, he was God-fearing.  God even appeared to him in a dream to tell him of his sin for taking a married woman.  Avimelech replies to this claim: O Lord, will You slay people even though innocent?  [Avraham] said to me, ‘She is my sister!’ And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’  When I did this, my heart was blameless and my hands were clean.  And God then agrees that Avimelech was innocent!  

Given this situation, I am not sure what to make of Avraham’s actions.  So I would like to propose that perhaps my focus on Avraham, is misplaced.  Sarah is also an integral character. 

Immediately after the story with Avimelech concludes, we read:

The Lord took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.  Sarah conceived and bore a son to Avraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken. {Genesis 21: 1-2)

We are well aware the God gave Avraham ten trials to prove his loyalty to God, with the final one being the Akeidah, the binding of Isaac.  Could it be that Sarah, our foremother, also had her faith tested?  Could it be that one (or, rather, two) of her tests was how she reacted in an unknown and fearful situation, living in the house of Pharaoh and then Avimelech? 

I am not aware of this stance being taken by any Torah commentaries, but I would like to propose that is was not just Avraham that was tested before being granted a son through which the Jewish nation would begin.  After all, Avraham alone could not father and raise the would-be Isaac.  An equally faithful, upright, smart and caring woman was needed.  Sarah too was being tested by being uprooted from her homeland, by showing generosity for spontaneous guests, by going through the pain of seeing her maidservant give birth to her husband’s child, and through the fright of living in the houses of Pharaoh and Avimelech.  Sarah and Avraham both needed a superhuman amount of internal strength to live through the ups and downs that God dealt them.  We, the Jewish people of today, do not come only from an extraordinary man, but also from an extraordinary woman.  Shabbat Shalom.

Parshat Lech Lecha: Was Avraham Deserving?

My question in the title of this post stems from my amazement at how little we have actually learnt about our first Patriarch, Avraham, thus far in the Torah.  At the end of last week’s parsha he is introduced (“When Terach had lived 70 years, he begot Avraham, Nachor, and Haran.”) and, without any further ado, Parshat Lech Lecha begins: 

And the Lord said to Avram, Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

I will make of you a great nation,

And I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you

And curse him that curses you;

And all the families of the earth

                Shall bless themselves by you. (Bereishit 12:1-3)

For what reason did Avraham deserve this blessing?  The Torah lacks any explanation. 

This parsha continues to include God giving Avraham the land of Canaan (“I will assign this land to your offspring.”); God promising Avraham his offspring will be as numerous as the dust of the earth (13:15-17); Avraham being blessed by King Melchitzedek (14:18-20); God comforting Avraham with his protection (15:1); and God blessing him with two sons, Ishmael and then Isaac, both of whom will be great nations. 

To Avraham’s credit, he follows the direction of the Lord when he is directed to move from land to land and he built alters dedicated to God; he dealt honestly in business (with Lot) and with those he defeated in war (with the King of Sodom) and he respects his wife, Sarai.  But there does not appear to be a cause-and-effect between these positive traits and God’s blessings bestowed upon Avraham.  Chronologically, in any case, the blessings began before any of Avraham’s actions were recounted.  Indeed, Avraham’s “ten trials” to prove his devotion to God only came later, culminating in the Akeidah (binding of Isaac).  Wouldn’t it make sense for God to test Avraham and then choose him for such numerous blessings?  So how are we to understand the reasons Avraham was selected to be the father of monotheism, the founder of many nations?

I think situations such as this – where the text clearly has “gaps” – is the best case for the Oral Torah and that there must have always been an oral tradition to accompany the Torah.  Without it, it is nearly impossible to understand what is written in many areas of the Torah.  The oral tradition fills in the gaps between Parshat Noach and Parshat Lech Lecha, between Avraham’s birth and the first time he is blessed by God.  The midrashim give us the stories that detail portions of Avraham’s life when he grew up with his father Terach, his uncle Lot and his brother Haran.  They espouse how he came to worship God when the majority of the world was idolatrous; how he treated people with respect and dignity when others did the opposite.  But Rabbi Ya’akov Love points out that nearly all of Avraham’s actions have negative aspects to them.  When he leaves Canaan for Egypt, Ramban comments: “Also, his leaving the land, about which he was originally commanded [to live in], because of the famine is a sin…God would save him from death in a famine.”  When Avraham call his wife his “sister” to save himself, “Know that our father Avraham sinned a great sin inadvertently in putting his righteous wife in danger of sin in fear of his own life” (Ramban).  When Avraham goes to war and then learns about the 210 years of slavery his descendents will endure, it is because Avraham “drafted Torah scholars for war” (Rabbi Elazar).  Alternatively, “because he kept people from entering the shelter of the Shechina” (Rabbi Yochanan).  Or perhaps, for “allowing the king of Sodom to take human beings [as captives]” (Rashi).  And for good measure, Sarai was forced to endure watching her maidservant Hagar have a child with her husband because “when [Avraham] prayed to God saying, what will you give me if I am childless?, [he] prayed only for [himself].  [He] should have prayed for both of [them]” (Bereishit Rabbah 45:5). 

It seems Avraham is a man with many faults.  Or, perhaps, it is because he was such a tzadik (righteous man) that we are being taught even the righteous have flaws.  Even with their flaws, however, they had the ability to be a boon to mankind.  And even with our flaws, we must strive to overcome them in every way possible. 

Rabbi Yaakov Beasley also has an interesting answer based on Rabbi Yoel ben Nun to the question of why Avraham was chosen with no background narrative: “If the Torah were to give a reason why Avraham was chosen before our parsha, it would appear that the act of Hashem’s choosing Avraham was a onetime act based on his earlier actions.  Instead, the act of choosing was a continuous process, granting additional significance to every action Avraham takes in Sefer Bereishit.”  This is just one example in Judaism where the eternal takes precedence over the ephemeral.  Avraham’s life and the blessings bestowed unto him by God did not end with his death.  They have carried forward not just throughout Avraham’s life and each of his “ten trials,” but also from generation to generation Avraham has been a blessing to us.  Most prominently on Pesach we are called upon to view ourselves – not in theory but in actuality – as the individuals God led from slavery to freedom during the Exodus from Egypt.  In Parshat Lech Lecha it is Avraham who God chose: I will bless you…and you shall be a blessing.  But today it is us who God has blessed…and we also have the opportunity to be a blessing.  We are made of dust, but endowed with a breath of the Divine that has given us this privilege.  It is our responsibility to use this gift to the best of our ability, as did Avraham. 

Shabbat Shalom.