Vayeira
Encyclopedia
Vayeira, Vayera, or Va-yera ( — Hebrew
for "and He appeared,” the first word
in the parshah) is the fourth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
. It constitutes Genesis Jews read it on the fourth Sabbath
after Simchat Torah
, generally in October or November.
Jews also read parts of the parshah as Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah
. is the Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and is the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. In Reform Judaism
, is the Torah reading for the one day of Rosh Hashanah.
was sitting at the entrance of his tent by the terebinths
of Mamre
at the heat of the day, he looked up and saw God
in the form of three men, and he ran, bowed
to the ground, and welcomed them. Abraham offered to wash their feet and fetch them a morsel of bread, and they assented. Abraham rushed to Sarah
’s tent to order cakes made from choice flour, ran to select a choice calf for a servant-boy to prepare, set curds and milk and the calf before them, and waited on them under the tree as they ate.
One of the visitors told Abraham that he would return the next year, and Sarah would have a son, but Sarah laughed to herself at the prospect, with Abraham so old. God then questioned Abraham why Sarah had laughed at bearing a child at her age, noting that nothing was too wondrous for God. Frightened, Sarah denied laughing, but God insisted that she had.
and Abraham walked with them to see them off. God considered whether to confide in Abraham what God was about to do, since God had singled out Abraham to become a great nation and instruct his posterity to keep God’s way by doing what was just and right. God told Abraham that the outrage and sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was so great that God was going to see whether they had acted according to the outcry that had reached God. The men went on to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before God. Abraham pressed God whether God would sweep away the innocent along with the guilty, asking successively if there were 50, or 45, or 40, or 30, or 20, or 10 innocent people in Sodom, would God not spare the city for the sake of the innocent ones, and each time God agreed to do so. When God had finished speaking to Abraham, God departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
was sitting at the gate of Sodom in the evening, the two angel
s arrived, and Lot greeted them and bowed low to the ground. Lot invited the angels to spend the night at his house and bathe their feet, but they said that they would spend the night in the square. Lot urged them strongly, so they went to his house, and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot to flee with his wife and two remaining daughters, but still he delayed. So out of God’s mercy, the men seized Lot, his wife, and daughters by the hand and brought them out of the city, telling them to flee for their lives and not to stop or look back anywhere in the plain. But Lot asked them whether he might flee to a little village nearby, and the angel replied that he would grant Lot this favor too, and spare that town. The angel urged Lot to hurry there, for the angel could not do anything until he arrived there, and thus the town came to be called Zoar.
As the sun rose and Lot entered Zoar, God rained sulfurous fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah and annihilated the entire plain. Lot’s wife looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt. Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before God and looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and saw the smoke rising like at a kiln.
Lot was afraid to dwell in Zoar, so he settled in a cave in the hill country with his two daughters. The older daughter told the younger that their father was old, and there was not a man on earth with whom to have children, so she proposed that they get Lot drunk and lie with him so that they might maintain life through their father. That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one lay with her father without his being aware. And the next day the older one persuaded the younger to do the same. The two daughters thus had children by their father, the older one bore a son named Moab who became the father of the Moab
ites, and the younger bore a son named Ben-ammi who became the father of the Ammon
ites.
and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar
, Abraham said that Sarah was his sister, so King Abimelech
had her brought to him, but God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him that taking her would cause him to die, for she was a married woman. Abimelech had not approached her, so he asked God whether God would slay an innocent, as Abraham and Sarah had told him that they were brother and sister. God told Abimelech in the dream that God knew that Abimelech had a blameless heart, and so God had kept him from touching her. God told Abimelech to restore Abraham’s wife, since he was a prophet
, and he would intercede for Abimelech to save his life, which he and his household would lose if he failed to restore her.
Early next morning, Abimelech told his servants what had happened, asked Abraham what he had done and why he had brought so great a guilt upon Abimelech and his kingdom. Abraham replied that he had thought that Gerar had no fear of God and would kill him because of his wife, and that she was in fact his father’s daughter though not his mother’s, so he had asked of her the kindness of identifying him as her brother. Abimelech restored Sarah to Abraham, gave him sheep, oxen, and slaves, and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech’s lands. And Abimelech told Sarah that he was giving Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve her as vindication before all. Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and the women in his household, so that they bore children, for God had stricken the women with infertility because of Sarah.
took note of Sarah
, and she bore
Abraham
a son
as God had predicted, and Abraham name
d him Isaac
. Abraham circumcised
Isaac when he was eight days old. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah remarked that God had brought her laughter
and everyone would laugh with her about her bearing Abraham a child
in his old age
. Abraham held a great feast
on the day that Sarah weaned
Isaac.
son Ishmael
playing, and Sarah told Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out, saying that Ishmael would not share in Abraham’s inheritance
with Isaac. Sarah’s words greatly distressed Abraham, but God told Abraham not to be distressed but to do whatever Sarah told him, for Isaac would carry on Abraham’s line, and God would make a nation of Ishmael, too. Early the next morning, Abraham placed some bread
and water
on Hagar’s shoulder
, together with Ishmael, and sent them away.
Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness
of Beersheba
, and when the water ran out, she left the child under a bush
, sat down a bowshot away so as not to see the child die, and burst into tears. God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel
called to Hagar, saying not to fear, for God had heeded the boy’s cry, and would make of him a great nation. Then God opened her eyes to a well of water, and she and the boy drank. God was with Ishmael and he grew up in the wilderness and became a bowman
. Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran
, and Hagar got him an Egyptian
wife
.
and Phicol
the chief of his troops asked Abraham to swear not to deal falsely with them. Abraham reproached Abimelech because Abimelech’s servants had seized Abraham’s well, but Abimelech protested ignorance. Abraham gave Abimelech sheep
and oxen and two men made a pact. Abraham then offered Abimelech seven ewes as proof that Abraham had dug the well. They called the place Beersheba, for the two of them swore an oath there. After they concluded their pact, Abimelech and Phicol returned to Philistia
, and Abraham planted a tamarisk
and invoked God’s name. Abraham lived in Philistia a long time.
and offer him there as a burnt offering
. Early the next morning, Abraham saddle
d his donkey
and split wood
for the burnt offering, and then he, two of his servants
, and Isaac set out for the place that God had named. On the third day, Abraham saw the place from afar, and directed his servants to wait with the donkey, while Isaac and he went up to worship
and then return. Abraham took the firestone and the knife
, put the wood on Isaac, and the two walked off together. When Isaac asked Abraham where the sheep was for the burnt offering, Abraham replied that God would see to the sheep for the burnt offering.
They arrived at the place that God had named, and Abraham built an altar
, laid out the wood, bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, and picked up the knife to slay him. Then an angel called to Abraham, telling him not to raise his hand against the boy, for now God knew that Abraham feared God, since he had not withheld his son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, so he offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the site Adonai-yireh.
The angel called to Abraham a second time, saying that because Abraham had not withheld his son, God would bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the star
s of heaven and the sand
s on the seashore
, and victorious over their foes. All the nations of the earth would bless themselves by Abraham’s descendants, because he obeyed God’s command. Abraham returned to his servants, and they departed for Beersheba; where Abraham stayed.
Later, Abraham learned that Milcah
had borne eight children to his brother Nahor
, among whom was Bethuel
, who became the father of Rebekah. Nahor’s concubine
Reumah also bore him four children.
explains what the “grievous” sin was that reported in Sodom. says that Sodom’s iniquity was pride. Sodom had plenty of bread and careless ease, but Sodom did not help the poor and the needy. Thus the people of Sodom were haughty and committed abomination before God. And for that reason, God removed them.
Jeremiah
condemns the prophets of Jerusalem for becoming like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in that they committed a horrible thing, they committed adultery, they walked in lies, they strengthened the hands of evil-doers, and they did not return from their wickedness.
Lamentations
judged the iniquity of Jerusalem that lead to the Babylonian captivity
as greater than the sin of Sodom that led to its destruction in an instant.
tells a story parallel in many regards to that of Lot and the men of Sodom in
taught that Lot entreated the angels to accept lodging with him because he had learned to be a generous and hospitable man by imitating Abraham. (Antiquities
, 1:11:3.)
The Wisdom of Solomon
held that Wisdom delivered the “righteous” Lot, who fled from the wicked who perished when the fire came down on the five cities.
taught that Abraham suffered ten trials (several in this parshah), and withstood them all. (Mishnah Avot 5:3.)
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina
taught that visiting the infirm (as God did in ) demonstrates one of God’s attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what Deuteronomy means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for says, “And the Lord God made for Adam
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre
” (after Abraham was circumcised in ) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead. (Babylonian Talmud
Sotah 14a.) Similarly, the Sifre
on taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of Exodus ) “merciful and gracious.” (Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.)
Rabbi Leazar ben Menahem taught that the opening words of “And the Lord appeared,” indicated God’s proximity to Abraham. Rabbi Leazar taught that the words of Proverbs
“The Lord is far from the wicked,” refer to the prophets of other nations. But the continuation of “He hears the prayer of the righteous,” refers to the prophets of Israel. God appears to nations other that Israel only as one who comes from a distance, as Isaiah
says, “They came from a far country to me.” But in connection with the prophets of Israel, says, “And the Lord appeared,” and Leviticus says, “And the Lord called,” implying from the immediate vicinity. Rabbi Haninah compared the difference between the prophets of Israel and the prophets of other nations to a king who was with his friend in a chamber (separated by a curtain). Whenever the king desired to speak to his friend, he folded up the curtain and spoke to him. (But God speaks to the prophets of other nations without folding back the curtain.) The Rabbis compared it to a king who has a wife and a concubine; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he repairs with stealth. Similarly, God appears to non-Jews only at night, as Numbers
says, “And God came to Balaam
at night,” and says, “And God came to Laban
the Aramean
in a dream of the night.” (Genesis Rabba
h 52:5.)
A midrash
interpreted the words of Job
"And when after my skin thus is destroyed , then through my flesh shall I see God," to allude to Abraham. According to the midrash, Abraham reasoned that after he circumcised himself, many proselytes flocked (hikkif) to attach themselves to the covenant, and it was thus because Abraham did so that God revealed God's Self to Abraham, as reports, "And the Lord appeared to him." (And thus through circumcision performed on his flesh did Abraham come to see God.) (Genesis Rabbah 48:2.)
Rabbi Isaac taught that God reasoned that if God said in "An altar of earth you shall make to Me [and then] I will come to you and bless you," thus revealing God's Self to bless him who built an altar in God's name, then how much more should God reveal God's Self to Abraham, who circumcised himself for God's sake. And thus, "the Lord appear to him." (Genesis Rabbah 48:4.)
A midrash interpreted the words of Psalm
"Your condescension has made me great," to allude to Abraham. For God made Abraham great by allowing Abraham to sit (on account of his age and weakness after his circumcision) while the Shekhinah
stood, as reports, "And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door." (Genesis Rabbah 48:1.)
A Baraita
taught that in “in the heat of the day” meant the sixth hour, or exactly midday. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 27a.)
Rav Judah
said in Rav’s
name that showed that hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence
. Rav Judah read the words “And he said, ‘My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, pass not away’” in to reflect Abraham’s request of God to wait for Abraham while Abraham saw to his guests. And Rabbi Eleazar said that God’s acceptance of this request demonstrated how God’s conduct is not like that of mortals, for among mortals, an inferior person cannot ask a greater person to wait, while in God allowed it. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 127a.)
The Tosefta
taught that God rewarded measure for measure Abraham’s good deeds of hospitality in with benefits for Abraham’s descendants the Israelites. (Tosefta Sotah 4:1–6.)
The Gemara
identified the “three men” in as the angels Michael
, Gabriel
, and Raphael. Michael came to tell Sarah of Isaac’s birth, Raphael came to heal Abraham, and Gabriel came to destroy Sodom. Noting that reports that “the two angels came to Sodom,” the Gemara explained that Michael accompanied Gabriel to rescue Lot. The Gemara cited the use of the singular “He” in where it says, “He overthrew those cities,” instead of “they overthrew” to demonstrate that a single angel (Gabriel) destroyed the cities. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 86b.)
In the heart is refreshed. A midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks (Ecclesiastes
), sees , hears (1 Kings
), walks , falls , stands (Ezekiel
), rejoices , cries (Lamentations
), is comforted , is troubled , becomes hardened , grows faint , grieves , fears , can be broken , becomes proud , rebels , invents , cavils , overflows , devises , desires , goes astray , lusts , can be stolen , is humbled , is enticed , errs , trembles , is awakened (Song of Songs
), loves , hates , envies , is searched , is rent (Joel
), meditates , is like a fire , is like a stone , turns in repentance , becomes hot , dies , melts (Joshua
), takes in words , is susceptible to fear , gives thanks , covets , becomes hard , makes merry , acts deceitfully , speaks from out of itself , loves bribes , writes words , plans , receives commandments , acts with pride (Obadiah
), makes arrangements , and aggrandizes itself . (Ecclesiastes Rabbah
1:36.)
