 |
|
 |
Parshat Va'yera
2003
Be in the Moment
Hagar, Abraham and Sarah's Egyptian servant, is one of the first wanderers in the Torah. We learn in earlier chapters of Genesis that when Sarah cannot bear children herself, she sends her husband to Hagar with the understanding that a child born from this union would be considered her own. When Hagar does become pregnant, a power struggle ensues between the two women and Hagar runs away from her mistress. She flees to the desert and examines her life in this place often associated with introspection. After being spoken to by an angel of G-d, she returns to endure her difficult lot for years. During that time, Hagar gives birth to Ishmael, and Sarah finally has a child herself, Isaac. When tensions resurface, Sarah banishes Hagar and Ishmael from her house.
We read in Gen.21:14-21 that once again, Hagar finds herself wandering about in the desert. When their water has run out and the boy is nearing death, an angel again comes to Hagar and tells her that G-d has "heeded the voice of the boy where he is [ba'asher hu sham]", and they are subsequently saved by the appearance of a well of water. What does the Torah mean by saying that G-d heeded the voice of the boy where he is? The Torah seems to give us extraneous words here, since it would make perfect sense to simply say that G-d "heeded the voice of the boy."
A midrash from Bereshit Rabbah on this verse [53:14] offers one explanation. We learn here of an argument that occurred at this moment between the angels and G-d. The angels try to convince G-d not to help Ishmael, seeing that the deeds of his people will be hazardous to the Israelites later on in history. But G-d asks the angels, "What is he now?" G-d wants them to describe Ishmael's character at that instant. They answer that he is righteous. The midrash continues with G-d's reply: "I judge man only as he is at the moment."
Your Midrash Navigator:
1. During the High Holy days, we examine our lives over the past year and the decisions we have made in the hopes that we will improve our behavior in the coming year. How is this different than the sentiment expressed here? Can it be helpful to envision a G-d who judges us solely by our actions in the present moment?
2. We are often our own toughest critics. If the idea of a G-d who judges us does not resonate with you, try examining how you judge yourself. Do you continually beat up on yourself for personal shortcomings or do you focus on bettering yourself from moment to moment?
3. How can we focus more on what we are in this very instant than who we were or will become? How do we treat other people with whom we come in contact during our daily routine? How do we treat ourselves? In this moment are we fully present? When someone is talking to us, are we really listening?
A Word:
G-d judges us where we are - moment by moment. We often get caught up in trying to anticipate every move and outcome of our actions, but in fact all we can truly effect is the present moment by making decisions that reflect our values. By focusing on each step of our lives at a time, we imitate G-d by judging ourselves only in that moment, just as G-d judged Ishmael based only on his character at that single instant.
Prepared by Rabbi Mychal Copeland, campus rabbi, Hillel at Stanford.
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Parshat Va'yera at MyJewishLearning.com.
|
 |
|
 |