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Parshas Vayeira - Gan Eden Revisited

By Avraham Cohen

Posted on 11/20/16

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

 If you are familiar with R’ David Fohrman’s writings, you know that he has made a name for himself by advancing the concept of ‘overlapping texts’ in the Torah – that is, similar textual references from different Scriptural narratives juxtaposed against one another. Rabbi Fohrman argues that since most Biblical texts are very condensed, with an extreme economy of words, that similar textual references in otherwise independent parshiyos can be contrasted and compared with one another – to give deeper, multi-layered meaning to at least one of the narratives under discussion. This is truly fascinating material, and it’s highly recommended that you take time to read two short volumes that he has published using this methodology: “The Beast That Crouches at the Door” (an enthralling exposition of Parshas Bereishis) and “The Queen You Thought You Knew” (A unique revelation of wonderful, hidden messages in Megillas Esther).


 B’aniyas daati, it seems that this method of Torah exegesis can be applied to the very first aliyah in this week’s parshah:


 One of the first things that strikes the careful reader is the numerous repetitions of the phrase pesach ha’ohel – the entrance (or opening) of the tent. Avraham was “sitting at the entrance of the tent” [Genesis 18:1]; “and he ran toward (the guests) from the entrance of the tent” [ibid v.2]; “Now Sarah heard at the entrance of the tent” [ibid v.10]. In each of these cases, someone is sitting (perhaps, crouching) at the pesach – the entrance – to the tent, poised to do a mitzvah of chessed, or waiting to hear what the heavenly messenger would say.


 Where have we heard this turn of phrase before – crouching at the entrance? Of course, we know – when G-d speaks to the despondent Cain, after Cain’s offering of ‘average’ fruits has been rejected: “Why are you annoyed, and why has your countenance fallen? Is it not true that if you do good, you will be forgiven? But if you do not do good, at the entrance (pesach) sin crouches; its longing is toward you, yet you will rule over it” [Genesis 4:6-7]. And we also know that Cain does not rule over it, and we are literary witnesses to the first murder in history.


 So, you say,”Fine; here is this one curious connection between this week’s parshah and parshas Bereshis. But, what of it? If you’re trying to show a real link between these two narratives, you’re going to need more than one strand of evidence!”


 True enough. So consider the following: In parshas Bereishis, G-d asks Adam the transcendental question, “ayehka [alef • yud • kaf • heh] – where are you?” [ibid 3:9]. And later on, G-d asks Cain,”Ai [alef • yud]  hevel achicha – where is Abel your brother? [ibid 4:9].


 Amazingly enough, in this week’s parshah, we also have a double reference to this unusual word for ‘where’!


 ”Va’yomru eilav [alef • lamed • yud • vav], ahyay [alef • yud • heh] Sarah esh’teh’cha – They said to him (i.e. Avraham), ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’” [ibid 18:9]. One reference to the word ‘where’ is in plain sight (i.e. ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’). However, the second reference is hidden in the word “eilav – to him”.


 Looking carefully at the letters as they are written in the Torah scroll, you will find that the letters [alef • yud and vav] (in the word eilav) have dots over them (but not the letter lamed). Rashi zt”l tells us that when we find the phenomenon of a word with dotted letters in the Torah (in itself, a rare occurrence), we should expound on those letters which are in the majority: either those that are dotted, or the ones that are not. In this case, the dotted letters are in the majority, and they spell out our enigmatic word ‘where’. Whereas the second ‘where’ reference clearly refers to Sarah, Rashi tells us that the first (hidden) ‘where’ reference is referring to Avraham.


