Vayera
By Jonah Rank, Rakevet REC VP, 2005-06 5765
This week's parashah, Vayera, begins with the same two who kicked off last week's parashah: God and everyone's favorite nonagenarian, Abraham. This week's parashah is Episode II of The Adventures of God and Abraham.
So, what wild antics have the two been up to this week? The short answer: a lot actually (four chapters' worth!). I'd like to focus though on one unusual escapade they get involved in: visiting the sick. God visits. Abraham is sick.
This week's parashah, some of God's angels (no, not Charlie's, God's!) go chillax with Abraham while he is hanging out, recovering from his circumcision from last week's parashah. Judaism's Rabbinic tradition has claimed that the Torah has this story to teach us that, among Jews' commandments (a.k.a. mitzvot), we have to visit the sick (a.k.a. to chill with the ill).
Visiting the sick sounds really easy. But, many of us don't very often. We end up being "busy" or we don't want to be around sick people, especially if they're sick with something contagious. Is anything really wrong with that though? Isn't all of that rational?
Well, yes. Sometimes, we cannot literally visit the ill. Sometimes, it is much easier to "visit the ill" in much more symbolic ways. I'd say, at least 95% of the time, people you know who are ill are well aware that your life can be busy too. They understand that, in a very busy lifestyle, making a phone call or sending a letter or gift or making something sentimental (i.e. a picture, a poem, etc.) for the ill just might be more possible than making a visit - and it will definitely be appreciated!
Also, visiting the ill (whether it is in person or on the phone or in a letter, etc.) is often the healthiest action when somebody's sick! Many times when people are sick, their social life ain't so active. Sick people do like social lives though. You making yourself a part of a sick person's social life is one of the psychologically most helpful things you can do for someone.
Just look at how exciting visiting the ill becomes in this week's parashah. God's angels tell a sick Abraham and his wife Sarah that Sarah's gonna have a kid. Whether or not Abraham was happy with the news, "I'm gonna have another kid?" is way more interesting to think about than "Oy! The enduring pain of circumcision!"
In Parashat Vayera, people like to conclude that we must visit the sick. True. But, the essence of visiting the sick is what's most important here: caring for and keeping things interesting for the sick.
