D’var Torah for Parashat Lekh Lekha 5787

The Journey to Be a Blessing
A D’var Torah for Parashat Lekh Lekha 2026

By Rabbi Davey Rosen (2022)

This week we read Parashat Lekh Lekha, the Torah portion in which Avram (later renamed Avraham) begins the spiritual journey of the Jewish people. I emphasize spiritual because the physical or geographic trek had already begun. The parashah opens in Genesis 12:1 with God’s call to Avraham:

לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ

“Go forth from your native land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

This start to Avraham’s journey is often read as a sudden break with the past, an individual picking themself up, a solitary leap of faith into an unknown future. Yet just two pesukim earlier, at the end of the previous parashah, in Genesis 11:31, Terah, Avraham’s father, actually initiated the trek:

וַיִּקַּ֨ח תֶּ֜רַח אֶת־אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֗וֹ וְאֶת־ל֤וֹט בֶּן־הָרָן֙ בֶּן־בְּנ֔וֹ וְאֵת֙ שָׂרַ֣י כַּלָּת֔וֹ אֵ֖שֶׁת אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּצְא֨וּ אִתָּ֜ם מֵא֣וּר כַּשְדִּ֗ים לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ עַד־חָרָ֖ן וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃

“Terah took his son Avram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Avram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there.”

Several classic Jewish commentators take interest in this chronology as it relates to Terah, Avraham, and Avraham’s faith in God. Genesis 11:31 explicitly states that Terah took Avraham (and Sarai, and Lot) to go to Canaan, yet Genesis 12:1 records God telling Avraham to “Go forth…”:

Ibn Ezra (1089–1167) reads Genesis 12:1 as continuing the narrative (with a vav consecutive): “God had said to Avram to go forth.” This implies that back in Ur, prior to arriving in Haran, Terah packed up the family because Avraham shared his vision with him: “Terah took his family and set out from Ur Kasdim because Avraham had already informed his father of God’s command to go to Canaan.” (Ibn Ezra on Genesis 11:31)

Ramban (1194–1270) reads the text similarly, that Avraham had been told by God to leave earlier in Ur. Ramban adds: “Terah set out out of love and devotion for his son, choosing to pack up his household and accompany Avraham on the first leg of his journey toward Canaan.” (Ramban on Genesis 11:31)

Rabbi David Kimhi’s (1160–1235) reading more heavily takes into account the midrashic tradition of Avraham smashing his father’s idols (Bereishit Rabbah 38:13) and connects this incident to Terah’s faith. Terah experienced a genuine shift after witnessing Avraham surviving the fiery furnace, prompting him to gather his entire family and take the first step toward Canaan: “Terah assembled his entire household to journey together toward the land of Canaan… and when Avraham eventually entered the land, he was bringing his father’s original destination to fulfillment.” (Radak on Genesis 11:31)

In Radak’s view, Terah was central to Avraham’s spiritual journey. While there may not be consensus on whether Terah held Avraham’s monotheistic belief, there is an emphasis on family devotion and that Avraham did not begin this journey alone. Avraham’s journey is built on the hopes and struggles of those who came before. This dynamic resonates deeply for many American Jewish families, including my own.

The first Jews to arrive in early colonial America were fleeing the Inquisition that had followed Jews to the Western Hemisphere from Spain. In 1654, 23 Jews escaped from Recife, Brazil, and arrived in New Amsterdam. Centuries later, my grandfather (zayde), Betzalel, was born in 1900 in Radzymin, near Warsaw. His entire youth was consumed by war, living in the crosshairs of the German and Russian armies as they battled over what would become Poland. At the age of 15, he watched the German army march through his town as the Russian Empire collapsed. By 1918, at the age of 18, the Bolshevik civil war terrorized the Jewish community. That same year, my Zayde boarded a ship for Cuba, unable to depart directly for America. For ten years Betzalel lived and worked in Cuba before finally making his way to Detroit, Michigan. He spoke little English when he arrived, starting out as a street peddler until he eventually built a modest scrap yard business.

Though I never met my Zayde Betzalel, I know that he sacrificed so that his son and future generations could enjoy the dignity and opportunities he was denied as a Jew. He carried a profound desire for his son to be both a proud American and deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, taking great pride in teaching my father to daven, in particular, our central prayer, the Amidah. For Betzalel, building a business in Detroit was the necessary physical trek, but seeing his son stand before God in prayer was the ultimate spiritual fulfillment of that journey from Poland.

In the Talmud (Berakhot 26b), our Sages teach that each of the three daily prayers was established by one of our Avot (Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaacov). The morning prayer, the Amidah, is attributed directly to Avraham. The Gemara derives this from Genesis 19:27: “Avraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before HaShem.” Standing before God in prayer is one of Avraham’s lasting spiritual legacies.

And yet, Avraham’s prayer was not merely inward or personal; it was animated by deep concern for others. When God reveals the impending destruction of Sodom in Genesis 18, Avraham does not remain silent. He stands in prayer, negotiating with God and pleading for the righteous to be spared, asking if the presence of fifty, forty, or even ten righteous people could save the entire city.

Avraham negotiates God down to ten. Though Sodom ultimately falls, the Sages in Midrash Tanhuma (Vayeira 8) teach that Avraham’s plea established the foundational requirement for a minyan, a quorum of ten required for reciting divrei she-bikdushah, words of communal holiness between God and humanity. A community, even a small group of 10, can do great things.

The American Jewish story is a story of heroism and blessings. It is also a story full of loss and concern for its future. Participation in community, whether to sustain a minyan or shul, or to sustain our great American democracy, is not a given. We rely on each other, as individuals who take personal responsibility, and as a community committed to common good.

In Genesis 12:2-3, God issues a charge to Avraham as he sets out on his journey:

וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה… וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה

“You shall be a blessing… and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Avraham’s journey was not only to survive, but to hear God’s call to be a blessing. Avraham’s courage to set forth on a trek started by his father, and to forge a world of righteousness, serves as an enduring source of strength as we remain steadfast and bound together in our Jewish values. May we merit the legacy of those who walked before us, sustaining a community that, one day, brings our shared redemption.