THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION

Dvar Torah for Parshat Vayeira

"Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day"

This week's Parsha, Parshat Vayeira, begins with Hashem visiting Mamrei in the plains of Mamrei. Who is Mamrei? Rashi points out that he was one of Avraham's three best friends. Here's where the story gets interesting. The Midrash says that when Avraham was told by God to get a Brit Milah (circumcision), he asked his three friends if he should go ahead and do it. Two of his friends told him not to do the Bris, while his third friend, Mamrei, told him he should get the Bris done. Since Mamrei gave him the advice to do the Bris, the Torah records his name for posterity in a positive light.

However, the bigger question is why in the world would Avraham feel compelled to ask his friends if he should listen to God's command? If they all said not to have the Bris, would he really have the Chutzpah to say to Hashem, "Sorry, I can't do it because my friends have advised against it"?

I think that by asking his friends, he was trying to look into his own motivations and insecurities. While he was more than ready to have the Bris Milah, he needed to check his motivations. What would happen if after having the Bris everyone he knew told him he was crazy. Would he regret it on some level? Would he be embarrassed? He ran it by his friends before he got the Bris to test how he felt after their reactions, to make sure he internally felt comfortable with getting a Bris.

I think in our lives it's something we can consider as well. How proud are we to be Jewish? When someone asks us about it, are we proud and confident or do we try to skirt the issue? Just as Avraham used his friends as a benchmark to see how he really felt internally about getting a Bris, we can do the same.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz
Congregation Adath Israel
http://www.adathisraelsf.org/