Voices of WRJ: Vayeira

by Zabe Williams This week’s parashah, Vayeira (“he appeared”), presents us with a non-stop drama, “rich in the complexities, passions, and challenges of family and communal life” (Rabbi Kim Geringer, The Torah: A Women’s Commentary Study Guide). Most of these stories are familiar ones: Sarah learns she will finally produce a son, despite her and her husband Abraham's advanced age; Abraham challenges the morality of the complete destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to no avail, as the fire and brimstone rain down to obliterate the area; Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and two of his daughters are saved from destruction at the last minute by supernatural messengers though his wife is not; Sarah and Abraham celebrate the birth of their son, Isaac, who will inherit the covenant with Abraham’s God; Sarah then demands that Abraham “cast out” Hagar and Ishmael to protect her son’s inheritance; Hagar and Ishmael face death in the desert and are saved by an angel; Abraham negotiates a treaty with Abimelech, king of Gerar, and settles in Beersheba; and finally, one of the most infamous of Torah stories, the testing of Abraham and the “binding of Isaac” that culminates with Isaac’s (and Abraham’s) last minute salvation. These are only the highlights! The glimpses in these stories of casual threats to the safety of women and children by those on whom they are dependent make us pause. For a second time, Abraham declares that Sarah is his sister, not his wife, in order to insure his own safe passage, and she is “taken” by King Abimelech. Lot offers his innocent daughters to the mob outside their home rather than give over the “[divine] emissaries.” After Isaac is born, Sarah tells Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael into the desert in order to protect Isaac’s inheritance from the slave girl’s son. Abraham complies, with God’s approval, leaving this mother and child with only bread and a water skin, wandering toward a sure death. Abraham then blindly obeys God’s order and takes his only recognized son, Isaac, into the hills in order to sacrifice him. In each case, divine intervention saves the innocents, but at what price to their society? From my modern feminist perspective, the episodes compiled here suggest the existence of a troubling excess of domestic violence, especially against women and children, and a lack of self-determination, even among men, in this ancient, male-dominated society. The all-powerful God and a few well-placed supernatural beings (angels, messengers, visitors) are the primary actors here. Abraham demonstrates some autonomy, but he understandably defers to God’s wishes in order to keep his part of the covenant. It is difficult for me to find an up side to all of this. I am grateful that, as a Reform Jew in the modern world, two parts of my worldview are dramatically different from that of Abraham’s time. I live in an egalitarian society (at least in theory, if not universally practiced) and I believe I act, in partnership with God and other people, in the work of tikun olam, healing the world. We all share in the responsibility to make our world a better place, without having to depend on supernatural interventions. Often, I find ways to address my personal responsibility to act within WRJ sisterhood. As women of Reform Judaism, we work in concert with the membership of our sisterhoods, and through the combined strength of the WRJ organization’s membership programs to address issues within our modern world that need healing. Our sisterhoods work locally and on a district level to support women’s shelters, food pantries, children’s services organizations and other groups that provide care for those in need in our communities. Through Resolutions and Statements, the WRJ organization gives voice to our social justice positions that can be heard throughout the globe. These statements urge us to get educated, take action and support progressive programs to meet current challenges in our world. For example, one of our most recent Resolutions and Statements for 2015 reflects our stance on The Crisis of Syrian and Other Refugees from the Middle East.  Through our Advocacy Alerts, WRJ provides information to its members about programs of action to address on-going issues. At our 50^th Assembly this November in Orlando, we will highlight Pay Equity and honor those who have led the way in this decades-long struggle. The work we do as members of WRJ, from the local level to the global stage, makes me proud to be a Jewish woman. Zabe Williams is a WRJ Board member, WRJ Midwest District Vice President of Development and WRJ Projects, and a Temple Beth-El Sisterhood past president in South Bend, IN.