Va'Yeira (Genesis 18:1)
Do not steal … even from yourself!
My cell phone broke and I’ve been without it the entire week. It’s a long story.
This meant I only had e-mail and the ability to make outgoing calls from my desktop computer.
In the meantime, it has been difficult to contact in times of emergency, however, thank G-d, there haven’t been any that I was needed for. I’ve also not been able to look incessantly at my phone for new whatsapps/texts/email/news or just for something to do at red lights and other good opportunities.
In fact, I’ve started to think again, appreciate the beautiful scenery all around me and be more focused while working and speaking with others.
It’s no wonder mindfulness has become such a fast-growing and important movement worldwide. We have sacrificed our ability to be present, enjoy the moment, and actually get some work done for nothing very worthwhile.
The solution? We really need one! Meanwhile, I am going to experiment with being on my phone (when I get it back) for just a few hours a day and the rest of the time turn it off.
In this week’s Parsha our patriarch and role-model Abraham is sitting at the entrance to his tent and, “he lifted his eyes and saw and behold three men were facing him.” He ran to invite them in for a meal.
The great commentator Sforno points out the words, “he lifted his eyes” are telling us that he looked with intent to see if there were any passes by. He didn’t just look around. He was present, calm and made a deliberate choice to look for people he could help.
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