Power, Potential, and Community
Last week's Torah Portion, Parshat Vayeira, is full of the most well-known stories in the Torah. Abraham and Sarah are visited by angels who prophesy Isaac's birth, Abraham argues with God about Sodom and Gemorrah, Abraham tries to pass Sarah off as his sister, the couple then cast out Hagar and Yishmael, and finally Abraham's near-sacrifice or Isaac. I want to focus on one particular recurring dynamic, and that is use and misuse of power. One of the Hebrew words for power is