Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.
(B’reysheet / Genesis 21:19)
Rabbi Binyamin stated, “All have an aspect of blindness about them until the Holy One enlightens one’s eyes.” (Breysheet Rabbah 53) Building upon this statement The Chiddushei HaRim1 taught, “Everything that a person needs stands ready before them all that is necessary is for God to open their eyes to that awareness, and this is what King David prayed for in the Psalms, “Open my eyes that I may see”. (119:8)
As our narrative unfolds, Abraham, urged by Sarah, dispatches the handmaiden Hagar and the son she had with him, Ishmael, out of the house. Hagar and Ishmael wander in the wilderness, where they quickly run out of water. Hagar places Ishmael at a distance, not wanting to witness the death of her son. Hagar then raises her voice and cries out to God. Hagar, in her distress and despair, is unable to see the essential, life-giving water nearby until an angel tells Hagar to open her eyes and see the well.
Our Torah portion imparts the insight that our minds affect how we see the world, that each of us needs to consider how our mindset affects how we see the world. If we are pessimistic, believing that everything is going to go wrong then we will see the world that way. If we are optimistic, seeing a world where positive things happen, then we will see the world that way.
As the Talmud teaches, “A man is shown only what is suggested by his own thoughts”.2 Too often we do not see what is really there, but what our mind suggests is there. One of the great insights of Jewish tradition is that reality is created by our minds. Only by keeping our minds open can we see the potential in the world around us and the capacity we possess to use the resources that the Holy One has provided to fulfill our purpose as God’s partners in perfecting the world.
Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
1 Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter (1799 – 10 March 1866), was the founding Rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, in the town of Gora, Poland (“Ger” in Yiddish). Rabbi Alter was also known as The Chiddushei HaRim after his commentaries on the Torah and the Talmud.
2 Berakhot 55b.
Copyright © 2024 Rodef Sholom Temple. All rights reserved. Website designed by Addicott Web.
