October 30th: Lech Lecha
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
I just learned something I had never thought about before. In the Union for Reform Judaism’s weekly Torah commentary, Rabbi Michael Dolgin of Toronto, Ontario, makes the point that Abram’s journey to the Land of Canaan predates his call from God. We are all familiar with the “call of Abraham” in Genesis 12.
“The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.”
This is the first time God speaks to Abram, and yet, this happens not in Ur of the Chaldeans, Abram’s hometown at the mouths of the Tigres and Euphrates Rivers. This Divine communication takes place in Haran in Syria—at the top of Mesopotamia. As the last paragraph of the previous Torah portion explains:
“Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah, in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans...Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, 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. The days of Terah came to 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.” (Genesis 11.27-32)
Abram’s family had already started their journey to Canaan before God gives him the “Judaism-founding” instructions. Though Abram clearly responds to the instructions of the Lord, he is also continuing a journey his father Terah had begun.
Though each of us has taken our own journeys, they are in many ways continuations of the journeys undertaken by those who have come before us. Our ancestors braved the ocean and the New World to get us out of the squalor and danger of Europe—often times finding very hard lives in America, but persevering so that their children and grandchildren could do better. Our parents and grandparents raised us and coached us and helped us to find our paths. How often do we reflect with appreciation on the wisdom and faith with which we have been gifted by our forebears!
It is also true for our faith journeys. Though we each work on our own understanding of and relationship with God, our sense of tradition comes from the faith and sensibilities of our parents and grandparents and extended families.
This is even true for converts. I remember a woman in Florida who had converted to Judaism and always worried about the way her family of origin felt about it. Some had felt that she had strayed from the path, and she was looking for a way to explain her decision and reconnect with them. The moment came at her daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. She had managed to convince her parents to attend, but one could see the sense of unease in their faces. In her speech, after she finished praising her daughter, she turned to the subject of tradition and said the following, “I come from a long line of people who loved the Lord. My Judaism is my way of loving the Lord—and continuing my family’s faithfulness.” It was a simple statement, but one could see the tension drain from her father’s face as he heard these words. She had not turned her back on her pious ancestors; she had just continued that path in a Jewish way. She, like Abraham, continued a journey begun by her family.
As we reflect on our family and personal journeys, here is a piece adapted from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel (Israel: An Echo of Eternity, page 128)
“We are a people in whom the past endures,
In whom the present is inconceivable
Without moments gone by.
The stories of Abraham and Sarah
And our other ancient ancestors
Lasted just a moment,
But it was a moment enduring forever.
What happened once upon a time
Happens all the time.”