Parashat Vayera (And appeared...)
15th of Cheshvan, 5785 / November 16th, 2024
By: Kyle Doberstein
This Week’s Readings:
Torah: Genesis 18:1 – 22:24
Haftarah: 2 Kings 4:1-37
Brit Chadashah: Matthew 5:17-22
Bravery. It is not easy being brave in this world. Many of us want to be with the norm of minding our own business, and wish for problems to resolve themselves without us taking any action. But this is almost never the case. It's understandable to think like this though; why take risks when you sometimes don't need to? Well, you get no reward for standing by and doing nothing. Now I'm not saying go out there and take as many risks as possible, like fulfilling that lifelong dream of eating a whole apple pie in one go or joining the Navy to see if the equator is really just a big black line along the center of the Earth. That last one was a joke, but if people are wondering, there is no physical line on the ocean, sorry to say. Yes, bravery is a double-edged sword, but this sword can be rewarding. There were many times where the people in the Bible were brave, and G-d rewarded them greatly.
In the Torah portion, G-d, along with two other men, appear before Abraham. Abraham honors them by showing great hospitality: having his servants prepare a meal for them.
G-d tells Abraham that Sarah, his wife, will give birth to a son next year. That came as a surprise to Sarah, who was too old to bear any children. But G-d reassures her that she will give birth despite her age. G-d also says that He sought to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but Abraham interjects and negotiates with G-d that if He finds at least 10 believers in the cities, then He will spare them. Later in the Torah portion, G-d tests Abraham and tells him to sacrifice his only son Isaac and offer him as an offering to G-d. Abraham goes on to do this but is stopped by an angel. Abraham proved that he is truly loyal to G-d.
In the Haftarah portion, the prophet Elisha was favored by a woman of Shunem, as she always asked him to eat. So Elisha always ate a meal with her every time he passed through Shunem. The woman later realizes Elisha is a man of G-d and arranges a space for him to rest from his journeys when he passes through. Elisha appreciates her hospitality and asks the Shunamite woman what she wishes for. She explains that she has no son and her husband is old. Elisha says that she will have a son next year, and it happened that she had a son a year later. However, the son died when he was older, and so the woman went to Elisha, and Elisha later raised her son from the dead.
In the Brit Chadashah portion, Yeshua teaches that He did not come to abolish the Torah or the prophets but rather to fulfill them. So that if you disobey the smallest law in the Torah and teach others to do the same, they will be least in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
There are many characters in the Bible that show bravery and courage for the right thing because of their faith in G-d, and G-d very much rewards them. Abraham prepares a meal for G-d, and G-d hears out Abraham's plea to spare the evil cities for the righteous that might have resided in them. Then later Abraham's bravery to sacrifice his only beloved son was stopped just before killing Isaac. G-d blesses Abraham by greatly multiplying his seed and always favoring his people among their enemies. Secondly, the Shunammite woman’s courage to go to Elisha and tell him her son is dead. She had faith in G-d and went to the one person she knew who was a man of G-d, Elisha, and was rewarded by Elisha reviving her son through the power of G-d. And finally, Yeshua’s teaching calls all of us to be brave in teaching and fulfilling the Torah. This is no easy task, as you know. But know that the reward in this is great; as Yeshua says, if you do and teach others to obey the Torah, then you will be great in the kingdom of heaven. So I challenge you all to be brave in the right way and have faith in G-d.