In this week’s parsha of Vayera we read about the 10 tests of Avraham. The ultimate test of his faith was when he was asked to sacrifice his son Yitzchak. Imagine that Avraham builds the altar, arranges the wood for the fireplace, ties down Yitzchak, raises the blade to sacrifice him and then the story ends there. That would be anti-climactic. We would be left in suspense. What happened next? How did the story end?
Reading further in the parsha, we actually know that Avraham was stopped by an angel. He did not go through with the deed. Yitzchak survived after all. Avraham passed his test of faith and they all lived happily ever after.
Not all stories are presented this way. In contrast to the parsha, the haftarah tells us the story of the Shunamite woman and her husband. They had built guest quarters for the prophet, Elisha. Whenever he was in town he would stay at her home and eat at their table. In gratitude, he blessed her and she became pregnant with a child even though she and her husband were advanced in years.
One day, when this child grew to be a young boy, he suddenly clutched at his head, seemed to suffer a stroke and died in his mother’s lap. She brought him up to Elisha’s quarters and laid him out on the bed. She then asked one of the attendants to saddle up the donkey as she prepared to ride to Elisha and ask for help. Her husband called out, “Is everything okay?” She answered, “All is well.” And then… And then…
For Sephardim, certain Germans and Chabad chasidim, the haftarah ends right at that point. Unlike in the parsha story of Avraham about to sacrifice Yitzchak, these groups have the curious custom of leaving everyone in suspense. What happened next? How did the story end? Did they live happily ever after?
For Ashkenazim and those of us who cannot stand the suspense, we read further that the Shunamite woman meets up with Gechazi, Elisha’s servant. When asked what is going on, she repeats, “All is well.” Elisha is finally summoned. He returned to the woman’s house and performs a miraculous procedure, resuscitating the boy and bringing him back to life. In fact, there is a happily-ever-after end to this story.
If that is so, why do the Sephardim and Chabad chasidim stop just before the culmination of the story? Why is this woman’s name never mentioned? What is the lesson behind this strange custom?
The answer may be that in life we witness curious situations that seem to contradict our beliefs and everything we know. We ask ourselves, “How could God, as we understand him, permit such an apparent misfortune to take place?” This could be a child going “off the derech,” a loss of one’s job, an unexpected health crisis or even the death of an innocent child. More often than not there is no happy ending to the story. People endure distress and no one may be seeming to come to the rescue. At times like this, like the Shunamite woman, our faith is being tested as well.
By leaving the haftarah story unfulfilled, perhaps we are being taught a powerful lesson as well. The name of Shunamite woman is not as important as the lesson she taught. In life, we do not always know how things will turn out. We may be left with many questions. Still, we need to have faith in Hashem and believe that there is a purpose and reason in what we are experiencing. Everything is playing out the way it was meant to be. We too have to be ready to say, “All is well.”
May Hashem bless us so that we pass these tests of faith. We may not always comprehend the grand scheme of the big story. However, every event eventually ends as it was meant to be.
Rabbi Dr. Avi Kuperberg is a forensic, clinical psychologist in private practice. He is president of the Chai Riders Motorcycle Club of NY/NJ. He leads the Summit Avenue Shabbos Gemara shiur and minyan in Fair Lawn, NJ, and is a member of the International Rabbinical Society. He can be reached at [email protected].
