Shalom Mishpacha,
I hope this email finds each of you well: happy and healthy. Another wonderful Shabbat is almost upon us and although I am just back from Barbados, I must depart Sunday morning for Guyana. And all this among an absolutely amazing set of readings from our Torah. This week’s parsha (Torah portion) of Lech Lecha brings our forefather, Avraham onto the scene. Many refer to this as the beginning of the story of the Jewish people proper. It makes sense that we learn in this parsha so much about who we are as Jews, as we learn so much about who Avraham was. And how does the story begin? With the famous phrase that Hashem says to Avraham: “Lech lecha me'artzecha, me'moladetecha, ume'beit avicha, el haaretz asherareka...”. Simply, this is often translated as: "Go, you, from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you." The beginning of our history starts with our forefather needing to “go” from whence he came, from his upbringing and surroundings, and to follow Hashem in a certain direction... a direction he did not yet know. A great demonstration of emuna (faith) right from the beginning... But our Chazal (Sages of Blessed Memory) and various mefarshim (commentators) throughout the millennia, have taught us that “Lech lecha” is also to be translated as “Go... to yourself” and “Go... for yourself”. These interpretations of the pasuk (verse) have deep implications for our understanding of the what it means to “lech lecha”... then, and now.
Avraham was different from the world around him. The entire world believed that their worshipped idols were true gods, but Avraham knew differently. Likely the world mocked him and it is evident he was the loner and he swam against the current in terms of his beliefs. Later on in the parsha, the pasuk says: "And the fugitive came and told Avram, the Hebrew (haIvri)...". This is a very famous pasuk in that it is the only place in the Torah where Avraham is referred to by the title that became associated with his descendants - the Hebrew (haIvri). Our Sages tell us that this title connotes the separation and distinctiveness of Avraham and his descendants. We are taught that "the entire world was on one side of the river (m'ever echad) and he was on the other side (m'ever hasheni)." He was not bothered that he was out of step with the entire world. It was as if he said: "This is who I am, these are my opinions, I believe in One G-d and I don't care if the entire world thinks that I am wrong or if everyone else believes something else." We have come to learn that this is why Avraham is our forefather... the first Jew.
Hashem then encourages his beliefs and his tendency to move in a different direction and away from the world around him. “Lech lecha”... “Go”! But, as our sages have taught, the pasuk translates a “Go.. to yourself and, for yourself” This move in the opposite direction of the ways of the world around him is his true direction says Hashem, and it is a direction that will be good for him as well. It is a direction that will allow his potential, his purpose, to be realized. This call echoes in our ears up until the present day. As Jews, we were destined to be different. We are meant to go in a different direction. But this direction ultimately helps to become who are meant to be in this world.
We know we are different. People today around us may not understand why we do what we do. Others may wonder why at various times we get together in synagogue: sometimes with sadness and sometimes with joy, sometimes fasting and other feasting; but always praying. It may not be clear why we light eight candles in the dead of winter singing songs by the flames eating oily foods with a smile on our faces for 8 days. In fact, our eating habits may be strange to others regularly, be they what goes (or does not go) in our mouths, or what words come out of our mouths before or after we eat. It is likely perplexing to others that we sit around two nights a year telling the tale of a people long ago being freed from slavery and receiving commandments from God on a mountain in the desert, while eating a dry cracker-like substance and bitter produce. Or perhaps others may questions why we treat Shabbat differently from other days of the week and even seem a bit different ourselves on this day. The world around us may not understand why we give charity generously and unconditionally, often beyond our means, or why we seem to often just take a few moments to recognize and thank our creator in the middle of the day, or at night night.
And all of that is just fine. We know who we are and we know that we need to “go” to ourselves... to who we truly are... and to who we are meant to be.
And we need not look further than our forefather, Avraham, as our model of strength, courage and faith. There is a little bit of Avraham in each of us today.
May Hashem bless each of us so that we may be strengthened as Avraham to be Ivrim, no matter what the world around us may think, say and do. And may we each be blessed to have the emuna and strength of our forefathers and mothers to know that we are, with Hashem’s help, heading in the right direction.
Shabbat Shalom
Evan Green
