Vayera
Breath of the Trees
Adapted
from Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Vayera eylav YHWH b'eylonei Mamre...
God appeared to Avraham in the oaks of Mamre...
(Genesis 18:1)
God appeared to Avraham among the oak trees. Then Avraham
lifted up his eyes and saw three people standing. He and Sarah fed a meal to
the three guests, who delivered God's message that Sarah would become pregnant.
First the oak trees themselves became visible. Then the three visitors became
visible. Finally, a message from YHWH - from God - appeared.
God's sacred unpronounceable name YHWH, the Name with no
vowels, can only be "pronounced" by breathing. Yet it was revealed to
Avraham in several stages. First came the rustling leaves, quivering in the
wind, breathing out the oxygen we breathe in, and breathing in the carbon
dioxide we breathe out. After Avraham saw God breathing in these oak trees, he
was able to see God breathing in human beings. After he and Sarah fed those
beings, they learned that their own bodies would seed new life.
This is one of the first expressions of eco-Judaism. After
Avraham saw the interbreathing of all life as God, he saw the intertwining of adam (humans) and adamah (earth or humus), and the
possibility that earth could be a place where new generations can flourish.
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