The Desert, Land and Sea
All of life’s challenges are best met when we approach them with the Abrahamic virtue of love and kindness.
Angels Masquerading
After having been circumcised at the age of 99, Abraham—this week’s parsha begins—was sitting outside his tent when he “lifted his eyes and saw, and behold three men were standing over him.” Abraham promptly invited them into his home and served them a lavish meal.
According to our Sages, these three men were actually angels sent to Abraham in the “disguise” of men.
The Midrash relates that these three angels were not only disguised as people, each one of them assumed a different human role. One angel was dressed as a “desert merchant,” a second angel appeared like a “produce merchant,” while the third angel resembled a “captain of a ship.”
The Midrash is known for transmitting profound ideas in deceptively simple commentary. What did the Midrash mean to teach us by highlighting these three roles of the “desert merchant,” “produce merchant” and “sea captain?”
World Divided into Three
Commentaries explain that the world is divided into three parts: water, desert, and inhabited land. Each part of the world has an angel in heaven appointed over it. Thus, the three disguised angels represented the entire creation. The one dressed as a desert merchant was “in charge” of the deserts, the captain “oversaw” the oceans and the produce merchant “represented” the inhabited section of the world.
But why did these three angels who represented the three parts of the earth have to show up in the aftermath of Abraham’s circumcision? And why does the Midrash highlight these three roles?
World Created for Abraham
To answer this question we must refer back to a verse in the beginning of Genesis, where the account of the creation of the world is given. At the end of the detailed account of creation the Torah sums it all up in one verse:
“These are the chronicles of heaven and earth when they were created.”
The Hebrew word for the phrase “when they were created” is b’hibaram, which when rearranged can read b’Avraham, or “for the sake of Abraham.” This was meant to suggest that the entire world was created for the sake of Abraham.
When did Abraham attain the level that justified the creation of the world? It was after he had undergone circumcision. At that point Abraham had reached the state of perfection (relatively speaking). To demonstrate to Abraham that he had attained this lofty level of perfection, the representative angels of all segment of the world presented themselves to Abraham, as if to say, “We are here for you.” The entire world is here for you.
Every Person is Obligated to Say, “Because of Me the World was Created.”
In moral and ethical terms one of the messages this Midrash conveys is that when we devote our lives to perfecting self and bringing perfection to the entire world—which is what circumcision symbolizes—we can justifiably say that the entire world was created for our sake. As the Talmud declares:
“Every person is obligated to say, “Because of me the world was created.”
The world at large is also reflected in the miniature world—the human being.
Response to Our Internal Desert, Produce and Sea.
We also possess a desert, produce and sea. The desert is the part of us that seems barren, unproductive. There is also our productive side, the part of us that is fertile and vibrant. The sea, often visited by storm winds that are unparalleled and that have sunk many a ship, symbolizes the stormy parts of our lives.
All of these elements must come to the Abraham— I.e., love and kindness, the traits that were personified by Abraham—within us. When we feel like a desert, barren and parched, unmotivated and lethargic, we must send these “angels to our Abraham, we must look to do something positive, an act of love and kindness for another. This will turn the desert part of us into a blooming oasis.
When we feel motivated and full of energy, when we are on a role and producing at a feverish pace, we must “send” this trait to our internal Abraham. While we are focused on personal growth and advancement, we must not neglect our role as Abrahams, reaching out to others with consideration and kindness.
And when we try to navigate the stormy waters of the sea, hoping to find dry land and a haven from the unpredictability of life at sea, we must send our captain to Abraham for guidance. One cannot weather the storms of life without direction from the part of our soul that is filled with a passion for G-d and our fellow human being.
Preparing for Moshiach through the Prism of Abraham
All three symbols, desert, fruit and the sea, are also metaphors for the time of exile we are about to leave. Exile has been paradoxically spiritually barren as well as a time of incredible growth. Our passage through this period of exile has been punctuated with fierce storms that ravaged our lives causing many a Jewish “boat” to sink.
On our way out of this exile towards the future Redemption we must always focus our attention on Abraham and the love and kindness he personified. And while there are many positive approaches to life, the approach of love, represented by Abraham, must be the dominant one. Particularly in this transitional period we are in now—going from exile to Redemption—the message of bringing all of our angels—I.e., forces and faculties—to our internal Abraham, to follow his approach of love and compassion.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayeira by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
