When I was first asked to deliver tonight's sermon, I readily accepted. I thought I had free reign to choose a topic and at the time I had a lot of things to talk about. A few weeks later, I received a package of information from the Temple and a letter from Rabbi Bergman Vann thanking me for being willing to participate and asking me to prepare my sermon on Parashat Vayera. The thought that immediately went through my mind was “Vaye-who?”

Vayera deals with the story of Abraham and Isaac. Some of us have heard it twenty or thirty times. Others have heard it sixty or seventy times. You know… it's the Torah portion that says that Israel isn't a legitimate state, we oppress other people, and the Holocaust never happened…

OK… maybe that isn't what it says and it's easy to tell fact from fiction coming out of the mouth of someone like our friend Ahmedinajad in Iran. Of more concern may be comments and interpretation coming from people who get part of the story right and then mix a personal agenda.

And how do we deal with such a situation? We learn the facts ourselves, pro-actively spread the true information, and when confronted with people who don't know or don't want to know, we're already armed with the facts. When I lived in Japan, my friends from Toyohashi shared an interesting expression about the things to fear. Loosely translated, the expression becomes fire, earthquakes, lightning, and your girlfriend's father. I would add to this a lack of urgency. If we don't more thoroughly know our traditions, our stories, our language, and continue the process of learning and passing these things on, we leave ourselves and the world open to accepting misinterpretations, half-truths, and lies. And it's too late if we wait to start the learning process until the next time Israel is attacked or after our children have decided that our religion is irrelevant in their lives.

I'm not proposing that we all keep kosher or come to services every week. I'm simply suggesting if we don't continue our process of learning and questioning, demography and technology will deal us a harsh lesson. You only have to ask someone like our community's Harry Mazal, a champion against Holocaust denial, if evil people have internet access.

While the title of my sermon is Abraham, Isaac, and Ahmadinejad, I'd prefer to focus on the first two, so let's take a look at Vayera. We have the story of Abraham and Sarah being told they will have a child. We have the story of Hagar and Ishmael. We have the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. And we have the story of the binding of Isaac. Whether we've read the portion twenty times or seventy times, most of us have probably read it like a Seinfeld episode. Abraham and Sarah yada, yada, yada… Ishmael yada yada yada… and so on.

But what else does it say?

Put yourself in Abraham's sandals. Would you be able to take your own child's life if asked?

Put yourself in Isaac's position. If you father took you up to a mountain with some firewood and a knife, would you suspect something bad? Would you look over your shoulder the rest of your life? I know my own father has tried to kill me on several occasions. I don't have time tonight to tell you infamous Falling Tree Story of 1983 or the dreaded Nail Gun Incident of 1985, but suffice it to say if he asks me to dangle off the side of a roof or climb inside a pit or clean the tiger cage at the zoo while carrying a backpack filled with raw meat that I now ask a lot of questions.

Vayera also deals with challenging authority -- not just authority in general, but the ultimate authority. When the decision is made to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, who would have the strength to stand up and say “what if there were 40 good people in the city…will you still destroy it?” And authority was challenged over and over to continue to work the number down in favor of saving the cities. This was a topic that was discussed during this week's Limmudim Jewish Leadership class with Rabbi Stahl.

Treatment of women comes up during this Torah portion. At one point, Abraham saves his own life by claiming Sarah is his sister rather than his wife. At another point, Lot tries to save the visiting angels by offering his daughters to the angry mob at his door.

Vayera also shows us the beginning of the growth of another people when Hagar and Ishmael are sent on their way.

As we look at some of these topics, I can only ask (note: looking up) “what were you thinking?” But then I realize that without these stories and others, maybe we today wouldn't be so concerned about the concepts of social justice and tikun olam, or repairing the world.

I'm here with you tonight as the Chair of the San Antonio Association for Jewish Education, part of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio. Our mission is to promote and enhance Jewish education for the entire Jewish community. Additionally, we strive to support a culture of concern and commitment toward the destiny and welfare of our people.

Among other things, we promote education on the community agenda. We act as a conduit to connect the synagogues and educational institutions and enhance Jewish education. We initiate and sponsor our own programs to educate Jews of all ages and promote lifelong learning. We promote the philosophy of am echad, one people, while recognizing religious diversity. And we reinforce the significance of the land and State of Israel.

SAAJE is going through a process of reviewing our role in the community, and in the coming weeks, we'll kick off a task force made up of a cross-section of Jews from around town. As we contemplate how we can be most effective, I'll carry the lessons of Vayera with me.

How can we put together educational opportunities that larger and larger, enthusiastic groups of people keep coming back to hear twenty, thirty, or seventy times?

How can we respond to the needs of both Abraham and Isaac, or in our case, perhaps a segment of our population that wants to learn in the ways we always have and another segment that we may more effectively reach on the internet, on their iPods, and through programs that twin schools in Israel and San Antonio as we're in the process of doing?

And how can we continue to question and negotiate so our religious and educational institutions, our agencies, and our Federation can offer San Antonio the best Jewish educational experiences possible? By doing so, we'll provide an environment of lifelong learning and a place that attracts and retains members of our community.

And as a people, we'll continue to outlive the Hamans, the Hitlers, and the Ahmadinejads.

Shabbat Shalom!

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