Parshat Vayera: 2020 Vision

I decided to check the web's definition of '2020 vision' and the first result that came up could be found on the American Optometric Society's website:

20/20 vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. If you have 20/100 vision, it means that you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 100 feet.’ (www.aoa.org)

Of course, the irony of the phrase lies in the fact that this year of 2020 has been anything but.

I can't recall any period of time that has been so unfocused, unclear and shrouded in darkness. That we are entering another lockdown this week only serves to underscore the point. We have been told that it should end in a month, but how many of us really believe this to be the case?

This week's Parsha of Vayera contains several examples where a person's vision was similarly impacted by external forces.

Firstly, we find Abraham sitting at one of the entrances of his tent in the Elonei Mamre, near Hebron. He wants to offer hospitality to any weary travellers who have been walking through the unremitting desert. He looks and sees three men standing nearby and runs over to them enthusiastically, offering them water to wash the sand off their feet as well as shelter from the hot desert sun. What he thinks he sees is not accurate, for they are indeed angels. He might have believed that he was blessed with ‘20/20 vision’ but ultimately, he only saw an image that Gd permitted him to view.

Shortly thereafter, Abraham, having pleaded with Gd to save the men of Sodom, rises up early the next morning and returns to the place where the conversation had taken place (from whence we derive the idea of reciting the Shacharit prayer in the morning). He looks out towards the cities on the plain and sees the smoke that has risen from their destruction. It is described as the 'smoke of a furnace' - a vision that he would rather not have witnessed.

Later on, Sarah sees Ishmael, the offspring of her husband and maidservant Hagar trying to kill Isaac (Rashi states that he shot arrows at him in an argument over whom would inherit the first-born's portion from their father, Abraham). She subsequently banishes both mother and son to the wilderness of Beer-Sheba to the chagrin of her husband. An action resulting from an event that Sarah had seen and acted upon.

A final example of compromised vision finds Abraham journeying with Isaac to Mount Moriah, having been instructed by Gd to sacrifice his beloved son. The Torah tells us (in Chapter 22.4) that on the third day of the trip, Abraham lifts his eyes and saw the place from afar. Rashi explains that he knows that this is the correct location as Gd had placed a cloud around the summit. One can only imagine the kind of thoughts that are swirling around his head at that very moment. Behind the cloud lies the location where he believes he will be shortly slaughtering the only link that can guarantee the continuation of the nascent nation that will become the Jewish people.

I have cited four examples of how sometimes the visions that our eyes process are not as they should be. The protagonists in all these cases are human beings whose hearts are as pure as can be.

Can one really fault Abraham or Sarah for behaving in the way they did? Abraham sees the travellers and offers them hospitality. He pleads for a city of evil doers to be saved and is faced with the horrific realisation that he has not succeeded in his request. Sodom, Gomorroh and the other cities have been burned to a cinder.

Sarah sees Ishmael threatening her son's life and does what any other mother would and should do, by banishing both the boy and his mother. And finally, Abraham sees the mountain where he believes his son will perish. The gift of vision that has been granted to the very first Jew and Jewess is anything but perfect.

It's certainly not 20/20.

How can we find a way of squaring this circle?

Perhaps the answer lies in the name of this week's Parsha -Vayera?

Genesis 18:1

(1) The LORD appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot.

בראשית י״ח:א׳

(א) וַיֵּרָ֤א אֵלָיו֙ ה' בְּאֵלֹנֵ֖י מַמְרֵ֑א וְה֛וּא יֹשֵׁ֥ב פֶּֽתַח־הָאֹ֖הֶל כְּחֹ֥ם הַיּֽוֹם׃

The root or shoresh of the word "Veyera" is ra-ah (ראה), which means 'to see'. As we have learned in the past, Hebrew grammar consists of binyanim or constructs, which means that the root can be conjugated into a number of tenses. 'Vayera' is in the binyan of niphal, the passive tense - 'and He appeared'.

Rashi tells us the following (18.11):

וירא אליו AND THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM: to visit the sick man. R. Hama the son of Hanina said: it was the third day after his circumcision and the Holy One, blessed be He, came and enquired after the state of his health (Bava Metzia 86b)

but I believe that in using the same shoresh of ra'ah, the Torah is perhaps teaching us that although something or someone might appear to see one thing, in fact, they are witnessing something completely different. Gd appears to Abraham to enquire about his recuperation, but we aren't told how their conversation proceeded. It is highly likely that Gd's appearance, took place in a vision as referenced by this pasuk from Shemot/Exodus

Exodus 6:

(2) God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. (3) I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name, Hashem

Gd appeared but did not make Himself known to them by the four-letter Tetragrammaton

(i.e. yud-key-vav-key)

Gd's appearance, even though obscured by His presence, was beneficial to Abraham as it helped him heal. (Rashi adds that Gd made the sun hotter to enable this to happen and to avoid burdening him with having to host any guests. Abraham's sorrow at not being able to do so, led to Gd sending the angels in the form of humans).

When the angels arrive, they each have their own mission. One's job is to help Abraham heal, another's is to tell Sarah that she will have a child in a year and the third is about to rescue Lot from Sodom. Despite a lack of perfect vision, the outcome of their presence is extremely positive.

Abraham looks at Sodom and presumably knows that had there been but ten good men in the city, it and its neighbours would not have merited such a fate.

Sarah's actions lead to the miracle in Beer-Sheva where both Ishmael and Hagar are saved. Eventually, Ishmael and Isaac make peace as they join together to bury their father.

The Akeidah, the binding of Isaac is a key moment in our nation's evolution and it contains the very first reference to the instrument that will come to define us, namely the shofar (the ram was caught in the thicket by its horns)

We have all been brought up to believe the idea that 20/20 vision is a state that we should all be blessed with. However, often, our vision is not as clear as it could be. We may not see ‘the wood for the trees’ and what we think we see, is not necessarily the case.

As we re-enter the state of lockdown, it is not difficult to become despondent and disillusioned. When we thought we could see a way through the darkness, another cloud blocked out the light. However, just like Abraham and Sarah in this week's Parsha, whose vision was clarified long after they thought they had been able to see properly, we too need to adjust our sights and focus on the positive outcomes of our situation.

The incredible and unceasing work of our NHS friends and family and the efforts of people like Colonel Sir Tom Moore have shown us that human vistas we could have never imagined, have entered into our subconsciousness throughout this pandemic. We have truly seen the very best way that humans can behave towards one another.

We may not have 20/20 vision in the year 2020, but that doesn't mean that we don't see things as perfectly as they may appear. It just takes time to readjust our eyes, appreciate a different kind of view which is just as beautiful.

Different, but no less beautiful.

Stay safe and have a Shabbat Shalom.