The Gemara reported that sages in the Land of Israel
(and some said Rabbi Isaac) deduced from Sarah’s practice as shown in that while it was customary for a man to meet wayfarers, it was not customary for a woman to do so. And the Gemara cited this deduction to support the ruling of Mishnah Yevamot 8:3 that while a male Ammonite or Moabite was forbidden from entering the congregation of Israel, a Ammonite or Moabite woman was permitted. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 77a.)
At the School of Rabbi Ishmael
, it was taught that demonstrated how great is the cause of peace, for Sarah said of Abraham in “My lord [Abraham] being old,” but when God reported Sarah’s statement to Abraham, God reported Sarah to have said, “And I [Sarah] am old,” so as to preserve peace between Abraham and Sarah. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 65b.)
Reading “set time” in to mean the next “holy day” (as in ), the Gemara deduced that God spoke to Abraham on Sukkot
to promise that Isaac would be born on Passover
, and that there must have been a leap year that year, as those deductions allow the maximum 7 months between any two holy days. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.)
Ravina
asked one of the Rabbis who expounded Aggadah
before him for the origin of the Rabbinic saying, “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” The Rabbi replied that says, “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” Ravina asked from where in the Torah one might derive that teaching. The Rabbi answered that says, “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing?” And right after that mention of Abraham’s name, God blessed Abraham in saying, “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation.” (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38b.)
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “All the nations of the earth,” in to teach that even those who spend their time on the ships that go from Gaul to Spain (and thus spend very little time on the dry earth) are blessed only for Israel’s sake. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 63a.)
The Gemara taught that sets forth one of the three most distinguishing virtues of the Jewish People. The Gemara taught that David
told the Gibeonites that the Israelites are distinguished by three characteristics: They are merciful, bashful, and benevolent. They are merciful, for says that God would “show you (the Israelites) mercy, and have compassion upon you, and multiply you.” They are bashful, for (20:17 in NJPS) says “that God’s fear may be before you (the Israelites).” And they are benevolent, for says of Abraham “that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.” The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that only one who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join the Jewish People. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 79a.)
Rabbi Eleazar taught that from the blessing of the righteous one may infer a curse for the wicked. The Gemara explained that one may see the principle at play in the juxtaposition of and For speaks of the blessing of the righteous Abraham, saying, “For I have known him, to the end that he may command.” And soon thereafter speaks of the curse of the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying, “Truly the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great.” (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38b.)
The Mishnah taught that some viewed the people of Sodom as embracing a philosophy of “what’s mine is mine.” The Mishnah taught that there are four types of people: (1) One who says: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours”; this is a neutral type, some say this was the type of Sodom. (2) One who says: “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine”; this is an unlearned person. (3) One who says: “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is yours”; this is a pious person. And (4) one who says: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine;” this is a wicked person. (Mishnah Avot 5:10.)
The Tosefta employed verses from the book of Job to teach that the people of Sodom acted arrogantly before God because of the good that God had lavished on them. As says, “As for the land, out of it comes bread . . . . Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. That path, no bird of prey knows . . . . The proud beasts have not trodden it.” The people of Sodom reasoned that since bread, silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls came forth from their land, they did not need immigrants to come to Sodom. They reasoned that immigrants came only to take things away from Sodom and thus resolved to forget the traditional ways of hospitality. (Tosefta Sotah 3:11–12; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.) God told the people of Sodom that because of the goodness that God had lavished upon them, they had deliberately forgotten how things were customarily done in the world, and thus God would make them be forgotten from the world. As says, “They open shafts in a valley from where men live. They are forgotten by travelers. They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.” As says, “In the thought of one who is at ease, there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their
Hand.” And so as says, “As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, plenty of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.” (Tosefta Sotah 3:12.)
Rava
interpreted the words of “How long will you imagine mischief against a man? You shall be slain all of you; you are all as a bowing wall, and as a tottering fence.” Rava interpreted this to teach that the people of Sodom would cast envious eyes on the wealthy, place them by a tottering wall, push the wall down on them, and take their wealth. Rava interpreted the words of “In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they know not the light.” Rava interpreted this to teach that they used to cast envious eyes on wealthy people and entrust fragrant balsam into their keeping, which they placed in their storerooms. In the evening the people of Sodom would smell it out like dogs, as says, “They return at evening, they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.” Then they would burrow in and steal the money. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.)
The Gemara told of the victims of the people of Sodom, in the words of “They (would) lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.” The Gemara said of the people of Sodom, in the words of “They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.” In the words of “They remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed them.” And the Gemara told of their victims, in the words of “he shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.)
The Gemara told that there were four judges in Sodom, named Shakrai, Shakurai, Zayyafi, and Mazle Dina (meaning “Liar,” “Awful Liar,” “Forger,” and “Perverter of Justice”). If a man assaulted his neighbor’s wife and caused a miscarriage, the judges would tell the husband to give his wife to the neighbor so that the neighbor might make her pregnant. If a person cut off the ear of a neighbor’s donkey, they would order the owner to give it to the offender until the ear grew again. If a person wounded a neighbor, they would tell the victim to pay the offender a fee for bleeding the victim. A person who crossed over with the ferry had to pay four zuzim, but the person who crossed through the water had to pay eight. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b.)
Explaining the words, “the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great (rabbah),” in the Gemara told the story of a certain maiden (ribah) in Sodom who gave some bread to a poor man, hiding it in a pitcher. When the people of Sodom found out about her generosity, they punished her by smearing her with honey and placing her on the city wall, where the bees consumed her. Rav Judah thus taught in Rav's name that indicates that God destroyed Sodom on account of the maiden (ribah). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b.)
Rabbi Judah explained the words of "her cry that has come to Me." Noting that does not say "their cry" but "her cry," Rabbi Judah told that the people of Sodom issued a proclamation that anyone who gave a loaf of bread to the poor or needy would be burned. Lot's daughter Pelotit, the wife of a magnate of Sodom, saw a poor man on the street, and was moved with compassion. Every day when she went out to draw water, she smuggled all kinds of provisions to him from her house in her pitcher. The men of Sodom questioned how the poor man could survive. When they found out, they brought Pelotit out to be burned. She cried out to God to maintain her cause, and her cry ascended before the Throne of Glory. And God said (in the words of ), "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to her cry that has come to Me." (Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
25.)
Reading Abraham’s request in “What if ten shall be found there?” a midrash asked, why ten (and not fewer)? The midrash answered, so that there might be enough for a minyan
of righteous people to pray on behalf of all of the people of Sodom. Alternatively, the midrash said, because at the generation of the Flood, eight righteous people remained (in Noah
and his family) and God did not give the world respite for their sake. Alternatively, the midrash said, because Lot thought that there were ten righteous people in Sodom — namely Lot, his wife, his four daughters, and his four sons-in-law (but Lot was apparently mistaken in thinking them righteous). Rabbi Judah the son of Rabbi Simon and Rabbi Hanin in Rabbi Johanan’s
name said that ten were required for Sodom, but for Jerusalem even one would have sufficed, as says, “Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem . . . and seek . . . if you can find a man, if there be any who does justly . . . and I will pardon her.” And thus says, “Adding one thing to another, to find out the account.” Rabbi Isaac explained that an account can be extended as far as one man for one city. And thus if one righteous person can be found in a city, it can be saved in the merit of that righteous person. (Genesis Rabbah 49:13.)
Did Abraham’s prayer to God in change God’s harsh decree? Could it have? On this subject, Rabbi Abbahu
interpreted David’s last words, as reported in 2 Samuel
where David reported that God told him, “Ruler over man shall be the righteous, even he that rules through the fear of God.” Rabbi Abbahu read to teach that God rules humankind, but the righteous rule God, for God makes a decree, and the righteous may through their prayer annul it. (Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 16b.)
A midrash noted that in the visitors are called “angels,” whereas in they were called “men.” The midrash explained that earlier, when the Shechinah
(the Divine Presence) was above them, Scripture called them men, but as soon as the Shechinah departed from them, they assumed the form of angels. Rabbi Levi (or others say Rabbi Tanhuma
in the name of Rabbi Levi) said that to Abraham, whose spiritual strength was great, they looked like men (as Abraham was as familiar with angels as with men). But to Lot, whose spiritual strength was weak, they appeared as angels. Rabbi Hanina taught that before they performed their mission, they were called “men.” But having performed their mission, they are referred to as “angels.” Rabbi Tanhuma compared them to a person who received a governorship from the king. Before reaching the seat of authority, the person goes about like an ordinary citizen. Similarly, before they performed their mission, Scripture calls them “men,” but having performed their mission, Scripture calls them “angels.” (Genesis Rabbah 50:2.)
A midrash expounded on the conversation between Lot and the angels. Expanding on the words, “but before they lay down” in the midrash told that the angels began questioning Lot, inquiring into the nature of the people of the city. Lot replied that in every town there are good people and bad people, but in Sodom the overwhelming majority were bad. Then (in the words of ) “the men of the city, the men of sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old,” not one of them objecting. And then (in the words of ), “they called to Lot, and said to him: ‘Where are the men that came to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.’” Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
said in the name of Rabbi Padiah that Lot prayed for mercy on the Sodomites’ behalf the whole night, and the angels would have heeded him. But when the Sodomites demanded (in the words of ), “Bring them out to us, that we may know them,” that is, for sexual purposes, the angels asked Lot (in the words of ), “Do you have here any besides?” Which one could read as asking, “What else do you have in your mouth (to say in their favor)?” Then the angels told Lot that up until then, he had the right to plead in their defense, but thereafter, he had no right to plead for them. (Genesis Rabbah 50:5.)
The Master
deduced from and that one can walk five mils (about 15,000 feet) in the time between the break of dawn and sunrise, as reports that “when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot,” and reports that “The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar,” and Rabbi Haninah said that it was five mils from Sodom to Zoar. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 93b.) But the Gemara noted that as reports that “the angels hastened Lot,” they could naturally have covered more ground than a typical person. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 94a.)
Rabbi Eliezer taught that Lot lived in Sodom only on account of his property, but Rabbi Eliezer deduced from that Lot left Sodom empty-handed with the angels telling him, “It is enough that you escape with your life.” Rabbi Eliezer argued that Lot’s experience proved the maxim (of Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:5) that the property of the wicked, whether inside or outside the town, will be lost. (Tosefta Sanhedrin 14:4.)
Rabbi Meir
taught that while made clear that God would never again flood the world with water, demonstrated that God might bring a flood of fire and brimstone, as God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah. (Tosefta Taanit 2:13.)
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (according to the Jerusalem Talmud
) or a Baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yose the son of Rabbi Chanina (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers
derived from the Patriarchs
, and cited for the proposition that Jews derived the morning prayer from Abraham, arguing that within the meaning of “stood” meant “pray,” just as it did in (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 43a; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b.)
Reading the words of "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot," a midrash asked what recollection was brought up in Lot’s favor? The midrash answered that it was the silence that Lot maintained for Abraham when Abraham passed off Sarah as his sister. (Genesis Rabbah 51:6.)
Interpreting a midrash taught that (as Mishnah Shabbat 16:1, Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 115a, 116b rules, if one's house is burning on the Sabbath) one is permitted to save the case of the Torah along with the Torah itself, and one is permitted to save the Tefillin
bag along with the Tefillin. This teaches that the righteous are fortunate, and so are those who cleave to them. Similarly, says, "God remembered Noah, and all beasts, and all the animals that were with him in the Ark." And so too, in "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot." (Midrash Tanhuma
Vayeira 9.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, citing Rabbi Johanan, taught that God rewards even polite speech. In Lot’s older daughter named her son Moab (“of my father”), and so in God told Moses
, “Be not at enmity with Moab, neither contend with them in battle”; God forbade only war with the Moabites, but the Israelites might harass them. In in contrast, Lot’s younger daughter named her son Ben-Ammi (the less shameful “son of my people”), and so in God told Moses, “Harass them not, nor contend with them”; the Israelites were not to harass the Ammonites at all. (Babylonian Talmud Nazir 23b.)
the “in a dream of the night” in and God appeared to Balaam
“at night” in The Rabbis taught that God thus appeared more openly to the prophets of Israel than to those of other nations. The Rabbis compared God’s action to those of a king who has both a wife and a concubine
; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he goes stealthily. (Genesis Rabbah 52:5.) And a midrash taught that God’s appearance to Abimelech in and God’s appearance to Laban in were the two instances where the Pure and Holy One allowed God’s self to be associated with impure (idolatrous) people, on behalf of righteous ones. (Midrash Tanhuma Vayeitzei 12.)
