The Torah selection for this Shabbat, Parashat Vayera, continues to share the narrative of the life of Abraham and Sarah. The reading begins with a visit by G-d to Abraham. The traditional commentators explain that G-d was obligated to "visit" Abraham as he recovered from his circumcision. Bikkur Holim, the duty to support the ill, has its origins in a "divine" encounter.

After his recovery from the circumcision, Abraham greets the three messengers from G-d. Abraham displays the hospitality of the Middle East. Hachnasat Orchim, courtesy to visitors, is enshrined as a Jewish value. The commentators were intrigued by the offer of "curd, milk, and cattle" to the guests. Does not this violate the dietary laws of Judaism? This dilemma is "solved" by noting that the milk was served before and independently of the meat. Christian commentators utilize this verse to demonstrate Abraham as a "knight of faith" who was not bound by the observance of Jewish law.

The messenger informs Abraham that Sarah will bear a child in her old age. Sarah laughs at the prospect of two elderly individuals having a son. However, when G-d shares Sarah's reaction with Abraham, He "distorts" the truth for the sake of peace between husband and wife. G-d reports that Sarah only claimed she was old, not her husband.

G-d cannot withhold from Abraham his intentions to destroy the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This remarkable passage in the Torah has Abraham calling G-d to task for not implementing divine justice. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?" Abraham is most noble in challenging the divine sense of justice. However, there are not even ten righteous individuals in Sodom.

Jewish lore embellished upon the sins of Sodom. The sages accused Sodom of lack of hospitality to strangers. They imagined that the people of Sodom put large visitors in tiny beds and stretched small visitors in large beds. The Torah speaks of the "cry of Sodom". Because the Hebrew language is feminine, the Midrash wove the story of the piercing, agonizing cry of a punished woman. For assisting needy strangers, the gracious woman of Sodom was tied to a tree and smeared with honey. The bees stung her until she died. Her cry came before the heavenly throne. Through the art of the Midrash, tradition made the sins of Sodom unforgivable.
However, the written Torah itself is very clear about the nature of Sodom. The Sodomites demand that Lot deliver the two visitors in his home. They want to rape these men. Strangely, Lot offers the Sodomites his two daughters instead of his visitors. Does this demonstrate Lot's hospitality to the strangers or his animosity towards his daughters? The messengers miraculously save Lot and his family from the mob of Sodom.

Lot and his family escape the city of Sodom. However, his two sons-in-law remain in the city. The messengers from G-d warn the fleeing family not to look back upon the destruction of the city. Lot's wife looks behind at Sodom and is transformed into a pillar of salt. A pillar in the Dead Sea region has today been named in honor of her. Jewish lore claims that Lot's wife refused to provide her visitors with any salt when feeding them. As quid-pro-quo for her sin, she is turned into salt.

Lot's daughters assume that humanity has come to an end with the destruction of Sodom. They intoxicate their father and are physically intimate with him. The resulting children of these incestuous relations are Moab and Ben Ami. This narrative justifies why Israel cannot marry into the nations of the Moabites and the Ammonites. Ironically, Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David is from Moab. Tradition exonerates Ruth's marriage to Boaz by asserting that the prohibition of marriage did not extend to women.

Genesis chapter 20 again presents another variation of the wife-sister motif. Here, Abraham informs Avimelech, king of Gerar, that Sarah is his sister rather than his wife. In this fuller version of the wife-sister motif, G-d informs Avimelech by way of a dream that Sarah is indeed the wife of Abraham. Avimelech is guilt-ridden for having brought Sarah into his harem. Abraham explains to Avimelech that Sarah is his half-sister. The wife-sister narratives have disturbed both traditional and modern commentators.

Genesis chapter 21 shares the birth of Isaac. At the age of eight days, Isaac is circumcised. As the Torah states this obligation clearly, the mitzvah of circumcision at eight days is paramount in Judaism. The weaning of a child evidently was celebrated with a major feast in Biblical times. Sarah notes that Ishmael, Abraham's older son, is "making sport". Commentators have suggested that this phrase might imply Ishmael's deriding Isaac's studious, introverted nature. Other interpreters see the conflict as one over inheritance. Finally, some others analyze "making sport" in a sexual sense, which truly would have angered Sarah.

Abraham does not wish to expel Hagar and Ishmael. Some interpreters view this as a reflection of Babylonian law. A son from a concubine could be "adopted" as a legitimate heir of the family. Therefore, to expel such a son would be "illegal". Therefore, Abraham requires divine approval to exile Hagar and Ishmael. Obviously, on a simple emotional level, the expelling of his biological son would have caused Abraham great anguish.

