D'var Torah:
The rite of passage for every child reaching maturity is largely due to generating and fulfilling their own set of values. As Jews, and as human beings, we all are united with the same determination to fulfill our values to the best of our abilities. Our shared values connect us as a community. Today we explore the Torah portion of Vayeira, a controversial and much-debated parsha, as G-d’s wrath and judgment is greatly displayed through this portion of the Torah.
The parsha begins with Abraham and Sarah. Three days after Abraham is circumcised, the day which is distinguished as the most painful day after the procedure, G-d appears before Abraham's tent in the form of three angels. Despite Abraham’s pain, he welcomes the angels into his home with open arms. Also, he scurries around and hastens to make a feast for the strangers, despite his great discomfort. This behavior is demonstrating the act of hakhnasat orchim, meaning hospitality. As Jews, we all share the value of sharing what we have with those in need, which is exemplified in the Talmud, which states that “our houses should always be warm and welcoming to strangers.”
As the three men are eating, they tell Sarah that in exactly one year from that date she will have a child. Sarah disregards this and laughs since she is 90 years old at the time, clearly too old to bear a child. However, this offends the strangers and they ask “is anything too wonderful for the lord,” which pretty much means that G-d was offended by Sarah’s disregarding of the prediction of her to-be-born child.
One year after the strangers visited Sarah, she ends up bearing a child, who is named Isaac. Once Isaac is born, a servant’s son, Ishmael, mocks Isaac. This offends Sarah, so Abraham sends Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, out into the desert. Although at first Abraham doesn’t want to cast him away, G-d tells Abraham that Ishmael will end up being the ruler of a great nation. In the desert, Ishmael is about to die from thirst, and after Hagar has already laid brush over him, G-d shows her a source of water, and essentially saves Ishmael’s life. As Jews, we all share the value that G-d is a driving force in many situations. In synagogue, every week the mi sheberakh is sung, where we pray to G-d for healing for those who are in need.
Also in this parsha, G-d plans to destroy the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and give Abraham the land to rebuild people because they have become corrupt. So, he tells Abraham of his plan, but Abraham debates with G-d about how those who are righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah should not suffer the same fate as those who are evil, and G-d agrees. Abraham ends up negotiating all the way down from 50 commendable people in each city to 10 people, that G-d won’t destroy the city.
When G-d appears in Sodom in the form of two angels, Abraham’s nephew, Lot, takes these strangers into his home. Soon after, a mob surrounds Lot’s house, wishing to sexually abuse the two strangers. Lot refuses to let them. This is the act of Gmilut hasadim, or free acts of loving kindness. This is a value which all Jews derive their everyday behavior from. Eventually the strangers finally reveal that they are angels sent by G-d and essentially end up saving Lot and his family.
Afterwards, they help Lot’s family get out of Sodom before it is destroyed, although Lot’s wife looks back and is instantly turned into a pillar of stone. Lot and his two daughters eventually end up fleeing to the hills, at which time they believe that they are all that is left of mankind. For this reason, Lot’s two daughters end up getting Lot drunk and having sexual relations with him. This causes each of the daughters to become pregnant, and therefore attempting to “save” mankind, although they are not the last humans to exist.
In a time where every issue is so fiercely pressed to the public, where we are so compelled to divide and distinguish ourselves from our neighbors with yard signs and political buttons, how do we return to a sense of normalcy for the usually tight-knit and dependable Jewish community? In light of the election, where so many of our morals are weighed against each other, how do we determine what is most important to us?
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had no shared values, nothing driving them to strive to be a stronger unit, a stronger community. Therefore they became wicked, because they were not connected, an only out for themselves. Rather than citizens contributing to a greater, common good, the towns just became centers of corruption. The fact that there was a mob wishing to sexually abuse the two strangers in the town of Sodom just goes to show how heinous life without shared values would be. As Jews, we have a code of values, The Torah, to guide us. These shared values bind us together as a community and give us a roadmap to live together in a peaceful, moral, and cooperative way.
Workshop Reflection:
During our third workshop, we were lucky enough to have guest speaker Rabbi Dr. Danny Schiff. This workshop, we tried to answer the question, "What are our shared values?" Parents were welcomed, which brought a whole new set of views to the table. What better way to learn about shared values than with the people who raised us? After discussing what we, as individuals, thought were the most valuable qualities in a leader, we looked at the most qualities by some of our nation's top business leaders. After the Rabbi's and parents departure, and a short "recess," we analyzed array of different songs, including Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror, and John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change. As a cohort, we were surprised as to how deep these songs meanings really were, and how we had failed to see them in the past - despite knowing every lyric by heart. Finishing up the workshop, we attempted to draw figures with our eyes closed, having a partner's voice as our only guidance. After we had finished our drawing, we attempted to determine what it was that we had actually drawn. This showed how important communication truly is. At the end of the workshop, our cohort discussed how we were feeling about the Diller program as a whole. The general consensus was that everyone was enthusiastic and excited for all to come.
-From Jonathan Schermer
