Parashat Lekh Lekha 5785

A D’var Torah for Parashat Lekh Lekha
By Rabbi Gerry L. Ginsburg (AJR ’19)

It’s very different today. Churches, mosques and synagogues dot the landscape of many cities and towns throughout the world. Simply find the front door, enter and join in congregational worship or find a cozy spot within and start your own personal meditation.

It has not always been that way. It certainly did not work that way thousands of years ago when one person, and only one person, had the understanding that the world was created by the One. A person would worship the sun, the moon or the stars or anything else within nature, but not their Creator.

This week in Parashat Lekh Lekha we meet the person who would change the thinking about the source of all life, forever. We meet Abram. But we meet Abram many years after he originally thought about monotheism, the One God.

At the beginning of our portion, God calls out to Abram to leave and “go to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1).  But this was not a random call to Abram. I think he had been expecting it.

We are going to look at this week’s portion, Lekh Lekha, through the words of Ohr HaHayim, the Torah commentary of Chaim Ibn Attar, from the 18th century. Originally from Morrocco he later traveled to Italy and then to Israel.

According to our tradition, Ohr HaHayim noted, Abram already had recognized his Creator at the age of five without having received any guidance from a teacher. God therefore did not have to prove His existence to Abram by appearing to him in a vision. He could take it for granted that Abram was aware of who was speaking to him.

It was not the case of a random call. And it was not directed at a random person. “During the ten generations since Noah that preceded Abram not a single human being had recognized his God so that God had found him (Abram) worthy to speak to. God therefore decided to test Abraham before speaking to him. He did this by demanding of Abraham that he leave his home, etc. Only after he had successfully passed that test did God decide to reveal Himself to Abram.”

God commanded Abram to leave his homeland, the place he was born, and his father’s house, making very specific demands. “The Torah lists the departures according to the pain of leave-taking involved,” according to the Ohr HaHayim commentary. “It is less painful to leave one’s country than to leave one’s birthplace, and it is even more painful to leave one’s family. Abram is commanded to leave in an ascending order of the nostalgia involved. He complied with the most difficult part of the test by leaving his parental home. The manner in which the Torah describes the process indicates that Abraham received an additional reward for each stage.”

But this isn’t the only place in Genesis where a multi-layered command is asked of Abram. Think of the Akedah, where Abram is asked to bring up his son, his only son, the son whom he loves.

The original command from God in this sedra was to “Lekh Lekha”, for you to go. Why would God want Abram to go on this long journey by himself?

God had several reasons, according to the commentary. It “is not so much that he was to be alone but that he was to benefit spiritually by this migration. …Our sages say that every time the word הרים appears in the Torah it means mountains except in this instance. In Psalms 75:7 the word describes a spiritual uplift. … the fact that a change of one’s physical environment brings in its wake an improvement in one’s fortune is not to be ignored.”

But when God commanded that Abram leave, God did not say when Abram should depart. Was it to leave immediately, to think about it for a bit, and then go, or, perhaps, send out scouts to determine if the place was suitable?

“God did not tell Abraham if he was meant to set out on his journey immediately or if he should wait till He would specify the exact location God wanted Abraham to move to. This ambiguity was part of the test to which God subjected Abraham. God also hinted that He would show Abraham the whole of the land of Israel by broadening his field of vision, etc., as we know from the verse: ‘lift your eyes from where you are and look northward, southward, eastward, and westward.’”

But what was this land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1)? What was so special about this land? It is important as it is the land that God will give Abram and his descendants. But it’s not only about the earth.

“God also hinted that Abram should move to ארץ ישראל, a land suitable for the Presence of God to become manifest, and for people who are worthy to experience such a manifestation.”

“The Sifrei (the Midrash) on Numbers 35:34 states that (full) manifestation of God’s presence depends on the Jewish people being in the land of Israel. Accordingly, the meaning of the word אראך (Genesis 12:1) is both: ‘I will show it (the land) to you,’ and: ‘I will show you to it (the land).’ One will not achieve its full potential without the other.”

The land is important, according to Ohr HaHayim, not only for its sake, but because God resides there.

The monumental words of Lekh Lekha are meant to instill in us the importance of Abram, as being the first person to believe in monotheism, the importance and daring of his journey from his birthplace, and the vital importance of the land of Israel.

Lekh Lekha. Two words imbued with so much meaning.
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Rabbi Gerry L. Ginsburg (AJR2019) is associate rabbi of Temple Beth El, Stamford, CT (Conservative). His work there includes pastoral counseling, adult education, synagogue outreach, life cycle events and worship services.