Parsha Pizzazz - Vayeira

What's Bothering Avrohom?

Three days after Avrohom's Brit Milah (circumcision), he was resting in his tent. He wasn't happy. He was tired and he didn't feel well but that's not the reason he was feeling down.

What was wrong?

Well, it was an incredibly hot, scorching desert day - but that didn't bother him either. So what was the problem?

The problem was that the roads were empty. No one wanted to travel on such a sweltering day. And that's exactly what was bothering Avrohom - there were no desert travelers to be found as far as the eye could see! How would he perform the mitzvah of Hachnassat Orchim (welcoming guests)?

Of course, HaShem had made the weather unbearably hot for that very reason: in order to give Avrohom a break from having guests so that he could rest and feel better. But when HaShem saw how sad this made Avrohom, He had to do something to help him.

You Are Cordially Invited

Just then, Avrohom looked up and saw three men walking down the road. He was so excited. "Guests!" he shouted, and jumped up from his seat. His feet flew as he ran to greet the travelers.

Who were these strangers? They were, in fact, angels (malachim) sent by HaShem - Gavriel, Michoel, and Rafael - just so Avrohom could welcome guests and serve them. Each of the three was sent with a different mission. Rafael was the healer, who came to make Avrohom feel better.

"Please come to my tent!" Avrohom said to the travelers. "You can wash your feet! I will serve you delicious food and give you water to drink! Please come!"

What else could they do? Of course they accepted Avrohom's invitation.

Avrohom's Restaurant

The three guests washed up and sat down in the shade. Avrohom sent his helpers to bring the guests some cool, refreshing water. Meanwhile, Avrohom brought out milk and cheese as appetizers, and sent his son Yishmael to prepare three cows for their meal.

A whole cow for each man? That's quite a lot of food - enough to make thousands of burgers! But Avrohom wasn't planning to serve the entire animals - just the tongues, which were, of course, the very best part (especially the way he served it, with spicy mustard). And with three cows, there would be just enough tongues to go around!

Sarah quickly baked bread from the best flour, and Avrohom served it to the guests. The three mysterious visitors had a scrumptious feast, and Avrohom was happy at last.

Good News for Sarah

After the meal, the angel Michoel asked Avrohom, "Where is Sarah?"

"She is in her tent," said Avrohom. Sarah was modest and she wouldn't feel right going out in front of strangers.

"Well, please give her a message. Tell Sarah that one year from now, she will have a son!"

Sara had been listening from inside her tent, and when she heard this news, she laughed to herself. "I'm too old to have a baby, and so is Avrohom!" she thought. (Of course, she didn't know that their guests were actually messengers of HaShem!)

After the angels went on their way, HaShem spoke to Avrohom. Why had Sarah laughed? HaShem wanted to know. Did she think that giving her a son would be too hard for HaShem to do? After all, HaShem created the whole world.

With the good news delivered, Michoel's mission was accomplished. He flew back to HaShem, leaving Gavriel and Rafael to continue on their journey.

Let's Make a Deal

HaShem let Avrohom in on a secret: He was planning to completely destroy the city of Sdom, because all of the people who lived there were just plain bad. Even the laws of the city were cruel and unjust.

Avrohom felt sorry for the people of Sdom. "Oh! Surely there are some good people who live there, too!" he cried to HaShem. "If there are 50 good people, will you save the city from being destroyed?"

HaShem said that He wouldn't destroy Sdom if there were 50 good people there - but there were not.

"What about 45? 40? 30? 20? Or even just TEN GOOD PEOPLE?!" Avrohom wanted to know.

But there were not even ten good people in all of Sdom.

At Lot's Place

Avrohom's nephew, Lot, was still living in Sdom, and he had learned a thing or two about doing good deeds, thanks to his uncle, Avrohom. One day, as Lot was sitting by the gate of Sdom, he noticed two men passing by his house. (They were Rafael and Gavriel, two of the angels who had visited Avrohom! Gavriel is the strength of HaShem, and it was his mission to destroy Sdom. Rafael is the healer of HaShem, and it was his mission to save Lot and his family.)

When he saw the weary-looking travelers, Lot decided to do a mitzvah.

"Please, gentlemen, come to my house for a meal. Stay the night and rest before you continue on your way," Lot said to the strangers.

Now this was absolutely unheard of in the city of Sdom. Who ever invited guests? It was even against the law!

But the angels accepted Lot's offer, and Lot secretly led them through the back alleys to his home. There, he served them a meal and even some matza (it was Passover). As they ate, Lot said to his wife, "Please bring our guests some salt to make their food more tasty."

Aha! That gave his wife an idea. She was angry that Lot had invited guests and had been looking for an excuse to go tell the neighbors so that the police could be notified.

"I'll go borrow some salt from the neighbors!" she said, as she dashed out the door. She went from door to door, asking everyone, "Could I please borrow some salt for our houseguests?"

It was all downhill from there. Word spread quickly, and soon the whole city knew about Lot's guests. All of the people of Sdom stampeded down the street and banged on Lot's door. But no matter how hard they pounded, Lot would not let them in to harm his guests.

Lot was frightened, but his guests were not - after all, they were angels of HaShem. They caused all of the wicked people outside Lot's house to become blind. Then they could no longer find the door, and eventually they gave up trying.

