RaYBaSH’s Torah Thought’s
Parashah # 4: Vayeira: “And He Appeared”
B’reshit (Genesis) 18:1-22:24
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Summary:
Ch18: GOD and a
couple of angles visit Abraham in the guise of 3 strangers. And despite Abraham still healing up from his
circumcision at age 99, he doesn’t hesitate to be a good host and serve his guests
as was his custom. Here GOD promises Abraham
that a year from now that he’ll have a son, the promised one through his wife
Sarah.
Here God reveals
to Abraham His intentions to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham tries to bargain with GOD not to
destroy the city if there be 10 righteous people in it, but to no avail. No such 10 were found.
Ch19:
However, GOD dispatches his two angels to get Lot and his family out
before He destroys it. While there the
men of the city mob Lot’s house in an attempt to cease and rape his heavenly
guests. While trying to negotiate with
the mob the angels strike the men with blindness.
Lot and his family
flee the city to a cave, and his wife on the way looks back, despite the
command not to, and is turned into a pillar of salt.
For fear of not
finding husbands and procreating, Lots two daughters get him drunk and they end
up becoming pregnant by him, to produce two of Israel’s greatest enemies: The Ammonites and the Moabites.
Ch 20: Abraham moves to Gerar where the Philistine
King Abimelech takes Sarah into his harem, honestly thinking it was Abraham’s
sister. But God reveals the truth to Abimelech
in a dream and warns him to give her back or die! Abimelech confronts Abraham about this and Abraham
explains that he lied for fear of being killed for Sarah on account of her
beauty.
Ch.21: Yitzhak (Isaac) is born. Hagar and Ishmael are expelled, yet GOD saves
them and promises to make Ishmael into a great man and a great nation.
Ch 22: Abraham attempts to sacrifice Yitzhak (Isaac)
upon GOD’s command.
Abraham gets word
that a daughter has been born unto his nephew Bethuel, which is Rivkah
(Rebecca), Yitzhak’s (Isaac’s) future wife!
Commentary:
Gen.
18:1 “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in
the tent door in the heat of the day;” (KJV)
We find Abraham in the opening
passage sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day only 3 days
after his circumcision, which is the most painful day after the circumcision.
He see Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father) is carrying on, business as usual. He
is as Scripture and Tradition indicates, looking for strangers and sojourners
to entertain. As we brought out in last weeks Parashah, Abraham was a man of
HOSPITALITY and EVANGELISM:
“Gen.
13:18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of
Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. (KJV)
I would like to
mention briefly a trait that will be touched upon greater in the Parashot to
come, and that is one of HOSPITALITY.
Abraham is well
known in the Jewish and Muslim world for his hospitality. And you though
Southern Hospitality was great. Well, you haven’t experienced hospitality until
you have experienced it Middle Eastern style. They literally go out of their
way sparing no expense to honor you as a guest. They slaughtered their fatted
calf even if it meant that they later on would have to do without. You are
pampered, treated like royalty. Your feet would be washed, the best food,
drink, and dinner ware would be put out for you, and at the end of the evening
you would have an undying faithful friend who would give his life for you if
need be. But, on the flip side you certainly don’t want a Middle Easterner to
be your enemy as you will see in Gen. 14.
Jewish Legend and Traditions
states that Abraham had the habit of opening all four corners of his tent to be
able to see strangers coming from any direction so he could prepare entertain
them. He would sit under the trees of Mamre waiting for passersby’s to
entertain. We see a Scriptural example of this when he entertained the 3
strangers 3 days after his circumcision, which is the most painful day of the
whole ordeal (Gen. 18). While he would entertain strangers he would in the
process tell them of the One true G-d and thus he was also a MISSIONARY of
sorts.
Said Reish Lakish:
Read not "and he called (vayikra)" but "and he made
others call (vayakrei)." This is to teach us that Abraham caused God's
name to be spoken in the mouths of all passerby. How so? After they ate and drank
[in his home], they made to bless him. Said he to them: "Have you eaten of
mine? Your food has been provided by the G-d of the world! Thank, praise and
bless He who spoke the world into being!"-- Talmud, Sotah 10a
When Abraham's
guests wished to bless him for his generosity, he would say to them: Has the
food you have eaten been provided by myself? You should thank, praise and bless
He who spoke the world into being! If they refused Abraham would demand payment
for the food they had eaten. How much do I owe you? they would ask. A jug of
wine is one furlin, Abraham would say; a pound of meat, one furlin;
a loaf of bread, one furlin. When the guest would protest these
exorbitant prices, Abraham would counter: Who supplies you with wine in the
middle of the desert? Who supplies you with meat in the desert? Who supplies
you with bread in the desert? When the guest would realize the predicament he
was in he would relent and proclaim: Blessed be the G-d of the world, from
whose providence we have eaten. -- Midrash Rabbah; Tosofot Shantz on Sotah 10”
This is what the Talmud says about
Gen. 18:1:
It was the third day
from Abraham's circumcision, and God came to inquire after Abraham's health.