 But there’s more. In this week’s parshah, we are told twice that the angelic guests are reclining under “the tree” (ha’etz), and it is there they will “eat” the food presented to them by their hosts, Avraham and Sarah [Genesis 18:4-5 and 18:8]. Multiple references to “the tree” and to “eating” bring to mind another special Tree where the mortal inhabitants of the Garden are told not to eat from it. w In parshas Bereishis, Chava is the “mother of all living (things)” [ibid 3:20] and, together with Adam, gives birth to the sons whom they hope will carry on after them. In our parshah, we are told that one of the angels will return to Avraham and Sarah “at the time of life” (ka’ais Chaya) and that Sarah and Avraham will have their long-awaited son. w Finally, after hearing that at ninety years old she will bear a child, Sarah exclaims, “acharei v’lo’see hai’sa li edna – after I am withered (or, old), will I have edna?” [ibid 18:12]. Whatever edna means (pleasure; clear skin; a return to biological potential), it is written with the same letters as in Gan Eden, a very unusual construct found only here and in parshas Bereishis.


 There seem to be too many cross-references to be merely coincidence. What’s going on here? Can we somehow overlay one parshah over the other to learn something new that was not clearly revealed in either parshah alone? Even though the cross-references point to parallels between the two narratives, how does the juxtaposition of the two stories highlight their differences, and what new lessons can we learn from pitting one chronicle against the other?


 To cut to the chase, it seems that the actions of Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu are the remedy for everything that went wrong in ma’asei Bereishis. In many ways, what happens in each parshah is very similar: husband and wife in their unique environments, oversight and visitation by supreme spiritual Beings, the yearning for life and children and progeny to carry on, moral choices that must be made from the beginning – at the entrance to the tent where our moral profile takes shape.


 Cain’s murder of his brother Abel was, according to many midrashim, motivated by greed and jealously, a desire to rule over what the other possessed. Sin crouched at the doorway and brought out selfish justification that resulted in the loss of life and the squandering of a potentially vital future. Avraham – recovering from a bris milah at age ninety-nine, sitting at the doorway of his tent in the mideastern heat when the day was hottest – nevertheless thought nothing about his pain and discomfort and ran to greet the guests and offer them food, drink and superhuman acts of kindness and human compassion. Sarah is his helpmeet; together the two of them go about changing their world to a place of caring and succor, a miniature gan eden of sorts.


 My very first Chumash teacher was Professor Nechamah Leibowitz (1969-1970), who taught American students at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem during their Junior Year Abroad, many of them (like myself) who had no background whatsoever in traditional Biblical exegesis. Here’s what she had to say about Avraham’s unbelievable acts of chessed that we read about in this week’s parshah: “At first the Torah tells us that the malachim (angels) stood over Avraham, since the Torah tells us that when they first arrived “nee’tza’veem ah’lav” i.e. they stood over him. But after Avraham ignores the pain of his bris milah and runs to serve his guests, preparing a literal feast for them with his own hands (enlisting the help of his wife and son), the Torah tells us that ‘v’hu o’made ah’lai’hem” he stood over them! Through his superhuman acts of chessed, Avraham (and Sarah) became even greater than the angels!”


 Unlike Adam and Chava, Avraham and Sarah stood under the Tree, adhering to the mitzvos of their Creator, serving Him and reaching out to others, never wanting to overstep the boundaries set for them by the Holy One, Blessed be He. Unlike Cain, they did not want to rule over others and take from them, but rather wanted only to share whatever bounty they had to bring others closer to their spiritual Universe. Even though “Avraham and Sarah were old, well on in years” [ibid 18:11] and they did not know who would continue their legacy – they did not give up hope and continued to trust in G-d and His promises to them. From the entranceway to their tent, sin never had a chance; rather love and kindness and giving sprang forth from that pesach, making this Patriarch and Matriarch the greatest of historical figures. Even though they went through times of spiritual doubts and confusion (encoded in the word v’lo’see, confusion and loosing physical strength), they nevertheless never gave up hope that their own redemption would arrive at their own doorway.


 Sarah Imeinu tells us how we can regain Eden – that magical place where there are no worries and our needs are taken care of by the Master of the Universe. We can create that state of Eden in our own tents and in our own lives by adhering to the words of the Master and reaching out unstintingly to our fellow man.


 “Is anything beyond Hashem? At this appointed time I will return to you and there will be life” [ibid 18:14].


Let kindness and compassion spring from the entrances to our homes, and may Hashem grant us glimpses of Gan Eden and bring the geulah shleimah b’karov b’ya’meinu.