Vayeira

Not to be confused with Va'eira.

Vayeira, Vayera, or Va-yera (וַיֵּרָא — Hebrew for "and He appeared,” the first word in the parshah) is the fourth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 18:1–22:24 Jews read it on the fourth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October or November.

Jews also read parts of the parshah as Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah. Genesis 21 is the Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and Genesis 22 is the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. In Reform Judaism, Genesis 22 is the Torah reading for the one day of Rosh Hashanah.

The parshah tells the stories of Abraham’s three visitors and Abraham’s bargaining with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s two visitors and Lot’s bargaining with the Sodomites, the flight of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, how Abraham once again passed off his wife Sarah as his sister, the birth of Isaac, the expulsion of Hagar, disputes over wells, and the binding of Isaac.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (1852 painting by John Martin)

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parshah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parshah Vayeira has four "open portion" (פתוחה, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ (peh), roughly equivalent to the English letter “P”). Parshah Vayeira has two further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (סתומה, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס (samekh), roughly equivalent to the English letter "S") within the first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah). The first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) spans the first five readings (עליות, aliyot). The second open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) coincides with the sixth reading (עליה, aliyah). The third open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) covers the binding of Isaac, which is most of the seventh reading (עליה, aliyah), excluding only the concluding maftir (מפטיר) reading. And the fourth open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) coincides with the concluding maftir (מפטיר) reading. Closed portion (סתומה, setumah) divisions further divide the long fourth reading (עליה, aliyah).[1]

Abraham and the Three Angels (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)

First reading — Genesis 18:1–14

In the first reading (עליה, aliyah), as Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent by the terebinths of Mamre at the heat of the day, he looked up and saw God in the form of three men, and he ran, bowed to the ground, and welcomed them.[2] Abraham offered to wash their feet and fetch them a morsel of bread, and they assented.[3] Abraham rushed to Sarah’s tent to order cakes made from choice flour, ran to select a choice calf for a servant-boy to prepare, set curds and milk and the calf before them, and waited on them under the tree as they ate.[4] One of the visitors told Abraham that he would return the next year, and Sarah would have a son, but Sarah laughed to herself at the prospect, with Abraham so old.[5] God then questioned Abraham why Sarah had laughed at bearing a child at her age, noting that nothing was too wondrous for God.[6] The first reading (עליה, aliyah) ends here.[7]

Second reading — Genesis 18:15–33

In the second reading (עליה, aliyah), frightened, Sarah denied laughing, but God insisted that she had.[8] The men set out toward Sodom and Abraham walked with them to see them off.[9] God considered whether to confide in Abraham what God was about to do, since God had singled out Abraham to become a great nation and instruct his posterity to keep God’s way by doing what was just and right.[10] God told Abraham that the outrage and sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was so great that God was going to see whether they had acted according to the outcry that had reached God.[11] The men went on to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before God.[12] Abraham pressed God whether God would sweep away the innocent along with the guilty, asking successively if there were 50, or 45, or 40, or 30, or 20, or 10 innocent people in Sodom, would God not spare the city for the sake of the innocent ones, and each time God agreed to do so.[13] When God had finished speaking to Abraham, God departed, and Abraham returned to his place.[14] The second reading (עליה, aliyah) ends here with the end of chapter 18.[15]

Lot prevents violence against the Angels (1555 engraving by Heinrich Aldegrever)

Third reading — Genesis 19:1–20

In the third reading (עליה, aliyah), in chapter 19, as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom in the evening, the two angels arrived, and Lot greeted them and bowed low to the ground.[16] Lot invited the angels to spend the night at his house and bathe their feet, but they said that they would spend the night in the square.[17] Lot urged them strongly, so they went to his house, and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.[18] Before they had retired for the night, all the men of Sodom gathered about the house shouting to Lot to bring his visitors out so that they might be intimate with them.[19] Lot went outside the entrance, shutting the door behind him, and begged the men of Sodom not commit such a wrong.[20] Lot offered the men his two virgin daughters for them to do with as they pleased, if they would not do anything to his guests, but they disparaged Lot as one who had come as an alien and now sought to rule them, and they pressed threateningly against him and the door.[21] But the visitors stretched out their hands and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door and struck the people with blindness so that they were unable to find the entrance.[22] The visitors directed Lot to bring what family he had out of the city, for they were about to destroy the place, because the outcry against its inhabitants had become so great.[23] So Lot told his sons-in-law that they needed to get out of the place because God was about to destroy it, but Lot’s sons-in-law thought that he was joking.[24] As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot to flee with his wife and two remaining daughters, but still he delayed.[25] So out of God’s mercy, the men seized Lot, his wife, and daughters by the hand and brought them out of the city, telling them to flee for their lives and not to stop or look back anywhere in the plain.[26] But Lot asked them whether he might flee to a little village nearby.[27] The third reading (עליה, aliyah) ends here.[28]

Flight of Lot (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)

Fourth reading — Genesis 19:21–21:4

In the long fourth reading (עליה, aliyah), the angel replied that he would grant Lot this favor too, and spare that town.[29] The angel urged Lot to hurry there, for the angel could not do anything until he arrived there, and thus the town came to be called Zoar.[30] As the sun rose and Lot entered Zoar, God rained sulfurous fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah and annihilated the entire plain.[31] Lot’s wife looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt.[32] Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before God and looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and saw the smoke rising like at a kiln.[33] Lot was afraid to dwell in Zoar, so he settled in a cave in the hill country with his two daughters.[34] The older daughter told the younger that their father was old, and there was not a man on earth with whom to have children, so she proposed that they get Lot drunk and lie with him so that they might maintain life through their father.[35] That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one lay with her father without his being aware.[36] And the next day the older one persuaded the younger to do the same.[37] The two daughters thus had children by their father, the older one bore a son named Moab who became the father of the Moabites, and the younger bore a son named Ben-ammi who became the father of the Ammonites.[38] A closed portion (סתומה, setumah) ends here with the end of chapter 19.[39]

As the reading continues in chapter 20, Abraham settled between Kadesh and Shur.[40] While he was sojourning in Gerar, Abraham said that Sarah was his sister, so King Abimelech had her brought to him, but God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him that taking her would cause him to die, for she was a married woman.[41] Abimelech had not approached her, so he asked God whether God would slay an innocent, as Abraham and Sarah had told him that they were brother and sister.[42] God told Abimelech in the dream that God knew that Abimelech had a blameless heart, and so God had kept him from touching her.[43] God told Abimelech to restore Abraham’s wife, since he was a prophet, and he would intercede for Abimelech to save his life, which he and his household would lose if he failed to restore her.[44] Early next morning, Abimelech told his servants what had happened, asked Abraham what he had done and why he had brought so great a guilt upon Abimelech and his kingdom.[45] Abraham replied that he had thought that Gerar had no fear of God and would kill him because of his wife, and that she was in fact his father’s daughter though not his mother’s, so he had asked of her the kindness of identifying him as her brother.[46] Abimelech restored Sarah to Abraham, gave him sheep, oxen, and slaves, and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech’s lands.[47] And Abimelech told Sarah that he was giving Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve her as vindication before all.[48] Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and the women in his household, so that they bore children, for God had stricken the women with infertility because of Sarah.[49] Another closed portion (סתומה, setumah) ends here with the end of chapter 20.[50]

As the reading continues in chapter 21, God took note of Sarah, and she bore Abraham a son as God had predicted, and Abraham named him Isaac.[51] Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old.[52] The fourth reading (עליה, aliyah) ends here.[53]

Hagar and Ishmael (painting circa 1732 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo)

Fifth reading — Genesis 21:5–21

In the fifth reading (עליה, aliyah), Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah remarked that God had brought her laughter and everyone would laugh with her about her bearing Abraham a child in his old age.[54] Abraham held a great feast on the day that Sarah weaned Isaac.[55] Sarah saw Hagar's son Ishmael playing, and Sarah told Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out, saying that Ishmael would not share in Abraham’s inheritance with Isaac.[56] Sarah’s words greatly distressed Abraham, but God told Abraham not to be distressed but to do whatever Sarah told him, for Isaac would carry on Abraham’s line, and God would make a nation of Ishmael, too.[57] Early the next morning, Abraham placed some bread and water on Hagar’s shoulder, together with Ishmael, and sent them away.[58] Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, and when the water ran out, she left the child under a bush, sat down about two bowshots away so as not to see the child die, and burst into tears.[59] God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel called to Hagar, saying not to fear, for God had heeded the boy’s cry, and would make of him a great nation.[60] Then God opened her eyes to a well of water, and she and the boy drank.[61] God was with Ishmael and he grew up in the wilderness and became a bowman.[62] Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran, and Hagar got him an Egyptian wife.[63] The fifth reading (עליה, aliyah) and the first open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) end here.[64]

Sixth reading — Genesis 21:22–34

In the sixth reading (עליה, aliyah), Abimelech and Phicol the chief of his troops asked Abraham to swear not to deal falsely with them.[65] Abraham reproached Abimelech because Abimelech’s servants had seized Abraham’s well, but Abimelech protested ignorance.[66] Abraham gave Abimelech sheep and oxen and two men made a pact.[67] Abraham then offered Abimelech seven ewes as proof that Abraham had dug the well.[68] They called the place Beersheba, for the two of them swore an oath there.[69] After they concluded their pact, Abimelech and Phicol returned to Philistia, and Abraham planted a tamarisk and invoked God’s name.[70] Abraham lived in Philistia a long time.[71] The sixth reading (עליה, aliyah) and the second open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) end here with the end of chapter 21.[72]

The Angel Hinders the Offering of Isaac (1635 painting by Rembrandt)

Seventh reading — Genesis chapter 22

In the seventh reading (עליה, aliyah), which coincides with chapter 22,[73] sometime later, God tested Abraham, directing him to take Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering.[74] Early the next morning, Abraham saddled his donkey and split wood for the burnt offering, and then he, two of his servants, and Isaac set out for the place that God had named.[75] On the third day, Abraham saw the place from afar, and directed his servants to wait with the donkey, while Isaac and he went up to worship and then return.[76] Abraham took the firestone and the knife, put the wood on Isaac, and the two walked off together.[77] When Isaac asked Abraham where the sheep was for the burnt offering, Abraham replied that God would see to the sheep for the burnt offering.[78] They arrived at the place that God had named, and Abraham built an altar, laid out the wood, bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, and picked up the knife to slay him.[79] Then an angel called to Abraham, telling him not to raise his hand against the boy, for now God knew that Abraham feared God, since he had not withheld his son.[80] Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, so he offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.[81] Abraham named the site Adonai-yireh.[82] The angel called to Abraham a second time, saying that because Abraham had not withheld his son, God would bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore, and victorious over their foes.[83] All the nations of the earth would bless themselves by Abraham’s descendants, because he obeyed God’s command.[84] Abraham returned to his servants, and they departed for Beersheba; where Abraham stayed.[85] The third open portion (פתוחה, petuchah) ends here.[86]

As the seventh reading (עליה, aliyah) continues with the maftir (מפטיר) reading that concludes the parshah,[87] later, Abraham learned that Milcah had borne eight children to his brother Nahor, among whom was Bethuel, who became the father of Rebekah.[88] Nahor’s concubine Reumah also bore him four children.[89] The seventh reading (עליה, aliyah), the fourth open portion (פתוחה, petuchah), chapter 22, and the parshah end here.[90]

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In inner-Biblical interpretation

Genesis chapter 18

Ezekiel 16:49–50 explains what the “grievous” sin was that Genesis 18:20 reported in Sodom. Ezekiel 16:49–50 says that Sodom’s iniquity was pride. Sodom had plenty of bread and careless ease, but Sodom did not help the poor and the needy. Thus the people of Sodom were haughty and committed abomination before God. And for that reason, God removed them.

Jeremiah 23:14 condemns the prophets of Jerusalem for becoming like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in that they committed a horrible thing, they committed adultery, they walked in lies, they strengthened the hands of evil-doers, and they did not return from their wickedness.

Lamentations 4:6 judged the iniquity of Jerusalem that lead to the Babylonian captivity as greater than the sin of Sodom that led to its destruction in an instant.

Genesis chapter 19

Judges 19 tells a story parallel in many regards to that of Lot and the men of Sodom in Genesis 19:1–11.

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In early nonrabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 19

Josephus taught that Lot entreated the angels to accept lodging with him because he had learned to be a generous and hospitable man by imitating Abraham.[91]

The Wisdom of Solomon held that Wisdom delivered the “righteous” Lot, who fled from the wicked who perished when the fire came down on the five cities.[92]

Abraham and the Three Angels (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
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In classical Rabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 18

The Mishnah taught that Abraham suffered ten trials (several in this parshah), and withstood them all.[93]

Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina taught that visiting the infirm (as God did in Genesis 18:1) demonstrates one of God’s attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what Deuteronomy 13:5 means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when Deuteronomy 4:24 says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for Genesis 3:21 says, “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for Genesis 18:1 says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre” (after Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17:26) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for Genesis 25:11 says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for Deuteronomy 34:6 says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead.[94] Similarly, the Sifre on Deuteronomy 11:22 taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of Exodus 34:6) “merciful and gracious.”[95]

Abraham Entertaining the Angels (1656 etching by Rembrandt at the National Gallery of Art)

Rabbi Leazar ben Menahem taught that the opening words of Genesis 18:1, “And the Lord appeared,” indicated God’s proximity to Abraham. Rabbi Leazar taught that the words of Proverbs 15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked,” refer to the prophets of other nations. But the continuation of Proverbs 15:29, “He hears the prayer of the righteous,” refers to the prophets of Israel. God appears to nations other that Israel only as one who comes from a distance, as Isaiah 39:3 says, “They came from a far country to me.” But in connection with the prophets of Israel, Genesis 18:1 says, “And the Lord appeared,” and Leviticus 1:1 says, “And the Lord called,” implying from the immediate vicinity. Rabbi Haninah compared the difference between the prophets of Israel and the prophets of other nations to a king who was with his friend in a chamber (separated by a curtain). Whenever the king desired to speak to his friend, he folded up the curtain and spoke to him. (But God speaks to the prophets of other nations without folding back the curtain.) The Rabbis compared it to a king who has a wife and a concubine; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he repairs with stealth. Similarly, God appears to non-Jews only at night, as Numbers 22:20 says, “And God came to Balaam at night,” and Genesis 31:24 says, “And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night.”[96]

Abraham Entertaining the Angels (drawing circa 1610–1620 by Jan Tengnagel at the National Gallery of Art

A Midrash interpreted the words of Job 19:26, "And when after my skin thus is destroyed (נִקְּפוּ, nikkefu), then through my flesh shall I see God," to allude to Abraham. According to the Midrash, Abraham reasoned that after he circumcised himself, many proselytes flocked (hikkif) to attach themselves to the covenant, and it was thus because Abraham did so that God revealed God's Self to Abraham, as Genesis 18:1 reports, "And the Lord appeared to him." (And thus through circumcision performed on his flesh did Abraham come to see God.)[97]

Rabbi Isaac taught that God reasoned that if God said in Exodus 20:21, "An altar of earth you shall make to Me [and then] I will come to you and bless you," thus revealing God's Self to bless him who built an altar in God's name, then how much more should God reveal God's Self to Abraham, who circumcised himself for God's sake. And thus, "the Lord appear to him."[98]

A Midrash interpreted the words of Psalm 43:36, "Your condescension has made me great," to allude to Abraham. For God made Abraham great by allowing Abraham to sit (on account of his age and weakness after his circumcision) while the Shekhinah stood, as Genesis 18:1 reports, "And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door."[99]

Abraham Stands by the Three Men under the Tree (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)

A Baraita taught that in Genesis 18:1, “in the heat of the day” meant the sixth hour, or exactly midday.[100]

Rav Judah said in Rav’s name that Genesis 18:1–3 showed that hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence. Rav Judah read the words “And he said, ‘My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, pass not away’” in Genesis 18:3 to reflect Abraham’s request of God to wait for Abraham while Abraham saw to his guests. And Rabbi Eleazar said that God’s acceptance of this request demonstrated how God’s conduct is not like that of mortals, for among mortals, an inferior person cannot ask a greater person to wait, while in Genesis 18:3, God allowed it.[101]

The Tosefta taught that God rewarded measure for measure Abraham’s good deeds of hospitality in Genesis 18:2–16 with benefits for Abraham’s descendants the Israelites.[102]

The Gemara identified the “three men” in Genesis 18:2 as the angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael came to tell Sarah of Isaac’s birth, Raphael came to heal Abraham, and Gabriel came to destroy Sodom. Noting that Genesis 19:1 reports that “the two angels came to Sodom,” the Gemara explained that Michael accompanied Gabriel to rescue Lot. The Gemara cited the use of the singular “He” in Genesis 19:25, where it says, “He overthrew those cities,” instead of “they overthrew” to demonstrate that a single angel (Gabriel) destroyed the cities.[103]

Three angels with Abraham, announcing the birth of Isaac (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Bible in Pictures)

In Genesis 18:5, the heart is refreshed. A Midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible.[104] The heart speaks,[105] sees,[106] hears,[107] walks,[108] falls,[109] stands,[110] rejoices,[111] cries,[112] is comforted,[113] is troubled,[114] becomes hardened,[115] grows faint,[116] grieves,[117] fears,[118] can be broken,[119] becomes proud,[120] rebels,[121] invents,[122] cavils,[123] overflows,[124] devises,[125] desires,[126] goes astray,[127] lusts,[128] can be stolen,[129] is humbled,[130] is enticed,[131] errs,[132] trembles,[133] is awakened,[134] loves,[135] hates,[136] envies,[137] is searched,[138] is rent,[139] meditates,[140] is like a fire,[141] is like a stone,[142] turns in repentance,[143] becomes hot,[144] dies,[145] melts,[146] takes in words,[147] is susceptible to fear,[148] gives thanks,[149] covets,[150] becomes hard,[151] makes merry,[152] acts deceitfully,[153] speaks from out of itself,[154] loves bribes,[155] writes words,[156] plans,[157] receives commandments,[158] acts with pride,[159] makes arrangements,[160] and aggrandizes itself.[161]

Sarah Hears and Laughs (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)

The Gemara reported that sages in the Land of Israel (and some said Rabbi Isaac) deduced from Sarah’s practice as shown in Genesis 18:9 that while it was customary for a man to meet wayfarers, it was not customary for a woman to do so. And the Gemara cited this deduction to support the ruling of Mishnah Yevamot 8:3 that while a male Ammonite or Moabite was forbidden from entering the congregation of Israel, an Ammonite or Moabite woman was permitted.[162]

At the School of Rabbi Ishmael, it was taught that Genesis 18:12–13 demonstrated how great is the cause of peace, for Sarah said of Abraham in Genesis 18:12, “My lord [Abraham] being old,” but when God reported Sarah’s statement to Abraham, God reported Sarah to have said, “And I [Sarah] am old,” so as to preserve peace between Abraham and Sarah.[163]

Reading “set time” in Genesis 18:14 to mean the next “holy day” (as in Leviticus 23:4) the Gemara deduced that God spoke to Abraham on Sukkot to promise that Isaac would be born on Passover, and that there must have been a leap year that year, as those deductions allow the maximum 7 months between any two holy days.[164]

Ravina asked one of the Rabbis who expounded Aggadah before him for the origin of the Rabbinic saying, “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” The Rabbi replied that Proverbs 10:7 says, “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” Ravina asked from where in the Torah one might derive that teaching. The Rabbi answered that Genesis 18:17 says, “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing?” And right after that mention of Abraham’s name, God blessed Abraham in Genesis 18:18, saying, “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation.”[165]

Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “All the nations of the earth,” in Genesis 18:18 to teach that even those who spend their time on the ships that go from Gaul to Spain (and thus spend very little time on the dry earth) are blessed only for Israel’s sake.[166]

The Gemara taught that Genesis 18:19 sets forth one of the three most distinguishing virtues of the Jewish People. The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that the Israelites are distinguished by three characteristics: They are merciful, bashful, and benevolent. They are merciful, for Deuteronomy 13:18 says that God would “show you (the Israelites) mercy, and have compassion upon you, and multiply you.” They are bashful, for Exodus 20:16 (20:17 in NJPS) says “that God’s fear may be before you (the Israelites).” And they are benevolent, for Genesis 18:19 says of Abraham “that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.” The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that only one who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join the Jewish People.[167]

The Sodomites are smitten with blindness (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)

Rabbi Eleazar taught that from the blessing of the righteous one may infer a curse for the wicked. The Gemara explained that one may see the principle at play in the juxtaposition of Genesis 18:19 and 18:20. For Genesis 18:19 speaks of the blessing of the righteous Abraham, saying, “For I have known him, to the end that he may command.” And soon thereafter Genesis 18:20 speaks of the curse of the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying, “Truly the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great.”[168]

The Mishnah taught that some viewed the people of Sodom as embracing a philosophy of “what’s mine is mine.” The Mishnah taught that there are four types of people: (1) One who says: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours”; this is a neutral type, some say this was the type of Sodom. (2) One who says: “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine”; this is an unlearned person. (3) One who says: “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is yours”; this is a pious person. And (4) one who says: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine;” this is a wicked person.[169]

The Tosefta employed verses from the book of Job to teach that the people of Sodom acted arrogantly before God because of the good that God had lavished on them. As Job 28:5–8 says, “As for the land, out of it comes bread . . . . Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. That path, no bird of prey knows . . . . The proud beasts have not trodden it.” The people of Sodom reasoned that since bread, silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls came forth from their land, they did not need immigrants to come to Sodom. They reasoned that immigrants came only to take things away from Sodom and thus resolved to forget the traditional ways of hospitality.[170] God told the people of Sodom that because of the goodness that God had lavished upon them, they had deliberately forgotten how things were customarily done in the world, and thus God would make them be forgotten from the world. As Job 28:4 says, “They open shafts in a valley from where men live. They are forgotten by travelers. They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.” As Job 12:5–6 says, “In the thought of one who is at ease, there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their Hand.” And so as Ezekiel 16:48–50 says, “As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, plenty of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.”[171]

The Flight of Lot (painting from the first half of 17th Century by Peter Paul Rubens)

Rava interpreted the words of Psalm 62:4, “How long will you imagine mischief against a man? You shall be slain all of you; you are all as a bowing wall, and as a tottering fence.” Rava interpreted this to teach that the people of Sodom would cast envious eyes on the wealthy, place them by a tottering wall, push the wall down on them, and take their wealth. Rava interpreted the words of Job 24:16, “In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they know not the light.” Rava interpreted this to teach that they used to cast envious eyes on wealthy people and entrust fragrant balsam into their keeping, which they placed in their storerooms. In the evening the people of Sodom would smell it out like dogs, as Psalm 59:7 says, “They return at evening, they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.” Then they would burrow in and steal the money.[172]