The Mishnah deduced from the example of Abimelech and Abraham in that even though an offender pays the victim compensation, the offence is not forgiven until the offender asks the victim for pardon. And the Mishnah deduced from Abraham’s example of praying for Abimelech in that under such circumstances, the victim would be churlish not to forgive the offender. (Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:7.]) The Tosefta further deduced from that even if the offender did not seek forgiveness from the victim, the victim must nonetheless seek mercy for the offender. (Tosefta Bava Kamma 9:29.)
Rabbi Isaac taught that Abimelech’s curse of Sarah caused her son Isaac’s blindness (as reported in ). Rabbi Isaac read the words, “it is for you a covering (kesut) of the eyes,” in not as kesut, “covering,” but as kesiyat, “blinding.” Rabbi Isaac concluded that one should not consider a small matter the curse of even an ordinary person. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 28a, Bava Kamma 93a.)
Rava derived from and the lesson that if one has a need, but prays for another with the same need, then God will answer first the need of the one who prayed. Rava noted that Abraham prayed to God to heal Abimelech and his wife of infertility , and immediately thereafter God allowed Abraham and Sarah to conceive . (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 92a.)
. The Talmud directs that Jews read (the expulsion of Hagar) on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and (the binding of Isaac) on the second day. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 31a.) And in the Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer said that God visited both Sarah and Hannah
to grant them conception on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Eliezer deduced this from the Bible
’s parallel uses of the words “visiting” and “remembering” in description of Hannah, Sarah, and Rosh Hashanah. First, Rabbi Eliezer linked Hannah’s visitation with Rosh Hashanah through the Bible’s parallel uses of the word “remembering.” says that God “remembered” Hannah and she conceived, and describes Rosh Hashanah as “a remembering of the blast of the trumpet.” Then Rabbi Eliezer linked Hannah’s conception with Sarah’s through the Bible’s parallel uses of the word “visiting.” says that “the Lord had visited Hannah,” and says that “the Lord visited Sarah.” (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.)
Rav Awira taught (sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi
, sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi
) that the words “And the child grew, and was weaned (va-yigamal), and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” in teach that God will make a great feast for the righteous on the day that God manifests (yigmol) God’s love to Isaac’s descendants. After they have eaten and drunk, they will ask Abraham to recite the Grace after meals (Birkat Hamazon
), but Abraham will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Ishmael. Then they will ask Isaac to say Grace, but Isaac will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Esau
. Then they will ask Jacob
, but Jacob will answer that he cannot, because he married two sisters during both their lifetimes, which was destined to forbid. Then they will ask Moses, but Moses will answer that he cannot, because God did not allow him to enter the Land of Israel either in life or in death. Then they will ask Joshua
, but Joshua will answer that he cannot, because he was not privileged to have a son, for 1 Chronicles
reports, “Nun
was his son, Joshua was his son,” without listing further descendants. Then they will ask David, and he will say Grace, and find it fitting for him to do so, because records David saying, “I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119b.)
The Gemara taught that if one sees Ishmael in a dream, then God hears that person’s prayer (perhaps because the name “Ishmael” derives from “the Lord has heard” in or perhaps because “God heard” (yishmah Elohim) Ishmael’s voice in ). (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 56b.)
The Gemara cited to teach that Sarah was one of seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel and neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah. (The other prophetesses were Miriam, Deborah
, Hannah
, Abigail
, Huldah
, and Esther
.) The Gemara established Sarah’s status as a prophetess by citing the words, “Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiscah,” in Rabbi Isaac taught that Yiscah was Sarah. called her Yiscah because she discerned (saketah) by means of Divine inspiration, as reports God instructing Abraham, “In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice.” Alternatively, called her Yiscah because all gazed (sakin) at her beauty. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 14a.)
Rav Nachman
taught that when Jacob “took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba
” in he went to cut down the cedars that reports his grandfather Abraham had planted there. (Genesis Rabbah 94:4.)
, as follows. After the events of which reports that Isaac grew, was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the day that Isaac was weaned, Satan asked God how it could be that God graciously granted Abraham a child at the age of 100, yet of all that feast, Abraham did not sacrifice one turtle-dove or pigeon to God. Rather, Abraham did nothing but honor his son. God replied that were God to ask Abraham to sacrifice his son to God, Abraham would do so without hesitation. Straightway, as reports, “God did tempt Abraham.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
Rabbi Levi explained the words “after these words” in to mean after Ishmael's words to Isaac. Ishmael told Isaac that Ishmael was more virtuous than Isaac in good deeds, for Isaac was circumcised at eight days (and so could not prevent it), but Ishmael was circumcised at 13 years. Isaac questioned whether Ishamel wouldst incense Isaac on account of one limb. Isaac vowed that if God were to ask Isaac to sacrifice himself before God, Isaac would obey. Immediately thereafter (in the words of ), “God did prove Abraham.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
A midrash taught that Abraham said (beginning with the words of and ), "'Here I am' — ready for priesthood, ready for kingship" (ready to serve God in whatever role God chose), and Abraham attained both priesthood and kingship. He attained priesthood, as says, "The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: 'You are a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek." And he attained kingship, as says, "You are a mighty prince among us." (Genesis Rabbah 55:6.)
Rabbi Simeon bar Abba explained that the word na in “Take, I pray (na) your son,” can denote only entreaty. Rabbi Simeon bar Abba compared this to a king who was confronted by many wars, which he won with the aid of a great warrior. Subsequently, he was faced with a severe battle. Thereupon the king asked the warrior, “I pray, assist me in battle, so that people may not say that there was nothing to the earlier battles.” Similarly, God said to Abraham, “I have tested you with many trials and you withstood all of them. Now, be firm, for My sake in this trial, so that people may not say that there was nothing to the earlier trials.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
The Gemara expanded on explaining that it reports only one side of a dialog. God told Abraham, “take your son,” but Abraham replied, “I have two sons!” God said, “Your only one,” but Abraham replied, “Each is the only one of his mother!” God said, “Whom you love,” but Abraham replied, “I love them both!” Then God said, “Isaac!” The Gemara explained that God employed all this circumlocution in so that Abraham’s mind should not reel under the sudden shock of God’s command. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
A Baraita interpreted to teach that the whole eighth day is valid for circumcision, but deduced from Abraham’s rising “early in the morning” to perform his obligations in that the zealous perform circumcisions early in the morning. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 4a, Yoma 28b.)
A Tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar that intense love and hate can cause one to disregard the perquisites of one’s social position. The Tanna deduced that love may do so from Abraham, for reports that “Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey,” rather than allow his servant to do so. Similarly, the Tanna deduced that hate may do so from Balaam, for reports that “Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey,” rather than allow his servant to do so. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 105b.)
The Sifra
cited and for the proposition that when God called the name of a prophet twice, God expressed affection and sought to provoke a response. (Sifra 1:4.) Similarly, Rabbi Hiyya taught that it was an expression of love and encouragement. Rabbi Liezer taught that the repetition indicated that God spoke to Abraham and to future generations. Rabbi Liezer taught that there is no generation that does not contain people like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Samuel. (Genesis Rabbah 56:7.)
Noting that reports that “Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him (ahar) a ram,” a midrash asked what “behind” (ahar) meant. Rabbi Judan taught that it meant after all that happened, Israel would still fall into the clutches of sin and thus become victims of persecution. But they would be ultimately redeemed by the ram’s horn, as Zechariah
says, “And the Lord God will blow the horn.” (Genesis Rabbah 56:9; see also Leviticus Rabbah
29:10.) Similarly, Rav Huna
son of Rabbi Isaac read to teach that God showed Abraham the ram tearing itself free from one thicket and getting entangled in another. God told Abraham that in a similar manner, Abraham’s children would be caught by the nations and entangled in troubles, being dragged from empire to empire, from Babylon to Media, from Media to Greece, and from Greece to Edom (Rome), but they would ultimately be redeemed through the horns of the ram. And hence says, “The Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord God will blow the horn.” (Leviticus Rabbah 29:10.)
God’s promise to Abraham in that God would multiply his children like the stars figures in a midrashic interpretation of the Plagues of Egypt
. Finding four instances of the verb “to charge,” for example in , a midrash taught that Pharaoh decreed upon the Israelites four decrees. At first, he commanded the taskmasters to insist that the Israelites make the prescribed number of bricks. Then he commanded that the taskmasters not allow the Israelites to sleep in their homes, intending by this to limit their ability to have children. The taskmasters told the Israelites that if they went home to sleep, they would lose a few hours each morning from work and never complete the allotted number or bricks, as reports: “And the taskmasters were urgent, saying: ‘Fulfill your work.’” So the Israelites slept on the ground in the brickyard. God told the Egyptians that God had promised the Israelites’ ancestor Abraham that God would multiply his children like the stars, as in God promised Abraham: “That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven.” But now the Egyptians were cunningly planning that the Israelites not increase. So God set about to see that God’s word prevail, and immediately reports: “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied.” (Exodus Rabbah
1:12.) When Pharaoh saw that the Israelites increased abundantly despite his decrees, he then decreed concerning the male children, as reports: “And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives . . . and he said: ‘When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, you shall look upon the birthstool: if it be a son, then you shall kill him.’” (Exodus Rabbah 1:13.) So finally (as reports), “Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: ‘Every son that is born you shall cast into the river.’” (Exodus Rabbah 1:18.)
Noting that speaks of only Abraham when it says, “So Abraham returned to his young men,” a midrash asked: Where was Isaac? Rabbi Berekiah said in the name of the Rabbis of Babylon
that Abraham sent Isaac to Shem
to study Torah. The midrash compared this to a woman who became wealthy through her spinning. She concluded that since she had become wealthy through her distaff
, it would never leave her hand. Similarly, Abraham deduced that since all that had come to him was only because he engaged in Godly pursuits, he was unwilling that those should ever depart from his descendants. And Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Haninah taught that Abraham sent Isaac home at night, for fear of the evil eye
. (Genesis Rabbah 56:11.)
A midrash interpreted the words “his eyes were dim from seeing” in to teach that Isaac’s eyesight dimmed as a result of his near sacrifice in for when Abraham bound Isaac, the ministering angels wept, as says, “Behold, their valiant ones cry without, the angels of peace weep bitterly,” and tears dropped from the angels’ eyes into Isaac’s, leaving their mark and causing Isaac’s eyes to dim when he became old. (Genesis Rabbah 65:10.)
A midrash told that at the very moment in that the angel of the Lord stayed Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, the Satan
appeared to Sarah in the guise of Isaac. When Sarah saw him, she asked what Abraham had done to him. He told Sarah that Abraham had taken him to a mountain, built an altar, placed wood upon it, tied him down on it, and took a knife to slaughter him, and had God not told him not to lay a hand on him, Abraham would have slaughtered him. And as soon as he finished speaking, Sarah’s soul departed. Thus the midrash deduced from the words “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” in that Abraham came directly from Mount Moriah and the binding of Isaac. (Midrash Tanhuma Vayeira 23.)
Interpreting God’s command to Isaac in not to go to Egypt, Rabbi Hoshaya taught that God told Isaac that he was, by virtue of his near sacrifice in a burnt-offering without blemish, and as a burnt offering became unfit if it was taken outside of the Temple grounds, so would Isaac become unfit if he went outside of the Promised Land. (Genesis Rabbah 64:3.)
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
, there are no commandments
in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)
The Passover
Haggadah
, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder
, in a reference to Abraham’s visitors in recounts how God knocked on Abraham’s door at the heat of the day on Passover and Abraham fed his visitors matzah
cakes, deducing the season from the report in that Lot fed his visitors matzah. (Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 126. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.) The Haggadah recounts that Abraham ran to the herd. (Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 111. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9.) And the Haggadah continues that it was thus on Passover that the Sodomites were consumed by God’s fire, as reported in (Davis, at 111; Tabory, at 126.)
Also in the nirtzah section of the seder, in a reference to or the Haggadah recounts how God judged the King of Gerar Abimelech in the middle of the night. (Davis, at 108; Tabory, at 123.)
The Rabbis understood Abraham’s devotion to God in the binding of Isaac in to have earned God’s mercy for Abraham’s descendents when they are in need. The 16th century Safed
Rabbi Eliezer Azikri drew on this rabbinic understanding to call for God to show mercy for Abraham’s descendents, “the son of Your beloved” (ben ohavach), in his kabbalistic
poem Yedid Nefesh (“Soul’s Beloved”), which many congregations chant just before the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service
. (Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
for Shabbat and Festivals, 14. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0916219208.)
