Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Vayera/0/he
נושאים לשולחן שבת – פרשת וירא
האם האבות שמרו את המצוות? _
מתיחת ביקורת על האבות _
Collective Punishment & Collective Salvation
Many readers view Avraham's Prayer for Sedom as a condemnation of collective punishment. A closer look, however, reveals that his request is more complex. Avraham seems to simultaneously appeal to Divine mercy for collective salvation, asking to spare even the wicked of the city due to the virtues of the righteous. Discuss with your family:
- Is collective salvation any more just than collective punishment? Is Avraham being inconsistent in condemning one while requesting the other? Or, should his plea be understood in a different way?
- Can Hashem be swayed by human argument? Is it conceivable that Hashem's feelings about collective punishment/salvation changed as a result of Avraham's pleas? Does the story suggest that they did?
- Finally, look to other examples of punishment in Tanakh. Is collective punishment the norm or the exception?1
Angels or Men
What does the Torah believe about angels? Though many characters are referred to as "מלאכים", when does this term refer to a celestial being and when to a human messenger? Are angels corporeal, or immaterial beings? If the latter, how can they be seen by humans or do physical actions such as eating?
What can the story of Avraham and the Three Guests teach about the subject? Compare the approaches of rationalists like Rambam and Ralbag, with the more mystically inclined, such as Ramban. With whose position do you agree?
Immoral Commands?
How is one to understand both Hashem' directive to sacrifice Yitzchak and Avraham's willing compliance?
- How can a moral God, who later in the Torah denounces murder and declares the practice of child sacrifice to be abhorrent, demand of Avraham to kill his child? Why did Avraham agree without even questioning the directive, as he had when Hashem revealed his intentions to destroy Sedom?
- To debate: What is the proper course of action when human conceptions of morality, or even the Torah's own ethical system, conflict with a Divine command? If Hashem were to tell you, today, to sacrifice a loved one, what would you do?
- See Purpose of Akeidat Yitzchak for discussion of these and other theological issues raised by the story.
עוד...
לעוד נושאים בפרשה, ראו: רשימת נושאים – פרשת וירא.