The Gemara told of the victims of the people of Sodom, in the words of Job 24:7, “They (would) lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.” The Gemara said of the people of Sodom, in the words of Job 24:3, “They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.” In the words of Job 24:2, “They remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed them.” And the Gemara told of their victims, in the words of Job 21:32, “he shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.”[173]

The Gemara told that there were four judges in Sodom, named Shakrai, Shakurai, Zayyafi, and Mazle Dina (meaning “Liar,” “Awful Liar,” “Forger,” and “Perverter of Justice”). If a man assaulted his neighbor’s wife and caused a miscarriage, the judges would tell the husband to give his wife to the neighbor so that the neighbor might make her pregnant. If a person cut off the ear of a neighbor’s donkey, they would order the owner to give it to the offender until the ear grew again. If a person wounded a neighbor, they would tell the victim to pay the offender a fee for bleeding the victim. A person who crossed over with the ferry had to pay four zuzim, but the person who crossed through the water had to pay eight.[174]

Lot and his Daughters Flee Sodom (1908 illustration by the Providence Lithograph Company)

Explaining the words, “the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great (rabbah, רָבָּה),” in Genesis 18:20, the Gemara told the story of a certain maiden (ribah) in Sodom who gave some bread to a poor man, hiding it in a pitcher. When the people of Sodom found out about her generosity, they punished her by smearing her with honey and placing her on the city wall, where the bees consumed her. Rav Judah thus taught in Rav's name that Genesis 18:20 indicates that God destroyed Sodom on account of the maiden (ribah).[175]

Rabbi Judah explained the words of Genesis 18:21, "her cry that has come to Me." Noting that Genesis 18:21 does not say "their cry" but "her cry," Rabbi Judah told that the people of Sodom issued a proclamation that anyone who gave a loaf of bread to the poor or needy would be burned. Lot's daughter Pelotit, the wife of a magnate of Sodom, saw a poor man on the street, and was moved with compassion. Every day when she went out to draw water, she smuggled all kinds of provisions to him from her house in her pitcher. The men of Sodom questioned how the poor man could survive. When they found out, they brought Pelotit out to be burned. She cried out to God to maintain her cause, and her cry ascended before the Throne of Glory. And God said (in the words of Genesis 18:21) "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to her cry that has come to Me." [176]

Lot Leaves Sodom with His Family (painting circa 1615 by Peter Paul Rubens)

Reading Abraham’s request in Genesis 18:32, “What if ten shall be found there?” a Midrash asked, why ten (and not fewer)? The Midrash answered, so that there might be enough for a minyan of righteous people to pray on behalf of all of the people of Sodom. Alternatively, the Midrash said, because at the generation of the Flood, eight righteous people remained (in Noah and his family) and God did not give the world respite for their sake. Alternatively, the Midrash said, because Lot thought that there were ten righteous people in Sodom — namely Lot, his wife, his four daughters, and his four sons-in-law (but Lot was apparently mistaken in thinking them righteous). Rabbi Judah the son of Rabbi Simon and Rabbi Hanin in Rabbi Johanan’s name said that ten were required for Sodom, but for Jerusalem even one would have sufficed, as Jeremiah 5:1 says, “Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem . . . and seek . . . if you can find a man, if there be any who does justly . . . and I will pardon her.” And thus Ecclesiastes 7:27 says, “Adding one thing to another, to find out the account.” Rabbi Isaac explained that an account can be extended as far as one man for one city. And thus if one righteous person can be found in a city, it can be saved in the merit of that righteous person.[177]

Did Abraham’s prayer to God in Genesis 18:23–32 change God’s harsh decree? Could it have? On this subject, Rabbi Abbahu interpreted David’s last words, as reported in 2 Samuel 23:2–3, where David reported that God told him, “Ruler over man shall be the righteous, even he that rules through the fear of God.” Rabbi Abbahu read 2 Samuel 23:2–3 to teach that God rules humankind, but the righteous rule God, for God makes a decree, and the righteous may through their prayer annul it.[178]

Genesis chapter 19

The Rabbis in a Midrash asked why the angels took so long to travel from Abraham’s camp to Sodom, leaving Abraham at noon and arriving in Sodom only (as Genesis 19:1 reports) “in the evening.” The Midrash explained that they were angels of mercy, and thus they delayed, thinking that perhaps Abraham might find something to change Sodom’s fate, but when Abraham found nothing, as Genesis 19:1 reports, “the two angels came to Sodom in the evening.”[179]

An Angel Leads Lot out of Sodom and Destroys the City (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)

A Midrash noted that in Genesis 19:1, the visitors are called “angels,” whereas in Genesis 18:2, they were called “men.” The Midrash explained that earlier, when the Shechinah (the Divine Presence) was above them, Scripture called them men, but as soon as the Shechinah departed from them, they assumed the form of angels. Rabbi Levi (or others say Rabbi Tanhuma in the name of Rabbi Levi) said that to Abraham, whose spiritual strength was great, they looked like men (as Abraham was as familiar with angels as with men). But to Lot, whose spiritual strength was weak, they appeared as angels. Rabbi Hanina taught that before they performed their mission, they were called “men.” But having performed their mission, they are referred to as “angels.” Rabbi Tanhuma compared them to a person who received a governorship from the king. Before reaching the seat of authority, the person goes about like an ordinary citizen. Similarly, before they performed their mission, Scripture calls them “men,” but having performed their mission, Scripture calls them “angels.” [180]

A Midrash expounded on the conversation between Lot and the angels. Expanding on the words, “but before they lay down” in Genesis 19:4, the Midrash told that the angels began questioning Lot, inquiring into the nature of the people of the city. Lot replied that in every town there are good people and bad people, but in Sodom the overwhelming majority were bad. Then (in the words of Genesis 19:4) “the men of the city, the men of sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old,” not one of them objecting. And then (in the words of Genesis 19:5) “they called to Lot, and said to him: ‘Where are the men that came to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.’” Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said in the name of Rabbi Padiah that Lot prayed for mercy on the Sodomites’ behalf the whole night, and the angels would have heeded him. But when the Sodomites demanded (in the words of Genesis 19:5) “Bring them out to us, that we may know them,” that is, for sexual purposes, the angels asked Lot (in the words of Genesis 19:12) “Do you have here (פֹה, poh) any besides?” Which one could read as asking, “What else do you have in your mouth (פֶּה, peh) (to say in their favor)?” Then the angels told Lot that up until then, he had the right to plead in their defense, but thereafter, he had no right to plead for them.[181]

Escape of Lot from Sodom (engraving from the first half of the 17th Century by Matthäus Merian)

The Master deduced from Genesis 19:15 and 19:23 that one can walk five mils (about 15,000 feet) in the time between the break of dawn and sunrise, as Genesis 19:15 reports that “when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot,” and Genesis 19:23 reports that “The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar,” and Rabbi Haninah said that it was five mils from Sodom to Zoar.[182] But the Gemara noted that as Genesis 19:15 reports that “the angels hastened Lot,” they could naturally have covered more ground than a typical person.[183]

Rabbi Eliezer taught that Lot lived in Sodom only on account of his property, but Rabbi Eliezer deduced from Genesis 19:22 that Lot left Sodom empty-handed with the angels telling him, “It is enough that you escape with your life.” Rabbi Eliezer argued that Lot’s experience proved the maxim (of Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:5) that the property of the wicked, whether inside or outside the town, will be lost.[184]

Rabbi Meir taught that while Genesis 9:11 made clear that God would never again flood the world with water, Genesis 19:24 demonstrated that God might bring a flood of fire and brimstone, as God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah.[185]

Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (according to the Jerusalem Talmud) or a Baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yose the son of Rabbi Chanina (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers derived from the Patriarchs, and cited Genesis 19:27 for the proposition that Jews derived the morning prayer from Abraham, arguing that within the meaning of Genesis 19:27, “stood” meant “pray,” just as it did in Psalm 106:30[186]

