Vayeira

In this parsha

Still recovering from his circumcision, Abraham welcomes three visitors who foretell Isaac's birth, and Sarah laughs in disbelief. Abraham pleads with God to spare Sodom, but the city and Gomorrah are destroyed; Lot and his daughters escape as his wife turns to a pillar of salt. After a sojourn in Gerar, Isaac is born and circumcised, while Hagar and Ishmael are sent away and rescued in the wilderness. The parsha culminates in the Akeidah, where Abraham binds Isaac upon the altar and, at the last moment, a ram is offered in his place.

Themes

• Milah and inner sight of Hashem
• Mitzvos as gateways to revelation
• The Akeidah, fear refining love
• Trials of the Avos
• Chesed tempering judgment
• Bittul brings closeness

Must-read teachings

1. 1The inner point as source of lifeIn the Midrash Tanchuma: on a weekday, eighteen berachos, and on Shabbos, seven. The Sefas Emes begins from the Midrash contrasting the weekday Shemoneh Esrei of eighteen blessings with the seven-blessing Shabbos Amidah. And in the Midrash …תרל"ד
2. 2Mitzvos as openings to Hashem's secretIn the Midrash: "the opening of the tent" — "a good opening You have opened…"; "the secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him" (Tehillim 25:14)…; "if you circumcise (timmol), you will take hold of the secret of Hashem…" The Midrash links t…תרמ"ח
3. 3Milah unlocks the hidden secret of HashemOn the verse "And He appeared to him" etc., and on the verse "Shall I conceal from Avraham" etc., and in the Midrash: "The secret of Hashem is for those who fear Him" — this is the milah (circumcision), for the secret of milah was not revea…תרמ"ז
4. 4Milah and mitzvos reopen the gates of Gan EdenIn the Midrash: "And after my skin is destroyed…" (Iyov 19:26) — from where was the Holy One revealed upon me? The Midrash homiletically asks about the "skin" — through which point did Hashem's revelation reach man — opening the discussion …תרמ"ט
5. 5Perceiving Hashem through the Divine imageIn the Midrash: "And after my skin... and from my flesh I shall behold God (u'mibesari echezeh Eloka)" (Iyov 19:26). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse teaching that a person can perceive Hashem "from his own flesh" — from contemplating hi…תרנ"ו
6. 6Akeidah unites chesed and gevurahIn the parsha of the Akeidah: "[your only son,] whom you love." The Sfas Emes opens from Hashem's words to Avraham at the Akeidah — "your son, your only one, whom you love." My grandfather, of blessed memory, explained: it is relatively eas…תרנ"ב
7. 7Trials that refine Avraham's love into an eternal pillarIn the Midrash: "You have given those who fear You a banner (nes)…" — like the mast (toren) of a ship … so that people should not say that whomever He wishes He draws near and raises up — see there. The Midrash on "natata li'reiecha nes" (T…תרמ"ט
8. 8Milah sealing holiness into body as seed of truthIn the Midrash: "And Hashem appeared to him" — "from my flesh I behold God." The Midrash connects Hashem's appearing to Avraham (after the milah) with the pasuk "from my flesh I behold God," teaching that the body itself can become a means …תרס"א