Daf Yomi Gittin 2
Avraham and Sarah had been childless for many years. In a selfless move, Sarah suggests to
Avraham to have a child with her maidservant, Hagar. But no sooner does Hagar conceive than she
begins to mock Sarah for her inability to bear children. Hagar is sent away and finds herself
wandering in the wilderness.
Suddenly, as she sits by a well, she encounters an angel who
comforts her and tells her to return to the home of Sarah and Avraham, despite
the challenging family dynamics. The
angel blesses her and she responds by naming the place “The Well of the Living
One Appearing to Me.” The Torah
concludes the account by stating, “Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.”
If a messenger brings a gett (bill of divorce) from
overseas, he must testify, ‘In my presence it was written and signed.’ Rabban Gamliel says: Even if he brings the
gett from Rekem or Cheger.
Rashi explains: Rekem and Cheger are the Aramaic
translations of Kadesh and Bered.
So one day, an
Israeli woman gets a knock on the door.
It’s a telegram from her husband who’s been away on business
overseas. She’s so excited to hear from
him! What could it be? But, lo and behold, it’s a gett! Poor woman can’t believe it. That’s how he divorces her – in the
mail? She’s totally shattered. Will she ever be able to get her life back
on track?
That’s the meaning
of Rekem and Cheger. They are cities
that sit on the border between Israel and the Diaspora. Are they in Israel or are they in the
Diaspora? In a certain sense, they are
neither here nor there. And that’s the
feeling of this unfortunate woman who has just received a gett in the
mail. She thought everything was on
track when suddenly her life went off the rails. Now she feels neither here nor there. She is filled with fear, uncertainty, and desperation. What does the future hold?
Rashi, however, chimes
in and reminds us that Rekem and Cheger are not biblical locations of
uncertainty; they are places of hope. What
happened in the Torah’s account of Rekem and Cheger? Hagar had been ‘divorced’ by Avraham, sent
away from her comfortable life and the family she had grown to love. You can imagine how she must have felt –
forlorn, confused, and scared for her future and the future of her unborn
child.
But then the angel
appears to her and comforts her. He
tells her to return to Avraham. He tells
her that her child will become a father of multitudes. And that place becomes so manifest with
sanctity and meaning that following Sarah’s passing, the Torah tells of how
Yitzchak returns there seeking to reunite Hagar with Avraham! In other words, Rekem and Cheger represent
the transformation of uncertainty into hope for the future.
Sometimes, life
hits us with challenges that come out of left field. We think we have everything planned out so
perfectly, only to be thrown a curve-ball that changes everything. Whether it’s a relationship curve-ball or a
stockmarket curve-ball or a health curve-ball, suddenly it feels like your
world is caving in.
When that happens, just
remember Rekem and Cheger. Just like the
poor Israeli woman who is sent the gett in the mail or poor Hagar who is left
to wander pregnant in the wilderness, Hashem will carry you too through the
storm of life. Life may appear uncertain
and full of despair today, but the Almighty has already prepared the salvation
for you!
Rekem and Cheger
sit on the fine line between despair and hope. You get to decide on which side
of the border the dreidel will land. May
you transform your uncertainty and despair into hope and faith, and may you trust
in the One Above as He carries you through the storm in the palm of His hand!
