posts so far for parshat Vayera

2011

1. Vayera sources -- in 2008, it was just links by perek and aliyah to the appropriate page in an online Mikraot Gedolot. Then improved and expanded, year after year.
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2. YU Torah on parashat Vayeira.
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3. Isn't 3 seah a lot of flour for three men? A seah is an enormous amount of grain. 1 seah = 6 kav. 1 kav = 24 eggs. Therefore, 1 seah = 144 eggs. And 3 seah is 432 eggs. And Avraham told Sarah to take 3 seah of meal and flour to prepare ugot for the angels. Are they truly such gluttons?
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4. Peshitta for Bereshit perek eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty one.
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5. Did Avraham serve the milk with the meat, or did he serve them separately? The gemara, Chizkuni, Daas Zekeinim, and Rav Chaim Kanievsky make some interesting diyukim. Plus, how I would understand the gemara in Bava Metzia. Did the Avos keep the Torah?
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6. Did Nimrod and Company, or Hashem, perform the הִתְעוּ אֹתִי to Avraham? Considering a trup dvar Torah in Bikras Avraham.
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7. The parasha of Lot --
   I noted the following interesting dvar Torah on parashat Vayera at Avakesh:
   

   אין לך שבת ושבת שלא יהא קורין בו פרשתו של לוט 

   "There is not a Shabbos in which we do not read the parasha of Lot" Bereshis Rabbah 51:9 (see the commentary there Nezer HaKodesh)

   There are those who say this midrash is a printer’s error since we only read the Parasha of Lot once a year on parshas Vayeira. However, the Munkatcher Rebbe (in Chaim V'Shalom) says... 

   I am not really interested in kabbalistic or chassidic explanations, so I won't discuss the continuation, but the first part caught my eye. What is the meaning of this strange statement in Bereishit Rabba? And what is this printers error to which he refers?
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8. A consistent explanation of shalshelet, across Tanach -- Considering explanations for the shalshelet in our parashah, as well as across Tanach. Rav Kanievsky has a consistent midrashic explanation. I give a drier, more technical explanation.

2010

1. Sodomites and Procrustes --  A parallel between a midrash and a Greek myth, and what this might mean.
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2. When did the Sodomites turn evil? Major repercussions, depending on whether it was before or after Lot arrived.
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3. Hershele Ostropoler and the bone -- ולשרה בן! Heh.
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4. I Spy ... A Ram! But is it one ram, or a ram behind, or afterwards? A consideration of the textual evidence for achar vs. echad. But in terms of the Peshitta, I got it seriously wrong. See note on next item.
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5. As a followup to 'I Spy... a Ram' (see immediately above, item 4), More on achar / echad, in the Peshitta and Onkelos.The threefold girsological variant in Onkelos on Vayera, paralleling precisely the Peshitta. However, this is wrong, at least as it applies to the Peshitta. I accidentally did not use the Peshitta. The site I used, peshitta.org, has a tri-linear Targum, which I took to be a presentation of the Peshita. But actually, their Tri-linear Targum, on Tanach, is not the Peshitta. My rather serious bad. כשם שקיבלתי שכר על הדרישה כך אקבל שכר על הפרישה. In terms of Onkelos, I think the observations still hold true..
6. Avraham Avinu as author of Sefer Yetzira -- Whether hanefesh asher asu beCharan is indicative of this. Did Avraham create golems? Did he create cattle? In terms of the latter, Malbim says the same thing. So either baruch shekivanti in my derivation of this idea from the pasuk, or else it was in the back of my mind and guided my suggestion.
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7. The Malbim, that Avraham created the calf via Sefer Yetzira -- as a followup. The text of the Malbim. Plus, people often attribute this position to him, and stop there, but in fact he attributes this view to Chazal, so we should really try looking further to identify the midrash.
8. Also, Rabbi Slifkin has a nice post on the moral / ethical challenge of the Akeida. From a parshablog Vayera post from 2005, why I don't think this is really a moral / ethical challenge, and that it is beside the thematic point of the story.
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9. Trup and Peshat in the judgement of Sodom -- How some Rishonim takes cues from the trup in how to parse the pasuk of erda na.

