VAYEIRA

Judaism has always been composed of two elements:  the universal and the particular.  In the Torah portion Lech Lecha, we stress the particular.  We stress Avraham's relationships with his family, how he left Mesopotamia with Lot, how he separated from Lot, how he was concerned about an heir, how he waged war to rescue Lot, how his wife was treated when she was taken in Egypt.  In contrast, the Torah portion Vayera stresses the universal aspect of Judaism, how Abraham was, even while he was suffering the pain of circumcision, he got up to help three wandering Arabs.  He did not know they were angels, how Abraham intercedes with G-d to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, how even after Avimelech takes Sarah only to release her after a plague breaks out, Abraham prays for him.  We also learn about the binding of Isaac.  When Abraham goes with not only Isaac but with two boys, who the Rabbi Soloveitchik explains represent the culture of his time, and after the binding of Isaac, he returns to these boys.  Abraham, in the Torah portion Vayera, was concerned about the world.  He was concerned about the universal values of Judaism.  In the Torah portion Lech Lecha, Abraham was concerned with the particular values of Judaism, with his family and his concerns.

In Judaism we have to balance both the universal and the particular.  The Jewish message needs a vessel to proclaim it.  If there is no Jewish people, there is no vessel to contain the Jewish message.  Particularism is important; however, so is universalism.  The Jewish message is meant to be proclaimed by example to the world.  We are supposed to be a light in the world. Unfortunately, in our day, we have great difficulty in balancing the universal and the particular.  There are many Jews who are so universal in their concerns that Jewish unity is seriously threatened.  We are all very proud of the fact that there are two Jewish justices on the Supreme Court, but none of their children are Jewish. There are many Jews who feel that since they had to violate Jewish norms to get ahead, so should everyone else. This is especially true of certain Jewish professors or employers who will not excuse their Jewish students or employees for Jewish holidays, although gentiles will.  On the other hand, we have Jews who want nothing to do with the goyishe world, the modern world. They lock themselves up in intellectual and physical ghettos.  They are, of course, very few in number, but they are making a big mistake.

How, though, do we know whether or not we are making right choices in balancing the particular with the universal? In this Torah portion we learn how we can tell if we have made the right choices.  First of all, we cannot be egotistical.  If the choice we made is to satisfy our own ego, it is the wrong choice.  Abraham could have wallowed in pity.  After all, the pain of circumcision, especially for an older man, must have been great, but he did not. He stood at the door waiting to see how he could help.  When he spied out three strangers in the heat of the day, he went to help them.  Abraham also never made any sweeping generalizations.  He wanted to save the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah.  He did not say, "Well, since they live there, they must all be bad."  Unfortunately, there are people today who categorize groups and make sweeping generalizations about them being all bad or all good.  Even within Judaism they do that.  You cannot label people bad or good because they belong to this group or that group, because they are conservative or reform or orthodox or secular. There are many good people who are searching for answers in all groups.  There are many who are not up to snuff.  Abraham did not say, "Well, they live in Sodom and Gomorrah.  They are all bad."

The third quality we need when making decisions is that we should realize that people have the capacity to change.  Abraham made a treaty with Avimelech even though his past dealings with Avimelech were not satisfactory.  We have to be willing to forgive and look to the future, as long as we protect ourselves and have an adequate basis for making this type of determination.  We also have to be willing to seek advice.  We cannot think that we know it all. Abraham sought the advice of his wife, and when his wife said to expel Ishmael from the camp, he did not want to but G-d said to listen to her voice. Sometimes you can become too universal.  Ishmael was trying to kill Yitzchak. We cannot become so universal that we need to commit suicide.  Unfortunately, in Israel today in certain extreme left groups and even here in the United States, they feel that the Arab cause is so just that Israel should be willing to commit suicide.

Finally, no matter what our ideals, we cannot use immoral methods to implement them.  That is ultimately the message of the Akedah.  G-d cannot demand that we do immoral things.   The Kotzke rebbe had a beautiful interpretation which supports this view.  He says that Abraham really did not want to go to the Akedah.  He did because he was sure that somehow he was not going to have to kill his son. The Kotzke bases his interpretation on the verse, "And Abraham lifted his eyes and he saw Hamokom from afar." Hamokom in Hebrew can mean both the place and G-d.  When he was going to the Akedah he only saw G-d from afar.  Abraham was known as a lover of G-d because he brought people closer to G-d.  Abraham could only understand a G-d of love and compassion.  He could not understand a G-d Who would demand mis type of sacrifice.  G-d later confirms Abraham's view by telling him to stay his hand and not sacrifice his son, and how he said that he knew that Abraham was a man who feared G-d.  G-d will not ask us to do things that are immoral.  We many times cannot understand His ways immediately.  For us to make good decisions in life we must:  (1) not be egotistical; (2) not make sweeping generalizations about people and groups; (3) we must be forgiving and give people second chances if it is warranted; (4) we must be willing to take advice from other; and (5) we must not use immoral means to accomplish good goals.  This is, of course, what the Communists did and in the process killed 20 million people.  We also cannot become so universalistic that we commit suicide.  In life, we are called upon to balance many values.  If we balance them correctly, then we will have a good life and we will be able to make this world a better place. We must never use our rationalizations and our egotism to subvert morality.

I am reminded of the story they tell about a fellow who used to work for a salary of $500 per week.  One week he got a paycheck for $1000.  The next week he got a paycheck of $400.  He was very irate and went to his boss and said, "What's going on? How come I only got $400 instead of $1000?"  His boss said, "Why didn't you say anything last week when you got $1000 instead of $500?" The man replied, "Listen, one mistake I can overlook but not two." We should all learn how to make correct decisions in life so that we can have a good life and the world can be improved so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day.  Amen.