Parshas Vayeira (5779)
In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, Parshas Vayeira, we read about the legendary kindness and hospitality of Judaism’s “First Coupleâ€, Abraham and Sarah [see Genesis 18:1-8].
The Midrash and Talmud elaborate on the modus operandi of this dynamic duo, and how, through their acts of kindness and philosophical arguments, they were able to bring many non-believers to embrace Ethical Monotheism.
For example, the Midrash Rabbah teaches that after enjoying a wonderful main course, masterfully prepared by Sarah and her kitchen staff, the (pagan) guests would say “thank youâ€. To which Abraham would respond, “Don’t thank us … thank the Master of the Universeâ€. This would lead to a long debate and discussion about how the universe came into being and why there must have been a First Cause. Generally, by the time the guests finished their coffee and cake they were already philosophically committed to the belief in One G-d and to the idea that life has ultimate purpose and meaning.
What many are not familiar with is a surprising Midrash Aggadah on Genesis 21:33 which tells us the following: If perchance one of Abraham and Sarah’s guests did not “come around†to their way of thinking even after all those debates and philosophical arguments, Abraham would say to him, “If you still don’t believe in G-d, I will make you pay (!) for the cost of the entire meal you have just eaten!â€. When the guest would realize his distress, he would ultimately agree with Abraham and accept that there is a G-d Who runs the world (at which time Abraham would rip up the bill and let him go without paying).
This Midrash is troubling for two reasons: First of all, how could our great ancestors Abraham and Sarah charge people for the meal they provided them? What kind of hospitality is that?! Secondly, even if their ultimate goal was to bring people to believe in G-d and morality, how could forcing people to believe in G-d by threatening to charge them lots of money accomplish that goal? Wouldn’t that be “religious coercion�
Around ten years ago, in an issue of the z-mail, I presented a possible interpretation of this difficult Midrash in which Abraham’s seemingly harsh tactic was actually part of a philosophical argument he was trying to make for believing in G-d.
Now I would like to try a different approach based on an alternate reading of the Midrashic text:
Perhaps the “distress†that the text is referring to (see above) is not the guest’s distress but Abraham’s, i.e. when a guest would see how distressed his host Abraham was that he wasn’t coming around to the belief in the One G-d and to the understanding that life has ultimate purpose and meaning – to the point that he would even resort to such desperate measures as to threaten the guest that he would charge him full price for the meal if he didn’t accept G-d – it made the guest pause to think that maybe Abraham was on to something with his “religion thingâ€, and that maybe there really truly is a G-d after all. This realization ultimately led to the guest’s full belief in the Master of the Universe (and more often than not becoming one of Abraham’s many followers).
Of course we now understand that what Abraham was trying to do by threatening to charge his unbelieving guests full price for their meal, was, in fact, the greatest “generosity†of all, as it afforded his guests the chance to get answers to the most basic questions in life, an opportunity they might otherwise have missed
This was no “religious coercion†at all – just the desperate measures of a man who loved G-d and cared about humanity so much that he simply couldn’t bear to see his guests leave his tent before first taking the time to explore and search for answers to the most important questions one can ever ask, such as how the universe came into existence, if there is a G-d Who is involved in our lives, if life has meaning, what happens when we die, if there is a world after this one, etc. etc.
I believe that this Midrash Aggadah contains within it a simple but powerful message for all of us today.
We have to ask ourselves if, as descendants of our forefather Abraham, we are truly emulating him and following in his ways. How much do we love G-d? How much do we appreciate His Torah and the life of beauty and meaning that it provides us? And how much do we care about humanity and our fellow Jews like Abraham did?
Hmmm …looks like we have some work to do.
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=536