2009

1. Yaer Hashem as a revival of Yitzchak, after his soul flew from his body at the akeida.
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2. What was Yonah's message in the beginning of sefer Yonah? I think that כִּי עָלְתָה רָעָתָם לְפָנָי is parallel to what we find by Sodom, namely זַעֲקַת סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה כִּי-רָבָּה and הַכְּצַעֲקָתָהּ הַבָּאָה אֵלַי. And וַיַּהֲפֹךְ, which we find later, is certainly parallel.
3. Were Avraham's actions praiseworthy in washing the feet of the malachim first? I believe so. Rashi is not changing the midrash from the gemara, but basing himself on the midrash in Bereishit Rabba. But on the other hand, there does seem to be a contradiction between Rashi on Avraham's action and Rashi on Lot's action. I suggest that they are indeed contradictory, but that Rashi has a different focus. In the comment section, SoccerDad notes Artscroll's explanation. I cite the text of the explanation -- one, that perhaps Rashi never said it, and two, a possible harmonization, and explain what I like and dislike about the harmonization.
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4. Would Hashem condescend to talk to a woman? Three different approaches as to whether Hashem spoke to Sarah. The provocative title comes from the last position, that of Ibn Caspi. (Though see the comment section how this approach may have strong midrashic precedent.)
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5. Does Ibn Caspi maintain that Hashem appeared to Avraham in human form? He writes in a deliberately ambiguous manner, but after assembling all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, it would certainly seem so. This is a form of weak corporealism. God's true form is not human; this is just a disguise -- or rather, it is like God speaking from between the keruvim.
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6. Why does Rashi, or the Torah, specifically reference worshiping the dust of their feet? The question, I thinks, is based on mistaken assumptions. And the answer is that washing the feet is primarily an act of hospitality, and the Torah and Rashi agree to this. Once that is in place, there are derashot on the respective order of different acts of hospitality, where one resolution is that there is concern for this particular type of idolatry. One could not readily substitute another idolatry, since we are first bound by the peshat meaning and the historical sequence of events.
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7. The destruction of Sodom by lightning bolt? According to Shadal, lightning igniting natural deposits of tar and crude oil. Afterwards, a smell of sulfur.
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8. And related to this, the text of Clericus, translated into English, so we can see the full lightning-bolt theory. And what he said about lightning, and what this might teach us about Chazal and science.
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9. What was Avraham's relationship to Sarah? Was he lying or telling the truth that she was indeed his paternal sister? If telling the truth, how do we understand the words describing the relationship? And how do we make it accord with the genealogy given at the end of parshas Noach, and the midrash that Sarah was Yiskah?
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10. Avimelech, also stuffed up? And how we are to understand vayeileidu, if Avimelech also seems to be part of the group; and how to understand kol rechem in the next pasuk.
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11. Dual interpretation of Netziv Melach, from Ovid -- his Metamorphoses, the story of Baucis and Philemon, seems based on the story of the destruction of Sodom. Besides noting the parallels, I notice that there is a parallel both for looking at the city destroyed and turning into a monument.
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12. Avraham teaches us humility and generosity -- according to Ralbag. Yet, I suggest there as follows: While these are indeed two important middot that we can learn from Avraham, perhaps we can also learn from the limitations he placed upon these middot. Yes, he said that he was but dust and ashes, but this was a preface to arguing with Hashem! And he basically accused the Judge of the entire world of not acting with Justice! And he bargained with Hashem to try to spare Sodom. Throughout, he acknowledged how small and insignificant he was, but he still did this great thing, which takes tremendous chutzpa... And so to in terms of generosity and hospitality. He was a tremendous host to these people / angels. And yet, the midrash makes a point of the limitations of this. While the typical order might not have had washing feet first (where washing feet is admittedly very important for someone who has been trudging through the hot sand for days), he moved the order earlier. This was because he wanted to be hospitable, but at the same time he did not want to bring the negative influences of avodah zarah into his house...
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13. Those mean Sodomites, who made uncomfortable beds for their guests! Bowdlerizing midrashim.
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14. Can angels eat?! Don't transform a genuine machlokes into evidence of a deep pnimiyus meaning.
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15. Are there limitations to Hashem's omniscience? His hashgacha? According to Ibz Ezra (and Tzafnat Paneach and Mechokekei Yehuda, interpreting him. Yet Avi Ezer will have none of it, and presents a creating reinterpretation.

2008

1. In The Age of Trup, pt iv, we see that Ramban pays heed to the vowel points in the Divine Name in Vayera, when establishing his peshat. And see part v, where Rabbenu Bachya feels free to offer interpretations against the nikud in Vayera, in a portion I bring down myself. And in part vi, Abarbanel offering a peshat against the nikud in parshat Vayera.
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2. How Rabbinit Keren Is Tzniusdik, by dressing like a tent, like Sarah Imenu. And how she is not, based on Shir HaShirim.
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3. The Duplication in Sarah-As-Sister Stories, and why this is not problematic at all, based on an explicit pasuk.
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4. A Censored Baal HaTurim on Vayera, about Avraham protecting those with brit milah from Gehinnom, except for some. And an elaboration on the etiology of that midrash.
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5. What was the name of Lot's wife? And why should we care? A discussion of why midrashim supply names for Biblical characters which were previously without, of how they go about supplying these names, and what such names can teach all. Also, a tracking this particular midrash through three sources, and perhaps the aims of each source.
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6. Did Avimelech touch Sarah, while Pharaoh did not? Trying to understand the Baal Haturim, about how the setirah caused Hashem to decide to make her pregnant, and how there is a difference from the incident with Pharaoh. Also, whether Rashi gives a similar interpretation of משמוש here.
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7. Were the malachim who met with Avraham angels or prophets? And how, if they are men, they performed miracles in Sodom. Based on Ralbag.
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8. How sure was Avraham of Hashem's command to bind Yitzchak? According to Rambam, his decisive action was a clear demonstration of the clarity of his prophecy. According to Ralbag, it seems that this was the test, to see if he would interpret it in a different way.

2007

1. Why Do We Care That Lot Ate Matza on Pesach, midrashic anachronism, and that perhaps the importance of this midrash here is to fix the time of this second promise of a child from Sarah.
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2. The Scribal Emendation of Avraham Standing, and whether this means actual emendation of the Biblical text, or something else.
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3. The Motivation of Lot's Daughters -- To preserve the world? Their family line? Because while men were present, they were not appropriate shidduch material? Seforno and Shadal on the latter.
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4. The Sin of Sodom Was Beating Up Women On Buses -- Relating the parsha to current events.
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5. The Sodomite Practice of Stretching or Amputating Legs -- and how it relates to the middat Sedom. Each person must conform, and take up exactly the space allocated to him.
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6. Tales From The Gemorrah -- a true, funny story.
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7. Hashem And Two Angels Walk Into A Tent -- A reading of Vayera that has Hashem assume human form. And how Rashi deals with each aspect of this.
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8. Noach And Lot -- various links between the two, who were survivors of massive destruction.
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9. A Star In The East? So says Zohar on parshas Vayera:

1. "In the year sixty-six the Messiah will appear in the land of Galilee. A star in the east will swallow seven stars in the north, and a flame of black fire will hang in the heaven for sixty days, and there shall be wars towards the north in which two kings shall perish. Then all the nations shall combine together against the daughter of Yaakov in order to drive her from the world. It is of that time that it is written: "And it is a time of trouble unto Yaakov, but out of it he shall be saved" (Jeremiah 30:7)."

   Perhaps this was a partial basis of Jewish mystics believing that Venus portended the arrival of Moshiach.
   

2006

1. Hashem Sent Wayfarers -- Discussing the textual footholds for various elements of the midrash: that Hashem took the Sun out of its sheath so as to keep away guests; that Avraham was troubled by their absence; that as a result of this, Hashem sent angels in the guise of men.
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2. Sending Eliezer to Look For Guests -- How do we know this was on the third day since circumcision? Several answers. How do we know that before he himself went out to look, Avraham sent Eliezer? The derasha from elav.
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3. How Long After Avraham's Bris Did Hashem Appear? How Soon After Sarah Laughed Did She Give Birth to Yitzchak? To the first question, three answers: 3 days; 0 days; 90 days. Bases for these answers.

2005

1. Dr. Leiman's Speech At Etz Chaim -- which includes a tie-in to the parsha. Avraham would listen to an angel to save. But to kill (including placing someone under a ban) you need to here from Hashem himself. A story about Rav Shlomo Zalman of Velozhin.
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2. The Sin of Sodom -- on a peshat level like Chazal, that it was cruelty to strangers and inhospitality. Based on the contrast with Avraham's hospitality; based on comparison to the concubine of Giveah; protection due a guest; even if sodomy, it can be sodomy as a method of cruelty; finally, other verses in Tanach referring to the sin of Sodom.
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3. The Pluperfect יֹשֵׁב a -- cross-listed with Chayyei Sarah. How the word is pluperfect. The tension between the krei and the ketiv. Avraham was sitting, and Hashem tells him to stay sitting. Lot is sitting as judge, but only today. Ephron comes to a high position that day.
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4. וְהוּא אַחֲרָיו a- What was behind him? The tent or tent door; Yishmael; the tent door at the opposite side of the tent -- matching the idea of a tent door to each of the compass directions.
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5. A Moral or Ethical Struggle? The story of the Binding of Yitzchak is a personal/emotional struggle, rather than a moral/ethical struggle. This is clear throughout the narrative but is stressed at the beginning. Moral/ethical questions here are misplaced, for reasons I get into.
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6. Avraham's Sacrifice and Struggle -- The poetic form of God's command and repetition of son in various ways is a way of underscoring the dramatic tension involved. And it is followed through throughout the narrative. Also, some E/J stuff.
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7. Rivka's Age -- What's the purpose in making Rivka 3 years old?
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8. An Elderly God? rather than an elderly husband
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9. Avraham's Special Tent -- with entrances in each compass direction. And two derivations for this special tent.

2004

• On Sarah, Wombs, Chazal, and Science (2004) -- My own take on an issue dealt with by Hirhurim, from a text-analytical point of view.

2003

• Moav's Book -- about his grandmother. humor.
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• Salt and the City -- Who exactly turned to a pillar of salt? Ralbag's view.
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• Did Avraham serve the malachim בשר בחלב? First milk, then meat. Or they didn't actually eat. A harmonization between the midrash that they didn't eat and that they violated.
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• Is the Code of Hammurabi the dina demalchuta of Avraham? Matching instructions in the code of Hammurabi for such rules of giving maidservants as wives, elevating and demoting in status. And why Sarah wants them out of the house.

To be continued...