WRJ Voices: Vayeira

Do you believe in angels? Our ancestors did. This week’s Torah portion, Vayeira, is replete with divine beings. In the opening lines of the portion, three divine emissaries arrive at Abraham’s tent by the oaks of Mamre to announce the implausible news that 90-year-old Sarah will become pregnant and bear a son within a year’s time. In fact, Sarah gives birth to Isaac, but Abraham is commanded by God to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering on a mountain in Moriah. In the climax of the narrative – as Abraham, knife in hand, is about to slay Isaac and set him afire on a sacrificial pyre – a messenger of Adonai intercedes and stays Abraham’s hand. It takes angelic intervention, not only to foretell Isaac’s birth, but also to save Isaac from premature death, thereby safeguarding the line of our Hebrew patriarchs.  

That is not all the angels do in this portion. After conveying the news of Sarah’s imminent pregnancy to Abraham, two of the angels travel to Sodom, which they will destroy, along with Gomorrah, for the sinful behavior of its inhabitants. Before destroying the city, the angels save Abraham’s nephew Lot from an angry mob of Sodomites and lead him and his two virgin daughters to safety. Had the angels not intervened, Lot and all his family would have perished along with the Sodomites. Because of their intervention, Lot’s daughters will become the matriarchs of the Moabite and the Ammonite peoples.

The angels’ work is not yet done. Having been given to Abraham as a second wife in the previous portion, Sarah’s Egyptian slave Hagar has borne a son, Ishmael. The relationship between the two women deteriorates, and now Sarah convinces Abraham to drive Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. When Hagar runs out of water, she weeps aloud, alone and despairing, in anticipation of her son’s impending death. Now she is visited by an angel of God, who assures her that God has heard the boy’s cries, and that Ishmael will father a great nation. Water is provided. The boy grows up to become a bowman, and Hagar finds a wife for him, an Egyptian like herself.

The narratives about our patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob serve as the foundational story of our religion. However, as we see in this weekly portion, Torah does not deal exclusively with narratives about our “Jewish” ancestors. Divine beings, angels of our God Adonai, sometimes intervene on behalf of those whose progeny will become Moabites, Ammonites, and Ishmaelites. Our God Adonai and God’s messengers protect and safeguard other nations besides our own.

To return to my opening question, Do you believe in angels?, Angels have become scarce in our world. If there are to be divine emissaries, we must be the ones to intervene and do the righteous work. Like the angels in Vayeira, we must become the protectors of other peoples, just as we are of our own people. So, take a look around and find someone who doesn’t look like you, someone who was born in a different generation, or who comes from a different country. Can you take up their cause, and help foster their health and welfare? 

Here are some timely ideas for your consideration: 

• WRJ is partnering with Sharsheret to offer a webinar on how best to support a friend, a family member, or a community member facing illness. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can register here for the webinar, which will be recorded for future playback.
• Thanksgiving Day will be celebrated on November 28th in the U.S. this year. Invite a student from an area college or an older person to join you for Thanksgiving dinner. 
• You don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to invite a stranger to dinner. You or your sisterhood or women's group can sign up to host a dinner through Refugees Welcome. Read more about the program here.  

Be an angel. If each of us takes even just one small step, then together we can become the divine messengers that will transform our society.

Carol Chaykin is a vice president of WRJ Northeast District and WRJ Board Member. She is a past president and member of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue Women’s Organization in New York, NY.