From Message by Ranebi on 5780

Every Shabbat, just before we read the Ten Commandments, during the liturgical part of our service, we read the motto of our community: כִּי בֵיתִי בֵּית-תְּפִלָּה יִקָּרֵא לְכָל-הָעַמִּים “ki beiti beit tefilla yikara l’chol ha’amim…for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7b.

This small community is comprised of people from many nations, each bringing our backgrounds and experiences, from our homes, countries, and ethnic groups. These have formed us with beliefs that have become deeply embedded within us but are difficult to change. Our parents and grandparents learned and taught us their traditions, but never intending to deceive us.

However, when we become adults (at age 13 in Judaism) we are responsible for ourselves and can no longer blame others for our choices. We all need to confront these beliefs and examine what we have inherited. Some are good but some are terrible. That’s when we need to be honest with ourselves and take the time to carefully examine our belief systems. However,  from the moment we change them, we sometimes find ourselves confronted with opposition from family and friends, detractors who are blinded and do not want to see the truth. This happens in every ethnic group that believes that their way is the only right way.

This is the background of Lech Lecha, “Go for yourself”. It is not an easy term to translate. Abram had to separate himself from the people to whom he was attached; to leave his father and mother and go out on his own. Many of us who have left our countries and had to start again can especially relate to Abram. Most of us left a life where we were comfortable and we knew the rules. In Canada, we had to adjust to a new way of life, in so many areas. This helps us relate to Parashat Lech Lecha.

It begins with the inner struggle of “What do I do?”  or “Do I do things my own way, do I compromise, do I follow or not follow?” We have to conform to the laws of the new land otherwise there are consequences.  Abram was told to leave his father’s homeland with their many gods and where they could believe in anything they wanted. Here in Bereshit 12:5, we read that Abram left with his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, with all his belongings and with “v’et hanephesh asher asou b’Charan- וְאֶת–הַנֶּפֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר-עָשׂוּ בְחָרָןtranslated as “with all the people that he acquired in Haran.”  The Hebrew, …ha nefesh asher asu… is closer to “with all the souls that he made”.  Abram left with those who had the same calling that he had. These people accepted Abram Avinu’s understanding of the one God. Not one of those, except Lot, who followed him were related, blood of his blood, his descendants. They followed him because they believed in what he was doing and they were willing to form a new community of believers in the one God.

That verse from Isaiah that “this house would be a house of prayer for all the nations” is not a new understanding. Abram was told that he would become the father of many nations. He was told that God would bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him, and he would be a blessing to all the nations. This was the foundation of Kahal Israel, the Community of Israel, comprised of many nations under one God. This was the understanding from the beginning. The idea portrayed that all these people had one thing in common– they were “called” by the Creator.

Genesis 12:8 says that Abram built an altar to the LORD and that he called on the name of יהוה Yud Heh Vav Heh, showing us that Abram knew how to pronounce His name.  Sadly, our sages have told us that it is wrong to pronounce The Name (Hashem) because the Torah teaches us quite the opposite. We have fallen into the trap of believing human interpretation instead of the Written Torah. This is what Abram was running away from.

Although our sages intended to protect our people, it’s important to understand that the third of the Ten Commandments tells us, “Lo tisa et Shem יְהוָה Adonai Eloheicha lashav ki lo yinakah יְהוָה et asher isa et shmo lashav.  You shall not take the name YHVH in vain for Adonai will not hold guiltless the one who takes His Name in vain.”

לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת-שֵׁם-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לַשָּׁוְא כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהוָה, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יִשָּׂא אֶת-שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא

Notice that GOD didn’t say that we cannot pronounce His name or even utter it; rather we are not to use His name in vain. That means don’t force our understanding into what He is saying, don’t put words in GOD’s mouth. Some people use GOD’s Name to pronounce curses, therefore, to protect us our sages decided that no one should pronounce his name.

A great challenge for Abram now was how to follow the voice of the Creator who was leading him. How could he be sure that it was the Creator who was speaking to him? Could he be schizophrenic? Everywhere he went it soon became evident that the Presence of the Creator was with him.

I marvel at the fact that the Torah shows us that all our heroes were very human; they had their frailties and many faults. Everyone speaks of how Abram was a man of “super-faith”, but immediately after being called “righteous” (because he believed God), Abram asked Sarai to tell the Egyptians that he was her brother so that they wouldn’t kill him and take her. Where was his faith then? Why is the Torah so bluntly honest?  The Torah teaches us that the Creator chooses and works with us exactly as we are – imperfect human beings with room to improve.