God drew the sun out
of its sheath, so that the righteous one should not be troubled with wayfarers.
Abraham sent Eliezer out [to seek travelers], but he found none. Said Abraham,
"I do not believe you," and himself went out, and saw God standing at
the door. -- Talmud, Bava Metzia 86b
Gen. 18:2 “And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men
stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and
bowed himself toward the ground,
3 And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight,
pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:” (KJV)
The Scriptures, no matter what
version you choose to use is quite clear on the identification of who the
strangers were despite what Jewish tradition may say they are.
One of the 3 seems to be the
leader of the group. And Abraham addresses Him as YHWH (LORD), God’s personal
name. In the King James whenever the word lord is capitalized this indicates
that it is the sacred name. Many Jewish versions of Scripture will either have
HaShem, meaning the Name, or Adonai, the Hebrew substitute for the Name YHWH.
Most of Natsari Judaism holds to
the belief that this is, as in the Gan Eden, as with Shimson’s (Samson’s)
parents, that this is Yeshua the Messiah in “Pre-incarnate” form, for lack of a
better term. Whenever the text says, “Angel of the LORD” or “the Word of the
LORD,” this is code, so to speak, to indicate that this is Yeshua the Messiah
that was to come. After all we believe that Yeshua was the agent who spoke the
world into existence according to Gen. 1 and John 1. And Yeshua, the Word can
be called YHWH as Abraham called Him because Yeshua the Messiah said, He and
the Father (YHWH) are One (John. 17).
Let me elaborate of our beliefs
concerning YHWH before any further confusion can ensue:
“Concerning what most of Christianity
refers to as the “Trinity”, (I refer to it as a Tri-unity) I believe that
Elohim (God) reveals Himself in many ways, characteristics and Sefirot,
including, but not limited to, Abba (the Father), the Word / the Ben
(Son), and the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit).
And I believe that these emanations from Elohim are coeternal, coequal,
and coexisting in one (echad) Divine essence.
The Seforitic Tree consists of many
charts and formulas, and lists many of HaShem’s attributes, so I will not get
into that. That is not the purpose of
this work. However, I will say that
there is a concept referred to as the “Three Pillars”, which consist of Binah:
Understanding, Keter: Crown, and Chochmah: Wisdom. The Sages refer to them as: Binah as the
Father/Abba, Chochmah as the Mother/Imma, and Keter as their Son/Ben. And these in turn would coincide with the
concept of the Tri-unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that the word for
Holy Spirit in the Hebrew is Feminine, which would lend credence to the “Three
Pillars” of the Seforitic Tree of Binah being Mother/Imma. In another place of Kabalistic literature,
there are references to the Lesser YHWH, which describes Yahshua Messiah
uncannily.
I DO NOT adhere to nor believe in tritheism or modalism, these beliefs
are INACURATE and HERETICAL!
“It is entirely tolerable to the Hebraic
mind to accept a paradox. To the
non-Hebraic mind, the paradox is seen as blatant contradiction, and is
summarily dismissed as nonsense.” – Bikurei Tziyon, issue 71, pg.29” – Get back
to the First Century
The other two beings that were
with ADONAI are angels sent to fetch Lot and his family from Sodom. We can not
be for certain whom these angels were but we can make and educated guess.
Tradition and the usual assignments of the named angels in Scripture seem to
indicate that the two angels were; Gabriel, the messenger angel who came to
warn Lot and his family, and Michael, the
warring angel.
This is what the Talmud says
concerning the identity of these angels. However I disagree that Raphael was
there. I believe Raphael the healing angels, exists, although he is not
mentioned in Canonical Scriptures, but he is mentioned in Apocryphal
literature.
“Who were the three
men? The angels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael ("Who is like God?")
came to bring the tidings to Sarah of Isaac's birth; Raphael ("Healing of
God"), to heal Abraham; and Gabriel ("Might of God"), to
overturn Sodom. But is it not written, "And there came the two angels to Sodom at evening"?
Michael accompanied Gabriel to rescue Lot.” --
Talmud, Bava Metzia 86b
The reason I do not believe
Raphael was there was because Abraham calls one of them YHWH, who we have
already established is the pre-incarnate Messiah, who has been deemed by many
as the “Great Physician,” He, no doubt could heal Abraham.