Reading the words of Genesis 19:29, "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot," a Midrash asked what recollection was brought up in Lot’s favor? The Midrash answered that it was the silence that Lot maintained for Abraham when Abraham passed off Sarah as his sister.[187]

Lot and His Daughters (painting circa 1700 by Marcantonio Franceschini)

Interpreting Genesis 19:29, a Midrash taught that (as Mishnah Shabbat 16:1, Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 115a, 116b rules, if one's house is burning on the Sabbath) one is permitted to save the case of the Torah along with the Torah itself, and one is permitted to save the Tefillin bag along with the Tefillin. This teaches that the righteous are fortunate, and so are those who cleave to them. Similarly, Genesis 8:1 says, "God remembered Noah, and all beasts, and all the animals that were with him in the Ark." And so too, in Genesis 19:29, "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot."[188]

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, citing Rabbi Johanan, taught that God rewards even polite speech. In Genesis 19:37, Lot’s older daughter named her son Moab (“of my father”), and so in Deuteronomy 2:9, God told Moses, “Be not at enmity with Moab, neither contend with them in battle”; God forbade only war with the Moabites, but the Israelites might harass them. In Genesis 19:38, in contrast, Lot’s younger daughter named her son Ben-Ammi (the less shameful “son of my people”), and so in Deuteronomy 2:19, God told Moses, “Harass them not, nor contend with them”; the Israelites were not to harass the Ammonites at all.[189]

Abimelech Rebukes Abraham (17th Century illustration by Wenceslas Hollar)

Genesis chapter 20

The Rabbis taught that God appears to non-Jews only in dreams, as God appeared to Abimelech “in a dream of the night” in Genesis 20:3, God appeared to Laban the “in a dream of the night” in Genesis 31:24, and God appeared to Balaam “at night” in Numbers 22:20. The Rabbis taught that God thus appeared more openly to the prophets of Israel than to those of other nations. The Rabbis compared God’s action to those of a king who has both a wife and a concubine; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he goes stealthily.[190] And a Midrash taught that God’s appearance to Abimelech in Genesis 20:3 and God’s appearance to Laban in Genesis 31:24 were the two instances where the Pure and Holy One allowed God’s self to be associated with impure (idolatrous) people, on behalf of righteous ones.[191]

The Mishnah deduced from the example of Abimelech and Abraham in Genesis 20:7 that even though an offender pays the victim compensation, the offence is not forgiven until the offender asks the victim for pardon. And the Mishnah deduced from Abraham’s example of praying for Abimelech in Genesis 20:17 that under such circumstances, the victim would be churlish not to forgive the offender.[192] The Tosefta further deduced from Genesis 20:17 that even if the offender did not seek forgiveness from the victim, the victim must nonetheless seek mercy for the offender.[193]

Rabbi Isaac taught that Abimelech’s curse of Sarah caused her son Isaac’s blindness (as reported in Genesis 27:1). Rabbi Isaac read the words, “it is for you a covering (kesut) of the eyes,” in Genesis 20:16 not as kesut, “covering,” but as kesiyat, “blinding.” Rabbi Isaac concluded that one should not consider a small matter the curse of even an ordinary person.[194]

Rava derived from Genesis 20:17 and Genesis 21:1–2 the lesson that if one has a need, but prays for another with the same need, then God will answer first the need of the one who prayed. Rava noted that Abraham prayed to God to heal Abimelech and his wife of infertility (in Genesis 20:17) and immediately thereafter God allowed Abraham and Sarah to conceive (in Genesis 21:1–2).[195]

Abraham Sends Hagar and Ishmael into the Desert (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Bible in Pictures)

Genesis chapter 21

The Rabbis linked parts of the parshah to Rosh Hashanah. The Talmud directs that Jews read Genesis 21 (the expulsion of Hagar) on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and Genesis 22 (the binding of Isaac) on the second day.[196] And in the Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer said that God visited both Sarah and Hannah to grant them conception on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Eliezer deduced this from the Bible’s parallel uses of the words “visiting” and “remembering” in description of Hannah, Sarah, and Rosh Hashanah. First, Rabbi Eliezer linked Hannah’s visitation with Rosh Hashanah through the Bible’s parallel uses of the word “remembering.” 1 Samuel 1:19–20 says that God “remembered” Hannah and she conceived, and Leviticus 23:24 describes Rosh Hashanah as “a remembering of the blast of the trumpet.” Then Rabbi Eliezer linked Hannah’s conception with Sarah’s through the Bible’s parallel uses of the word “visiting.” 1 Samuel 2:21 says that “the Lord had visited Hannah,” and Genesis 21:1 says that “the Lord visited Sarah.”[197]

Rav Awira taught (sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi, sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi) that the words “And the child grew, and was weaned (va-yigamal, וַיִּגָּמַל), and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” in Genesis 21:8 teach that God will make a great feast for the righteous on the day that God manifests (yigmol) God’s love to Isaac’s descendants. After they have eaten and drunk, they will ask Abraham to recite the Grace after meals (Birkat Hamazon), but Abraham will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Ishmael. Then they will ask Isaac to say Grace, but Isaac will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Esau. Then they will ask Jacob, but Jacob will answer that he cannot, because he married two sisters during both their lifetimes, which Leviticus 18:18 was destined to forbid. Then they will ask Moses, but Moses will answer that he cannot, because God did not allow him to enter the Land of Israel either in life or in death. Then they will ask Joshua, but Joshua will answer that he cannot, because he was not privileged to have a son, for 1 Chronicles 7:27 reports, “Nun was his son, Joshua was his son,” without listing further descendants. Then they will ask David, and he will say Grace, and find it fitting for him to do so, because Psalm 116:13 records David saying, “I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”[198]

Hagar (19th Century painting by Jean Michel Prosper Guérin)

The Gemara taught that if one sees Ishmael in a dream, then God hears that person’s prayer (perhaps because the name “Ishmael” derives from “the Lord has heard” in Genesis 16:11, or perhaps because “God heard” (yishmah Elohim, יִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים) Ishmael’s voice in Genesis 21:17).[199]

The Gemara cited Genesis 21:12 to teach that Sarah was one of seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel and neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah. (The other prophetesses were Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.) The Gemara established Sarah’s status as a prophetess by citing the words, “Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiscah,” in Genesis 11:29. Rabbi Isaac taught that Yiscah was Sarah. Genesis 11:29 called her Yiscah (יִסְכָּה) because she discerned (saketah) by means of Divine inspiration, as Genesis 21:12 reports God instructing Abraham, “In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice.” Alternatively, Genesis 11:29 called her Yiscah because all gazed (sakin) at her beauty.[200]

Rav Nachman taught that when Jacob “took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba” in Genesis 46:1, he went to cut down the cedars that Genesis 21:33 reports his grandfather Abraham had planted there.[201]

Abraham and Isaac (1645 etching by Rembrandt at the National Gallery of Art)

Genesis chapter 22

Rabbi Johanan, on the authority of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra, asked what Genesis 22:1 means by the word “after” in “And it came to pass after these words, that God did tempt Abraham.” Rabbi Johanan explained that it meant after the words of Satan, as follows. After the events of Genesis 21:8, which reports that Isaac grew, was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the day that Isaac was weaned, Satan asked God how it could be that God graciously granted Abraham a child at the age of 100, yet of all that feast, Abraham did not sacrifice one turtle-dove or pigeon to God. Rather, Abraham did nothing but honor his son. God replied that were God to ask Abraham to sacrifice his son to God, Abraham would do so without hesitation. Straightway, as Genesis 22:1 reports, “God did tempt Abraham.”[202]

Abraham Going up To Offer Isaac as a Sacrifice (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