And many Jews, following Kabbalistic masters from the Zohar
to Arizal
, recite the binding of Isaac, after the morning blessings (Birkat HaShachar
). The recitation of Abraham’s and Isaac’s willingness to put God above life itself is meant to invoke God’s mercy, to inspire worshipers to greater love of God, and to bring atonement to the penitent. (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 27–31. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
for the parshah is:
The parshah and haftarah in 2 Kings both tell of God’s gift of sons to childless women. In both the parshah and the haftarah: God’s representative visits the childless woman, whose household extends the visitor generous hospitality ; the husband’s age raises doubt about the couple’s ability to have children ; God’s representative announces that a child will come at a specified season in the next year ; the woman conceives and bears a child as God’s representative had announced ; death threatens the promised child ; and God’s representative intervenes to save the promised child .
(God’s destruction of Jerusalem’s sinners); (abandoned infant); (Sodom);
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for "and He appeared,” the first word
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
in the parshah) is the fourth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
. It constitutes Genesis Jews read it on the fourth Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
, generally in October or November.
Jews also read parts of the parshah as Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
. is the Torah reading for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and is the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. In Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
, is the Torah reading for the one day of Rosh Hashanah.
Summary
Abraham’s three visitors
As AbrahamAbraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
was sitting at the entrance of his tent by the terebinths
Pistacia palaestina
Pistacia palaestina is a tree or shrub common in the Levant region . It is called terebinth in English, a name also used for Pistacia terebinthus, a similar tree from the western Mediterranean Basin.-Description:...
of Mamre
Mamre
Mamre , full Hebrew name Elonei Mamre , refers to a Canaanite cultic shrine dedicated to the supreme, sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, El. Talmudic sources refer to the site as Beth Ilanim or Botnah. it was one of the three most important "fairs", market place or caravanserai, in Palestine...
at the heat of the day, he looked up and saw God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
in the form of three men, and he ran, bowed
Bowing (social)
Bowing is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many countries and distinctively in Europe. Sometimes the gesture may be limited to lowering...
to the ground, and welcomed them. Abraham offered to wash their feet and fetch them a morsel of bread, and they assented. Abraham rushed to Sarah
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
’s tent to order cakes made from choice flour, ran to select a choice calf for a servant-boy to prepare, set curds and milk and the calf before them, and waited on them under the tree as they ate.
One of the visitors told Abraham that he would return the next year, and Sarah would have a son, but Sarah laughed to herself at the prospect, with Abraham so old. God then questioned Abraham why Sarah had laughed at bearing a child at her age, noting that nothing was too wondrous for God. Frightened, Sarah denied laughing, but God insisted that she had.
Abraham bargains with God
The men set out toward SodomSodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
and Abraham walked with them to see them off. God considered whether to confide in Abraham what God was about to do, since God had singled out Abraham to become a great nation and instruct his posterity to keep God’s way by doing what was just and right. God told Abraham that the outrage and sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was so great that God was going to see whether they had acted according to the outcry that had reached God. The men went on to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before God. Abraham pressed God whether God would sweep away the innocent along with the guilty, asking successively if there were 50, or 45, or 40, or 30, or 20, or 10 innocent people in Sodom, would God not spare the city for the sake of the innocent ones, and each time God agreed to do so. When God had finished speaking to Abraham, God departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
Lot’s two visitors
As LotLot (Bible)
Lot is a man from the Book of Genesis chapters 11-14 and 19, in the Hebrew Bible. Notable episodes in his life include his travels with his uncle Abram ; his flight from the destruction of Sodom, in the course of which Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt; and the seduction by his...
was sitting at the gate of Sodom in the evening, the two angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s arrived, and Lot greeted them and bowed low to the ground. Lot invited the angels to spend the night at his house and bathe their feet, but they said that they would spend the night in the square. Lot urged them strongly, so they went to his house, and he prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
Lot bargains with the Sodomites
Before they had retired for the night, all the men of Sodom gathered about the house shouting to Lot to bring his visitors out so that they might be intimate with them. Lot went outside the entrance, shutting the door behind him, and begged the men of Sodom not commit such a wrong. Lot offered the men his two virgin daughters for them to do with as they pleased, if they would not do anything to his guests, but they disparaged Lot as one who had come as an alien and now sought to rule them, and they pressed threateningly against him and the door. But the visitors stretched out their hands and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door and struck the people with blindness so that they were unable to find the entrance.The flight of Lot
The visitors directed Lot to bring what family he had out of the city, for they were about to destroy the place, because the outcry against its inhabitants had become so great. So Lot told his sons-in-law that they needed to get out of the place because God was about to destroy it, but Lot’s sons-in-law thought that he was joking.As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot to flee with his wife and two remaining daughters, but still he delayed. So out of God’s mercy, the men seized Lot, his wife, and daughters by the hand and brought them out of the city, telling them to flee for their lives and not to stop or look back anywhere in the plain. But Lot asked them whether he might flee to a little village nearby, and the angel replied that he would grant Lot this favor too, and spare that town. The angel urged Lot to hurry there, for the angel could not do anything until he arrived there, and thus the town came to be called Zoar.
As the sun rose and Lot entered Zoar, God rained sulfurous fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah and annihilated the entire plain. Lot’s wife looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt. Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before God and looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and saw the smoke rising like at a kiln.
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
ites, and the younger bore a son named Ben-ammi who became the father of the Ammon
Ammon
Ammon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...
ites.
Wife as sister
Abraham settled between KadeshKadesh (South of Israel)
Kadesh or Qadhesh in Classical , also known as Qadesh-Barneʿa , was a place in the south of Ancient Israel. The name "Kodesh" means holy. The name "Barnea" may mean desert of wandering...
and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar
Gerar
Gerar - meaning "lodging-place" - was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel. Archaeological evidence points to the town having come into existence with the arrival of the Philistines at around 1200 BC and having been little more than a village until 800-700...
, Abraham said that Sarah was his sister, so King Abimelech
Abimelech
Abimelech was a common name of the Philistine kings.Abimelech was most prominently the name of a king of Gerar who is mentioned in two of the three wife-sister narratives in Genesis...
had her brought to him, but God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him that taking her would cause him to die, for she was a married woman. Abimelech had not approached her, so he asked God whether God would slay an innocent, as Abraham and Sarah had told him that they were brother and sister. God told Abimelech in the dream that God knew that Abimelech had a blameless heart, and so God had kept him from touching her. God told Abimelech to restore Abraham’s wife, since he was a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
, and he would intercede for Abimelech to save his life, which he and his household would lose if he failed to restore her.
Early next morning, Abimelech told his servants what had happened, asked Abraham what he had done and why he had brought so great a guilt upon Abimelech and his kingdom. Abraham replied that he had thought that Gerar had no fear of God and would kill him because of his wife, and that she was in fact his father’s daughter though not his mother’s, so he had asked of her the kindness of identifying him as her brother. Abimelech restored Sarah to Abraham, gave him sheep, oxen, and slaves, and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech’s lands. And Abimelech told Sarah that he was giving Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve her as vindication before all. Abraham then prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and the women in his household, so that they bore children, for God had stricken the women with infertility because of Sarah.
The birth of Isaac
GodNames of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
took note of Sarah
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
, and she bore
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
a son
Son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents. The female analogue is a daughter.-Social issues regarding sons:In pre-industrial societies and some current countries with agriculture-based economies, a higher value was, and still is, assigned to sons rather than daughters,...
as God had predicted, and Abraham name
Name
A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name...
d him Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
. Abraham circumcised
Brit milah
The brit milah is a Jewish religious circumcision ceremony performed on 8-day old male infants by a mohel. The brit milah is followed by a celebratory meal .-Biblical references:...
Isaac when he was eight days old. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah remarked that God had brought her laughter
Laughter
Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli, fundamentally stress, which serves as an emotional balancing mechanism. Traditionally, it is considered a visual expression of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli...
and everyone would laugh with her about her bearing Abraham a child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
in his old age
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
. Abraham held a great feast
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
on the day that Sarah weaned
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
Isaac.
The expulsion of Hagar
Sarah saw Hagar'sHagar (Bible)
Hagar , according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an...
son Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
playing, and Sarah told Abraham to cast Hagar and Ishmael out, saying that Ishmael would not share in Abraham’s inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
with Isaac. Sarah’s words greatly distressed Abraham, but God told Abraham not to be distressed but to do whatever Sarah told him, for Isaac would carry on Abraham’s line, and God would make a nation of Ishmael, too. Early the next morning, Abraham placed some bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
and water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
on Hagar’s shoulder
Shoulder
The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle , the scapula , and the humerus as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joints. The major joint of the shoulder is the glenohumeral joint, which...
, together with Ishmael, and sent them away.
Hagar and Ishmael wandered in the wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
of Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
, and when the water ran out, she left the child under a bush
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, sat down a bowshot away so as not to see the child die, and burst into tears. God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
called to Hagar, saying not to fear, for God had heeded the boy’s cry, and would make of him a great nation. Then God opened her eyes to a well of water, and she and the boy drank. God was with Ishmael and he grew up in the wilderness and became a bowman
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
. Ishmael lived in the wilderness of Paran
Desert of Paran
The Desert of Paran or Wilderness of Paran , is the place in which the Hebrew Bible says the Israelites spent part of their 40 years of wandering: Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran...
, and Hagar got him an Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
wife
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
.
Beersheba
AbimelechAbimelech
Abimelech was a common name of the Philistine kings.Abimelech was most prominently the name of a king of Gerar who is mentioned in two of the three wife-sister narratives in Genesis...
and Phicol
Phicol
Phicol, also spelled Phichol or Phikol, was a Philistine military leader.Phicol was the chief captain of the army of Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar...
the chief of his troops asked Abraham to swear not to deal falsely with them. Abraham reproached Abimelech because Abimelech’s servants had seized Abraham’s well, but Abimelech protested ignorance. Abraham gave Abimelech sheep
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
and oxen and two men made a pact. Abraham then offered Abimelech seven ewes as proof that Abraham had dug the well. They called the place Beersheba, for the two of them swore an oath there. After they concluded their pact, Abimelech and Phicol returned to Philistia
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
, and Abraham planted a tamarisk
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
and invoked God’s name. Abraham lived in Philistia a long time.
The binding of Isaac
Sometime later, God tested Abraham, directing him to take Isaac to the land of MoriahMoriah
Moriah is the name given to a mountain range by the Book of Genesis, in which context it is giv. the location of the sacrifice of Isaac. Traditionally Moriah has been interpreted as the name of the specific mountain at which this occurred, rather than just the name of the range...
and offer him there as a burnt offering
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
. Early the next morning, Abraham saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
d his donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
and split wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
for the burnt offering, and then he, two of his servants
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
, and Isaac set out for the place that God had named. On the third day, Abraham saw the place from afar, and directed his servants to wait with the donkey, while Isaac and he went up to worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
and then return. Abraham took the firestone and the knife
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
, put the wood on Isaac, and the two walked off together. When Isaac asked Abraham where the sheep was for the burnt offering, Abraham replied that God would see to the sheep for the burnt offering.
They arrived at the place that God had named, and Abraham built an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
, laid out the wood, bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, and picked up the knife to slay him. Then an angel called to Abraham, telling him not to raise his hand against the boy, for now God knew that Abraham feared God, since he had not withheld his son. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns, so he offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the site Adonai-yireh.
The angel called to Abraham a second time, saying that because Abraham had not withheld his son, God would bless him and make his descendants as numerous as the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s of heaven and the sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
s on the seashore
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
, and victorious over their foes. All the nations of the earth would bless themselves by Abraham’s descendants, because he obeyed God’s command. Abraham returned to his servants, and they departed for Beersheba; where Abraham stayed.
Later, Abraham learned that Milcah
Milcah
Milcah was thedaughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor in Genesis.Milcah was a woman of ancient Mesopotamia and an ancestor of the patriarch Jacob. Milcah was born to Haran, who had another daughter, Iscah. This Haran seemed to be different from Haran, Abraham's brother, who had a son, Lot...
had borne eight children to his brother Nahor
Nahor
Nahor, Nachor, or Naghor may refer to three different names in the Hebrew bible: two biblical people, who were both descendants of Shem, and one biblical place named after one of these descendants....
, among whom was Bethuel
Bethuel
Bethuel , in the Hebrew Bible, was an Aramean man, the youngest son of Nahor and Milcah, the nephew of Abraham, and the father of Laban and Rebekah....
, who became the father of Rebekah. Nahor’s concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
Reumah also bore him four children.
Genesis chapter 18
EzekielBook of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
explains what the “grievous” sin was that reported in Sodom. says that Sodom’s iniquity was pride. Sodom had plenty of bread and careless ease, but Sodom did not help the poor and the needy. Thus the people of Sodom were haughty and committed abomination before God. And for that reason, God removed them.
Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
condemns the prophets of Jerusalem for becoming like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in that they committed a horrible thing, they committed adultery, they walked in lies, they strengthened the hands of evil-doers, and they did not return from their wickedness.
Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
judged the iniquity of Jerusalem that lead to the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
as greater than the sin of Sodom that led to its destruction in an instant.
Genesis chapter 19
JudgesBook of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
tells a story parallel in many regards to that of Lot and the men of Sodom in
Genesis chapter 19
JosephusJosephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
taught that Lot entreated the angels to accept lodging with him because he had learned to be a generous and hospitable man by imitating Abraham. (Antiquities
Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
, 1:11:3.)
The Wisdom of Solomon
Book of Wisdom
The Book of Wisdom, often referred to simply as Wisdom or the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books of the Septuagint Old Testament, which includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon ,...
held that Wisdom delivered the “righteous” Lot, who fled from the wicked who perished when the fire came down on the five cities.
Genesis chapter 18
The MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
taught that Abraham suffered ten trials (several in this parshah), and withstood them all. (Mishnah Avot 5:3.)
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina
Hanina bar Hama
Hanina bar Hama was a Jewish Talmudist, halakist and haggadist frequently quoted in the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmud, and in the Midrashim....
taught that visiting the infirm (as God did in ) demonstrates one of God’s attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what Deuteronomy means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for says, “And the Lord God made for Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre
Mamre
Mamre , full Hebrew name Elonei Mamre , refers to a Canaanite cultic shrine dedicated to the supreme, sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, El. Talmudic sources refer to the site as Beth Ilanim or Botnah. it was one of the three most important "fairs", market place or caravanserai, in Palestine...
” (after Abraham was circumcised in ) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead. (Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Sotah 14a.) Similarly, the Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
on taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of Exodus ) “merciful and gracious.” (Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.)
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
“The Lord is far from the wicked,” refer to the prophets of other nations. But the continuation of “He hears the prayer of the righteous,” refers to the prophets of Israel. God appears to nations other that Israel only as one who comes from a distance, as Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
says, “They came from a far country to me.” But in connection with the prophets of Israel, says, “And the Lord appeared,” and Leviticus says, “And the Lord called,” implying from the immediate vicinity. Rabbi Haninah compared the difference between the prophets of Israel and the prophets of other nations to a king who was with his friend in a chamber (separated by a curtain). Whenever the king desired to speak to his friend, he folded up the curtain and spoke to him. (But God speaks to the prophets of other nations without folding back the curtain.) The Rabbis compared it to a king who has a wife and a concubine; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he repairs with stealth. Similarly, God appears to non-Jews only at night, as Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
says, “And God came to Balaam
Balaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
at night,” and says, “And God came to Laban
Laban (Bible)
Laban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob...
the Aramean
Aram (Biblical region)
Aram is the name of a region mentioned in the Bible located in central Syria, including where the city of Aleppo now stands.-Etymology:The etymology is uncertain. One standard explanation is an original meaning of "highlands"...
in a dream of the night.” (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 52:5.)
A midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
interpreted the words of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
"And when after my skin thus is destroyed , then through my flesh shall I see God," to allude to Abraham. According to the midrash, Abraham reasoned that after he circumcised himself, many proselytes flocked (hikkif) to attach themselves to the covenant, and it was thus because Abraham did so that God revealed God's Self to Abraham, as reports, "And the Lord appeared to him." (And thus through circumcision performed on his flesh did Abraham come to see God.) (Genesis Rabbah 48:2.)
Rabbi Isaac taught that God reasoned that if God said in "An altar of earth you shall make to Me [and then] I will come to you and bless you," thus revealing God's Self to bless him who built an altar in God's name, then how much more should God reveal God's Self to Abraham, who circumcised himself for God's sake. And thus, "the Lord appear to him." (Genesis Rabbah 48:4.)
A midrash interpreted the words of Psalm
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
"Your condescension has made me great," to allude to Abraham. For God made Abraham great by allowing Abraham to sit (on account of his age and weakness after his circumcision) while the Shekhinah
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
stood, as reports, "And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door." (Genesis Rabbah 48:1.)
A Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
taught that in “in the heat of the day” meant the sixth hour, or exactly midday. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 27a.)
Rav Judah
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah ben Ezekiel , was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. He was the most prominent disciple of Rav , in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya was his pupil...
said in Rav’s
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
name that showed that hospitality to wayfarers is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
. Rav Judah read the words “And he said, ‘My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, pass not away’” in to reflect Abraham’s request of God to wait for Abraham while Abraham saw to his guests. And Rabbi Eleazar said that God’s acceptance of this request demonstrated how God’s conduct is not like that of mortals, for among mortals, an inferior person cannot ask a greater person to wait, while in God allowed it. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 127a.)
The Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
taught that God rewarded measure for measure Abraham’s good deeds of hospitality in with benefits for Abraham’s descendants the Israelites. (Tosefta Sotah 4:1–6.)
The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
identified the “three men” in as the angels Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
, Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
, and Raphael. Michael came to tell Sarah of Isaac’s birth, Raphael came to heal Abraham, and Gabriel came to destroy Sodom. Noting that reports that “the two angels came to Sodom,” the Gemara explained that Michael accompanied Gabriel to rescue Lot. The Gemara cited the use of the singular “He” in where it says, “He overthrew those cities,” instead of “they overthrew” to demonstrate that a single angel (Gabriel) destroyed the cities. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Metzia 86b.)
In the heart is refreshed. A midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks (Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes, called , is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.The main speaker in the book, identified by the name or title Qoheleth , introduces himself as "son of David, king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal...
), sees , hears (1 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
), walks , falls , stands (Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
), rejoices , cries (Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
), is comforted , is troubled , becomes hardened , grows faint , grieves , fears , can be broken , becomes proud , rebels , invents , cavils , overflows , devises , desires , goes astray , lusts , can be stolen , is humbled , is enticed , errs , trembles , is awakened (Song of Songs
Song of songs
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
), loves , hates , envies , is searched , is rent (Joel
Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets".-Content:After...
), meditates , is like a fire , is like a stone , turns in repentance , becomes hot , dies , melts (Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
), takes in words , is susceptible to fear , gives thanks , covets , becomes hard , makes merry , acts deceitfully , speaks from out of itself , loves bribes , writes words , plans , receives commandments , acts with pride (Obadiah
Book of Obadiah
The canonical Book of Obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible....
), makes arrangements , and aggrandizes itself . (Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the Biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without comment. In the list of the old sedarim for the Bible four sedarim are assigned to...
1:36.)
The Gemara reported that sages in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
(and some said Rabbi Isaac) deduced from Sarah’s practice as shown in that while it was customary for a man to meet wayfarers, it was not customary for a woman to do so. And the Gemara cited this deduction to support the ruling of Mishnah Yevamot 8:3 that while a male Ammonite or Moabite was forbidden from entering the congregation of Israel, a Ammonite or Moabite woman was permitted. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 77a.)
At the School of Rabbi Ishmael
Ishmael ben Elisha
Rabbi Ishmael or Ishmael ben Elisha was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries . A Tanna is a rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah.-Disposition:...
, it was taught that demonstrated how great is the cause of peace, for Sarah said of Abraham in “My lord [Abraham] being old,” but when God reported Sarah’s statement to Abraham, God reported Sarah to have said, “And I [Sarah] am old,” so as to preserve peace between Abraham and Sarah. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 65b.)
Reading “set time” in to mean the next “holy day” (as in ), the Gemara deduced that God spoke to Abraham on Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
to promise that Isaac would be born on Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, and that there must have been a leap year that year, as those deductions allow the maximum 7 months between any two holy days. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.)
Ravina
Ravina I
Ravina I was a Jewish Talmudist, and rabbi, accounted as an Amora sage of the 5th and 6th generation of the Amora era. He began the process of compiling the Talmud with Rav Ashi. He died in 421. The Talmud was ultimately completed by his nephew Ravina II....
asked one of the Rabbis who expounded Aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
before him for the origin of the Rabbinic saying, “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” The Rabbi replied that says, “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.” Ravina asked from where in the Torah one might derive that teaching. The Rabbi answered that says, “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing?” And right after that mention of Abraham’s name, God blessed Abraham in saying, “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation.” (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38b.)
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “All the nations of the earth,” in to teach that even those who spend their time on the ships that go from Gaul to Spain (and thus spend very little time on the dry earth) are blessed only for Israel’s sake. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 63a.)
The Gemara taught that sets forth one of the three most distinguishing virtues of the Jewish People. The Gemara taught that David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
told the Gibeonites that the Israelites are distinguished by three characteristics: They are merciful, bashful, and benevolent. They are merciful, for says that God would “show you (the Israelites) mercy, and have compassion upon you, and multiply you.” They are bashful, for (20:17 in NJPS) says “that God’s fear may be before you (the Israelites).” And they are benevolent, for says of Abraham “that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.” The Gemara taught that David told the Gibeonites that only one who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join the Jewish People. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 79a.)
Rabbi Eleazar taught that from the blessing of the righteous one may infer a curse for the wicked. The Gemara explained that one may see the principle at play in the juxtaposition of and For speaks of the blessing of the righteous Abraham, saying, “For I have known him, to the end that he may command.” And soon thereafter speaks of the curse of the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying, “Truly the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great.” (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 38b.)
The Mishnah taught that some viewed the people of Sodom as embracing a philosophy of “what’s mine is mine.” The Mishnah taught that there are four types of people: (1) One who says: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours”; this is a neutral type, some say this was the type of Sodom. (2) One who says: “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine”; this is an unlearned person. (3) One who says: “What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is yours”; this is a pious person. And (4) one who says: “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine;” this is a wicked person. (Mishnah Avot 5:10.)
The Tosefta employed verses from the book of Job to teach that the people of Sodom acted arrogantly before God because of the good that God had lavished on them. As says, “As for the land, out of it comes bread . . . . Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. That path, no bird of prey knows . . . . The proud beasts have not trodden it.” The people of Sodom reasoned that since bread, silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls came forth from their land, they did not need immigrants to come to Sodom. They reasoned that immigrants came only to take things away from Sodom and thus resolved to forget the traditional ways of hospitality. (Tosefta Sotah 3:11–12; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.) God told the people of Sodom that because of the goodness that God had lavished upon them, they had deliberately forgotten how things were customarily done in the world, and thus God would make them be forgotten from the world. As says, “They open shafts in a valley from where men live. They are forgotten by travelers. They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.” As says, “In the thought of one who is at ease, there is contempt for misfortune; it is ready for those whose feet slip. The tents of robbers are at peace, and those who provoke God are secure, who bring their god in their
Hand.” And so as says, “As I live, says the Lord God, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, plenty of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me; therefore I removed them when I saw it.” (Tosefta Sotah 3:12.)
Rava
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
interpreted the words of “How long will you imagine mischief against a man? You shall be slain all of you; you are all as a bowing wall, and as a tottering fence.” Rava interpreted this to teach that the people of Sodom would cast envious eyes on the wealthy, place them by a tottering wall, push the wall down on them, and take their wealth. Rava interpreted the words of “In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime; they know not the light.” Rava interpreted this to teach that they used to cast envious eyes on wealthy people and entrust fragrant balsam into their keeping, which they placed in their storerooms. In the evening the people of Sodom would smell it out like dogs, as says, “They return at evening, they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.” Then they would burrow in and steal the money. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.)
The Gemara told of the victims of the people of Sodom, in the words of “They (would) lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.” The Gemara said of the people of Sodom, in the words of “They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.” In the words of “They remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed them.” And the Gemara told of their victims, in the words of “he shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109a.)
The Gemara told that there were four judges in Sodom, named Shakrai, Shakurai, Zayyafi, and Mazle Dina (meaning “Liar,” “Awful Liar,” “Forger,” and “Perverter of Justice”). If a man assaulted his neighbor’s wife and caused a miscarriage, the judges would tell the husband to give his wife to the neighbor so that the neighbor might make her pregnant. If a person cut off the ear of a neighbor’s donkey, they would order the owner to give it to the offender until the ear grew again. If a person wounded a neighbor, they would tell the victim to pay the offender a fee for bleeding the victim. A person who crossed over with the ferry had to pay four zuzim, but the person who crossed through the water had to pay eight. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b.)
Explaining the words, “the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great (rabbah),” in the Gemara told the story of a certain maiden (ribah) in Sodom who gave some bread to a poor man, hiding it in a pitcher. When the people of Sodom found out about her generosity, they punished her by smearing her with honey and placing her on the city wall, where the bees consumed her. Rav Judah thus taught in Rav's name that indicates that God destroyed Sodom on account of the maiden (ribah). (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 109b.)
