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.
Parashat Vayera: The Danger of Sinful Contemplation
From the Chemdat Yamim Leaflet
God and Strangers
Vayera 5779
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks | Cheshvan 16 5779
The Binding of Isaac: A New Interpretation
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks | 8 Shvat 5784
