Parsha Vayera.pdf

Avraham's circumcision is revisited, where at 99 years old, HaShem tells him to "walk before Me and be complete". Avraham is instructed to circumcise himself and his male children as a sign of the covenant between him and HaShem. This leads into Parsha Vayera, where HaShem appears to Avraham after his circumcision. A story about the 5th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom DovBer, is shared, where he asks why HaShem doesn't reveal Himself to him, and his grandfather replies that one must be willing to circumcise themselves, spiritually removing the "foreskin" of the world. Rabbi Jonathan Sachs explains that Avraham's circumcision was a significant act, removing the surface of selfish pleasures and revealing the true nature of the Divine creation. The parsha opens with HaShem appearing to Avraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre, where Avraham sees three men and runs to meet them, offering them food and rest. The Hebrew word "elon" for terebinth trees is connected to "Eloah" and "Elohim", meaning "mighty", and "Mamre" means "strength".