Vayera 1
In the Tent and Beyond...
Something very special strikes me about the comparison between this week's Torah portion and Haftarah reading ( 2 Kings 4:1-37). In these readings, two childless couples receive the news that they will become parents. But, in each case, only one of the parents-to-be is singled out to receive the news.
In the Torah portion of Yayera, it is Abraham who received the news that he and Sarah would have a son. In the Haftarah, it is the Shunamit woman who receives the news that she and her husband would become parents.
I wonder...Whey were Abraham and the Shunamit woman chosen to receive the divine message?
Do you remember the story in the Torah? When Abraham ran to greet the heavenly messengers, they asked him: "Where is Sarah, your wife?" And Abraham replied: "In the tent."
Most commentators take the fact that Sarah stayed back in the tent as a good thing - as an indication of Sarah's modesty. However, I am struck by the linguistic parallel between the simple question the messengers asked Abraham regarding Sarah's whereabouts and the extremely similar sounding question that God put to Cain, knowing full well that Cain had already murdered Abel. God asked Cain very simply: "Where is Abel, your brother?" Perhaps in asking the question, God wanted to give Cain a chance to repent...but, certainly, this question implied some degree of censure.
This linguistic parallel made me wonder...Could it be that there was something wrong with Sarah's staying back in the tent...? Could it be that the question in the Torah portion: "Where is Sarah, your wife" also implied some degree of censure?!
Where should Sarah have been? Perhaps Sarah should have been outside with Abraham, performing the mitzvah of hospitality. Perhaps the question "Where is Sarah, your wife" indicates that the messengers were looking for Sarah to give her God's message, but this was not to be because Sarah remained in her tent.
In contrast, the Shunamit woman is described as conscientiously performing the mitzvah of hospitality. Unlike Sarah, the Shunamit woman tells us where she is, saying: "I dwell in the midst of my own people." Perhaps it is because of her send of connection and dedication that she is chosen to receive the message that is part of God's plan to safeguard the continuity of the generations. In fact, it was through her on-going contact with the Divine, even after she became a mother, that she ensured the survival of her son.
What a blessing it is to be able to feel in our hearts that we, like Abraham and like the Shunamit woman of ancient times, can dwell in the midst of our own people and in connection with the divine as well, even as we reach out and interact with those around us!