Gen. 18:4-8 “Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your
feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread,
and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye
come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham
hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures
of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto
the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and
he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had
dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they
did eat.” (KJV)
Abraham was not only a man of
Faith but a man of DEDICATION. He was dedicated to his mission and calling, to
care for desert travelers. He didn’t use his pain and affliction as an excuse
not to entertain guests. Can you imagine if Abraham told the strangers, “Sorry
fella’s, I just had minor surgery and I am in no condition to entertain you,
maybe I can help you next time you pass this way.” He would have missed out on
entertaining angels, and ADONAI Himself! He would have missed out on the prophecy
and the blessing of the son of Promise that was to be born unto him through
Sarah!
As Rav Sha’ul said:
Hebrews 13:1-2 Let brotherly love
continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares. (KJV)
Perhaps he was thinking of this
very passage when he penned those words through the inspiration of the Ruach
HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). For he know Avraham Avinu was a man of HOSPITALITY and
LOVE.
Every Patriarch and Prophet seemed
to model themselves after, and embody the Father of our Faith, the first
Hebrew, and the first Jew. Abraham was a foreshadow and type of Moshe (Moses),
and Messiah that was to come.
As we see Abraham spared no luxury
or expense in entertaining these strangers, this heavenly entourage.
Abraham is well
known in the Jewish and Muslim world for his hospitality. And you though
Southern Hospitality was great. Well, you haven’t experienced hospitality until
you have experienced it Middle Eastern style. They literally go out of their
way sparing no expense to honor you as a guest. They slaughtered their fatted
calf even if it meant that they later on would have to do without. You are
pampered, treated like royalty. Your feet would be washed, the best food,
drink, and dinner ware would be put out for you, and at the end of the evening
you would have an undying faithful friend who would give his life for you if
need be. But, on the flip side you certainly don’t want a Middle Easterner to
be your enemy …” – RaYBaSH’s Torah Thoughts #3 Lech Lecha
I would also like to add when one
entertains strangers in the Middle East, when
you take them into your home you are also bound to protect your guests with you
very life if necessary. We see this portrayed in Gen. 19 when Lot
attempts to protect the angelic visitors, who ironically end up protecting him
and his family!
Most of my readers know very well
the message of the LORD to Abraham was that he would have a son. So I will skip
this passage in order to further bring out the attributes of Abraham our forefather.
However, before we totally leave
this subject alone I would like to elaborate on what we call today as, “little
white lies” In most circles of Christianity it is not acceptable regardless the
situation. However Judaism see it a bit differently:
Gen. 18:12-13 “Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I
am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said
unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a
child, which am old?” (KJV)
Here we catch the Almighty in a
“lie by omission”; some may call it a, “little white lie.” Sarah calls Abraham
old.
This is what Rashi, one of the
greatest and most beloved Torah commentators has to say about these verses:
13. Is
it really true. Is it really true that I will give birth?- although I am old. Scripture altered [her statement] for the sake
of peace, for she had said, “and my master is old.” - from B.M. 87a
In other words ADONAI did not want
to disclose to Abraham everything Sarah said, because she said Abraham was old.
God did not want to hurt Abraham’s feelings, pride or dignity, nor cause an
argument between husband and wife on account of being “truthful” about Sarah’s
comment.
In Judaism, to embarrass someone,
or to hurt someone’s feelings is equivalent to murder. For by embarrassment or
anger, blood rushes to the surface of the skin (blushing) and it is counted as
if you had shed that blood in a murderous way.
Speaking badly about someone to hurt them, even if it may be true is
called, “La Shone Hara” (the evil tongue) and it was punishable by God
inflicting Tza’arets (Leprosy) upon the perpetrator. This is what happened to
Miriam Moshe’s (Moses’) sister when she spoke badly about his marriage to the
Ethiopian woman (Num. 12). Today the Rabbi’s and Sages say that the Leprosy is
now on our souls and not our flesh.
In last weeks Torah Portion it was
brought out that Abraham was a man of:
·
FAITH
·
ACTION
·
OBEDIENCE
·
SELFLESSNESS
·
HUMILITY
·
HOSPITALITY
·
BRAVERY
and
·
LOVE
And this week we see he was a man of
DEDICATION. But also he was a man of
COMPASSION.
