Parshat Vayeira

“ … V’Torat chesed al l’shona.” The events we read of in this week’s haftarah—a selection from the fourth perek in Melachim Bet—bear a close resemblance to the events we read of in the Torah itself. The story of Elisha and the Shunamite woman that relates the astonishing birth of a son to a once-barren woman and her elderly husband. The unexpected birth was foretold by the Navi Elisha and yet doubted by the woman. The story continues by describing how, years later, these fortunate parents almost lose that cherished son, who is miraculously saved only through the intervention of Elisha. The story clearly echoes that of Avraham and Sarah, whose story also tells of the astonishing birth of a son to a once-barren woman and her elderly husband—a birth foretold by God Himself and doubted by Sarah. And, as we read in the haftarah, they too, almost lose that son some years later, who is miraculously saved through the intervention of Hashem’s angel.

There is, however, an introductory story in the haftarah that also echoes the events found in the parsha. Here, we read of a woman—widowed of her righteous, God-fearing husband—who stands to lose her only two sons, just as the parsha tells of a righteous, God-fearing husband who stands to lose both of his the sons: Yishmael, whom he was told to send away, and Yitzchak, whom he was told to sacrifice.

It is interesting to note that the miracles found in our parsha were performed directly by God or His angels while those we read of in the haftarah are brought through the Navi. This change reflects the conscious desire of Hashem to have man move from a purely God-based existence to one where he too, shares in the responsibility of building an ethical and caring society.

But perhaps, most interestingly, is that we find a righteous woman at the center of each of the stories—both in the Torah and in the haftarah. It was our virtuous matriarch, whose saintliness was rewarded by God with the birth of Yitzchak, and it was her concern for the upbringing of her only child that had her demand the removal of Yishmael from the house. Her demand was not acceptable to Avraham, yet her foresight and concern was supported by Hashem, Who told Avraham to do everything that Sarah tells him.

The two stories of the haftarah also highlight the deeds of righteous women. The pleas of the righteous widow were answered by Elisha and the barrenness of the wealthy Shunamite was removed by Hashem, as a reward for her generosity and acts of kindness. In both of these stories men play almost no part (indeed, none of their names are mentioned), with one husband having died and one merely tangential to the story. It is the acts of women that capture our attention in the deeds they performed in the haftarah, and in the more subtle endeavors, we find mentioned in the Torah.

What is made abundantly clear is that our Torah is a Torat chesed. It establishes an expectation that humanity follows a moral code that must be grounded in acts of kindness and compassion.

And, not surprisingly, it is the women who—more often than not—create that culture within the home and, by doing so, it is they who lay the groundwork of chesed for each and every generation.

Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee, and now lives in Israel.