wâ-Yei•râ′ 1st Eve (Mo•tzâ•eiꞋ Shab•âtꞋ Beginning Week)
3 "Angels" Appear to Avᵊrâ•hâmꞋ
 0250x141.jpg "Eilon oak near Khevron") |
 1000x563.jpg "Click to enlarge"){kind=small} Eil•onꞋ (oak) near Khë•vᵊr•onꞋ |
One day, as Avᵊrâ•hâmꞋ sat in the shade of the door of his tent, in the mid-day heat, in Eil•on•eiꞋ Mor•ëhꞋ, he envisioned ä'. Looking up, he saw three a•nâsh•imꞋ located atop the hill opposite him. Envisioning them, and running from the door of his tent to meet them, he welcomed them with the customary bow and greeting, "Please, a•don•âiꞋ, if it pleases you, don't bypass your workman. Take some water, rinse the dust off of your feet and have a seat leaning against the tree right there in the shade. I'll include a bit of bread with your dinner and you can eat your fill. Afterward, you can continue on, having passed my way."
"That sounds terrific," they replied.
So Avᵊrâ•hâmꞋ darted into the tent, to SârꞋâh, saying, "Quick, knead 30 loaves of fine flour and throw them in the oven!" The Avᵊrâ•hâmꞋ ran out to the cattle ranch hands, cut a tender young calf from the herd and gave it to one of his cowhands to slaughter, gut, skin and roast on a barbecue spit. He took some butter and milk, and the calf he had prepared, and offered it to them.1 Then he stood watch under the tree for them, freeing all of them to eat.
Then they asked him, "Where is SârꞋâh, your woman?" And he replied, "Right there in the tent."
"This is an annual trip for us," he explained. "We'll make the same trip again next spring. By then, may your woman, SârꞋâh have a son!"
Behind him as he spoke, SârꞋâh was listening.
Now Avᵊrâ•hâmꞋ and SârꞋâh were both venerable, and SârꞋâh had passed her child-bearing years.
Then wâ-tiytzᵊkhaqꞋ SârꞋâh to herself saying, "And since I've gotten wrinkles, will my skin become smooth again? Moreover, a•don•iꞋ is aged."
Speaking through His ma•lâkhꞋ, ä' said to Avᵊrâ•hâmꞋ, "Why is it that SârꞋâh tzâ•khaq•âhꞋ saying, 'Shall I really give birth to a son despite my age?' Is anything beyond ä'? This season next year I will pass through here again, and SârꞋâh will have a son!"
Embarrassed that she had been overheard, SârꞋâh denied it because she was frightened. "I did not tzâ•khaqᵊtiyꞋ," she lied. Then he corrected her, "No, tzâ•khâqᵊtꞋ!"
Optional parental preparation:
- Note 1 – Seeking to explain serving khâ•lâvꞋ with bâ•sârꞋ (prohibited, roughly 640 years later, by Mosh•ëhꞋ at Har Sin•aiꞋ), rabbis interpret, baselessly, that the khâ•lâvꞋ was served first, prepared in separate pots and pans, on separate plates with separate utensils (later washed separately) and, only later (and after rinsing the mouth with water), was bâ•sârꞋ served (prepared in separate pots and pans, on separate plates with separate utensils, later washed separately). While this could possibly be, the text contains no hint of this, there is no mention of it until centuries later and, in fact, not noting it as unusual or any need to explain strongly suggests (since Tor•âhꞋ is clear, not creating doubt) that this interpretation did not exist until instituted by Mosh•ëhꞋ – after many geir•imꞋ had been absorbed (for which, click the "more" file icon at the end of the glossary entry for geir.
Questions you might anticipate that your child might raise and be prepared to discuss:
- What is an angel? What does an angel look like?
- How do you know when ä' is talking to you "from the heavens" (i.e., in ruꞋakh) and when you're just imagining it? (Answer: If it's ä', it will be compatible with Tor•âhꞋ as interpreted according to the laws of discrete logic and science. If it's not compatible with Tor•âhꞋ as interpreted according to the laws of discrete logic and science, then it isn't ä'. When unsure, make no claim. Only fakes bluff about this.)
- Who were the Greek Minoan / Philistine "Sea People"?
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