Gen. 18:17-21 “And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that
he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep
the way of the L-RD, to do justice and judgment; that the L-RD may bring upon
Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the L-RD said, Because the cry of
Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go
down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it,
which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” (KJV)
When Abraham learns of the impending
doom of these cities, Abraham we see is not only concerned for his nephew Lot
and his kindred, but I believe also even the wicked of this city.
The reputation of Sodom has been down played in Canonical
Scriptures for simply being a place rife with sexual immorality. But this
wasn’t even the half of it.
It is well established that Sodom and Gomorrah is know for its
homosexuality and sins of a sexual nature. However, their sin was deeper than
just carnal indulgences and therefore wasn’t the only reason for it’s
destruction by ADONAI.
“According to
Legends of the Bible (the Book of
Jasher, and the Talmud) Sodom
was such a wicked city without care or compassion for the human plight that the
poor and travelers were forbidden by law to be given food or shelter. You could
be executed for giving food or shelter to anyone not a native of the city. As a
result the poor and the traveler would have to sleep out in the city square and
be subject to theft, rape, beatings, and murder.
It is said that one
of Lot’s daughters (Plotit)
born to him shortly after his rescue by his Uncle Avram and his men, gave pity
to a poor fellow by giving him food and was therefore burned alive on a pyre
for breaking the law.
Another account
tells of a rich mans daughter giving food and water to a stranger and was
therefore drenched in honey and was stung to death by various insects and her
heart rending cries was ignored by the people but not God. This was the last
straw for which God resolved to destroy Sodom.” – RaYBaSH’s Torah Thought’s #3:
Lech Lecah (Bold italics added)
In verses 22-33 so humbly and
eloquently bargains with God to spare the city if for no one else’s sake, for
Lot and his family and possibly a few righteous strangers or converts that may
be there. But alas, no one but Lot and his own
family was righteous.
For at best Abraham thought that
Lot and his clan would only account for 8 people, just like Noah and his
family. Lot his wife and three daughters and
their mates. The Torah only records 2 daughters, because of according to one
Jewish legend one daughter of Lot was executed
for showing pity on a stranger. But alas we see that not even 2 people besides Lot’s family was deemed righteous enough to spare the
city from destruction. We later find out that only 3 escape from Sodom; Lot and
two of his daughters. Lots wife (whose name according to Jasher was Ado) turned
to a pillar of salt, and Lot’s daughter’s betrothed mates didn’t come with
them.
II Pet. 2:5-10 “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth
person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of
the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned
them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should
live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the
wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing,
vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust
unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the
flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are
they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.” (KJV)
Here verse 7 of II Peter 5 states
that Lot was “just” the same Hebrew word meaning, RIGHTOUS. So it appears that
perhaps only Lot was righteous.
According to Legends of the Bible
by Louis Ginzberg:
“The destruction of
the cities of the plains took place at dawn of the 16 day of Nisan…”
There were sun and moon
worshippers in these cities and so one wouldn’t think the sun or the moon god
did this, ADONAI chose this date because the sun and moon were both visible at
dawn on this day to let the inhabitance of these cities know that It was the
God who was in control of both sun and moon who did this, the One true God, the
God of Abraham!
It is of no coincidence that these
events happened during the week of Passover, the Feast of Unleavened bread.
Here is another Scriptural hint that this was so.
Gen.19:3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto
him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did
eat. (KJV)
So we see that Abraham had a
compassion that even Noach (Noah) did not have:
“The Zohar compares the actions of two
righteous men, Noah and Abraham, when confronted with the knowledge that God
intends to destroy their fellow human beings for their wickedness. Noah set
about building an ark that would shelter the handful of righteous individuals
remaining in a corrupt world. In addition, the Midrash describes how he tried
to convince his generation to mend their ways and thus be saved from the Divine
decree. But the Zohar faults Noah for not also praying for their sake, as
Abraham did for the wicked inhabitants of Sodom.”
– Parasha in Depth from Chabad.org
Gen. 19:30-38 And Lot went up out of
Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared
to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the
firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in
the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us
make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed
of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the
firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay
down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn
said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make
him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may
preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night
also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she
lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot
with child by their father. And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same
is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a
son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of
Ammon unto this day.” (KJV)
Now Lot’s
daughters are looked down upon, or even as wicked for having children by their
father. But Jasher gives us a little more insight into this event. It was a
hard, yet noble and well meaning decision they made in doing this. For they
thought they were the only survivors left on earth. Therefore it fell upon them
to repopulate the earth, and they didn’t figure their father would consent to
this act. So as not to let the human race die out, they got their father drunk
and were impregnated by him.
