The Covenants between God and Avraham | 2

          We shall discuss a series of midrashim about Avraham's circumcision, spanning the end of parashat Lech-Lecha and the beginning of parashat Va-yeira.

I.

          At the beginning of Va-yeira, Avraham is sitting at the entrance of his tent, "in the heat of the day." There is a very famous midrash that describes how Avraham would sit and wait for travelers to pass by, so he could invite them in to his tent. But on this day, no travelers came by.

"At the heat of the day" - R. Yanai said: God punctured a hole in hell and the entire world boiled for all its inhabitants for a short while. God said: The righteous are in pain, and the rest of the world are comfortable??!?

He said: Before I was circumcised, passers-by would stop by me.

God said to him: Before you were circumcised, uncircumcised men would come; but now, I and My court will appear to you. This is what is written: "And he lifted his eyes and say, behold, three men were standing above him, and he saw, and ran towards them." He saw - the Divine Presence; he saw ( a second time) - the angels (48,8-9).

          Now we know that the real reason no one is coming to Avraham's tent, at least on this day, is because of the impossibly hot weather. But what is interesting is Avraham's proposed explanation. People no longer come to visit him because he has been circumcised!

          A slightly different version of this midrash appears earlier, at the end of Lech-Lecha. In that context, Avraham's comment is not offered in response to his noticing that there were no travelers on this day, but was made in advance, in anticipation of the circumcision.

Avraham said: Before I was circumcised, passers-by would stop by me. Is it true that when I am circumcised, they will not stop by me? God said to him: Before you were circumcised, men would come to you; now I Myself in My glory come and appear to you. This is what is written (immediately after the mila), "And God appeared to him in Eilonei Mamre." (47,9)

          Avraham fears that the circumcision will serve as a barrier between him and other men, in a way that his righteousness had not. It would seem from God's answer, especially when combined with the fact that indeed no visitors came that day and God, as promised, came instead, that in fact this fear was justified. Since we know that the relationship between Jews and the surrounding world has not been particularly cordial since then - a fact that the Sages were painfully aware of - it appears that this midrash is positing the brit mila as at least a symbolic cause of the fissure between Avraham, his seed, and the rest of the world. God's answer to the problem posed by Avraham is that there is a trade-off - the brit, a covenant between God and Avraham, indeed interferes with the fellowship of men, but substitutes for it the fellowship of God.

          Apparently, the midrash believes that being a righteous individual does not interfere with Avraham's relationship and fellowship with other men; on the contrary, they seek him out for counsel and leadership. But the brit is something else - a covenant with God, by placing Avraham in covenental relationship with God, necessarily excludes others, and they are apparently aware, painfully aware, of that exclusion. The anti-Semitic charge that Jews are insular and hence exclusionary is basically admitted, only with an important spiritual twist. It is not the relationship of Jews with each other which deters universal human fellowship, but their insular, intimate relationship with God. God is God of the entire world, but he is the fellow, the common member in a covenant, with the Jews - and this directly leads to the severance of the ties with other men.

          Another reference to circumcision as the specific cause of a break between Avraham and the rest of the world is found in a midrash at the end of Lech-Lecha.

"In the very same ("b'etzem") day Avraham was circumcised."

R. Brechya said: "I did not speak at the beginning in secret (Is. 48)." God said: If Avraham were to be circumcised at night, all his contemporaries would say such and such, were we to have seen him we would have prevented the circumcision. Hence it shall be in the middle of this day (the midrash interprets "b'etzem" to mean at high noon). Whoever is pained can try and do something about it! (47,9).

          Although the reason for the opposition is not spelled out, the midrash assumes that the circumcision will engender antagonism not aroused by anything Avraham has done in the past.

          This midrash, placing the reason for the separation of Jews from non-Jews on a mitzva, is reminiscent of a much more extreme midrash in Shemot.

It (Mt. Sinai) has five names: Mt. Elokim, Mt. Bashan, Mt. Gavnunim, Mt. Chorev, and Mt. Sinai.... Sinai - because from it hatred ("sin'a") descended to the idolaters. (Shemot Rabba 2,4)

          Actually, I think these midrashim are very different. The one in Shemot attributes hatred to the existence of the Torah. Jews are hated because the Torah exists, because it is given to the Jews, and because they observe it. Our midrash is first of all not speaking of hatred but of distance, separation. Secondly, this midrash assumes that before the brit, Avraham would be visited by travelers who passed by his tent. We have seen in the past that Avraham was sought out for spiritual advice and succeeded, at least partially, in teaching his ways to the local inhabitants of Canaan. The midrash is explaining not hatred and anti-Semitism, but the very separation of the Jews as a unit from the rest of the world. It is not mitzvot per se that has this effect, but brit, covenant, a political pact between God and Avraham which places the two of them on one side and the rest of the world outside. Avraham, who of course does not even think of objecting to any command of God, is reluctant to proceed with circumcision precisely because of this price - not the loss of friends but the abandonment of his goal to influence the entire world, a goal which can only be accomplished if barriers are not erected between him and the world. Avraham considers sacrificing his own spiritual success in order not to be divorced from the people who surround him.

II.

          It should be noted that there exists a midrash that expresses the opposite view, although I believe that there really is no contradiction.

"After my skin many came round to it, and from my flesh I behold God" (Job 19,26) [The translation is in accordance with the midrashic interpretation - a literal translation would be entirely different].

