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Submitting to a Higher Ideal

Oct 30, 1993 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Vayera

Circumcision is the oldest of Jewish rituals and still going strong. In his 90th year Abraham was instructed by God to “circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days (Gen. 17:11-12).” Accordingly, when Isaac was born ten years later, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day (Gen. 21:4).

Vayera

Jan 1, 1980

¹ A certain woman, the wife of one of the disciples of the prophets, cried out to Elisha: “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know how your servant revered the Lord. And now a creditor is coming to seize my two children as slaves.”

Vayera

Jan 1, 1980

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.

Rosh Hashanah Torah Readings

By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Collected Resources | Va'era | Vayera | Rosh Hashanah

Both of the Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah are taken from Parsha Vayera. The first day reading tracks the birth of Isaac, the exile of Hagar and the subsequent saving of Ishmael. The Akedah or Binding of Isaac is read on the second day.