Jasher 19:57 “And
Lot and his two daughters remained in the cave, and they made their father
drink wine, and they lay with him, for they said there was no man upon earth
that could raise up seed from them, for they thought that the whole earth was
destroyed.”
This is to show us
that even when we act with good intentions without knowing all the facts, we
can create a situation of lasting problems. For we see that the Ammonites and
the Moabites become a continual thorn in the flesh for Abraham’s seed Israel.
Sure Abraham
wasn’t perfect by any means. He was human and had faults just as we do. Even
though he was a man of FAITH, Abraham could be paranoid, fearful, and
overprotective at times which made him look like a conniving liar.
Abraham went
through the Kingdom of Gerar ruled by king Abimeleck, whose name means, “the
Kingly Father.” Abraham knew how perverse men of his day could be and that
they, especially kings would kill for a woman that they desired. So Abraham
told a half-truth to protect him and Sarah. But nonetheless Sarah was taken
into Abimelek’s harem and as a result ADONAI was going to kill Abimelek and
make his women childless. Abimelek confronts Abraham with this deception and
here we find that Abraham was RESPONISIBLE and ACCOUNTABLE. He was big enough
to admit to his mistake and do what he could to make it right. Sometimes,
ironically, it takes our faults to bring out our positive attributes.
Gen. 20:17-18 So Abraham prayed
unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and
they bare children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house
of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife. (KJV)
Let us end this Torah Portion with
a pivotal passage in Judaism and Christianity. Unfortunately Muslims hold that
is was Ishmael that was sacrificed and not Yitzhak (Isaac).
THE AKEIDAH
A devout Jew reads
this passage every morning during Shacharit (Morning) prayers. It’s called the Akeidah (The Binding): It begins as such:
“Our Gbd and Gbd
of our forefathers, remember us with a favorable memory before You, and recall
us with a recollection of salvation and mercy from the primeval loftiest
heavens. Remember on our behalf – O
Hashem, our God- the love of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Israel, Your
servants; the covenant, the kindness, and the oath that You swore to our father
Abraham at Mount Moriah, and the Akeidah, when he bound his son Isaac atop the
altar, as it is written in Your Torah.”
22:1 “Tested”
comes from the Hebrew word for a banner that you lift up for all to see. Thus, the Sages of Blessed memory, Peace be
upon them, said, “GOD “elevated” Abraham, trial upon trial, greatness after
greatness.”
Rabbi Jonathan
said, “A potter does not examine defective vessels, because he cannot give them
a single blow without breaking them.
What then does he examine? Only
sound vessels, for he will not break them even with many blows. Similarly the Holy One, Blessed be He, tests
not the wicked but the righteous.”
James 1:1-4, 12-13 “James, a
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing…Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when
he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:” (KJV)
GOD tests, not tempts.
V.2 “Only”
John
3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” (KJV)
“bring him up
there as an offering…” Literally: “Lift
him up” Jn.8:28 says:
“When you have
lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he…” Didn’t Yeshua say
in Jn.12:32 that if He be lifted up, He’d draw all men unto him?
“…one of the
Mountains” God is VERY specific. He was
referring to Mt. Moriah, because Mount Moriah IS Mt. Calvary,
the same place the Red Heifer was reduced to ashes, and the same place Yeshua
was crucified!
Matt. 21:6-9 “And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set
him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way;
others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the
multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the
son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the
highest.” KJV)
V.3a Matt. 21:6-9 speaks
of The Triumphal Entry “This is the same
donkey Moses rode into Egypt
(Ex.4:20) and the same one Messiah will arrive on (Zech. 9:9).” - Mishnah
“Two young men”
Traditionally said to be Eliazar Abraham’s servant, and Ishmael, his son by
Hagar. They were in essence the two
witnesses, and represented the two thieves on the cross next to Yeshua.
V.4 Despite what GOD told Abraham in verse 2, he
believed Isaac would return with him.
Notice the “WE” statements.
Heb.
11:17-19 “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that
had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was
said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to
raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a
figure.” (KJV)
3 days: Traditionally it is said that Satan tempted
and tried to trick Abraham and Isaac to try to either stop or invalidate the
sacrifice. Same thing happed to Yeshua
in the wilderness after his Mikvah (Baptism).
“Afar off”: Abraham saw the future sacrifice of Messiah.
John
8:56-59 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was
glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast
thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before
Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid
himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so
passed by.” (KJV)
V.6 Jn19:17 “And
He (Yeshua) bearing his cross went forth into the place called: the Skull,
which in Hebrew is called Golgotha…” This is the same as Mt. Moriah.