Avraham said: After I circumcised myself, many proselytes came to cleave unto this covenant. "From my flesh I behold God" - If I had not done this, from where would God have revealed Himself to me? (Hence, the verse) "And God appeared to him." (48,2)

          In this midrash, the brit is seen as a public relations success. It is precisely AFTER the brit that converts - many converts - come to join Avraham, and it is the brit, the covenant, that they wish to join. Numerically, these midrashim are in contradiction, but ideologically I think not. Before the brit, Avraham's neighbors could drop by for advice, inspiration, and guidance, and then return to their previous lives. No barrier existed between them and Avraham, and no leap of faith, no crucial and dramatic decision to revolutionize one's life was necessary. Presumably, this made the reach of Avraham's message wider, more accessible and more acceptable. After the brit, the audience is necessarily smaller, for in order to get anything from Avraham one must make a decision to cross the rubicund of identity, to CONVERT oneself into something new, with a new identity. Physical circumcision symbolizes that new identity and total commitment - one's very body changes, and, of course, the physical change is not only painful but also irrevocable. On the other hand, the result for those fewer disciples of Avraham is much deeper for precisely the same reason. One does not take Avraham's teachings home to influence one's life in some way, one adopts a totally new way of life and becomes a totally new person. Before, many PASSERS-BY would drop in to visit Avraham, now many (though presumably fewer) searchers after truth come to CLEAVE to the COVENANT.

          Students of the history of religion will undoubtedly recognize the dilemma of Avraham concerning which way is the better and the more effective in the history of early Christianity, which eventually made precisely the opposite choice by abandoning circumcision. The early church had a universal message and sought to influence mankind, but came up against the barrier of circumcision. Saul of Tarsus made the choice to break down that barrier by denying the covenant of flesh, thereby opening his message to the masses of mankind. The first midrash we examined today highlights the price - at best, one achieves widespread influence but forfeits the fellowship of God and loses communion with Him. (It is indeed conceivable that this midrash was aimed at the Pauline doctrine of covenant of spirit replacing the covenant of flesh.)

          The repeated connection between the brit and a higher level of communion with God, presented in the first midrash as a substitute for the fellowship of Man and in the latter one as an achievement derived from the covenant of the "flesh," is based on the opening verse of parshat Va-Yeira - "And God appeared to him in Eilonei Mamre." Now, God had spoken to Avraham before more than once. The midrash is first of all based on the verb "Va-Yeira," God APPEARED. In previous sections, God speaks to Avraham but does not APPEAR to him, and the midrash apparently interprets this verb as indicating a much higher level of communion. Based on the verse "from my flesh I behold God," perhaps we may conclude that "appearing" and beholding" are physical experiences. God becomes manifest in the physical existence of Avraham, and this is a direct result of Avraham altering his physical body through circumcision.

          A second reason why the midrash interprets "and God appeared to him" as a higher level of communion with God is undoubtedly the absence of any particular content for this revelation. While God appears to Avraham in the beginning of the parsha, the Torah does not record any message or conversation. This is not an appearance for pragmatic purpose, in order to convey to Avraham a command or even a blessing of future reward. God simply came to visit. This, the midrash says, is a direct result of the brit, not because Avraham merited reward, but because brit is covenant and covenant is community and communion.

III.

          There is another midrash so similar to the one we began with that it appears to be merely a textual variant, yet the apparent meaning is very different.

(Avraham) said: Before I was circumcised, they would come and "join" (mizdavgim") me, will now they come and join me? God said to Avraham: It is sufficient for you that I am your God, it is sufficient for you that I am your patron. (46,3)

          The crucial question here is the meaning of the word "mizdavgim," which I translated as neutrally as possible ("join" or "join up"). Based on the similarity with the midrash quoted above, we are tempted to interpret it in the exact same manner - mizdaveg means to join, to socialize with. God's answer is then also similar; He replies that His company is sufficient, and He will now be Avraham's God and patron, so that no other friends are necessary. This is, in fact, how this midrash is explained by the commentary "Matnot Kehuna" at first.

          There are however several places in the midrash where the verb "mizdaveg" means to attack. The root of the word is "zug," meaning a pair, and apparently in those contexts in means to duel. If Avraham fears that he will be attacked, and because of the circumcision will be defenseless, then God's answer makes more sense. He does not answer that He will visit Avraham, but that He will be his patron; i.e., his defender. "It is sufficient" ("dayecha") means, in effect, do not worry.

          According to this midrash, the circumcision will not injure Avraham's relationship with the world, if only because that relationship is already bad. Avraham has already been attacked and had to fight. His worry now is that his fighting ability will have been harmed by the circumcision.

          The only explicit story of Avraham at war was the war of the four and five kings, in which Avraham's participation was self-initiated (though the midrash there, as we saw in a shiur last year, finds the cause of the war in anti-Avraham scheming). The midrash, however, is convinced that attacks on Avraham are not caused by circumcision or other practices, but by Avraham's essence, and hence predate the circumcision. Avraham hesitates, not because he is afraid of losing non-Jewish friendship, but because he is afraid of losing in the ongoing conflict with the non-Jewish world.

          God's answer in this midrash is also different, in a subtle manner, than in the previous one. In the first, covenant results in communion and fellowship; God replaces human fellowship with his own visit to Avraham. In this midrash, covenant results in patronage; God promises He will take care of Avraham. The relationship is one of lord and servant, in the sense that the (feudal) lord is responsible to protect his client-servant.

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Next: Avraham and Sdom

49,8 (first half); 9