Rabbi Judah explained the words of "her cry that has come to Me." Noting that does not say "their cry" but "her cry," Rabbi Judah told that the people of Sodom issued a proclamation that anyone who gave a loaf of bread to the poor or needy would be burned. Lot's daughter Pelotit, the wife of a magnate of Sodom, saw a poor man on the street, and was moved with compassion. Every day when she went out to draw water, she smuggled all kinds of provisions to him from her house in her pitcher. The men of Sodom questioned how the poor man could survive. When they found out, they brought Pelotit out to be burned. She cried out to God to maintain her cause, and her cry ascended before the Throne of Glory. And God said (in the words of ), "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to her cry that has come to Me." (Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer is an aggadic-midrashic work on Genesis, part of Exodus, and a few sentences of Numbers, ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a disciple of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and teacher of Rabbi Akiva. It comprises fifty four chapters...
25.)
Reading Abraham’s request in “What if ten shall be found there?” a midrash asked, why ten (and not fewer)? The midrash answered, so that there might be enough for a minyan
Minyan
A minyan in Judaism refers to the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain religious obligations. According to many non-Orthodox streams of Judaism adult females count in the minyan....
of righteous people to pray on behalf of all of the people of Sodom. Alternatively, the midrash said, because at the generation of the Flood, eight righteous people remained (in Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
and his family) and God did not give the world respite for their sake. Alternatively, the midrash said, because Lot thought that there were ten righteous people in Sodom — namely Lot, his wife, his four daughters, and his four sons-in-law (but Lot was apparently mistaken in thinking them righteous). Rabbi Judah the son of Rabbi Simon and Rabbi Hanin in Rabbi Johanan’s
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
name said that ten were required for Sodom, but for Jerusalem even one would have sufficed, as says, “Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem . . . and seek . . . if you can find a man, if there be any who does justly . . . and I will pardon her.” And thus says, “Adding one thing to another, to find out the account.” Rabbi Isaac explained that an account can be extended as far as one man for one city. And thus if one righteous person can be found in a city, it can be saved in the merit of that righteous person. (Genesis Rabbah 49:13.)
Did Abraham’s prayer to God in change God’s harsh decree? Could it have? On this subject, Rabbi Abbahu
Abbahu
Abbahu was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd amoraic generation , sometimes cited as R. Abbahu of Caesarea . His rabbinic education was acquired mainly at Tiberias, in the academy presided over by R. Johanan, with whom his relations were almost...
interpreted David’s last words, as reported in 2 Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
where David reported that God told him, “Ruler over man shall be the righteous, even he that rules through the fear of God.” Rabbi Abbahu read to teach that God rules humankind, but the righteous rule God, for God makes a decree, and the righteous may through their prayer annul it. (Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 16b.)
Genesis chapter 19
The Rabbis in a midrash asked why the angels took so long to travel from Abraham’s camp to Sodom, leaving Abraham at noon and arriving in Sodom only (as reports) “in the evening.” The midrash explained that they were angels of mercy, and thus they delayed, thinking that perhaps Abraham might find something to change Sodom’s fate, but when Abraham found nothing, as reports, “the two angels came to Sodom in the evening.” (Genesis Rabbah 50:1.)A midrash noted that in the visitors are called “angels,” whereas in they were called “men.” The midrash explained that earlier, when the Shechinah
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
(the Divine Presence) was above them, Scripture called them men, but as soon as the Shechinah departed from them, they assumed the form of angels. Rabbi Levi (or others say Rabbi Tanhuma
Tanhuma bar Abba
Tanhuma bar Abba was a Palestinian amora of the 5th generation, one of the foremost haggadists of his time. He was a pupil of Ḥuna bar Abin , from whom he transmits halakic as well as haggadic sayings . He received instruction also from Judah ben Shalom Tanhuma bar Abba (Hebrew: תנחומא בר אבא)...
in the name of Rabbi Levi) said that to Abraham, whose spiritual strength was great, they looked like men (as Abraham was as familiar with angels as with men). But to Lot, whose spiritual strength was weak, they appeared as angels. Rabbi Hanina taught that before they performed their mission, they were called “men.” But having performed their mission, they are referred to as “angels.” Rabbi Tanhuma compared them to a person who received a governorship from the king. Before reaching the seat of authority, the person goes about like an ordinary citizen. Similarly, before they performed their mission, Scripture calls them “men,” but having performed their mission, Scripture calls them “angels.” (Genesis Rabbah 50:2.)
A midrash expounded on the conversation between Lot and the angels. Expanding on the words, “but before they lay down” in the midrash told that the angels began questioning Lot, inquiring into the nature of the people of the city. Lot replied that in every town there are good people and bad people, but in Sodom the overwhelming majority were bad. Then (in the words of ) “the men of the city, the men of sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old,” not one of them objecting. And then (in the words of ), “they called to Lot, and said to him: ‘Where are the men that came to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.’” Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
said in the name of Rabbi Padiah that Lot prayed for mercy on the Sodomites’ behalf the whole night, and the angels would have heeded him. But when the Sodomites demanded (in the words of ), “Bring them out to us, that we may know them,” that is, for sexual purposes, the angels asked Lot (in the words of ), “Do you have here any besides?” Which one could read as asking, “What else do you have in your mouth (to say in their favor)?” Then the angels told Lot that up until then, he had the right to plead in their defense, but thereafter, he had no right to plead for them. (Genesis Rabbah 50:5.)
The Master
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
deduced from and that one can walk five mils (about 15,000 feet) in the time between the break of dawn and sunrise, as reports that “when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot,” and reports that “The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot came to Zoar,” and Rabbi Haninah said that it was five mils from Sodom to Zoar. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 93b.) But the Gemara noted that as reports that “the angels hastened Lot,” they could naturally have covered more ground than a typical person. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 94a.)
Rabbi Eliezer taught that Lot lived in Sodom only on account of his property, but Rabbi Eliezer deduced from that Lot left Sodom empty-handed with the angels telling him, “It is enough that you escape with your life.” Rabbi Eliezer argued that Lot’s experience proved the maxim (of Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:5) that the property of the wicked, whether inside or outside the town, will be lost. (Tosefta Sanhedrin 14:4.)
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation . According to legend , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is...
taught that while made clear that God would never again flood the world with water, demonstrated that God might bring a flood of fire and brimstone, as God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah. (Tosefta Taanit 2:13.)
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (according to the Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
) or a Baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yose the son of Rabbi Chanina (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
derived from the Patriarchs
Patriarchs (Bible)
The Patriarchs of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, the ancestor of all the Abrahamic nations; his son Isaac, the ancestor of the nations surrounding Israel/Judah; and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites...
, and cited for the proposition that Jews derived the morning prayer from Abraham, arguing that within the meaning of “stood” meant “pray,” just as it did in (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 43a; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b.)
Reading the words of "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot," a midrash asked what recollection was brought up in Lot’s favor? The midrash answered that it was the silence that Lot maintained for Abraham when Abraham passed off Sarah as his sister. (Genesis Rabbah 51:6.)
Interpreting a midrash taught that (as Mishnah Shabbat 16:1, Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 115a, 116b rules, if one's house is burning on the Sabbath) one is permitted to save the case of the Torah along with the Torah itself, and one is permitted to save the Tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
bag along with the Tefillin. This teaches that the righteous are fortunate, and so are those who cleave to them. Similarly, says, "God remembered Noah, and all beasts, and all the animals that were with him in the Ark." And so too, in "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot." (Midrash Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
Vayeira 9.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba, citing Rabbi Johanan, taught that God rewards even polite speech. In Lot’s older daughter named her son Moab (“of my father”), and so in God told Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, “Be not at enmity with Moab, neither contend with them in battle”; God forbade only war with the Moabites, but the Israelites might harass them. In in contrast, Lot’s younger daughter named her son Ben-Ammi (the less shameful “son of my people”), and so in God told Moses, “Harass them not, nor contend with them”; the Israelites were not to harass the Ammonites at all. (Babylonian Talmud Nazir 23b.)
Genesis chapter 20
The Rabbis taught that God appears to non-Jews only in dreams, as God appeared to Abimelech “in a dream of the night” in God appeared to LabanLaban (Bible)
Laban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob...
the “in a dream of the night” in and God appeared to Balaam
Balaam
Balaam is a diviner in the Torah, his story occurring towards the end of the Book of Numbers. The etymology of his name is uncertain, and discussed below. Every ancient reference to Balaam considers him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor, though Beor is not so clearly identified...
“at night” in The Rabbis taught that God thus appeared more openly to the prophets of Israel than to those of other nations. The Rabbis compared God’s action to those of a king who has both a wife and a concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he goes stealthily. (Genesis Rabbah 52:5.) And a midrash taught that God’s appearance to Abimelech in and God’s appearance to Laban in were the two instances where the Pure and Holy One allowed God’s self to be associated with impure (idolatrous) people, on behalf of righteous ones. (Midrash Tanhuma Vayeitzei 12.)
The Mishnah deduced from the example of Abimelech and Abraham in that even though an offender pays the victim compensation, the offence is not forgiven until the offender asks the victim for pardon. And the Mishnah deduced from Abraham’s example of praying for Abimelech in that under such circumstances, the victim would be churlish not to forgive the offender. (Mishnah Bava Kamma 8:7.]) The Tosefta further deduced from that even if the offender did not seek forgiveness from the victim, the victim must nonetheless seek mercy for the offender. (Tosefta Bava Kamma 9:29.)
Rabbi Isaac taught that Abimelech’s curse of Sarah caused her son Isaac’s blindness (as reported in ). Rabbi Isaac read the words, “it is for you a covering (kesut) of the eyes,” in not as kesut, “covering,” but as kesiyat, “blinding.” Rabbi Isaac concluded that one should not consider a small matter the curse of even an ordinary person. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 28a, Bava Kamma 93a.)
Rava derived from and the lesson that if one has a need, but prays for another with the same need, then God will answer first the need of the one who prayed. Rava noted that Abraham prayed to God to heal Abimelech and his wife of infertility , and immediately thereafter God allowed Abraham and Sarah to conceive . (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 92a.)
Genesis chapter 21
The Rabbis linked parts of the parshah to Rosh HashanahRosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
. The Talmud directs that Jews read (the expulsion of Hagar) on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and (the binding of Isaac) on the second day. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 31a.) And in the Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer said that God visited both Sarah and Hannah
Hannah (Bible)
Hannah is the wife of Elkanah mentioned in the Books of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible she was the mother of Samuel...
to grant them conception on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Eliezer deduced this from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
’s parallel uses of the words “visiting” and “remembering” in description of Hannah, Sarah, and Rosh Hashanah. First, Rabbi Eliezer linked Hannah’s visitation with Rosh Hashanah through the Bible’s parallel uses of the word “remembering.” says that God “remembered” Hannah and she conceived, and describes Rosh Hashanah as “a remembering of the blast of the trumpet.” Then Rabbi Eliezer linked Hannah’s conception with Sarah’s through the Bible’s parallel uses of the word “visiting.” says that “the Lord had visited Hannah,” and says that “the Lord visited Sarah.” (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.)
Rav Awira taught (sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi
Rabbi Ammi
Ammi, Aimi, Immi is the name of several Jewish Talmudists, known as amoraim, who lived in the Land of Israel and Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud the first form only is used; in the Jerusalem Talmud all three forms appear, Immi predominating, and sometimes R. Ammi is contracted into "Rabmi" or...
, sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi
Rabbi Assi
Assi II was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the third generation, 3rd and 4th centuries, one of the two Palestinian scholars known among their contemporary Jewish Talmudical scholars of Babylonian as "the judges of the Land of Israel" and as "the...
) that the words “And the child grew, and was weaned (va-yigamal), and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” in teach that God will make a great feast for the righteous on the day that God manifests (yigmol) God’s love to Isaac’s descendants. After they have eaten and drunk, they will ask Abraham to recite the Grace after meals (Birkat Hamazon
Birkat Hamazon
Birkat Hamazon or Birkath Hammazon, , known in English as the Grace After Meals, , is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish Law prescribes following a meal that includes bread or matzoh made from one or all of wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt...
), but Abraham will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Ishmael. Then they will ask Isaac to say Grace, but Isaac will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Esau
Esau
Esau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
. Then they will ask Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, but Jacob will answer that he cannot, because he married two sisters during both their lifetimes, which was destined to forbid. Then they will ask Moses, but Moses will answer that he cannot, because God did not allow him to enter the Land of Israel either in life or in death. Then they will ask Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, but Joshua will answer that he cannot, because he was not privileged to have a son, for 1 Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
reports, “Nun
Nun (Bible)
Nun , in the Hebrew Bible, was a man from the Tribe of Ephraim, grandson of Ammihud, son of Elishama, and father of Joshua. He grew up in and may have lived his entire life in the Israelites' Egyptian captivity, where the Egyptians "made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks...
was his son, Joshua was his son,” without listing further descendants. Then they will ask David, and he will say Grace, and find it fitting for him to do so, because records David saying, “I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119b.)
The Gemara cited to teach that Sarah was one of seven prophetesses who prophesied to Israel and neither took away from nor added anything to what is written in the Torah. (The other prophetesses were Miriam, Deborah
Deborah
Deborah was a prophetess of Yahweh the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth according to the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5....
, Hannah
Hannah (Bible)
Hannah is the wife of Elkanah mentioned in the Books of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible she was the mother of Samuel...
, Abigail
Abigail
Abigail was the wife of Nabal; she became a wife of David after Nabal's death .In the passage, Nabal demonstrates ingratitude towards David, and Abigail attempts to placate David in order to stop him taking revenge...
, Huldah
Huldah
Huldah was a prophetess mentioned briefly in , and . After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King Josiah, Hilkiah together with Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah approach her to get the Lord's opinion....
, and Esther
Esther
Esther , born Hadassah, is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther.According to the Bible, she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus...
.) The Gemara established Sarah’s status as a prophetess by citing the words, “Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiscah,” in Rabbi Isaac taught that Yiscah was Sarah. called her Yiscah because she discerned (saketah) by means of Divine inspiration, as reports God instructing Abraham, “In all that Sarah says to you, hearken to her voice.” Alternatively, called her Yiscah because all gazed (sakin) at her beauty. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 14a.)
Rav Nachman
Rav Nachman
Rav Nachman bar Yaakov was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the third generation, and pupil of Samuel of Nehardea. He was chief justice of the Jews who were subject to the exilarch , and was also head of the school of Nehardea...
taught that when Jacob “took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
” in he went to cut down the cedars that reports his grandfather Abraham had planted there. (Genesis Rabbah 94:4.)
Genesis chapter 22
Rabbi Johanan, on the authority of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra, asked what means by the word “after” in “And it came to pass after these words, that God did tempt Abraham.” Rabbi Johanan explained that it meant after the words of SatanSatan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, as follows. After the events of which reports that Isaac grew, was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the day that Isaac was weaned, Satan asked God how it could be that God graciously granted Abraham a child at the age of 100, yet of all that feast, Abraham did not sacrifice one turtle-dove or pigeon to God. Rather, Abraham did nothing but honor his son. God replied that were God to ask Abraham to sacrifice his son to God, Abraham would do so without hesitation. Straightway, as reports, “God did tempt Abraham.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
Rabbi Levi explained the words “after these words” in to mean after Ishmael's words to Isaac. Ishmael told Isaac that Ishmael was more virtuous than Isaac in good deeds, for Isaac was circumcised at eight days (and so could not prevent it), but Ishmael was circumcised at 13 years. Isaac questioned whether Ishamel wouldst incense Isaac on account of one limb. Isaac vowed that if God were to ask Isaac to sacrifice himself before God, Isaac would obey. Immediately thereafter (in the words of ), “God did prove Abraham.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
A midrash taught that Abraham said (beginning with the words of and ), "'Here I am' — ready for priesthood, ready for kingship" (ready to serve God in whatever role God chose), and Abraham attained both priesthood and kingship. He attained priesthood, as says, "The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: 'You are a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek." And he attained kingship, as says, "You are a mighty prince among us." (Genesis Rabbah 55:6.)
Rabbi Simeon bar Abba explained that the word na in “Take, I pray (na) your son,” can denote only entreaty. Rabbi Simeon bar Abba compared this to a king who was confronted by many wars, which he won with the aid of a great warrior. Subsequently, he was faced with a severe battle. Thereupon the king asked the warrior, “I pray, assist me in battle, so that people may not say that there was nothing to the earlier battles.” Similarly, God said to Abraham, “I have tested you with many trials and you withstood all of them. Now, be firm, for My sake in this trial, so that people may not say that there was nothing to the earlier trials.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
The Gemara expanded on explaining that it reports only one side of a dialog. God told Abraham, “take your son,” but Abraham replied, “I have two sons!” God said, “Your only one,” but Abraham replied, “Each is the only one of his mother!” God said, “Whom you love,” but Abraham replied, “I love them both!” Then God said, “Isaac!” The Gemara explained that God employed all this circumlocution in so that Abraham’s mind should not reel under the sudden shock of God’s command. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 89b.)
A Baraita interpreted to teach that the whole eighth day is valid for circumcision, but deduced from Abraham’s rising “early in the morning” to perform his obligations in that the zealous perform circumcisions early in the morning. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 4a, Yoma 28b.)
A Tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar that intense love and hate can cause one to disregard the perquisites of one’s social position. The Tanna deduced that love may do so from Abraham, for reports that “Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey,” rather than allow his servant to do so. Similarly, the Tanna deduced that hate may do so from Balaam, for reports that “Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey,” rather than allow his servant to do so. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 105b.)
The Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
cited and for the proposition that when God called the name of a prophet twice, God expressed affection and sought to provoke a response. (Sifra 1:4.) Similarly, Rabbi Hiyya taught that it was an expression of love and encouragement. Rabbi Liezer taught that the repetition indicated that God spoke to Abraham and to future generations. Rabbi Liezer taught that there is no generation that does not contain people like Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Samuel. (Genesis Rabbah 56:7.)
Noting that reports that “Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him (ahar) a ram,” a midrash asked what “behind” (ahar) meant. Rabbi Judan taught that it meant after all that happened, Israel would still fall into the clutches of sin and thus become victims of persecution. But they would be ultimately redeemed by the ram’s horn, as Zechariah
Book of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
says, “And the Lord God will blow the horn.” (Genesis Rabbah 56:9; see also Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
29:10.) Similarly, Rav Huna
Rav Huna
Rav Huna , a Kohen, was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; He was born about 216, died in 296-297 ).-Youth:...
son of Rabbi Isaac read to teach that God showed Abraham the ram tearing itself free from one thicket and getting entangled in another. God told Abraham that in a similar manner, Abraham’s children would be caught by the nations and entangled in troubles, being dragged from empire to empire, from Babylon to Media, from Media to Greece, and from Greece to Edom (Rome), but they would ultimately be redeemed through the horns of the ram. And hence says, “The Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord God will blow the horn.” (Leviticus Rabbah 29:10.)
God’s promise to Abraham in that God would multiply his children like the stars figures in a midrashic interpretation of the Plagues of Egypt
Plagues of Egypt
The Plagues of Egypt , also called the Ten Plagues or the Biblical Plagues, were ten calamities that, according to the biblical Book of Exodus, Israel's God, Yahweh, inflicted upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to release the ill-treated Israelites from slavery. Pharaoh capitulated after the tenth...
. Finding four instances of the verb “to charge,” for example in , a midrash taught that Pharaoh decreed upon the Israelites four decrees. At first, he commanded the taskmasters to insist that the Israelites make the prescribed number of bricks. Then he commanded that the taskmasters not allow the Israelites to sleep in their homes, intending by this to limit their ability to have children. The taskmasters told the Israelites that if they went home to sleep, they would lose a few hours each morning from work and never complete the allotted number or bricks, as reports: “And the taskmasters were urgent, saying: ‘Fulfill your work.’” So the Israelites slept on the ground in the brickyard. God told the Egyptians that God had promised the Israelites’ ancestor Abraham that God would multiply his children like the stars, as in God promised Abraham: “That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven.” But now the Egyptians were cunningly planning that the Israelites not increase. So God set about to see that God’s word prevail, and immediately reports: “But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied.” (Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah is the midrash to Exodus, containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition.- Structure :In parashiyyot i.-xiv...
1:12.) When Pharaoh saw that the Israelites increased abundantly despite his decrees, he then decreed concerning the male children, as reports: “And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives . . . and he said: ‘When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, you shall look upon the birthstool: if it be a son, then you shall kill him.’” (Exodus Rabbah 1:13.) So finally (as reports), “Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: ‘Every son that is born you shall cast into the river.’” (Exodus Rabbah 1:18.)
Noting that speaks of only Abraham when it says, “So Abraham returned to his young men,” a midrash asked: Where was Isaac? Rabbi Berekiah said in the name of the Rabbis of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
that Abraham sent Isaac to Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
to study Torah. The midrash compared this to a woman who became wealthy through her spinning. She concluded that since she had become wealthy through her distaff
Distaff
As a noun, a distaff is a tool used in spinning. It is designed to hold the unspun fibers, keeping them untangled and thus easing the spinning process. It is most commonly used to hold flax, and sometimes wool, but can be used for any type of fiber. Fiber is wrapped around the distaff, and tied in...
, it would never leave her hand. Similarly, Abraham deduced that since all that had come to him was only because he engaged in Godly pursuits, he was unwilling that those should ever depart from his descendants. And Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Haninah taught that Abraham sent Isaac home at night, for fear of the evil eye
Evil eye
The evil eye is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or dislike...
. (Genesis Rabbah 56:11.)
A midrash told that at the very moment in that the angel of the Lord stayed Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, the Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
appeared to Sarah in the guise of Isaac. When Sarah saw him, she asked what Abraham had done to him. He told Sarah that Abraham had taken him to a mountain, built an altar, placed wood upon it, tied him down on it, and took a knife to slaughter him, and had God not told him not to lay a hand on him, Abraham would have slaughtered him. And as soon as he finished speaking, Sarah’s soul departed. Thus the midrash deduced from the words “Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” in that Abraham came directly from Mount Moriah and the binding of Isaac. (Midrash Tanhuma Vayeira 23.)
Interpreting God’s command to Isaac in not to go to Egypt, Rabbi Hoshaya taught that God told Isaac that he was, by virtue of his near sacrifice in a burnt-offering without blemish, and as a burnt offering became unfit if it was taken outside of the Temple grounds, so would Isaac become unfit if he went outside of the Promised Land. (Genesis Rabbah 64:3.)
Commandments
According to MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
Sefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there are no commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)
In the liturgy
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
Haggadah
Haggadah of Pesach
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah...
, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
, in a reference to Abraham’s visitors in recounts how God knocked on Abraham’s door at the heat of the day on Passover and Abraham fed his visitors matzah
Matzo
Matzo or matzah is an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday, when eating chametz—bread and other food which is made with leavened grain—is forbidden according to Jewish law. Currently, the most ubiquitous type of Matzo is the traditional Ashkenazic...
cakes, deducing the season from the report in that Lot fed his visitors matzah. (Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 126. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.) The Haggadah recounts that Abraham ran to the herd. (Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 111. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9.) And the Haggadah continues that it was thus on Passover that the Sodomites were consumed by God’s fire, as reported in (Davis, at 111; Tabory, at 126.)
Also in the nirtzah section of the seder, in a reference to or the Haggadah recounts how God judged the King of Gerar Abimelech in the middle of the night. (Davis, at 108; Tabory, at 123.)
The Rabbis understood Abraham’s devotion to God in the binding of Isaac in to have earned God’s mercy for Abraham’s descendents when they are in need. The 16th century Safed
Safed
Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...
Rabbi Eliezer Azikri drew on this rabbinic understanding to call for God to show mercy for Abraham’s descendents, “the son of Your beloved” (ben ohavach), in his kabbalistic
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
poem Yedid Nefesh (“Soul’s Beloved”), which many congregations chant just before the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
. (Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....
for Shabbat and Festivals, 14. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0916219208.)
And many Jews, following Kabbalistic masters from the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
to Arizal
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
, recite the binding of Isaac, after the morning blessings (Birkat HaShachar
Birkat HaShachar
Birkot hashachar or Birkot haShachar are a series of blessings that are recited at the beginning of Jewish morning services...
). The recitation of Abraham’s and Isaac’s willingness to put God above life itself is meant to invoke God’s mercy, to inspire worshipers to greater love of God, and to bring atonement to the penitent. (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 27–31. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
Haftarah
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is:
- for Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
: 2 KingsBooks of KingsThe Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
- for Sephardi JewsSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
: - for Karaite JewsKaraite JudaismKaraite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Halakhah, as well as in theology...
: –
The parshah and haftarah in 2 Kings both tell of God’s gift of sons to childless women. In both the parshah and the haftarah: God’s representative visits the childless woman, whose household extends the visitor generous hospitality ; the husband’s age raises doubt about the couple’s ability to have children ; God’s representative announces that a child will come at a specified season in the next year ; the woman conceives and bears a child as God’s representative had announced ; death threatens the promised child ; and God’s representative intervenes to save the promised child .
