{"id":61194,"date":"2026-10-30T11:04:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T14:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/?p=61194"},"modified":"2026-10-30T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T14:04:09","slug":"parashat-vayera-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/parashat-vayera-under-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Vayera \u2013 Under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abraham\u2019s<\/strong> Eshel<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this week\u2019s Torah portion, Vayera, G-d appears to Abraham. We also find Abraham planting an eshel<\/em>.\u00b9 Our Sages discuss what an eshel<\/em> was. Some say it was a tree. Some say it was a kind of small hotel. Others say it was a whole garden full of trees and fruit.\u00b2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this place, Abraham received people who were traveling on the roads, in the middle of the desert. He gave them food, drink, and fruit. And while they ate, Abraham spoke about G-d. He told them that there is One G-d, that He is the Master of the universe, and that He watches over everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the guests finished eating and drinking, and had listened to Abraham\u2019s whole Torah class, they said: \u201cThank you so much, Abraham. We have to move on.\u201d But Abraham answered: \u201cWait. Why do you thank me? Thank G-d. He is the Master of the world, and you ate from Him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the guests said: \u201cWe don\u2019t believe this. We heard everything you said, and we are thankful for your food, but we have to go.\u201d Then Abraham became firm. He said: \u201cIf you are not going to thank G-d, from whom you ate, then you owe me money for the meat, the wine, the drink, the fruit, and everything else. It is a fortune.\u201d So he gave them two choices: thank G-d, or pay.\u00b3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guests became very nervous. They did not have many options. Either they paid a fortune, or they said: \u201cThank you, G-d, that I ate from You.\u201d And that is what they did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Question<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Sages tell us that Abraham did not only call in the name of G-d. He also made other people call in the name of G-d.\u2074<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is a simple question. What is the value of thanking G-d under pressure? These people did not do it from their hearts. They did not say it because they were moved by Abraham\u2019s class. They just did not want to pay a fortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we cannot say that Abraham only wanted them to say the words, whether they believed them or not. That makes no sense. Abraham was a true person. He truly wanted people to understand that there is a G-d. That is why he gave so many explanations, while his guests ate and drank and he kept talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why did Abraham do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Story of Rabbi Elazar and the Ugly Man<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand this, let us look at a story that our Sages tell in the Talmud.\u2075<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Elazar, the son of Rabbi Shimon, was riding on his donkey. He was coming back to his city to become the rabbi of the city. He was very proud of himself and very happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly he met a very ugly man. The man greeted him: \u201cPeace be upon you, my rabbi.\u201d But the rabbi did not answer his greeting. Instead he looked at the man and said: \u201cHow ugly you are!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man was very hurt. He said: \u201cIf you think I am ugly, why don\u2019t you go and complain to the Master of the world, who made me like this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi Elazar realized that he had done something wrong. He said: \u201cI am sorry.\u201d They went back and forth. The rabbi kept asking for forgiveness, and the man kept refusing. This happened in front of the other people, because they were all traveling toward the city. In the end the man said: \u201cI will forgive you, but be careful not to do this too much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Second Question<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story also raises a question. Didn\u2019t Rabbi Elazar know that G-d is the One who shapes a person\u2019s body? Why did he tell the man that he was ugly? It was not the man\u2019s fault!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer is that sometimes a person\u2019s coarseness does not allow him to recognize G-dliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at what happened. As soon as the rabbi said, \u201cYou are so ugly,\u201d what was the first thing the man said? \u201cGo and talk to G-d. Tell Him that I am ugly. It is His fault, not mine.\u201d Before that moment, the man was not thinking about G-d at all. The rabbi, in a very harsh way, broke through his coarseness. And right away, the man turned to G-d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Abraham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we can understand Abraham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of Abraham\u2019s guests recognized G-dliness quickly. Their lives and their bodies were not so coarse. They thanked G-d and moved on, and Abraham was happy with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some people were so coarse that Abraham had only one way to break through. He had to put them under real pressure. \u201cEither you pay me a fortune, or you thank G-d. You are not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Abraham broke that coarseness, the G-dliness inside them rose up, and they thanked G-d. So they were not cheating Abraham. They were showing who they really are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Lesson for Us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many lessons in this story. I would like to bring out one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes a person feels that he does not feel G-dliness. He does what he has to do. Jews keep the 613 commandments. Non-Jews keep their seven commandments, with all their details. But inside, he does not really feel that anything is moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that moment, ask yourself: What is going on with my own coarseness? Am I breaking my coarseness, to make room for the divinity that is inside me, so that it can come out?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Genesis 21:33. In the Torah, this verse is in Parashat Vayera.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. See Sotah 10a, where the Sages disagree about the meaning of eshel<\/em>: an orchard, or an inn. See also Bereishit Rabbah 54:6.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. See Sotah 10b.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. See Sotah 10a\u2013b and Genesis 21:33 (\u201cand he called there in the name of G-d\u201d).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Taanit 20a\u2013b.<\/li>\n<\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Abraham\u2019s Eshel In this week\u2019s Torah portion, Vayera, G-d appears to Abraham. We also find Abraham planting an eshel.\u00b9 Our Sages discuss what an eshel was. Some say it was a tree. Some say it was a kind of small hotel. Others say it was a whole garden full of trees and fruit.\u00b2 In this… Read More \u00bbParashat Vayera \u2013 Under pressure<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3288],"tags":[1008,6176],"series":[],"class_list":["post-61194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vayera-en","tag-avraham","tag-pressure"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/VIDEO-EN-Parasha-2.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"
    Parashat Vayera – Under pressure<\/a><\/blockquote>