“Went together”
Amos 3:3 “How can two walk together unless they be in agreement?”
V.7-8 Mt.26:39 “O
my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou
wilt.”
When Yitzhak (Isaac)
knew he’d be the sacrifice he said, “As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives,
there is nothing in my heart to cause me to deviate either to the right or left
from the word that GOD has spoken to thee.
Neither limb nor muscle hath moved or stirred on account of this. But I am joyful and cheerful of heart in this
matter, and I say, “Blessed is the LORD who has this day chosen me to be a
burnt offering before Him.”
“GOD will seek out
(take out “for”) HIMSELF, THE LAMB for the offering.” Here GOD says not only that He will provide
but He Himself will be the sacrifice, and indeed He was in Yeshua Ha Moshiach
(The Messiah)!
“And the two of
them went together.” They are still in
agreement.
V.9 “The
place…” God again is VERY specific to
where He wants this done. GOD must have
been a realtor, “Location, Location, Location,” was so important in all He did.
“Built
and altar there…” “Abraham did build,
while Isaac handed him stones and mortar until they finished erecting the
altar.” -Legends of the Bible
“He bound Yitzhak
(Isaac)…”
Abraham 137 yrs.
Yitzhak (Isaac)
37yrs.
Yeshua 30’s also
Yitzhak (Isaac)
MUST have been a willing sacrifice. A 37
yr old can easily overtake and escape from a 137 year old if he wanted to.
We too must be a
willing sacrifice for GOD. “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable unto GOD which is your reasonable act of worship.” Rom.12:1
Legends of the
Bible says that Isaac said this: “Father, make haste, bare thine arm, and bind
my hands and feet securely, for I am a young man, but 37 years of age, and thou
and old man. When I behold the
slaughtering knife in thy hand, I may perhaps begin to tremble at the sight and
push against thee, for the desire unto life is bold. Also I may do myself injury and make myself
unfit to be sacrificed. I adjure you
therefore my father, make haste, execute the will of the Creator, and delay
not. Turn up thy garments, gird thy
loins, and after thou hast slaughtered me, burn me to fine ashes.”
As in verse 3,
Yitzhak (Isaac) was to be a “Burnt Offering” an “Olah” the highest order of
Levitical sacrifices.
1.
The
throat was slit.
2.
Blood
was caught and sprinkled on the Altar.
3.
The
Body was divided into pieces as prescribed by Oral Torah.
4.
The
pieces were placed on the Altar.
5.
The
pieces were wholly consumed by fire and reduced to ashes.
None of this,
“Plunging the knife into the heart” stuff you see in Christian paintings of the
Akeidah.
Abraham was not
only going to slit his son’s throat from ear to ear, but was going to
disembowel and dismember his own son, THEN he was going to burn him to
ashes! And as it says in Hebrews
11:17-19, Abraham literally believed GOD would resurrect Yitzhak (Isaac) from
that! The Shulamite woman in II Kings 4
believed that through Elisha Ha Navi (Elisha the Prophet) her boy (who like Isaac
and like Yeshua was of a miraculous birth) could be resurrected!
Before the Akeidah,
Abraham was said to have asked GOD: “Am I fit to perform the sacrifice, am I a
priest? Ought rather the High Priest
Shem (Noah’s son) to do it?” GOD replied: “When thou wilt arrive at THE
place, I will consecrate thee and make thee a priest.”
Ps.110:4, Heb.5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21 say that Yeshua is the High
Priest forever after the order of Melchezidek.
We as Natsari Jews
know that the Melchezidek priesthood DID NOT replace the Levitical priesthood,
but is rather a higher and older order of priesthood.
So, could Abraham
have been a Melchezideckian priest?
After all Yeshua IS!
V.10 “Abraham
stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slaughter his son.”
NOT raised it to
plunge it into his chest, BUT simply reached to grab the knife. And or STRECHED
out his hand to make a baracha (Blessing) as would be traditional before a
sacrifice. And or STRECHED out his hand
in preparation to slit his sons throat.
V.11-12 “Abraham,
Abraham…” Rashi says his name was
repeated twice to express love and urgency.
Could be: Abraham?
(As in, where are you? I need your attention.) Abraham! (As in, to get
his attention.)
V.13 Rams often
feed in thickets and while feeding it was easy for them to get their horns
tangled up in the branches.
The Ram had to
have had his horns caught in the thicket.
Why? Because if the ram would
have been cut or gouged by the ticket, it would have rendered the ram blemished
and invalid as a sacrifice. This is a
foreshadowing of Yeshua, he was that substitute sacrifice in our place and He
wore a crown of thorns on is head!
