Vayera- and God appeared. The namesake of this week’s parshah announces the presence of God throughout a deeply troublesome portion. If the Torah were a soap opera, the voiceover recap of Vayera would include Abraham healing from the circumcision he performed himself, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the exile of Hagar and her son Ishmael, as well as Isaac’s birth and near death at the hands of his own father, Abraham. -Exhale- …and that was only a partial recap.
Throughout the Tankah, angels are woven into our narrative as instruments of God in moments of despair and yearning for protection. These messengers are often in the guise of regular strangers, sent to convey God’s will. Rabbinic literature aptly names these divine messengers after our deepest desires- Raphael, God is my healer; Gavriel, God is my strength; Michael, who is like you, God, performer of miracles; Uziel, God is the source of my power; and Oriel, God is my light.
The rabbis of the Talmud (bava metzia 86b) state that Vayera begins three days after Abraham’s circumcision. He is in significant pain when three strangers arrive at his tent. Abraham and Sarah believe them to be weary travelers. They offer them water, nourishment and a respite from the unforgiving dessert in a display of hospitality. These men are in fact, angels with a divine message: Sarah will give birth to a son, Isaac who will carry out God’s promise to Abraham: I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore (22:17). The Talmud reveals these foreigners as the angels, Raphael, Gavriel, and Michael. The angels representing God’s healing, strength, and miraculous acts appear when Abraham and Sarah need them most.
The portion continues with the tale of Sodom and Gemorrah- two neighboring lawless cities that breed evil, cruelty, and injustice. Two angels appear to Abraham’s nephew, Lot in Sodom one evening by the city gates. Lot bowed before the strangers and takes note that they are dirty from their travels. Like Abraham and Sarah, he offers them kindness and washes their feet. However, it is Sodom and Gemorrah that require cleansing. The Talmud leads us to the understanding that the two travelers are the angels of healing and strength, Raphael and Gavriel. They instruct Lot to flee Sodom. In order to heal humanity, God’s strength will rid the debauchery of the two cities.
When Isaac is born, Sarah becomes envious of her maidservant and her son with Abraham, Ishmael. She banishes them into the wilderness. Hagar is afraid and cries out, “I am in utter despair, do not let me see my son die.” God hears the cry of the child and an angel appears before Hagar and says to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” (21:17). The promise of making Sarah and Abraham’s child the father of a great nation is extended to Hagar and Abraham’s child. Uziel, the angel of God’s power, appears as a merciful source of God’s compassion.
And now the test of Abraham. In one of the most disturbing parts of this portion if not the entirety of the Torah, God says to Abraham, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you” (22:2) An obedient Abraham takes his son on a three-day sojourn and binds Isaac upon an altar. Abraham raises his knife to Isaac when at the last moment, a voice of God calls out; “Abraham! Abraham! – Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me” (22:11-12). Abraham was enlightened by the angel of light, Oriel.
Vayeira- and God appeared. Throughout this week’s deeply challenging Torah portion, God’s presence takes the form of various angels offering the greatest qualities of Godliness. These angels were disguised as humans. When we acknowledge the Godliness in ourselves, we too become spiritual beings in human form. Each of us is created b’tzelem Elohim – in the image of God with the divine spark enabling us to do God’s work. When we show up for one another in times of need, when we are fully present in listening to each other’s narratives, and when we give of ourselves without expectation of receiving in return, we actively participate in tikkun olam- in healing our world. We are the angels in one another’s lives. Let us be the source of God’s healing, justice, compassion and light. May we each hear the call to serve as an angel of blessing in our communities and may we recognize our angels in the form of one another. Shabbat shalom.
This sermon was presented on Yom Kippur morning at Temple Emanu-El of Edison, New Jersey.
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