Parshas Vayera - The Cuticle: The Quiet Protector

Perspectives in life are determined by time and place. I’ve had several conversations with friends of ours who, with us, Bli Ayin Hora, share in the joy of having grandchildren. One common reality that we share is how, over the course of time our energy and patience evolve, transitioning from the older grandchildren to the younger ones, and even more so to the unborn. Looking back a few generations, my older cousins have clearer and deeper memories of their relationships with our grandparents. I am the second-to-youngest grandchild on my mother’s side and the youngest on my father’s side. I never met either of my grandmothers. My maternal grandfather passed away when I was six years old; my paternal grandfather passed away when I was twenty. I only had one grandfather with whom I had meaningful, memorable relationship. By the time I was born, my grandfather was seventy-two years old. I remember him to have been a serious, proper man who did not run around with me on his shoulders. He tended to be authoritative, and even at times kind of critical. One constant reminder I recall him giving me was to “keep my hands and fingers out of my mouth”. I remember him telling me, ”Your mouth is for speaking and eating, not for biting your nails”.

As I grew older and, of course, much more mature, I worked on myself to stop biting my nails. However, every so often, an annoying cuticle appeared, reminding me of my grandfather’s words. I would tell myself to leave it alone, but was nevertheless tempted to pick at it with my fingers and even with my teeth until I could pull it off. This, typically, caused a slight bleed accompanied by some pain, making me worry about possible infection. This cuticle growing episode repeated itself a few times a year, causing me to wonder why I continued to pick on cuticles which I understood are there for my own protection?

Most of us never think about our cuticles, except to push them back or trim them so our fingernails look neat. Most of us have learned that an occasionally annoying thin strip of skin at the base of the nail has a vital job to do. It seals the gap between the nail and the skin to keep out dirt and bacteria. My grandfather’s warnings aside, most of us have learned that cutting or pulling at cuticles invites infection. Cuticles may not be considered beautiful, but they are not typically noticed, and they do protect our nails and surrounding skin.

Chazal tell us that nails themselves began as protection. The Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer, chapter 14 lines 9-1 מָה הָיָה לְבוּשׁוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן? עוֹר צִפֹּרֶן וַעֲנַן כָּבוֹד הַמְכַסֶּה עָלָיו. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁאָכַל מִפֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן, נִפְשַׁט עוֹרוֹ וְצִפֹּרֶן מֵעָלָיו... “What was the garment of Adom HaRishon? A nail garment and a cloud of honor covered him”. Rav Dovid Luria explains that just as every living creature has a protective shiny coat so, too, Adom HaRishon had a covering that appeared like the clouds of glory. The cover of his body shone, giving off light. Rav Luria suggests that the word צפורן is actually two words combined: (covering)צפוי and (light) אורן . The Targum, Yonason Ben Uziel, in Bereishis 3:7, mentions Adam and Chava together, ”They were stripped of the garment of nail (לבוש טופרא) in which they had been created." Adam and Chava were originally clothed in a nail garment, a shield over their entire body. After the sin it was removed, leaving only a small remnant of this nail garment at our fingertips and toes. The little bit we have left is a reminder of the protection we once had.

In several places we learn that Avraham Avinu was Lot’s cuticle. When their shepherds quarreled, Avraham said (Bereishis 13:9), “If you go left, I will go right.” Rashi explains that Avraham was saying: ”Wherever you settle, I will not distance myself from you; I will stand by you as a shield and a helper.” In the end, Lot needed Avraham’s assistance. Even though Lot chose Sodom and cut himself away, Avraham kept his word.

Later, when the four kings captured Lot (Bereishis 14:14), Avraham did not say, “He chose to leave; it is his problem.” He gathered his 318 men and chased the mightiest armies of the world in order to capture and bring his nephew home. But Avraham’s protection did not stop at family. In that same war, Avraham rescued the people of Sodom and returned them and all their possessions to the king of Sodom, as it states in Bereishis 14:23 "אם מחוט ועד שרוך נעל" - refusing to take “even a thread or a shoelace” for himself. All of these events took place in last week’s parsha.

In this week’s Parshas Vayera, in Bereshis 18:23-25, the Torah describes how Avraham continued fighting for others. When Hashem revealed that Sodom and Amorah would be destroyed, Avraham stood before the Al-Mighty and pleaded for the good people: ויגש אברהם ויאמר, האף תספה צדיק עם רשע. אולי יש חמשים צדיקם בתוך העיר"...חלילה לך השופט כל הארץ לא יעשה משפט" “Will You sweep away the righteous with the wicked? … Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice?”. He bargained from fifty righteous people down to ten. These were the most wicked cities on earth, the very opposite of Avraham’s chessed, yet he still tried to shield and protect them. A true protector does not only guard those who deserve it; he stands at the edge for anyone who can still be saved.

In the end, ten righteous people could not be found. Yet the Torah tells us (Bereishis 19:29), “Hashem remembered Avraham, and He sent Lot out of the upheaval.” Lot was saved not in his own merit but because Avraham was still standing guard and protecting him.

Avraham could protect others because he himself was protected. Right after the war, Hashem told him in Bereishis 15:1 "אל תירא אברם אנכי מגן לך" “Fear not, Avraham, I am a shield for you.” That is why we conclude the first bracha of Shemoneh Esrei, “Magen Avraham” – Shield of Avraham.

Hashem is our cuticle, and so is His Torah. Chazal teach (Sotah 21a) that Torah both shields and rescues us. The mezuzah on our door bears the name Sha-dai, which is an acronym for Shomer D’latos Yisrael - Guardian of the doors of Israel. Dovid HaMelech, in Tehillim 121, praises Hashem: “Behold, He neither slumbers nor sleeps; Hashem is your guard.”

Yet here is the human challenge. A cuticle can bother us. It gets dry and sticks out. it catches, forming a hangnail. It bothers us so we pick at it, pushing it back until we cut it away. And then the real pain and accompanying infection set in. So, too, with Hashem’s protection. The Torah’s boundaries can feel tight and inconvenient. A mitzvah gets in the way of what we want, a halacha rubs us the wrong way. We grow tempted to push it back, to trim it, to create a little distance. Like Lot, we could give up and head toward the bright lights of Sodom, certain that we no longer need the border. But the very thing that bothers us is what keeps us whole. The boundary is not there to confine us; it is there to protect us.

Each of us have some ‘cuticles’ in our lives: Hashem and His Torah first, and then our parents, perhaps a grandparent or two, a spouse, a rebbe, a friend, all of whom quietly seal the gaps, keeping out what could harm us. These ‘cuticles’ are easy to overlook and, too often, easy to cut away. The lesson of Avraham is twofold. Appreciate the protectors in your life, even when they are not glamorous, and even when they bother you. And then, strive to be that protector for others, standing at the edge, holding the line, even for those who have walked away, and even for those who seem far beyond reach.

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Wishing you and your family Ahh Ghutten Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky