In Vayera, Avraham is faced with the greatest test God ever gave Man. After a century of waiting for a child who would inherit his covenant with God, Avraham is asked to offer Yitzhak as a sacrifice to God. The very same Avraham who stood up and protested God’s actions against Sodom and ‘Amora, now complies without blinking an eye. What is it about Avraham that enables him to make the right decisions?

The commentators offer a couple of clues. In 22:3, Avraham rises early in the morning and saddles his own donkey, and brings with him wood for the altar. The addition of the detail of the wood prompts the Ramban to ask: wouldn’t there be wood where Avraham was going?

ויבקע עצי עולה – זריזותו במצוה, אולי לא ימצא שם במקום ההוא עצים והוליכם שלשה ימים, או שהיה אברהם פוסל לקרבן עץ שנמצא בו תולעת כדין התורה (מדות ב ה), ולקח מביתו עצים טובים לעולה, וכן אמר ויבקע עצי עולה

And he chopped wood for the offering – his zrizut in the mitvah, for perhaps he wouldn’t find any wood in the place after they had traveled three days, or that Avraham would discover that the wood found there is unfit for offerings after finding maggots in the wood, so he brought from his house good wood.

This is strange. Zrizut is classically translated as zealousness. As per the talmudic dictum – זריזינן מקדימים למצוות (zrizin are first to mitzvot) – zrizut carries an image of celerity, of being the first guy to show up. But here, the Ramban’s use of zrizut has nothing to do with being fast. Avraham’s zrizut is here characterized by thinking ahead.

A fuller picture is given to us the very next verse, 22:4. The Torah reveals that Avraham traveled for three days to get to Mount Moriah. The obvious question is: why make Avraham travel for three whole days? Why not have Avraham do the deed where he stands?

Rashi explains:

ביום השלישי – למה איחר מלהראותו מיד, כדי שלא יאמרו הממו וערבבו פתאום וטרד דעתו, ואילו היה לו שהות להמלך אל לבו לא היה עושה

On the third day – Why did God draw it out and not reveal it immediately? In order that (they) might not say he was surprised and confused suddenly, and if he had time to think about it he would have changed his mind and not done it.

The benefit of making Avraham travel for so long was to give him time to think it out. He could have walked out if he wanted to, but he chose not to. The Ramban really drives this point home. By giving Avraham days to think about the act, Avraham’s action became not a hasty, thoughtless, and rash reaction, but one driven by counsel and forethought.

And that’s the core of zrizut. Zrizut is not about doing the mitzvah as fast as possible, but about doing it as thoughtfully as possible. When we acquire forethought and proper intention (or in the Ramban’s words, דעת ועצה), we can refocus our deeds. When we are first to minyan or first to lend a helping hand, it is not a thoughtless reaction, but a thoughtful action, a decision to be a better person.

On Mount Moriah, God showed us the heights of human capability. Let us take this lesson and be the best people we can be.

[cross-posted on divreidavid]

Prayer For The Sick

Parshat Vaeira starts with HaShem visiting Avraham while he is sitting outside his tent recovering from his Brit Milah. Rashi brings from the Gemarrah that this is where we learn out the importance of Bikur Cholim, visiting the sick. ¹According to the Chachat Adam (151:3) the main point of Bikur Cholim is davening for the sick person while visiting him. In fact, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (193:3) rules that one has not fulfilled the mitzvah of Bikur Cholim if he does not daven to HaShem while visiting the sick. We learn that the Shechina comes to rest at the head of all sick people; thus, praying while visiting a sick person is considered praying directly in front of HaShem.

Avraham and Sodom

As the Parsha progresses, Avraham is told that Sodom and Amorrah will be destroyed. Unlike Noach, who did not protest when told that the world would be destroyed, Avraham takes advantage of the fact that Hashem is still visiting him (וְאַבְרָהָם–עוֹדֶנּוּ עֹמֵד, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. Bereishit 18:22) and steps forward to protest the destruction of these cities. Avraham tells Hashem that it is unjust to destroy the righteous people of a city along with the unrighteous and begs HaShem to save the city if He can find only 50 righteous inhabitants. Avraham then continues to press Hashem, getting Him to agree to save the whole land if there are 45, 40, 30, 20 and finally just 10 righteous people among the entire populace.

There are two interesting themes in Avraham’s pleas to Hashem. First, throughout his pleading with Hashem, Avraham continually speaks to Hashem’s Middat HaDin, Attribute of Justice.

חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשֹׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה, לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם-רָשָׁע, וְהָיָה כַצַּדִּיק, כָּרָשָׁע; חָלִלָה לָּךְ–הֲשֹׁפֵט כָּל-הָאָרֶץ, לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט.

That be far from You to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from You; shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?’

Avraham speaks out about the apparent lack of justice in HaShem’s actions if He would destroy the land without taking the existence of righteous people into account. Avraham’s pleas were ultimately effective and Hashem agreed that if there were just 10 righteous people the cities wouldn’t be destroyed. However, not even 10 existed and the decree to destroy Sodom and Amorrah remained in effect.

Second, we see a repeating theme of Avraham expressing his humility and apprehension in having the gall to question Hashem. Avraham says:

Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, I who am but dust and ashes.	הִנֵּה-נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל-אֲדֹנָי, וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר.
And he said: ‘Oh, let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak.	וַיֹּאמֶר אַל-נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי, וַאֲדַבֵּרָה
‘Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD.	הִנֵּה-נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל-אֲדֹנָי
‘Oh, let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once.	אַל-נָא יִחַר לַאדֹנָי, וַאֲדַבְּרָה אַךְ-הַפַּעַם

The Prayer of Lot

The Parsha then moves on to Lot and his escape from Sodom. As Lot and his daughters are fleeing Sodom, Lot calls out the the angels, using the Middat HaRachamim, the Attribute of Mercy. Lot says that he cannot climb up the mountain and can he please stay in the city of Tzoar. His request is granted and the city of Tzoar is saved.

הִנֵּה-נָא מָצָא עַבְדְּךָ חֵן, בְּעֵינֶיךָ, וַתַּגְדֵּל חַסְדְּךָ אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי, לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת-נַפְשִׁי; וְאָנֹכִי, לֹא אוּכַל לְהִמָּלֵט הָהָרָה–פֶּן-תִּדְבָּקַנִי הָרָעָה, וָמַתִּי. הִנֵּה-נָא הָעִיר הַזֹּאת קְרֹבָה, לָנוּס שָׁמָּה–וְהִוא מִצְעָר; אִמָּלְטָה נָּא שָׁמָּה, הֲלֹא מִצְעָר הִוא–וּתְחִי נַפְשִׁי.וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו–הִנֵּה נָשָׂאתִי פָנֶיךָ, גַּם לַדָּבָר הַזֶּה:  לְבִלְתִּי הָפְכִּי אֶת-הָעִיר, אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתָּ.

Behold now, your servant has found grace in your sight, and You have magnified your mercy, which You have shown me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die. Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one; oh, let me escape thither–is it not a little one?–and my soul shall live.’ And He said unto him: ‘See, I have accepted you concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

Avraham and Avimelech

Once Sodom is destroyed, Avraham immediately leaves and goes to Gerrar. While there, he and Sarah relive their previous experience in Egypt where Sarah was taken away from Avraham by the king Avimelech. This time, however, the story plays out slightly differently, and instead of the great afflictions the were given to the Egyptians, Hashem had prevented all the women in Avimelech’s house from giving birth. It says there:

וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אַבְרָהָם, אֶל-הָאֱלֹהִים; וַיִּרְפָּא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-אֲבִימֶלֶךְ וְאֶת-אִשְׁתּוֹ, וְאַמְהֹתָיו–וַיֵּלֵדוּ.

And Abraham prayed unto God; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bore children.

Chazal learn from this story the concept of Hamitpalel b’ad chaveiro, vhu tzarich oto davar, hu ne’eneh tchilah – that if someone prays for someone else, and the one who prays is in need of the same thing, the one praying is answered first by HaShem. Chazal say that this prayer by Avraham for the household of Avimelech was part of the catalyst that enabled Sarah to have a child as well.

Yishmael Cries Out

The parsha continues with the story of Sarah telling Avraham to kick out Yishmael and Hagar because of Yishmael’s bad influence on Yitzchak. They are sent away, and end up in the desert without water. Hagar leaves Yishmael to die and an amazing thing happens. Yishmael, in his weak and pitied state cries out to Hashem. The pasuk states:

וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים, אֶת-קוֹל הַנַּעַר, וַיִּקְרָא מַלְאַךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶל-הָגָר מִן-הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַה-לָּךְ הָגָר; אַל-תִּירְאִי, כִּי-שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶל-קוֹל הַנַּעַר בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא-שָׁם.

And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her: ‘What ails you, Hagar? fear not; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

Why does the Pasuk say “בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא-שָׁם, where he is”? Chazal learn from this that even though Yishmael was such an evil person to deserve being sent away, he still was able to do Teshuvah by repenting in his weakened and starved state.  When he finally calls out to HaShem in prayer, HaShem listens to his request on the heightened spiritual level he had reached in his desperation and saves him from death.  Thus we see that HaShem judges people on their current spiritual levels, not on their past or future actions.

The Sacrifice of Yitzchak

The Parsha concludes with the most intense example of prayer yet. Hashem tests Avraham by telling him to bring Yitzchak his son as a sacrifice. The Gemarrah (I think in Yuma) notes that when someone brought one of the sin offerings, he was supposed to feel as if he was sacrificing himself on the Mizbeach (altar) rather than the animal. (It is also well known that the prayers that we have today, Shacharit, Mussaf, Mincha and Maariv, are all connected to the sacrifices that they used to bring in the Beit HaMikdash.)

The self-sacrifice evidenced by Avraham and Yitzchak in this story is part of why the Torah reading of Akeidat Yitzchak is read on Rosh Hashana. We use this passage to show Hashem that we are prepared to devote ourselves to Him fully in the upcoming year.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many different elements of prayer that are highlighted in this Parsha. We learn that there are times when prayer is more readily accepted than others. We see how there are times that it is best to pray to Hashem’s attribute of Justice and other times when asking for mercy is the better route. We see that even someone as great as Avraham has to be ashamed to be making requests of Hashem, and even those as lowly as Yishmael and Lot can have their prayers answered. We also see the power of praying for other people. Finally we see that prayer can be expressed not just through words, but through a display of utter devotion to Hashem through our actions.

If you made it this far, leave a comment about what strategies you have to have more Kavannah during Tefillah.

וַיְהִי, אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וְהָ’ נִסָּה אֶת-אַבְרָהָם; וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי.

There is a well-known Ramban on this pasuk: that Hashem tests people in order to bring their inner potential into actuality. He sets up nisayons (tests) specifically for that purpose: so that we can either gain the reward of putting our inner potential into action or not receive the reward if we do not complete the test.

To go on a brief tangent..I recently read an interesting Nesivos Shalom on the idea of korbanos/sacrificing¹.  His discussion occurs within the context of improving middos (character traits). He states that the essence of bringing a korban to Hashem is to sacrifice part of yourself in the process; what you are sacrificing is the middah which is the most difficult for you to overcome. By working tirelessly to change that middah, you are making a true korban to Hashem.The actual sacrifice (the animal or other object) is not as crucial as the inner-growth that are you supposed to be achieving.

I think that Avraham’s sacrifice read in this light of this drash brings up many questions. What middah is Avraham being asked to sacrifice? One possible conclusion is that he is being asked to sacrifice his rachmanus (mercy)/chesed: by killing his heir, his beloved, waited-for son, he is expressing the antithesis of rachmanus and chesed. Which brings me to a counterpoint: Avraham was praised for is known by his middah of chesed! How is it that this can be considered a “bad middah” that he is being required to sacrifice?

I think that the answer is found in another well-known idea. The middah that we are praised for and the one which is at the core of our success, can also be the source of our greatest struggles. Take for instance a person who is very independent; while this middah gives him many great benefits, it can also be a stumbling block: he can be reluctant to ask for help when he needs it for fear that others will perceive him as being weak or incompetent. The same was true with Avraham: his outpouring of chesed is a gift which has lasted the Jewish people until this day. His chesed also caused some problems: he was reluctant to send away Ishmael (a negative influence on Yitzchak) and his decision to make a long-term peace treaty with Avimelech may have been one of the reasons why Hashem commanded him to perform the akeidah.²

I think that Avraham’s experience in the akeidah teaches us a great deal about how to go about working on our middos. When our best middah is entangled with negative aspects, Hashem will put us into situations where that middah is “purified”. As Ramban stated, we can either choose to work on that middah or we can continue to have our middah entrenched with negativity. Ultimately, we can strive to become like Avraham Avinu, who woke up early in the morning and with great joy, entered into a tremendous nisayon without a word of protest.

Shabbat shalom, Allison