To See and To Do
The Torah is a remarkably terse document that uses surprisingly few
words. For example, if you want to know
what Abraham looked like, the Bible does not tell us. The Bible describes King Saul as “tall and
good looking” and describes King David as “handsome”, but that is about it for descriptions of men. When it
describe s women it uses the word “yafah” or
“yefat-toar”, meaning beautiful, but it doesn’t go any further like telling us
color of their eyes or their hair. The
Torah, much like poetry, utilizes few words and those few words contain multiple
layers of meaning.
This week’s parasha begins, literally “G-d caused Abraham to see him”,
which, in English is translated “G-d appeared to Abraham.” The root of the word
“ra-ah” -- to see – is used prominently throughout the story of Abraham . Abraham “sees” three men approaching his
tent. When two angels approach Lot, who
is sitting at the gates of Sodom, the
Torah tells us that Lot “sees” them. G-d opens Hagar’s eyes and she “sees” a
well. Abraham “sees” the place where he
is to sacrifice Isaac from afar, and later “sees” a ram caught in the thicket
and sacrifices it in place of Isaac. Thus this parasha begins and ends with
reference to the sense of sight – using the Hebrew root Resh Aleph Hey – Ra-ah.
Therefore, it is interesting when the Torah COULD use a form of the
word, “ra-ah” but chooses not to. This occurs in the story of Sodom and
Gomorrah. As you know, G-d destroys the
city because of its sinfulness. Not even
ten righteous people live there. The
Torah tells us that Abraham rises early in the morning of the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah, “va-yash-kef” – which is another word for “see”. Forms of
the verb “ra-ah” --to see -- are used
exactly 1,299 times in the Bible. Forms of the word “va-yash-kef” – also
meaning “to see” -- are used only 22 times in the Bible. The question is, why is this latter word for
see used in when describing Abraham’s “seeing” the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah, and not the more common word for “see”? [1]
The way to answer that question is to look up the other 21 places where
a form of the word “va-yash-kef” is used and look at its meaning in
context. When we do that, we find
something interesting. It is almost always near the word for “window”. When we analyze this, we understand that when
the Torah uses the root “ra-ah” for “seeing” it is followed by some action on
the part of the person doing the seeing. When the Torah uses “va-yashkef” the
one who sees is usually passive. In using “va-yashkef” in the story of Sodom
and Gomorrah, the Torah is telling us that Abraham, usually an active
protagonist in his stories, watches the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah from
afar. He will not be riding to the
rescue, as he did when his nephew Lot was captured in war. Abraham is an
onlooker, a bystander -- a most uncharacteristic role for this most active of
men.
We cannot afford to be so passive when we see devastation and
destruction. Tonight, I want to tell you
the story of someone who was personally touched by disaster but refused to just
“look on”. Howard Fienberg and his wife
Marnie were enjoying a lazy Autumn Saturday morning at their home in Washington
DC last year when their phone rang. It was Howard’s brother, Anthony, telling
him about the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, which he had just heard
about on the news. This synagogue was the one that Howard and Anthony had grown
up in. Their mother Joyce was an active member there. Since Joyce’s retirement as
a research specialist with the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and
Development Center, several years earlier, she had made it part of her
mission to help revitalize the Tree of Life synagogue. She attended
services regularly and was involved in the day to day functioning of the
synagogue. In the month before the shooting, she told her son and
daughter-in-law that the synagogue’s dishwasher had broken. She had been
looking for the right part so she could fix it. Howard and Anthony were certain
their mother, Joyce, would have been there that Shabbat morning. Late Saturday night they were told that Joyce
was one of those killed that morning at the Tree of Life.
During the period of mourning, Howard and Marnie were comforted by
thousands of people, both Jews and non-Jews. Frequently they were asked the
question “How can I help?” At first they understood the question to be, “How
can I help you get through this difficult period of your life?” After a while
they realized people were also asking “How can I help this agony from happening
again?” Marnie quit her job as a government contractor to devote herself full
time to social action, with the goal of empowering people to take a direct and
positive stance against hate. One of her projects is an organization called
“2 for Seder”. The idea is to invite two friends or acquaintances to your Seder
who have never been to a Seder before. Through participation in the Passover Seder
our guests learn the story of the origins of the Jewish people. They walk in
our footsteps to freedom. The hope is to dispel misconceptions and
misunderstandings that can lead to antisemitism as well as help combat the
hatred and bigotry directed and many “others” in our country – a nation formed
with immigrants from all over the world and enriched with diverse cultures from
every corner of planet earth. Marnie Fienberg’s actions reminded me of what
Helen Keller wrote:
I am only one/ But still I am
one.
I cannot do everything/ But still I can do something.
I will not refuse to do/the something
I can do.
Let us both “see” and respond. We cannot just gaze on, as if looking
through a window and doing nothing. May the memory of Joyce Fienberg, and all
of those who were killed worshipping in the Tree of Life Synagogue in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania inspire us to do what is in our power
to do to combat hatred and violence in our communities.
Shabbat Shalom
[1] My
thanks to Dr. Ora Horn Prouser, President of the Academy for Jewish Religion,
for pointing this out in a recent communication.
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