Rabbi Peretz Rodman

YHWH takes note of Sarah, and she conceives and bears a son. Then Abraham steps in: he names the boy and circumcises him. Sarah reclaims him, finding her own laughter in his name and pinning old age on Abraham alone. When the boy is weaned, Abraham holds a great feast, with Sarah nowhere in sight. The two parents never appear together, and neither calls Isaac “our son.” What has come between them?

The promised land is described in Deuteronomy (12:9) by the hendiadys מְנוּחָה, menuchah, and נַחֲלָה, nachalah—a resting-place and heritage-land—and both terms are used several times in the Bible to refer to the land of Israel. Millennia later, these terms are given an afterlife in Jewish liturgy in reference to Shabbat; sacred space is anchored in time.

Samuel must piece together YHWH’s intention to anoint David. Elisha’s plan to save a widow and her sons unfolds in fits and starts.

With the loss of the Temple, wearing Shabbat clothes conveys the כָּבוֹד וּתִפְאָרֶת, “glory and splendor” of the priestly garments.