On the Run!

It was just before sunrise, and the angels said to Lot, "We were sent here to destroy the whole city. You need to get out of here, now! Take your family and go!"

Lot tried to tell his daughters' husbands what was happening, but they thought he was joking. Lot dawdled. He dilly-dallied. He thought maybe he should go pack up his money and his things . . . but the angels said, "Hurry up! Hurry up! There's no time to waste!" They led him right out the door, along with his wife and his two daughters.

The angels hurried them all down the road and straight to the gate at the edge of the city. Then they said, "Run! And do not look back, no matter what!"

Lot ran. His daughters ran. Lot's wife ran, too - but she was curious and she stopped to look behind her. She saw the city in flames, and then she turned into . . . salt. (It's no coincidence that HaShem punished her this way, since she had used salt to get Lot in trouble when he was serving his guests earlier that night.)

And what happened to Lot and his daughters? They fled to safety in another city, and HaShem protected them.

Did you know that in Israel today, in the Dead Sea, there is so much salt in the water that if even if you can't swim, you'll float right up to the top! Hmm... maybe this has something to do with Lot's wife.

It's a Boy!

Avrohom and Sarah moved to Be'er Sheva and, of course, always kept looking for guests. They would feed their visitors whatever fruits and delicacies they wanted, and even invite them to stay overnight, and they never charged a single cent for the food or lodging.

All Avrohom asked from his guests in return was a simple thank you. But not for himself - for HaShem. He taught everyone to thank HaShem for their food, since He created the fruit trees and the animals, and everything else in the world.

Because they taught others to follow in their ways, Avrohom and Sarah were blessed with a son, just as the three angels had promised. When the baby was born, Sarah was 90 years old and Avrohom was 100! They named their son Yitzchak (meaning "he will laugh"), because his birth brought joy and laughter.

Yitzchak had a brit milah at eight days old, and Sarah nursed him for two years. When he was two, they made a great celebration and invited many guests, including the most important people of their time, to share their happiness and enjoy a grand feast.

It was a strange invitation; on it Avrohom and Sarah asked their guests to bring along their nursing babies. They wanted to prove a point. Some people had been wondering, "Could Yitzchak really be Sarah's son? Isn't she too old to have a baby of her own?"

So Avrohom asked all of the women to bring Sarah their babies, and Sarah nursed them all. Then they saw with their own eyes that HaShem had miraculously made Sarah like a young woman again, and everyone knew that little Yitzchak was indeed her child.

The Big Test: Akeidat Yitzchak

Years later, when Yitzchak was already 37 years old, HaShem called to Avrohom: "Avrohom, I want you to go up to the mountain with your son, Yitzchak, and I want you to bring him up for a sacrifice there for me."

Had Avrohom heard that right? Sacrifice his one and only son, for whom he had prayed and waited for so long, and from whom HaShem had promised to make a great nation? Could this possibly be what HaShem wanted of him?

It was indeed what HaShem had asked him to do. It was a test, the most difficult test you could imagine. And Avrohom was ready to do whatever HaShem asked of him.

Avrohom didn't waste a moment. He woke up early in the morning and saddled his donkey. Then, together with his sons, Yitzchak and Yishmael, and his servant Eliezer, Avrohom set out on his mission.

For three days they traveled, until they saw a special cloud on top of Mount Moriah, and they knew they had found the right place.

When they got there, Yishmael and Eliezer waited at the bottom, and Avrohom climbed to the top with Yitzchak. Avrohom carried a knife, and Yitzchak carried wood for a fire. When they reached the top, Yitzchak realized that they had everything they needed for a sacrifice - except the animal.

"What is going on?" he asked his father.

Avrohom answered him, "Yitzchak, my son, HaShem has chosen you to be the sacrifice."

Yitzchak was also a very righteous man who was faithful to HaShem. He courageously asked his father to tie his hands and feet and place him on the altar so he wouldn't move around! (This event is known as the Akeidat Yitzchak (The Binding of Yitzchak.)

Avrohom built a mizbeyach (altar) and placed his son on it. He had the knife in his hand and was just about to do the sacrifice, when HaShem's angel Michoel swooped down and called out: "Stop! You don't have to do it! You have passed the final, most difficult test! Mazel tov! Congratulations!"

At that moment, Avrohom noticed from a distance a ram that had gotten caught in a bush by its horns. He untied his son and, with great joy, sacrificed the ram instead.

A Holy Mountain

The mountain where Avrohom brought Yitzchak was very special and holy. Many years later, in that very same place, the Bait HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, would be built. There HaShem would accept all of the Jewish people's prayers and sacrifices.

And on Rosh Hashana, when we blow the shofar, which is the horn of a ram, it reminds us of the ram that appeared on the scene of the Akeida, over 3000 years ago, and how Avrohom passed his test with flying colors.

Homeward Bound

After the Akeida, Avrohom and Yitzchak returned happily home, and were blessed greatly by HaShem for their faithfulness.

Now, what do you think Sarah was thinking while she waited at home for Avrohom and Yitzchak to return? After all, mothers do worry . . . and all this time, she thought that Avrohom was just taking Yitzchak to learn in yeshiva!