In the opening verse of this week’s Torah portion we read “Now the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent when the day was hot”.
Wanting Avraham to rest and recuperate after his circumcision at the tender age of 99, G-d created a scorching heat wave to ensure no passerby would venture through the desert highway and disturb Avraham in his tent. Nevertheless, so devoted was he to his mission of spreading monotheism, that Avraham was devastated. He wanted to seize any opportunity to entertain guests despite his fragile state. He was waiting anxiously by the entrance of his tent to see if there would be travellers on the road despite the blistering heat. G-d finally relented and sent three angels disguised as Arab travellers. Avraham was absolutely thrilled, and true to his passion, he rushed out to invite them into his home.
The tale reminded me of my very own heat wave several weeks back.
Preparations for the event began weeks in advance. We rented a hall; ordered the tables, met with caterers and organized the deco for our Simchat Torah dinner-dance program. We printed leaflets of popular songs, organized the hakafot, and ran a publicity campaign. By the time the evening arrived, we felt pretty accomplished. Satisfied with our weeks of effort, we walked into the hall....only to be greeted by a blast of hot air. I ran out to find the super, who casually informed me that the air conditioning had malfunctioned. In fact, the building department had left just before I arrived to shut down what they deemed a hazardous AC. Great!
As the disappointment bubbled inside me, a number of questions chased around my brain. Why couldn’t it have happened the day before? Why today of all days? The one day of the year that we rent this hall and the AC has to break down...And it wasn’t just hot – it was boiling hot.
Once the initial frustration died down, I resigned myself to the fact that G-d runs the world according to a master plan, and that everything happens for a reason. I had no idea why He had to pick tonight of all nights, but either way, we went on with the program. In the end, the evening proved a massive success, with energy pumping through the nearly tangible air. We learnt from Avraham that joy has no barriers- not pain and definitely not heat.
I learnt that day to prepare myself for any eventuality. We can work as hard as we want, but in the end, G-d runs the show and determines its success or failure. Who knows, maybe that night G-d was testing our perseverance?