Biblical
(God’s destruction in the flood); ; (numerous as stars); (abandoned infant); (God’s destruction of Egypt’s firstborn); (rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and his two servants were with him). (numerous as stars).; ; ;- JeremiahBook of JeremiahThe Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
(nothing too hard for God).
Early nonrabbinic
- EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
. Iphigeneia at AulisIphigeneia at AulisIphigenia in Aulis is the last extant work of the playwright Euripides. Written between 408, after the Orestes, and 406 BC, the year of Euripides's death, the play was first produced the following year by his son or nephew, Euripides the Younger, and won the first place at the Athenian city...
. 410 BCE. - Philo the Epic Poet. On Jerusalem. Fragment 2. 3rd–2nd century BCE. Quoted in EusebiusEusebius of CaesareaEusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
. Preparation for the GospelPreparation for the GospelΕὑαγγελικὴ Προπαρασκευή , commonly known by its Latin title Praeparatio evangelica, was a work of Christian apologetics written by Eusebius in the early part of the fourth century AD...
. 9:20:1. Translated by H. Attridge. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 2: Expansions of the “Old Testament” and Legends, Wisdom and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms, and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic works. Edited by James H. CharlesworthJames H. CharlesworthJames H. Charlesworth is the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is noted for his research in Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Dead Sea Scrolls,...
, 783. New York: Anchor BibleAnchor Bible SeriesThe Anchor Bible project, consisting of a Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary, and Reference Library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, when individual volumes in the commentary series began production...
, 1985. ISBN 0-385-18813-7. (binding of Isaac). - VirgilVirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
. GeorgicsGeorgicsThe Georgics is a poem in four books, likely published in 29 BC. It is the second major work by the Latin poet Virgil, following his Eclogues and preceding the Aeneid. It is a poem that draws on many prior sources and influenced many later authors from antiquity to the present...
4:456. 37–30 BCE. (OrpheusOrpheusOrpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
and EurydiceEurydiceEurydice in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo . She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake,...
.)
- JubileesJubileesThe Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
17:1–18:19. - JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
. AntiquitiesAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
, 1:10:5; 1:11:1–4; 1:12:1–4; 1:13:1–4. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - 4 Maccabees4 MaccabeesThe book of 4 Maccabees is a homily or philosophic discourse praising the supremacy of pious reason over passion. It is not in the Bible for most churches, but is an appendix to the Greek Bible, and in the canon of the Georgian Bible...
13:11–12; 16:18–20. - Epistle of BarnabasEpistle of BarnabasThe Epistle of Barnabas is a Greek epistle containing twenty-one chapters, preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament...
7:3–4. - HebrewsEpistle to the HebrewsThe Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
11:11–19. - JamesEpistle of JamesThe Epistle of James, usually referred to simply as James, is a book in the New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", with "the earliest extant manuscripts of James usually dated to mid-to-late third century."There are four views...
2:20–24. - Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
2:124–32; 11:69–83; 15:51–79; 29:31–35; 37:99–113; 51:24–37; 53:53–54; 69:9–10. Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Bava Kamma 8:7; Avot 5:3, 6, 10. 3rd century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Berakhot 1:15; Maaser Sheni 5:29; Rosh Hashanah 2:13; Taanit 2:13; Megillah 3:6; Sotah 4:1–6, 12, 5:12, 6:1, 6; Bava Kamma 9:29; Sanhedrin 14:4. 3rd–4th century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2. - SifreSifreSifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
to Deuteronomy 2:3. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy. Translated by Jacob Neusner, vol. 1, 26. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-145-7. - Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Berakhot 4b–5a, 43a–b; Peah 8b; Yoma 18a. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1, 3, 21. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005–2011. - Genesis RabbaGenesis RabbaGenesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 48:1–57:4. Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2. - Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 26b–27a, 29a, 56b, 62b; Pesachim 4a, 54a, 88a, 119b; Yoma 28b, 38b; Rosh Hashanah 11a, 16b; Taanit 8a–b, 16a; Megillah 28a, 31a; Moed Katan 16b; Yevamot 63a, 65b, 76b–77a, 79a; Ketubot 8b; Nedarim 31a; Sotah 9b–10b; Kiddushin 29a; Bava Kamma 92a, 93a; Sanhedrin 89b; Chullin 60b. Babylonia, 6th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- Solomon ibn GabirolSolomon ibn GabirolSolomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah , was an Andalucian Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher with a Neoplatonic bent. He was born in Málaga about 1021; died about 1058 in Valencia.-Biography:...
. A Crown for the King, 7:67. Spain, 11th century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, 10–11. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-511962-2. - RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Genesis 18–22. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:173–240. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9. - Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 2:14, 80; 5:20. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 91, 130–31, 282–83. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4. - Shalom Spiegel and Judah Goldin. The Last Trial: On the Legends and Lore of the Command to Abraham to Offer Isaac as a Sacrifice: The Akedah. Jewish Lights: 1993. ISBN 1-879045-29-X
- ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
1:97a–120b. Spain, late 13th century.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 3:34, 36, 38, 40, 42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 436–37, 456–57, 460, 486, 500–01, 584–85. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950. - Søren KierkegaardSøren KierkegaardSøren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...
. Fear and TremblingFear and TremblingFear and Trembling is an influential philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio...
. 1843. Reprint, London: Penguin Classics, 1986. ISBN 0-14-044449-1. - Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
The Jewish Cemetery at Newport . Boston, 1854. Reprinted in Harold BloomHarold BloomHarold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
. ‘‘American Religious Poems’’, 80–81. New York: Library of America, 2006. ISBN 978-1-931082-74-7. - Emily DickinsonEmily DickinsonEmily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
. Poem 504 (You know that Portrait in the Moon —); Poem 1317 (Abraham to kill him —). Circa 1874. In The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Edited by Thomas H. Johnson, 245, 571–72. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1960. ISBN 0-316-18414-4.
- Wilfred OwenWilfred OwenWilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
. The Parable of the Old Man and the YoungThe Parable of the Old Man and the YoungThe Parable of the Old Men and the Young is a poem by Wilfred Owen which compares the ascent of Abraham to Mount Moriah and his near-sacrifice of Isaac there with the start of World War I...
. 1920. In The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen. Edited by C. Day Lewis, 42. New York: New Directions Publishing, 1965. ISBN 0811201325. - Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 9, 54, 79–82, 91, 97–98, 141, 147–49, 152–55, 159–60, 227–28, 294, 347, 363–64, 386, 400, 425, 471, 474–75, 488, 498, 520–22, 693, 715–16, 748, 806. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - Anne FrankAnne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
. The Diary of a Young GirlThe Diary of a Young GirlThe Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen...
: The Definitive Edition. Edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler; translated by Susan Massotty, 294. New York: Doubleday, 1995. ISBN 0-385-47378-8. Originally published as Het Achterhuis. The Netherlands, 1947. (“And what do they mean by [the guilt of] Sodom and Gomorah.”) - Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
. Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac, Op. 51. 1952. - Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
. “Aunt Hagar's Blues.” In Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy. Columbia Records, 1954. - Morris Adler. The World of the Talmud, 94. B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, 1958. Reprinted Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0548080003.
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. “Highway 61 Revisited.” In Highway 61 RevisitedHighway 61 RevisitedHighway 61 Revisited is the sixth studio album by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in August 1965 by Columbia Records. On his previous album, Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan devoted Side One of the album to songs accompanied by an electric rock band, and Side Two to solo acoustic numbers...
Columbia Records, 1965. - Martin BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. - Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
. Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance With DeathSlaughterhouse-FiveSlaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about World War II experiences and journeys through time of a soldier called Billy Pilgrim...
, 21–22. New York: Dell, 1968. ISBN 0-440-18029-5. - Elie WieselElie WieselSir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
. “The Sacrifice of Isaac: a Survivor’s Story.” In Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits & Legends, 69–102. New York: Random House, 1976. ISBN 0-394-49740-6. - Phyllis Trible. “Hagar: The Desolation of Rejection.” In Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives, 9–35. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. ISBN 0-8006-1537-9.
- Pat BarkerPat BarkerPat Barker CBE, FRSL is an English writer and novelist. She has won many awards for her fiction, which centres around themes of memory, trauma, survival and recovery. Her work is described as direct, blunt and plainspoken.-Personal life:...
. RegenerationRegeneration (novel)For the 1997 film adaptation of the novel see Regeneration .Regeneration is a prize-winning novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1991. The novel was a Booker Prize nominee and was described by the New York Times Book Review as one of the four best novels of the year in its year of publication...
, 149–50. New York: Dutton, 1992. ISBN 0-525-93427-8. - Charles Oberndorf. Testing. New York: Spectra, 1993. ISBN 0-553-56181-2.
- Pat SchneiderPat SchneiderPat Schneider is an American writer, poet and editor.-Biography:Schneider was educated at Central College in Missouri, and earned her MA from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. In 1979 she became a graduate of the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of...
. Sarah Laughed. In Long Way Home: Poems, 46–47. Amherst, Mass.: Amherst Writers and Artists Press, 1993. ISBN 0-941895-11-4. - Aaron WildavskyAaron WildavskyAaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management....
. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel, 5–6, 15, 17–29. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3. - John Kaltner. “Abraham’s Sons: How the Bible and Qur’an See the Same Story Differently.” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
18 (2) (Apr. 2002): 16–23, 45–46. - VocolotVocolotVocolot is a contemporary Jewish women's a cappella ensemble based in California consisting of Elizabeth Stuart, Julia Bordenaro, Shana Levy, and director Linda Hirschhorn, founded in 1988. The group performs original compositions and arrangements of traditional Jewish, folk, and world-music songs...
. “Sarah and Hagar.” In HeartBeat. Berkeley: Oyster Albums, 2002. - Alan Lew. This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, 122. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2003. ISBN 0-316-73908-1. (the Rosh Hashanah readings).
- Elie Wiesel. “Ishmael and Hagar” and “Lot’s Wife.” In Wise Men and Their Tales: Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters, 3–28. New York: Schocken, 2003. ISBN 0-8052-4173-6.
- Anthony HechtAnthony HechtAnthony Evan Hecht was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War, in which he fought, and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work.-Early years:Hecht was born in New York...
. Lot’s Wife. In Collected Later Poems, 192. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0375710302. - Aaron Wildavsky. Moses as Political Leader, 133–36. Jerusalem: Shalem Press, 2005. ISBN 965-7052-31-9.
- Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. The Audacity of HopeThe Audacity of HopeThe Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream is the second book written by then-Senator Barack Obama. In the fall of 2006 it became number one on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestsellers lists after Obama was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey. In the book, Obama expounds on...
, 220. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-307-23770-5. - Rosanna Warren. “Hagar.” In Harold BloomHarold BloomHarold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
. American Religious Poems, 379. Library of America, 2006. ISBN 978-1-931082-74-7. - Suzanne A. Brody. “Lishma” and “Vayera.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 32, 65. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Esther JungreisEsther JungreisEsther Jungreis is the founder of the international Hineni movement in America. A Holocaust survivor, she has made it her life's mission to bring back Jews to Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
. Life Is a Test, 19, 21, 27–29, 134, 214–15. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007. ISBN 1-4226-0609-0. - Pharaoh's DaughterPharaoh's DaughterPharaoh's Daughter is a world music band from New York City. Their music is a mix of American folk, Jewish klezmer, and Middle Eastern sounds.The bandleader is Basya Schechter...
. "Hagar." In Haran. Oyhoo Records, 2007. - Jeff PinknerJeff PinknerJeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
and Brian K. VaughanBrian K. VaughanBrian Keller Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer. He is best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad, and was one of the principal writers of the television series Lost, during seasons three through five...
. “Catch-22Catch-22 (Lost)"Catch-22" is the 17th episode of the third season of Lost, and the 66th episode overall. It was aired in the US on April 18, 2007 on ABC. The episode was written by Jeff Pinkner and Brian K. Vaughan, and directed by Stephen Williams...
.” In LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. New York: American Broadcasting CompanyAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, 2007. (binding of Isaac plot element). - Amos Frumkin. “How Lot’s Wife Became a Pillar of Salt.” Biblical Archaeology ReviewBiblical Archaeology ReviewBiblical Archaeology Review is a publication that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible and the Near and Middle East . Covering both the Old and New Testaments, BAR presents the latest discoveries and...
. 35 (3) (May/June 2009): 39–44, 64. - D.A. Powell. “bound isaac” In Chronic: Poems, 58–59. Saint Paul: First Graywolf Printing, 2009. ISBN 1-55597-516-X.
Texts
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, California
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- Aish.com
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- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
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- G-dcast
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- Jewish Agency for Israel
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- Krista Tippett on Being
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- MyJewishLearning.com
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- Pardes from Jerusalem
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- Rabbi Dov Linzer
- RabbiShimon.com
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- TorahVort.com
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?
- Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
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