Was Abraham a Good Cook?
Learning that he would have guests, Abraham runs to his wife and says, "Make haste: prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make cakes." (Genesis 18:6)

There is something strange about this verse.



There is something strange about this verse. If he is like many husbands who have no idea of what goes on in the kitchen, he would be unlikely to give his wife culinary instructions. To say, "We're having unexpected guests - can you hurry?", on the other hand, sounds reasonable, and Sarah would probably not object, especially since hospitality was a well-known characteristic of her home. But to give precise instructions about what flour to use, and what quantity - does it really suggest a husband who is useless in the kitchen?


There are two points to consider: why the fine flour and why the three measures? Clearly, Abraham senses that the guests are not ordinary people but Divine messengers, and they are entitled to special treatment. But three measures may be somewhat excessive. A Talmudic passage (Baba Metzia 87) suggests that husbands tend to be over-generous when giving hospitality and that wives are more practical, knowing that family budgets are not unlimited.


Another possibility is that Sarah is a renowned hostess and her trademark dishes include high-quality cakes. She makes no secret of her recipes and Abraham is really saying, "Please make one of your fine-flour cakes - but you'll need to hurry if you can, because we don't have much time before the guests arrive." Since Abraham and Sarah are well known for their hospitality, this may well be the way the verse is to be understood. If so, it is one more contribution to the Jewish art of hospitality that has become one of our defining traits.


Feeling Young Again
The Akedah story has a cast of six - Abraham and Isaac, two servant lads, the angel of God who speaks from Heaven, and Sarah, who is at home wondering and probably weeping. Plus, a seventh member, the ram that is caught in the bushes and offered up in place of Isaac.


There is a great deal of commentary about the two lads, including a surprising interpretation by the Baal Shem Tov. Says the text, "Vayyikkach et sh'nei n'arav immo" - "And he took his two lads with him." (Gen. 22:3) The Baal Shem connects sh'nei, "two," with shanah, "a year," and gives the verse a homiletic twist, as if to say, "He took the years of his lads with him" - embarked upon a task given by God, he walked with a

There is a great deal of commentary about the two lads.

youthful spring in his step and became young again.


We know that Abraham and Sarah were elderly parents, and Abraham could have answered God's call by saying, "Lord, this is a task for a younger person. I have aches and pains and I don't walk so well any more. How do you expect me to ascend a mountain and carry out a task that requires physical energy?" But this is not what happened. Abraham set off as instructed, because all of a sudden he had the energy of a young man again: an experience that a senior adult undergoes from time to time when an important assignment is on the agenda. For a moment at least, one is young again.


Remember how many apparently elderly people have made contributions to civilisation that the world thought were beyond them at their age? Wouldn't life have been different without the historic deeds of an elderly Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Rabbi Akiva and so many other senior citizens? The young sometimes denigrate the old, but history proves them wrong.