The Ram’s horns:
Legend has it that after the sacrifice GOD took the two horns of the ram
to heaven and made shofars out of them. One was bigger than the other. The smaller one was blown at the giving of
the Torah on Mt. Sinai.
Which was on Rosh Hashanah, as was the Akeidah. The Bigger One will be blown when the
Messiah returns! This too will occur
around Rosh Hashanah (I Cor.15:52; I Thess. 4:16).
And Abraham called the name of that place
Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it
shall be seen.
V.14 “YHWH Yireh”
Shem called the
place “Salem”
Abraham called it
“Yireh”
Which was the same
place the red Heifer was burnt, the same place Yeshua was crucified. You put the two names together you get;
“Yerushalayim”!
I Kings 9:3 “And ADONAI
said to him (Sholomo Melek/King Solomon) I have heard thy prayer and thy
supplication, that thou hast made before Me: I have hallowed this house which
thou has built, to put My name there FOREVER (not until Messiah comes); AND MINE EYES
AND MINE HEART SHALL BE THERE
PERPETUALLY.
So Abraham returned unto his young men, and
they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
V.19 “Abraham” NOT
“Abraham and Yitzhak (Isaac)”
There are two
traditions concerning this verse:
1.
Yitzhak (Isaac) ascended to heaven for 3
years.
2.
He
went to go study Torah with Shem.
I believe the
second tradition. For another tradition says that when he went to take Yitzhak (Isaac)
from Sarah, he told here he was taking him to study *Torah with Shem, but did
not tell her about his intentions to sacrifice Yitzhak so as not to worry
Sarah, and or cause her to refuse to let Yitzhak go.
*(We know the
Torah as we know it ( the 5 books of Moses) was not written yet, but Torah was
then orally transmitted from God to Adam to Seth on down to Shem and Abraham.)
1.
So, He
believed GOD would resurrect Isaac from ashes.
2.
He was
a Godly man and kept his word to Sarah and sent him to study Torah with Shem
after the Akeidah.
Shem died at 600 years
of age, and was only 390 when Abraham was born.
So Shem would have been 527 when Abraham sent Isaac to study Torah with
him.
Remember that a
devote Jew recites this passage every morning, and we began this reading with
the start of the traditional prayer? Now
that the passage has been recited the recitation ends with this prayer.
Master of the
Universe! May it be Your will, ADONAI, or God, and the God of our forefathers,
that You remember for our sake the covenant of our forefathers. Just as Abraham our forefather suppressed his
mercy for his only son and wished to slaughter him in order to do Your will, so
may Your mercy suppress Your anger from upon us and may Your mercy overwhelm
Your attributes. May You overstep with us the line of Your law and deal with us
– O ADONAI, our God- with the attribute of kindness and the attribute of
mercy. In Your great goodness may You
turn aside Your burning wrath from your people, Your city, Your land, and Your
heritage. Fulfill for us, ADONAI, our God,
the word You pledged through Moses, Your servant, as it is said: ‘I shall
remember My covenant with Jacob, also My covenant with Isaac, and also my
covenant with Abraham shall I remember; and the land shall I remember.’
And I say, “Thank
You for doing so in Yeshua Moshieynu (Yeshua our Messiah), Ba Shem (in the Name
of )Yeshua Moshieynu, Ameyn!
Ishmael’s Akeidah
Everyday in
prayer, once a year in our Torah Portion and every Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShannah)
we read of the Akeidah. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac upon God’s
command and we know Isaac was spared becoming a burnt offering because of the
Ram that was caught by it’s horns in the bushes and Abraham ended up offering
the Ram instead of his son. All of this because Isaac is the Promised One and
the Covenant made by God with Abraham was destined to be carried on through
Isaac and his descendants. However, we know of is first born through Hagar
named Ishmael. If one reads the Torah carefully you will see Ishmael too was
loved by God, regardless of what is descendants may have become today and all the
promises given to Isaac, save the Covenant, was given to Ishmael:
Gen.
17:17-21 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart,
Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah,
that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might
live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed;
and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him
for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I
have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and
will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make
him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah
shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
We see that:
·
Ishmael’s
Akeidah happened before Isaacs.
·
Instead
of Avraham it was Hagar, though Abraham too was grieved.
·
Instead
of a burnt offering it was death by thirst.
·
Instead
of a Ram as salvation it was the water well.
·
Tradition
says Isaac went to study with Shem after the Akeidah, we see Ishmael becomes
and Archer
·
Isaac
marries shortly after the Akeidah, as does Ishmael.
