WRJ Voices: Vayeira

The first several paragraphs of Vayeira (Genesis 18:1 – 18.16) recount the story of the visit by God, in the form of 3 strangers, to inform Abraham that his wife, Sarah, at the advanced age of 90, will bear a son.  It is apparent from the text that these visitors while appearing mortal, are, indeed, divine messengers of God.

We tend to view this narrative as an instructional text highlighting the importance of Isaac’s birth.  At the same time, we see this as a fable:  a patently impossible scenario of a post-menopausal conception and delivery.  A true miracle – a Bible story.

In 2010 our son, Alec, graduated from college.  Before beginning his first “real” job, he toured Europe.  Awakened in the night by a phone call from the American Embassy in Riga, Latvia, I learned that Alec had been hit by a trolley and a car and had sustained serious brain injury requiring emergency surgery.  He had been a John Doe in a coma for 5 days in the hospital in Riga, Latvia.  It was imperative that I get to Riga, care for our child, and bring him home. 

After I had spent 10 days in Riga, Alec was well enough to return to the U.S. for additional surgery and recuperation.  I had concerns.  Brain trauma is serious business and the front of his skull was still cracked and partially shattered. Minute bone shards were lodged in the viscera of his skull.  If these bone fragments moved, they could sever his optic nerve and cause permanent blindness. When I was with him in the hospital, his speech got progressively worse, causing me to worry about brain damage. I did not divulge the information about his speech as I did not want to encourage additional treatment, prolong our stay in Latvia, or delay our trip home.

Finally, we left Riga and flew to New York - the U.S. at last, and almost home without blindness.  After customs, to prevent Alec from being jostled by people collecting luggage, I parked him in his wheel chair off to one side and I went to retrieve our bags.  At the luggage carousel, a young man came up to me, asking “I see your son is in a wheel chair and his head is bandaged.  What happened?”  I proceeded to share Alec’s story.  He then asked, “Is there anything that concerns you?”  I answered, “I am really worried about brain damage. Alec is not speaking properly, he is not using his words correctly. For example, if he just ate a strawberry and wants me to hand him his phone, he asks for his strawberry.” The man responded, “Don’t worry about this.  I am a speech pathologist, and it is normal, with brain trauma, that the synaptic pathways that direct language are disrupted. As the brain mends, it reorganizes the pathways and goes through transitional associations. His language should be fine after a few weeks.”

Now, what are the chances that at a luggage carousel at JFK, a stranger would come up to me and have the temerity to ask me about my son? What are the chances, that I would answer him and actually share my concerns? And, what are the chances that this random stranger, because of his professional specialty, could address and allay a mother’s deep-seated fears? What are the odds?

Although the fact that Alec survived his accident without any residual issues is my ultimate miracle, this particular moment of this entirely miraculous experience has always reminded me of the beginning of Vayeira when the three divine messengers came to Abraham.  This young man, whose name I do not know, has always seemed to me to be a messenger of God, sent to me at a time of great distress. He brought me the assurance, so desperately needed and wanted at that moment, that Alec would recover and that he was not suffering permanent brain damage. Alec could still be Alec.

As contemporary Reform Jews, we tend to relegate the miracles of Torah as metaphors at best and fairytales at worst, stories to be interpreted or dismissed. We speak of good luck, good fortune, or fate. Sarah laughed at God when she juxtaposed God’s promise of a son with the fact that she no longer menstruated.  We reject a literal interpretation of this text as well.  Yet I, an intelligent modern woman, attest to the reality of my miracle.  And I encourage each of us to look for the miracles we have encountered, to be susceptible to the possibility of miracles and thereby be receptive to God’s goodness and unfathomable intervention.  Believe in miracles – they are everywhere if we are open to them – and each miracle is a gift in so many ways. 

Karen Sim is a WRJ and URJ Board member from Isaac M. Wise Temple Sisterhood in Cincinnati, OH.  She has served on the WRJ Executive Committee, as a WRJ Vice President, and is on the board of the WRJ Central District.