Questions tagged [vayera]
The weekly Torah portion of Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24)
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Why did Avraham name his son before the Bris (circumcision)?
Why does the Torah seem to imply that Avraham named his son before the bris?
First:
וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם אֶת שֶׁם בְּנוֹ הַנּוֹלַד לוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לּוֹ שָׂרָה יִצְחָק
And Abraham called the name ...
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Why doesn't God offer Sodom and Gemorrah the same chance to repent He offers Nineveh?
Why does God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah without warning, but offer Nineveh a chance to repent? The men who come to Lot's house could have just easily prophesied to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah ...
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Why did Avraham argue with G-d about Sodom but not about his son's sacrifice?
Are there any Mefarshim who commented on why Avraham chose to advocate on behalf of Sodom when G-d tells him that the city will be destroyed, but chose to remain silent and just accept the decree when ...
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Why did the angel overturning Sodom visit Abraham?
Someone in my synagogue asked today as follows:
Rashi notes (Vayera 18:2, q.v.) that three angels visited Avraham's tent: one was assigned to inform Sara [of her impending pregnancy], one to overturn ...
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Is there a connection between Hagar's distance and Yishmael's profession?
The Torah tells us that Hagar sat an archer's distance away from Yishmael as he lay crying, Genesis 21 verse 16. After he is miraculously saved he lives in the desert and is described as a רובה קשת, ...
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Is it considered a good thing that Lot's daughters slept with their father?
In Bereishis 19:30-38 the story is told how the 2 daughters of Lot thought (for whatever reason) that they should sleep with their father. From the psukim themselves, it is unclear whether or not what ...
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Grammar question in Vayera
I've been learning Bereshit with Rashi in school, and while reading a part of Vayera, I noticed that there were two grammatically different statements in one Pesuk.
Bereshit (18:7)
וְאֶל הַבָּקָר ...
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If Jews don't eat cheeseburgers, why did Abraham serve a calf with milk?
Genesis 18:8 (JPS):
And he took curd, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
Looks like Abraham and 3 ...
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Why did the Davidic dynasty need to come from questionable relations?
On the one side of the family, we have the union between Tamar and Yehudah, which, while technically a fulfillment of Yibum, Yehudah thought she was a harlot. From this union came Peretz (Bereishis 38:...
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Why didn't Avraham tell Eliezer to go get Rivka?
In Parshas Chayei Sara, Avraham tells Eliezer to go find a wife for Yitzchok from his family, כִּי אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי תֵּלֵךְ וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי לְיִצְחָק: and not from the ...
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How did Avrohom learn that nine doesn't work?
The Midrash says (Bereshis Rabbah 49:13 quoted in Rashi Genesis 18:32) that Abraham stopped asking HaShem to save Sodom in the merit of less than 10 people because Noah and his family who were 8 ...
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Did Abraham know that Lot survived the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?
In last week's Parasha, we all know the story of Abraham arguing with God to have God spare the cities on account of the righteous. However, I haven't heard much about the end of the story.
Genesis ...
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Why is Sarah rebuked for laughing whereas Avraham is not?
In parshat Lech Lecha Avraham laughs when he hears that he'll have a son. God even tells Avraham to call his son Yitzchak which means "he will laugh" straight after that. In parshat Vayera however, ...
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Why does the haftarah of Vayeira include the miracle of the oil?
The haftarah for Vayeira includes two stories about miracles performed by Elisha. The second one, concerning the Shunamite woman, seems clearly tied to the parsha: a woman is barren; she and her ...
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Why was Yishmael saved?
In bereshis 21:17 it says
And G-d heard the lad's voice, and an angel of G-d called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for G-d has heard the lad's voice ...
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Is it sourced that Avrohom Avinu charged his guests payment if they did not make a Brachah?
The Gemara in Soitah (10a I think) says that Avrohom used to tell people not to thank him, but rather to thank Hashem for the food that they ate.
I seem to remember learning once that if they refused,...
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Why did Abraham treat his three visitors in this way?
I am new to this site. I'd like to ask some questions on the interpretation and cultural significance of the events in Genesis 18 in the Bible.
First, why does Abraham have Sarah use 3 seahs of ...
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Who was the mother of Avraham's daughter?
According to one opinion in the Gemarah (Bava Basra 16b, also 141a), when it says Avraham was blessed with everything (Bereishit 24:1) it means that he had a daughter. Who was her mother?
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Sarah's treatment of Hagar and Ishmael
How could Sarah's treatment of Hagar and Ishmael be considered righteous? I intend this as a sincere and serious question. While Hagar was pregnant, Sarah "prevent[ed] her intercourse with Abraham, ...
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Why doesn't Yitzchak mention the knife?
Bereishis 22:6 indicates that Avraham placed the wood for the sacrifice on Yitzchak, took something to start the fire, and the מַּאֲכֶלֶת which Rashi translates as knife.
However, in the next pasuk ...
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Why Avraham hated Yishmael if he was a tzadik
Rashi says that avraham sent yishmael out with only water but no money because he hated him for going out "tarbut raah".
yet later on, the verse says G-d heard the cry of Yishmael dying of thirst "...
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How did Pharaoh know that Sarai was Avram's wife?
When Avimelech took Sarah, Hashem came to him in a dream and told him to return Avraham's wife (Bereishis 20:3). When Pharaoh took her, no such event is recorded in the Torah. Pharaoh's household ...
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Source for Rashi's claim that some nations worshiped dust?
Rashi (Gen 18,4) on "יֻקַּח־נָא מְעַט־מַיִם וְרַחֲצוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם׃" says:
כַּסָּבוּר שֶׁהֵם עַרְבִיִּים שֶׁמִּשְׁתַּחֲוִים לַאֲבַק רַגְלֵיהֶם
He thought they were Arabians who worship the dust of ...
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Hashem's inconsistent responses about Sedom
In parshas Vayeira there is a whole back-and-forth between Hashem and Avraham. Each time Avraham pleaded to save everyone if a certain number of righteous individuals would be found. Each time Hashem ...
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Sources that Avraham Avinu personified Gemilas Chasodim
See this thread which discusses that Avraham Avinu used to make his guests pay exorbitant prices if they did not wish to bless Hashem for the food.
I am struggling to differentiate between a ...
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Why was Akeidas Yitzchok a bigger test (Nisayon) for Avraham than for Yitzchok?
Akeidas Yitzchok was the hardest test that Hashem gave to Avraham. Yet Yitzchok knew and also agreed to go along with it. Then why is it considered a bigger test for Avraham than for Yitzchok?
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Is Sarah old and withered, or young and attractive when Abimelech captures her?
We see in the Torah:
Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a
child at ninety? (Gen. 17:17)
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped
having ...
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Wasn't Yishmael already sent away from Avraham's house?
In Bereshit 22:3, Rashi tells us that when Avraham went to sacrifice Yitzchok, the two lads he took with him were Yishmael and Eliezer.
Wasn't Yishmael already gone from Avraham's house? In Bereshit ...
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Sarah is Abraham's sister?
Genesis 20:12 has Abraham honestly saying that Sarah is indeed his sister when he is talking with Abimelek.
Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and ...
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How could Avraham feed his guests tongue?
Avraham served his guests three tongues in mustard.1 However, Avraham kept all the mitzvot,2 one of which is to give the foreleg, jaw (including the tongue3), and maw of each slaughtered animal to the ...
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How is it that Abraham didn't ask that four save a city, yet four did so?
Rashi (Vayera 18:24 and passim) explains that S'dom was the most important of five cities in its neighborhood, and God was going to destroy all of them. First, though, He told Avraham of His intent to ...
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Why did God lie about Sarah?
Why did God have to lie to cover for Sarah (Bereshis 18:13)? Why not just avoid asking Avraham altogether?
Note that the answer cannot be anything that would either impinge on their shalom bayis (cf ...
user1668
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Did Avraham learn Lot's fate? [duplicate]
In Bereishit 14 Avraham rescues Lot after the battle of the four kings and the five kings. At this time Lot is living in S'dom, and it seems reasonable that Avraham knows that. (Lot was captured ...
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Why does God appear to Avraham about Sarah’s laughter?
In Bereshis (Perek 18) why would God appear to Avraham regarding Sarah’s laughter and not appear to Sarah herself? Isn’t one’s relationship with God personal, not necessarily involving one’s spouse?
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Questions regarding Sarah's denial in Breishit 18:15
Breishit 18:15 says (Mechon Mamre / JPS in English):
Then Sarah denied, saying: 'I laughed not'; for she was afraid. And He
said: 'Nay; but thou didst laugh.
Apparently, Sarah laughed because ...
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Why is the name of mercy YHWH is mentioned exclusively in the story of Sodom?
The name YHWH is associated with mercy whereas the name Elokim is associated with justice (Refer to Rashi on Devarim 3:24 quoting the Sifrei here).
I noticed that the name of YHWH is used exclusively ...
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Distance from Chevron to Sedom
Rashi (Genesis 19:1, "BaErev") asks rhetorically, וכי כל כך שהו המלאכים מחברון לסדום , implying that it's close from Chevron to Sedom. But if we assume that Sedom was located where the current Dead ...
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Why did G-d ask Avraham for the akeda?
Why did G-d ask Avraham to sacrifice and slaughter his son?
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Why does the description of Yitzchak change?
When Avraham is told to take Yitzchak to the akeida, Yitzchak is specified with a series of 3 descriptions (Bereishit 22:2):
אֶת־בִּנְךָ֨ אֶת־יְחִֽידְךָ֤ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַ֙בְתָּ֙
your singular son whom you ...
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Did Avraham invite the angels into his house?
Avraham sits at the entrance to his tent waiting for guests. When the three angels arrive he runs out to greet them and pleads that they stay. He then tells them (Bereishit 18:4):
יֻקַּח-נָא מְעַט-...
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Why did God destroy Sodom in such a strange way?
Why does it rain both fire and brimstone (gafris - 19:24) on Sodom surely one or the other was enough? Furthermore, if the whole city is 'turned upside down' (19:25) why was there a need to rain ...
user2110
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Date of the Akeida?
Are there sources in our tradition which discuss the Hebrew date of Akeidas Yitzchak? The fact that we read the Akeida on Rosh Hashana or, properly, every day suggests to me that the "real" date is ...
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Was Lot, himself, sodomized when he first moved into Sodom?
In Genesis 19, Lot defends the angels who came under his roof against the demands of the local men who want a chance to sodomize the three visitors. From the Torah's description, and Rashi's take on ...
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If Avraham had a healing stone why did he need an angel to heal him?
The Gemara in Baba Basra, Tes Zayin Amud Beis says Reb Shimon says that Avraham had a stone that he wore around his neck that healed the sick. If so why did he need a angel to come down to heal him (...
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Doors and Doorways in Parshat Vayeira
In this week's parsha of Vayeira, I counted 6 references to the words דלת and פתח, all in the story of Lot and Sodom. I don't believe this is a coincidence, since it's all about standing in the door, ...
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Why does the second aliya of Vayeira start with the last verse of one topic and then change?
The second aliya of Vayeira begins at 18:15, with the end of the Sarah-denying-having-laughed episode. It then goes on to focus on S'dom and the other cities. This happens in the middle of a column, ...
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Why was Sarah surprised?
Why did Sarah laugh when she heard that she'll have a child despite her age (18:12) when she had just became a Nidah (Rashi 18:8) after not being a Nidah for a long time (18:11)? Shouldn't she realise ...
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Bereishit 19 Interpretation- How many daughters did Lot have and were they married or not?
I've been reading Bereishit 19 in the Sefaria and Chabad translations, and I'm a little confused with the daughter situation. In verse 8, trying to protect his guests, Lot offers the Sodomites his ...
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"If eight couldn't save the world, certainly eight couldn't save one city." Why not?
Rashi to Bereishis 18:32, explaining why Avraham only bargained for 10 and no less:
אָמַר דוֹר הַמַּבּוּל הָיוּ ח', נֹחַ וּבָנָיו וּנְשֵׁיהֶם, וְלֹא הִצִּילוּ עַל דּוֹרָם; וְעַל ט' עַל יְדֵי צֵרוּף ...
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What would qualify a Sedomite as a "righteous person"?
In Genesis 18:23-33, Avraham pleads with God to spare Sedom from the destruction it had earned through its wicked institutionalized cruelty. Eventually, Avraham extracts an agreement from God that the ...
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