Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayera
Hashem says He will destroy Sodom, & Avraham pleads for Sodom to be spared; but, after intense negotiations with G-d, not even 10 righteous people can be found there. Lot, his wife & 2 daughters are rescued just before Sodom burns. Lot's wife looks back & turns into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters fear the world is ending. They get their father drunk & through them, Moav & Ammon are born.
Avimelech abducts Sara. G-d appears to Avimelech in a dream & he releases Sara. As promised, a son Yitzchak is born to Sara & Avraham; his brit is on the 8th day. Sara tells Avraham to banish Hagar & Yishmael. Avraham is upset but Hashem tells him to listen to whatever Sara tells him. After nearly dying in the desert, Yishmael is rescued by an angel & G-d promises he'll be the progenitor of a mighty nation.
In a 10th & final test, G-d tells Avraham to take Yitzchak as an offering. Avraham does, but at the last moment, Hashem sends an angel to stop Avraham from killing Yitzchak.
Avraham’s Prophecy
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
The Binding of Isaac: A New Interpretation
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks | 8 Shvat 5784
Where “Lech Lecha” Meets Vayera
Parashat Vayera
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5764