Abram left with a group of people, one of whom was his nephew Lot. We might think that as Abram’s blood relative, Lot would be better than the rest, but here we see what Lot did. He clearly showed his true nature. Later Abram would have to go to war against four kings, with only 318 of his trained men to rescue his kidnapped nephew and next week, we’ll see how Abram interceded for him when Lot had chosen to live in Sodom. Lot knew that there was only one God but, ultimately chose prosperity over walking with the Creator. Even Eleazer, Abram’s servant was more faithful than his own nephew.

With these stories, the Torah is teaching us that we are not to make men heroes, but we must simply be faithful and continue in what we were called to do. This idea of calling is extremely important. Each of us here has a calling; one that we need to show and use for the benefit of others. This doesn’t mean that we need to convert others. No one can convert anyone to anything. I am completely against conversion. Abram spoke to the people around him about what he had heard; those who believed him followed him and those who didn’t, remain behind. We are all responsible for sharing our beliefs but we can’t force people to believe what we do.

Also, we can’t be an example of our Creator by acting “holier than thou”; we should allow others to see our imperfections. Only man tries to create supermen.  Someone was trying to tell me what a man of great faith our King David was. I asked him if he remembered what happened with Bathsheba. There are no idols in Biblical Judaism and we all have our part to play within the community.

Abram had to leave his home so their pagan ways would not overwhelm him. Today sadly, we live in a world in which our traditions and ideologies overwhelm us and overshadow the truth of the Torah. We need to depart from the institutionalized religions that have been corrupted by greed. Just because you talk about God, doesn’t mean that you are walking with God. It is about how we live our lives.

We are on an upward growth spiral where we sometimes take two steps forward and one step back. This helps us improve but we will never be perfect. That is why the Creator speaks to us about teshuva, returning to Him. God never abandoned Abraham no matter what he did wrong; this shows us that the Creator always covered him and allowed him to return to Him.

This parashah also contains a story that still causes us problems today. It is about Sarai, Abram’s wife and her Egyptian maid Hagar.  Sarai wanted to give the Creator a hand in solving the problem of Avram not having a son who would continue his lineage.  She gave him her maid, the beautiful Hagar but Avram didn’t fight too hard to refuse her!  Although Sarai’s intentions were good, we need to ask ourselves…what are the consequences of doing something outside the will of God?

In this parashah we read about the name of Sarai being changed to Sarah and Abram to Abraham, adding the Hebrew letter “heh” representing God in their lives; we read about the Brit ha Beitarim, the Covenant of the Parts in chapter 15, and about the Brit Mila, the Covenant of Circumcision in chapter 17. After hearing that Sarah would bear a child in her old age, she might have questioned what she did and why she didn’t wait. Neither of them had super faith. Some religions teach that your faith will save you. This is not according to the Torah…faith doesn’t save anyone.  God looks at our hearts and our intentions and only He can save. We can see that Sarah and Abraham’s intentions were not evil and that they wanted to make reparations for their mistakes. That is all that God is calling us to do.

We learn so many things from this parashah, but one thing is very clear…Abraham Avinu was not a superhero, nor was he the holy man that some try to make him out to be. He was, however, a man of great courage. He set out on a journey out of his desire to follow the God who had revealed Himself to him.

This may be a little controversial for some – most people may think that they are the ones who decided to follow the Creator. They might say “I’ve come to my own understanding, I chose God or it was my own wisdom that brought me to know who the true God is”.  I am sorry to say that we don’t arrive at that conclusion on our own. It is always the Creator who reveals Himself to us. He comes to us and then we respond. When we are called and we hear the words, “Shema Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad. Hear o Israel, Hear O Israel, the LORD is our GOD, The LORD is One,” our hearts respond.

When we saw the giving of the two Tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments at Har Sinai, we responded with “We will do and we will obey”, not before. We had already seen the Creator in action. Abram responded to the Creator not because he was better or smarter than the rest but because the Creator revealed Himself to Abram. How many people say, “I believe in God”? What does that mean? If you believe, you need to put your belief into action; it is only then that you can begin, over time, to develop trust.  A follower follows man, but a leader follows God. Are we followers or are we leaders?

Shabbat Shalom

Ranebi