·
Isaac
was in his 30’s and Ishmael was in his teens.
Gen. 21:10-21 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman
and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even
with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his
son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of
the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee,
hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the
son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham
rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave
it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away:
and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water
was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And
she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow
shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over
against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the
lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her,
What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad
where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will
make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water;
and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God
was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of
the land of Egypt.
According to the Book of Jasher,
Abraham went into the wilderness to visit Ishmael several times and Ishmael
still loved and followed after the ways of Abraham and his God and took his
counsel. We see in the Torah that Isaac and Ishmael reconcile at the death of
their Father.
Gen
25:8-10 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old
man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and
Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of
Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; The field which Abraham purchased of
the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
Ishmael is thought and is claimed
to be the Muslim people. Ishmael is our cousin, Oh to God that we may bring him
back to the God and faith of Avraham Avinu (Abraham our Father)! So be it LORD!
So be it! Ameyn!
In this Parashah
we see Abraham is a man of DEDICATION and RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTIBILITY in
addition to the attributes we learned about Abraham from last week.
This concludes our
Torah Portion for this week, I hope and pray it was a blessing to you and you
were able to take something profitable away from it.
Shabbat Shalom and
Shavuah Tov!
– Yehudah ben Shomeyr
RaYBaSH’s Haftarah Hashings
Parashah # 4: Vayeira: “And He Appeared”
II Kings 4:1-37
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
This Haftarah
Portion links the Parasha through the Akedah (the Binding) of Isaac, for
Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac up from the ash heap of a burnt
offering that Isaac was supposed to become (Heb.11). And so too this woman who
miraculously gave birth to a one and only son. Elisha was like God to this
woman, informing her; like God informed Abraham and Sarah they were to have a
son.
II Kings 4:11-17 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he
turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call
this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said
unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this
care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or
to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she
hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had
called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to
the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou
man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a
son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of
life.
And just as
Abraham lost or thought he was to loose Isaac for a time, yet he knew his son
would be resurrected to him, so the Shunammite woman believed this as well.
II Kings 4:18-37 And
when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to
the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a
lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his
mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid
him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And
she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young
men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.
And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor
sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to
her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid
thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to
pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant,
Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say
unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with
the child? And she answered, It is well: And when she came to the man of God to
the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away.
And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and
the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I desire
a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi,
Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou
meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and
lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As
the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose,
and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the
face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went
again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. And when
Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his
bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto
the LORD. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his
mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and stretched
himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he
returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched
himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his
eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her.
And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in,
and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and
went out.
WOW! What
steadfast souls of miraculous faith Abraham and this Shunammite woman had.
Indeed they are more righteous than I, for I dare say I don’t think I would
have a resurrection type faith if I were in their sandals.
Faith to move
mountains is one thing (Matt. 17:20, 21:21), Faith to raise the dead seems
quite another!
“Oh, ADONAI! May
we achieve this type of Faith. For I fear we will need it in days ahead. B’shem
Yeshua Ha Moshiach, Ameyn (In the Name of Yeshua the Messiah, Amen)!”
Shabbat Shalom and
Shavuah Tov!
-Yehudah ben
Shomeyr
RaYBaSH’s Brit Chadashah Connections
Parashah # 4: Vayeira: “And He Appeared”
Hebrews 13:1-2, John 11:38-45
By: Yehudah ben Shomeyr
We read in our
Torah Portion about the angels visiting Abraham announcing the birth of Isaac.
In the Haftarah
Portion Elisha Ha Navi (The Prophet) is a type of angel (for angel in Hebrew
simply means, messenger) for he too delivers the message of a miraculous birth.
As Natsarim
(Nazarenes) we can’t help but think of the angels who announced the birth of
Messiah Yeshua (Luke 2).
All three; Isaac,
the Shunammite woman’s son, and Lazarus, died and or was as good as dead, and
all three resurrected!
Remember what
Moshiach (Messiah) said to Martha regarding his close friend Lazarus who also
died?
John 11:38-45 Jesus
therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a
stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of
him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath
been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the
stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and
said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou
hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that
they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried
with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound
hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin.
Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which
came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
For something to
be truly yours, truly ordained by God and entrusted in your care, we have to
find satisfaction in the possibility that it may not actually coming to pass.
That ministry idea that burns inside you and it seems it will never come to
fruition. Just remember who is the Resurrection and the Life. And don’t be
surprised that that thing you though was as good as dead, doesn’t rise after
all and even out lives you!
Shabbat Shalom and
Shavuah Tov!
-- Yehudah ben
Shomeyr