Hagar flees with Ishmael. Fearing he will die of thirst, the mother casts him under a shrub. Hagar's cry is heard by G-d. A messenger from G-d responds to Hagar's plight and informs her that Ishmael will be the father of a great people. G-d opens Hagar's eyes and she notices a well. The insight of the sages is that the well was present all the time, but in her distress Hagar did not notice its presence. Ishmael survives and thrives in the wilderness. He marries an Egyptian woman.

Our Torah selection continues with a quarrel between Abraham and Avimelech over a well of water. The two men make a peace treaty and Abraham gives Avimelech animal gifts. The place of the covenant is called, "Beersheva", meaning "the well of the oath" or "the well of the seven (lambs)". In modern Israel, Beersheva is known as the capital of the Negev Desert. With recent immigration to Israel, it has shed its old image as a dusty, off-the beaten path town. Many urban planners feel that Beersheva could serve as the major growth area for Israel. Although in the northern Negev, Beersheva is within commuting distance to the suburbs of greater Tel Aviv.

Genesis 22 is the famous episode known as "Akedat Yitzhak", the "Binding of Isaac". Abraham is told to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac to G-d. The narrative has raised as many questions as it has answered. Did the G-d of love and compassion actually ask Abraham to sacrifice his beloved child? Does G-d sometimes make cruel demands of us that are beyond our comprehension? Why was Abraham willing to debate G-d for the people of Sodom who were strangers yet silent when G-d demanded the life of his son? Should Abraham have responded, "No" to G-d's request?

Jewish lore identifies the "land of Moriah" with the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. The written Torah, however, does not share a precise location. The two young men accompanying Abraham and Isaac are identified as Eliezer and Ishmael. The narrative is praised for the sparseness of description and dialogue. Abraham's response to both G-d and Isaac is "Hineni", "Here I am". The emphasis upon the "the two of them went together" teaches the unity of father and son. Jewish lore has Isaac acutely aware of what is transpiring. The written Torah is ambiguous on this point. The messenger from G-d prevents Abraham from slaughtering his son. A ram caught in a bush is offered instead. Tradition associates the shofar of the High Holy Days and the ram of the narrative. This bond is broadened as the Binding of Isaac is read on the Second Day of Rosh Hashanah.

G-d blesses Abraham for his ultimate obedience. Abraham will be the father of a large nation. All the nations of humanity will be blessed through Abraham. This interrelationship of Abraham and all humanity holds a special place in fundamentalist Christianity today as well as recent Catholic writings on Judaism. All people are blessed if they are respectful of the children of Abraham.

The greatness of the story of the Binding of Isaac lies in the questions it raises. Is this narrative a polemic against human sacrifice? Is the episode the ultimate test of Abraham's faith? Some contemporary writers turn the story on its head and assert that Abraham failed the test because he was willing to offer his son. As a loving parent and seeker of justice, he should have refused. Others claim that sometimes G-d does make absurd demands of us and we must heed them. G-d is portrayed as above and beyond human ethics; He is meta-ethical. The great Christian thinker Kierkegaard and his Jewish counterpart, Leibowitz, conceive of G-d as beyond our ethical notions. The ultimate test of faith is to heed G-d even when we do not understand His commands rationally!

Jewish lore notes that Sarah responded very differently to the Binding of Isaac. The Midrash has Satan inform Sarah that Abraham has taken Isaac to be sacrificed and that her son is dead. Sarah is overwhelmed with grief and also dies. The very next Torah selection begins with Sarah's burial. Some claim this shows the greatness of Sarah as a mother as opposed to a distant father. A mother would never agree to slaughter her child! Others interpret this to show Sarah's frailty in comparison to her husband's faith.

There is one strand of analysis that claims that Abraham actually killed Isaac. The child was then resurrected. Christian commentators see a foreshadowing of the life of Jesus in the narrative. Jewish interpreters portray Isaac as embodying "tehiyat hametim", G-d giving life to the dead. Isaac was the inspiration for Jewish parents throughout the Crusades. Many fathers had to slaughter their children as martyrs rather than see them converted to Christianity. During this period of intense suffering, medieval Jews personally identified with Abraham and his choice.

The Torah selection concludes with the lineage of Abraham's clan. Abraham's brother Nahor had eight children. His son Betuel was the father of Rebecca. The genealogy of Rebecca provides the backdrop to the story of Isaac.