Rabbi Levi explained the words “after these words” in Genesis 22:1 to mean after Ishmael's words to Isaac. Ishmael told Isaac that Ishmael was more virtuous than Isaac in good deeds, for Isaac was circumcised at eight days (and so could not prevent it), but Ishmael was circumcised at 13 years. Isaac questioned whether Ishamel would incense Isaac on account of one limb. Isaac vowed that if God were to ask Isaac to sacrifice himself before God, Isaac would obey. Immediately thereafter (in the words of Genesis 22:1) “God did prove Abraham.”[203]

A Midrash taught that Abraham said (beginning with the words of Genesis 22:1 and 22:11) "'Here I am' — ready for priesthood, ready for kingship" (ready to serve God in whatever role God chose), and Abraham attained both priesthood and kingship. He attained priesthood, as Psalm 110:4 says, "The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: 'You are a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek." And he attained kingship, as Genesis 23:6 says, "You are a mighty prince among us."[204]

Rabbi Simeon bar Abba explained that the word na (נָא) in Genesis 22:2, “Take, I pray (na, נָא) your son,” can denote only entreaty. Rabbi Simeon bar Abba compared this to a king who was confronted by many wars, which he won with the aid of a great warrior. Subsequently, he was faced with a severe battle. Thereupon the king asked the warrior, “I pray, assist me in battle, so that people may not say that there was nothing to the earlier battles.” Similarly, God said to Abraham, “I have tested you with many trials and you withstood all of them. Now, be firm, for My sake in this trial, so that people may not say that there was nothing to the earlier trials.”[205]

Abraham Climbs Mount Moriah (illustration by Schirmer from the 1908 Bible and Its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons)

The Gemara expanded on Genesis 22:2, explaining that it reports only one side of a dialog. God told Abraham, “take your son,” but Abraham replied, “I have two sons!” God said, “Your only one,” but Abraham replied, “Each is the only one of his mother!” God said, “Whom you love,” but Abraham replied, “I love them both!” Then God said, “Isaac!” The Gemara explained that God employed all this circumlocution in Genesis 22:2 so that Abraham’s mind should not reel under the sudden shock of God’s command.[206]

A Baraita interpreted Leviticus 12:3 to teach that the whole eighth day is valid for circumcision, but deduced from Abraham’s rising “early in the morning” to perform his obligations in Genesis 22:3 that the zealous perform circumcisions early in the morning.[207]

Isaac Bears the Wood for His Sacrifice (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)

A Tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar that intense love and hate can cause one to disregard the perquisites of one’s social position. The Tanna deduced that love may do so from Abraham, for Genesis 22:3 reports that “Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey,” rather than allow his servant to do so. Similarly, the Tanna deduced that hate may do so from Balaam, for Numbers 22:21 reports that “Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey,” rather than allow his servant to do so.[208]

The Sifra cited Genesis 22:11, Genesis 46:2, Exodus 3:4, and 1 Samuel 3:10 for the proposition that when God called the name of a prophet twice, God expressed affection and sought to provoke a response.[209] Similarly, Rabbi Hiyya taught that it was an expression of love and encouragement. Rabbi Liezer taught that the repetition indicated that God spoke to Abraham and to future generations. Rabbi Liezer taught that there is no generation that does not contain people like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Samuel.[210]

Abraham Prepared To Sacrifice His Son Isaac (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Bible in Pictures)

Noting that Genesis 22:13 reports that “Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him (אַחַר, ahar) a ram,” a Midrash asked what “behind” (אַחַר, ahar) meant. Rabbi Judan taught that it meant after all that happened, Israel would still fall into the clutches of sin and thus become victims of persecution. But they would be ultimately redeemed by the ram’s horn, as Zechariah 9:14 says, “And the Lord God will blow the horn.”[211] Similarly, Rav Huna son of Rabbi Isaac read Genesis 22:13 to teach that God showed Abraham the ram tearing itself free from one thicket and getting entangled in another. God told Abraham that in a similar manner, Abraham’s children would be caught by the nations and entangled in troubles, being dragged from empire to empire, from Babylon to Media, from Media to Greece, and from Greece to Edom (Rome), but they would ultimately be redeemed through the horns of the ram. And hence Zechariah 9:14 says, “The Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord God will blow the horn.”[212]

Rabbi Josiah taught in his father’s name that God created the ram that Genesis 22:13 reports Abraham sacrificed in lieu of Isaac on the eve of the first Sabbath at twilight (indicating the miraculous nature of its appearance).[213]

Abraham's Sacrifice (1655 etching by Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art)

Some say the merit of Abraham’s actions saved later Israelites. 2 Samuel 24:1–16 reports that after David ordered a census of the Israelites, God punished the Israelites with a plague. 1 Chronicles 21:15 then reports, “And as He was about to destroy, the Lord beheld, and He repented Him.” The Gemara asked what God beheld that caused God to withhold destruction. Samuel taught that God beheld the ashes of Isaac. For in Genesis 22:8, Abraham says, “God will see for Himself the lamb.” (Thus God saw the merit of the sacrifice that Abraham brought — or intended to bring.) Alternatively, Rabbi Johanan taught that God saw the Temple. For Genesis 22:14 explained the meaning of the name that Abraham gave to the mountain where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac to be, “In the mount where the Lord is seen.” (Solomon later built the Temple on that mountain, and God saw the merit of the sacrifices there.) Rabbi Jacob bar Iddi and Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani differed on the matter. One said that God saw the atonement money that Exodus 30:16 reports God required Moses to collect from the Israelites, while the other said that God saw the Temple. The Gemara concluded that the more likely view was that God saw the Temple, as Genesis 22:14 can be read to say, “As it will be said on that day, ‘in the mount where the Lord is seen.’”[214]

Abraham Offers Isaac (illustration from Henry Davenport Northrop’s 1894 Treasures of the Bible)

God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 that God would multiply his children like the stars figures in a midrashic interpretation of the Plagues of Egypt. Finding four instances of the verb “to charge,” for example in Exodus 1:22 (וַיְצַו, vayetzan), a Midrash taught that Pharaoh decreed upon the Israelites four decrees. At first, he commanded the taskmasters to insist that the Israelites make the prescribed number of bricks. Then he commanded that the taskmasters not allow the Israelites to sleep in their homes, intending by this to limit their ability to have children. The taskmasters told the Israelites that if they went home to sleep, they would lose a few hours each morning from work and never complete the allotted number or bricks, as Exodus 5:13 reports: “And the taskmasters were urgent, saying: ‘Fulfill your work.’” So the Israelites slept on the ground in the brickyard. God told the Egyptians that God had promised the Israelites’ ancestor Abraham that God would multiply his children like the stars, as in Genesis 22:17 God promised Abraham: “That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven.” But now the Egyptians were cunningly planning that the Israelites not increase. So God set about to see that God’s word prevail, and immediately Exodus 1:12 reports: “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied.”[215] When Pharaoh saw that the Israelites increased abundantly despite his decrees, he then decreed concerning the male children, as Exodus 1:15–16 reports: “And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives . . . and he said: ‘When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, you shall look upon the birthstool: if it be a son, then you shall kill him.’”[216] So finally (as Exodus 1:22 reports), “Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: ‘Every son that is born you shall cast into the river.’”[217]

The Sacrifice of Isaac (painting circa 1590–1610 by Caravaggio)

Noting that Genesis 22:19 speaks of only Abraham when it says, “So Abraham returned to his young men,” a Midrash asked: Where was Isaac? Rabbi Berekiah said in the name of the Rabbis of Babylon that Abraham sent Isaac to Shem to study Torah. The Midrash compared this to a woman who became wealthy through her spinning. She concluded that since she had become wealthy through her distaff, it would never leave her hand. Similarly, Abraham deduced that since all that had come to him was only because he engaged in Godly pursuits, he was unwilling that those should ever depart from his descendants. And Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Haninah taught that Abraham sent Isaac home at night, for fear of the evil eye.[218]

