Dear Friends,
Can you imagine what it must have been like for Abraham to be circumcised as an adult as part of his new role as father of the Jewish people? In addition to being asked to leave his past behind and go to a new place to become the father of a great nation, he now is also undergoing major surgery to demonstrate his connection to our people. He and Sarah each undergo a name change as they take on their new responsibilities as our parents….AND THEN….
Visitors show up….Abraham runs to greet them and he and Sarah welcome them into their tent, caring for them. We learn from this the importance of Hachnasat Orchim, welcoming visitors. However, we also learn that Abraham and Sarah saw that their guests were in need of refreshment and immediately tried to meet their needs. I believe that as we live our daily lives, we encounter many who are in need and our tradition encourages us to find meaningful and creative ways to help them.
How many of us are willing to look at the people we know and those we don’t know and think about what we can do to help them meet their needs? How many of us feel that the people about whom we care and those whose lives intertwine with ours, are really in tune with our needs?
Included in a definition of love is the concept that we truly love someone when we know what causes them pain and try to help them feel less pain in their lives. As we think about how Abraham and Sarah reached out to their guests, I hope that each of us will look at some of the pain in the lives of someone we know, and try to help them feel better. Abraham and Sarah are rewarded for their mitzvah by being told they will be parents of a son. Our reward can be the recognition that we have demonstrated that we care about each other and in this way have alleviated a piece of the pain in our world, helping provide support for our loved ones, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft