What's the Spiel? - Parshat Vayera

What's the Spiel?

17 Cheshvan 5786 - November 8, 2025

Parshat Vayera

Rabbi's Reflections

-Seeing the Holy in the Face of a Stranger-

Parshat Vayera opens with what seems at first like a quiet, almost domestic scene. Avraham, recovering from his brit milah, sits at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. The Torah tells us simply that “God appeared to him,” an understated phrase that Rashi, quoting the Talmud (Sotah 14a), explains to mean that God Himself was performing the mitzvah of bikur cholim, visiting the sick. It is a tender image - the Creator of the universe stopping by to check on a faithful servant in pain.

But the serenity of that moment doesn’t last long. Suddenly, Avraham lifts his eyes and sees three travelers approaching. Without hesitation, he runs to greet them, bows to the ground, offers water for their feet, shade for their rest, and a lavish meal prepared with haste and love. His hospitality is legendary, yet what strikes the commentators most is not his generosity, but what it cost.

For in order to greet these strangers, Avraham effectively interrupts his audience with God. The Torah never records him resuming that conversation. It seems that Avraham quite literally left the Divine Presence waiting while he went to attend to three dusty wanderers. And yet, the sages teach that in this moment, Avraham reached the very pinnacle of faith.

How can that be? How could anyone, even Avraham, place God “on hold” to care for mortals?

The answer, say our sages, is that Avraham wasn’t turning away from God. He was turning toward Him in the only way Judaism understands what it means to truly encounter the Divine: through action, through kindness, through the imitation of God’s ways in this world. As the Torah commands, “To love the Lord your God… and to walk in His ways” (Devarim 30:16). And the Talmud asks: what does it mean to “walk after God”? Can a human being possibly follow after the Divine Presence? Has it not been said, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire”? Rather, the Talmud concludes, it means to follow God’s attributes: “Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, clothed the naked, so too should you clothe the naked. Just as He visited the sick, so too should you visit the sick. Just as He comforted mourners, so too should you comfort mourners. Just as He buried the dead, so too should you bury the dead” (Sotah 14a).

That, says the Talmud, is what it means to walk with God - not to flee the world in mystical ascent, but to engage it fully, to make holiness tangible through compassion.

Avraham understood this. For him, spirituality was not withdrawal but encounter. To serve God was to serve His image in others. To speak with God was to listen to the needs of another human being. The revelation he longed for was not interrupted by the arrival of the travelers, it was the arrival of the travelers!

Judaism has never measured holiness by how long we can sit in solitude or how high we can climb in prayer. The real test of holiness is whether prayer can move us to run, as Avraham did, to meet the stranger, to heal the broken, to comfort the grieving, to welcome the lonely. The truest “spiritual experience” is not escape from the world, but transformation of the world.That is why Avraham’s tent was open on all sides: not just architecturally, but spiritually. It was open to possibility, to surprise, to the Divine disguised as the ordinary. For Avraham, every encounter was a potential revelation.

This Shabbat, as we read Vayera, we are reminded that the presence of God is not only found in the hush of prayer or the depths of contemplation. It is found in the faces we greet, in the kindnesses we extend, in the dignity we grant to others. When we visit the sick, comfort the mourner, or welcome the stranger, we do more than perform a mitzvah - we reenact Avraham’s moment of revelation. We turn the everyday into a sanctuary, and we remind ourselves that to live a spiritual life is not to withdraw from the world, but to sanctify it. May we all find the courage and compassion to make our encounters sacred - to see the Divine spark in those who cross our path, and in doing so, to bring God’s presence a little closer to our own tent doors.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Rabbi Dan

Schedule of Services at B'nai Abraham

CTI Schedule 5785/2025

Friday, November 7

5:20PM - Candle Lighting

5:15PM - Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

Saturday, November 8

9:00AM - Shacharit

10:30AM Shabbat Youth Programs

5:15PM - Mincha

6:16PM - Havdalah

Sunday, November 9

8:30AM - Shacharit

Monday - Friday

7:05AM - Shacharit

CTI Announcements

Join friends and fellow congregants at the Austin Premiere of “Centered: Joe Lieberman” on Sunday, November 9 at 2:30 PM at the Dell JCC Gloria and Harvey Evans Performance Center.

“Centered” features the life and legacy of Joe Lieberman, a Modern Orthodox Jew who served as a U.S. Senator from Connecticut for 24 years and was nearly elected as the first Jewish Vice President of the U.S. in 2000.

Known for putting principles above party, Lieberman’s message of moderation, civility and bipartisanship resonates even more powerfully in today’s divisive, highly contentious and polarized political climate.

We’re also excited to have Clarine Nardi Riddle, Lieberman’s longtime Senate Chief of Staff, joining us to share additional insights and respond to your questions.

Tickets are available online at www.austinjff.org for $13, at the door for $15 or checkout the full schedule and consider purchasing an AJFF pass to enjoy a wide array of other new, curated and exceptional Jewish and Israeli-themed films and programs.

One free ticket is available to the first 25 CTI Full Members responding to this email by contacting Jay Rubin at jayrubinatx@gmail.com.

Questions? Contact Jay at (202)409-4054.

Hadassah is having a kid's club on November 9. More Information HERE.

Hadassah is having a happy hour on November 13. More information HERE.

Light Up the Night: Latkes & Spirits with Austin Hadassah

Sunday, December 7th, 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Honoring: Michal Ilai, One of Hadassah's 18 American Zionist Women You Should Know

Michal Ilai is the senior Israel educator at Shalom Austin. Her 30-year career has focused on Jewish identity, Israel-diaspora relations and Zionism, and she has founded programs, facilitated workshops and designed curricula to strengthen Jewish peoplehood.

More information HERE!

Help Renew Israel's Economy and Agricultural Heritage

Ehud Adler, father of five and commander in the Golani reconnaissance unit, and brother of CTI member Hagit Cohen, has been serving on the frontlines in Gaza and Lebanon since October 7th.

Before the war, Ehud was ready to plant a vineyard on ancestral Jewish land — the same hills where our people grew wine 2,000 years ago. His grapes would supply Jerusalem Winery, producing kosher wine rooted in Jewish history and faith.

But while Ehud defends Israel, he cannot fund this dream. And this year, new farmers receive no state support.

This vineyard is more than wine.

It is life. It is resilience. It is our future.

Help Ehud plant deep roots in our homeland. Donate today to Jerusalem Winery.

https://www.amyisroelchai.com/donate

Shmira, watching over the deceased, is a sacred mitzvah. If you would like to find out more information about how CTI engages shmira, or think you might be interested in participating in this mitzvah, please contact Larry Smith, CTI's Shmira Coordinator at lsmith@egsanalytics.com, or (512) 923-3964. Registering as a shomer does not obligate you, but it includes you in the list of people who will be notified when there is a death in our community and a need for shomrim.

Support Israel

SHALOM AUSTIN EMERGENCY CAMPAIGN

AIPAC

FRIEND OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES

ISRAEL AMERICAN COUNCIL

HADASSAH

ACH GADOL FOR LONE SOLDIERS

WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION

ISRAEL BONDS

JNF

Thank you Louis Stone for sponsoring Kiddush in loving memory of his father, Howard Stone zl.

Kiddush sponsorship is a great way to honor a loved one's memory or celebrate a special occasion while also giving a little back to the community.

If you have a special day you would like to commemorate with a kiddush, now is a great time to reserve your sponsorship for the Shabbos of your choice. If your date is not visible yet on the kiddush calendar, you can still email Beth and ask about reserving that date. Thank you so much for your support of CTI’s kiddush program.

Sponsor A Kiddush

Mazel Tov!

Martin Wallner, Birthday November 10
Sunitha Cohen, Birthday November 11
Jeffrey Van Keer, Birthday November 13
Jacob (Jack) Clifford, Birthday November 14

*Please update your shulcloud account with birthdays, anniversaries, and Yahrzeits to make sure they're highlighted in the Spiel. If you have any questions on how to do so, please email admin@tiferetaustin.org*

Yahrzeit Remembrances

Morris Shaftel, Father of Myles Shaftel, on Monday 19 Cheshvan
Barry Chernack, Father of Andrew Chernack, on Wednesday 21 Cheshvan
Elsie Stone, Grandmother of Louis Stone, on Thursday 22 Cheshvan
Alex Sole, Father of Diane Radin, on Friday 23 Cheshvan
Howard Stone, Father of Louis Stone, on Friday 23 Cheshvan

Donations

Thank you to Idan Werpoler, Steven Swernofsky, and Yoni Cohen for their Aliyah donations.

Thank you to Iris Varkony for her donation to the Chesed fund in gratitude and in honor of the CTI family who kept us in prayers, visited us, fed us, sent us caring messages, and made donations in our beloved Oren’s z"l memory.

Thank you to Jay Rubin for his donation in memory of his wife, Carol Rubin z”l.

Thank you to David Reifler for his donation in memory of Carol Rubin z”l.

Thank you to Louis Stone for his donations in memory of his grandmother, Elsie Stone z”l, and his father, Howard Stone, z”l.

Thank you to Sandy and Camille Kress for their donation in recognition of Rabbi Millner’s extraordinary teaching.

Thank you to Offer & Ilana Shavit for their donation to the Torah Fund.

Thank you to our anonymous donors.

Make a Donation