Abraham embraces his son Isaac after receiving him back from God (illustration by O.A. Stemler published 1927 in Standard Bible Story Readers: Book Four)

A Midrash interpreted the words “his eyes were dim from seeing” in Genesis 27:1 to teach that Isaac’s eyesight dimmed as a result of his near sacrifice in Genesis 22, for when Abraham bound Isaac, the ministering angels wept, as Isaiah 33:7 says, “Behold, their valiant ones cry without, the angels of peace weep bitterly,” and tears dropped from the angels’ eyes into Isaac’s, leaving their mark and causing Isaac’s eyes to dim when he became old.[219]

A Midrash told that at the very moment in Genesis 22:11–12 that the angel of the Lord stayed Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, the Satan appeared to Sarah in the guise of Isaac. When Sarah saw him, she asked what Abraham had done to him. He told Sarah that Abraham had taken him to a mountain, built an altar, placed wood upon it, tied him down on it, and took a knife to slaughter him, and had God not told him not to lay a hand on him, Abraham would have slaughtered him. And as soon as he finished speaking, Sarah’s soul departed. Thus the Midrash deduced from the words “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” in Genesis 23:2 that Abraham came directly from Mount Moriah and the binding of Isaac.[220]

A Midrash asked why, in Genesis 46:1, Jacob “offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac,” and not to the God of Abraham and Isaac. Rabbi Berekiah observed that God never unites God’s Name with a living person (to say, for example, “I am the God of Jacob,” while they are alive) except with those who are experiencing suffering. (And thus Jacob referred to the God of Isaac instead of the God of Jacob.) And Rabbi Berekiah also observed that Isaac did indeed experience suffering. The Rabbis said that we look upon Isaac as if his ashes were heaped in a pile on the altar. (And thus Jacob referred to Isaac to invoke the memory of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22 as if it had been carried out).[221]

Interpreting God’s command to Isaac in Genesis 26:2 not to go to Egypt, Rabbi Hoshaya taught that God told Isaac that he was, by virtue of his near-sacrifice in Genesis 22, a burnt-offering without blemish, and as a burnt offering became unfit if it was taken outside of the Temple grounds, so would Isaac become unfit if he went outside of the Promised Land.[222]

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Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parshah.[223]

A page from a 14th century German Haggadah
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In the liturgy

The Passover Haggadah, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder, in a reference to Abraham’s visitors in Genesis 18:1, recounts how God knocked on Abraham’s door at the heat of the day on Passover and Abraham fed his visitors matzah cakes, deducing the season from the report in Genesis 19:3 that Lot fed his visitors matzah.[224] The Haggadah recounts that Abraham ran to the herd.[225] And the Haggadah continues that it was thus on Passover that the Sodomites were consumed by God’s fire, as reported in Genesis 19:24–25.[226]

Also in the nirtzah section of the seder, in a reference to Genesis 20:3 or 20:6, the Haggadah recounts how God judged the King of Gerar Abimelech in the middle of the night.[227]

The Rabbis understood Abraham’s devotion to God in the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22:1–19 to have earned God’s mercy for Abraham’s descendents when they are in need. The 16th century Safed Rabbi Eliezer Azikri drew on this rabbinic understanding to call for God to show mercy for Abraham’s descendents, “the son of Your beloved” (ben ohavach), in his kabbalistic poem Yedid Nefesh (“Soul’s Beloved”), which many congregations chant just before the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service.[228]

And many Jews, following Kabbalistic masters from the Zohar to Arizal, recite Genesis 22:1–19, the binding of Isaac, after the morning blessings (Birkat HaShachar). The recitation of Abraham’s and Isaac’s willingness to put God above life itself is meant to invoke God’s mercy, to inspire worshipers to greater love of God, and to bring atonement to the penitent.[229]

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Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is:

The parshah and haftarah in 2 Kings both tell of God’s gift of sons to childless women. In both the parshah and the haftarah: God’s representative visits the childless woman, whose household extends the visitor generous hospitality;[230] the husband’s age raises doubt about the couple’s ability to have children;[231] God’s representative announces that a child will come at a specified season in the next year;[232] the woman conceives and bears a child as God’s representative had announced;[233] death threatens the promised child;[234] and God’s representative intervenes to save the promised child.[235]

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Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Ancient

Biblical

Euripides

Early nonrabbinic

Josephus

Classical rabbinic

Medieval

Rashi
  • Solomon ibn Gabirol. A Crown for the King, 7:67. Spain, 11th century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, 10–11. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-511962-2.
  • Rashi. Commentary. Genesis 18–22. Troyes, France, late 11th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:173–240. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9.
  • Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:14, 80; 5:20. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 91, 130–31, 282–83. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
  • Shalom Spiegel and Judah Goldin. The Last Trial: On the Legends and Lore of the Command to Abraham to Offer Isaac as a Sacrifice: The Akedah. Jewish Lights: 1993. ISBN 1-879045-29-X
  • Zohar 1:97a–120b. Spain, late 13th century.
Dickinson

Modern

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External links

Texts

Commentaries

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Notes

  1. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis. Edited by Menachem Davis, 86–115. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006. ISBN 1-4226-0202-8.
  2. ^ Genesis 18:1–3.
  3. ^ Genesis 18:4–6.
  4. ^ Genesis 18:6–8.
  5. ^ Genesis 18:10–12.
  6. ^ Genesis 18:13–14.
  7. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 89.
  8. ^ Genesis 18:15.
  9. ^ Genesis 18:16.
  10. ^ Genesis 18:17–19.
  11. ^ Genesis 18:20–21.
  12. ^ Genesis 18:22.
  13. ^ Genesis 18:23–32.
  14. ^ Genesis 18:33.
  15. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 93.
  16. ^ Genesis 19:1.
  17. ^ Genesis 19:2.
  18. ^ Genesis 19:3.
  19. ^ Genesis 19:4–5.
  20. ^ Genesis 19:6–7.
  21. ^ Genesis 19:8–9.
  22. ^ Genesis 19:10–11.
  23. ^ Genesis 19:12–13.
  24. ^ Genesis 19:14.
  25. ^ Genesis 19:15–16.
  26. ^ Genesis 19:16–17.
  27. ^ Genesis 19:18–20.
  28. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 97.
  29. ^ Genesis 19:21.
  30. ^ Genesis 19:22.
  31. ^ Genesis 19:23–25.
  32. ^ Genesis 19:26.
  33. ^ Genesis 19:27–28.
  34. ^ Genesis 19:30.
  35. ^ Genesis 19:31–32.
  36. ^ Genesis 19:33.
  37. ^ Genesis 19:34–35.
  38. ^ Genesis 19:36–38.
  39. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 100.
  40. ^ Genesis 20:1.
  41. ^ Genesis 20:1–3.
  42. ^ Genesis 20:4–5.
  43. ^ Genesis 20:6.
  44. ^ Genesis 20:7.
  45. ^ Genesis 20:8–10.
  46. ^ Genesis 20:11–13.
  47. ^ Genesis 20:14–15.
  48. ^ Genesis 20:16.
  49. ^ Genesis 20:17–18.
  50. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 100.
  51. ^ Genesis 21:1–3.
  52. ^ Genesis 21:4.
  53. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 105.
  54. ^ Genesis 21:5–7.
  55. ^ Genesis 21:8.
  56. ^ Genesis 21:9–10.
  57. ^ Genesis 21:11–13.
  58. ^ Genesis 21:14.
  59. ^ Genesis 21:14–16.
  60. ^ Genesis 21:17–18.
  61. ^ Genesis 21:19.
  62. ^ Genesis 21:20.
  63. ^ Genesis 21:21.
  64. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 108.
  65. ^ Genesis 21:22–24.
  66. ^ Genesis 21:25–26.
  67. ^ Genesis 21:27.
  68. ^ Genesis 21:28–30.
  69. ^ Genesis 21:31.
  70. ^ Genesis 21:32–33.
  71. ^ Genesis 21:34.
  72. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 109.
  73. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 109–15.
  74. ^ Genesis 22:1–2.
  75. ^ Genesis 22:3.
  76. ^ Genesis 22:4–5.
  77. ^ Genesis 22:6.
  78. ^ Genesis 22:7–8.
  79. ^ Genesis 22:9–10.
  80. ^ Genesis 22:11–12.
  81. ^ Genesis 22:13.
  82. ^ Genesis 22:14.
  83. ^ Genesis 22:15–17.
  84. ^ Genesis 22:18.
  85. ^ Genesis 22:19.
  86. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 115.
  87. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 115.
  88. ^ Genesis 22:20–23.
  89. ^ Genesis 22:24.
  90. ^ See, e.g., The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash, at 115.
  91. ^ Antiquities, 1:11:3.
  92. ^ Wisdom 10:6–7.
  93. ^ Mishnah Avot 5:3.
  94. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sotah 14a.
  95. ^ Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.
  96. ^ Genesis Rabbah 52:5.
  97. ^ Genesis Rabbah 48:2.
  98. ^ Genesis Rabbah 48:4.
  99. ^ Genesis Rabbah 48:1.
  100. ^ Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 27a.
  101. ^ Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 127a.
  102. ^ Tosefta Sotah 4:1–6.
  103. ^ Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 86b.
  104. ^ Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:36.
  105. ^ Ecclesiastes 1:16.
  106. ^ Ecclesiastes 1:16.
  107. ^ 1 Kings 3:9.
  108. ^ 2 Kings 5:26.
  109. ^ 1 Samuel 17:32.
  110. ^ Ezekiel 22:14.
  111. ^ Psalm 16:9.
  112. ^ Lamentations 2:18.
  113. ^ Isaiah 40:2.
  114. ^ Deuteronomy 15:10.
  115. ^ Exodus 9:12..
  116. ^ Deuteronomy 20:3.
  117. ^ Genesis 6:6.
  118. ^ Deuteronomy 28:67.
  119. ^ Psalm 51:19.
  120. ^ Deuteronomy 8:14.
  121. ^ Jeremiah 5:23.
  122. ^ 1 Kings 12:33.
  123. ^ Deuteronomy 29:18.
  124. ^ Psalm 45:2.
  125. ^ Proverbs 19:21.
  126. ^ Psalm 21:3.
  127. ^ Proverbs 7:25.
  128. ^ Numbers 15:39.
  129. ^ Genesis 31:20.
  130. ^ Leviticus 26:41.
  131. ^ Genesis 34:3.
  132. ^ Isaiah 21:4.
  133. ^ 1 Samuel 4:13.
  134. ^ Song of Songs 5:2.
  135. ^ Deuteronomy 6:5.
  136. ^ Leviticus 19:17.
  137. ^ Proverbs 23:17.
  138. ^ Jeremiah 17:10.
  139. ^ Joel 2:13.
  140. ^ Psalm 49:4.
  141. ^ Jeremiah 20:9.
  142. ^ Ezekiel 36:26.
  143. ^ 2 Kings 23:25.
  144. ^ Deuteronomy 19:6.
  145. ^ 1 Samuel 25:37.
  146. ^ Joshua 7:5.
  147. ^ Deuteronomy 6:6.
  148. ^ Jeremiah 32:40.
  149. ^ Psalm 111:1.
  150. ^ Proverbs 6:25.
  151. ^ Proverbs 28:14.
  152. ^ Judges 16:25.
  153. ^ Proverbs 12:20.
  154. ^ 1 Samuel 1:13.
  155. ^ Jeremiah 22:17.
  156. ^ Proverbs 3:3.
  157. ^ Proverbs 6:18.
  158. ^ Proverbs 10:8.
  159. ^ Obadiah 1:3.
  160. ^ Proverbs 16:1.
  161. ^ 2 Chronicles 25:19.
  162. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 77a.
  163. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 65b.
  164. ^ Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.
  165. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38b.
  166. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 63a.
  167. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 79a.
  168. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38b.
  169. ^ Mishnah Avot 5:10.
  170. ^ Tosefta Sotah 3:11–12; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.
  171. ^ Tosefta Sotah 3:12.
  172. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.
  173. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.
  174. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b.
  175. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b.
  176. ^ Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer 25.
  177. ^ Genesis Rabbah 49:13.
  178. ^ Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 16b.
  179. ^ Genesis Rabbah 50:1.
  180. ^ Genesis Rabbah 50:2.
  181. ^ Genesis Rabbah 50:5.
  182. ^ Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 93b.
  183. ^ Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 94a.
  184. ^ Tosefta Sanhedrin 14:4.
  185. ^ Tosefta Taanit 2:13.
  186. ^ Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 43a; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b.
  187. ^ Genesis Rabbah 51:6.
  188. ^ Midrash Tanhuma Vayeira 9.
  189. ^ Babylonian Talmud Nazir 23b.
  190. ^ Genesis Rabbah 52:5.
  191. ^ Midrash Tanhuma Vayeitzei 12.
  192. ^ Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:7.
  193. ^ Tosefta Bava Kamma 9:29.
  194. ^ Babylonian Talmud Megillah 28a, Bava Kamma 93a.
  195. ^ Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 92a.
  196. ^ Babylonian Talmud Megillah 31a.
  197. ^ Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.
  198. ^ Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119b.
  199. ^ Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 56b.
  200. ^ Babylonian Talmud Megillah 14a.
  201. ^ Genesis Rabbah 94:4.
  202. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.
  203. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.
  204. ^ Genesis Rabbah 55:6.
  205. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.
  206. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.
  207. ^ Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 4a, Yoma 28b.
  208. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 105b.
  209. ^ Sifra 1:4.
  210. ^ Genesis Rabbah 56:7.
  211. ^ Genesis Rabbah 56:9. See also Leviticus Rabbah 29:10.
  212. ^ Leviticus Rabbah 29:10.
  213. ^ Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 54a. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Elucidated by Avraham Neuberger, Nesanel Kasnett, Abba Zvi Naiman, Zev Meisels, Dovid Kamenetsky, and Eliexer Herzka; edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz, volume 10, page 54a2. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-57819-662-0.
  214. ^ Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 62b. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Elucidated by Yosef Widroff, Mendy Wachsman, Israel Schneider, and Zev Meisels; edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz, volume 2, page 62b4–5. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. ISBN 1-57819-601-9.
  215. ^ Exodus Rabbah 1:12.
  216. ^ Exodus Rabbah 1:13.
  217. ^ Exodus Rabbah 1:18.
  218. ^ Genesis Rabbah 56:11.
  219. ^ Genesis Rabbah 65:10.
  220. ^ Midrash Tanhuma Vayeira 23.
  221. ^ Genesis Rabbah 94:5.
  222. ^ Genesis Rabbah 64:3.
  223. ^ Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.
  224. ^ Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 126. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.
  225. ^ Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 111. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9.
  226. ^ Davis, at 111; Tabory, at 126.
  227. ^ Davis, at 108; Tabory, at 123.
  228. ^ Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, 14. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.
  229. ^ Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 27–31. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.
  230. ^ Genesis 18:1–15; 2 Kings 4:8–16.
  231. ^ Genesis 18:12; 2 Kings 4:14.
  232. ^ Genesis 18:10; 2 Kings 4:16.
  233. ^ Genesis 21:1–2; 2 Kings 4:17.
  234. ^ Genesis  22:1–10; 2 Kings 4:18–20.
  235. ^ Genesis 22:11–12; 2 Kings 4:32–37.
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Last modified on 15 April 2013, at 06:52