This week's newsletter focuses on the Torah portion and wonders why Abraham is chosen to be the founder of the Jewish people.
Please note starting this week, as a new feature I intend to suggest a verse from Psalms for contemplation for the week.
michael
A word of Torah:
One of the odd things about the Biblical text, is that there is no explanation why God chose Abraham. In last week’s Torah portion, God just tells Abraham to lekh lekha/ Go forth on a journey to an unknown land.
In this week’s portion three strangers/angels visit Abraham to foretell the birth of Isaac. The angels leave to bring destruction on Sodom. God wants to make sure that Abraham understands what is expected of him. In Gen. 18:19, we are finally told explicitly what his journey (and all of our journeys) are about. Abraham must understand and teach his children to observe the way of God (derekh Adonai). What does that mean? To do righteousness and justice –tzedakah u-mishpat.
Up until now we have no idea how Abraham is to live as a Jew. Now we know that the journey is not through space but through deed. He is supposed to live a life of righteousness and justice. We see from Abraham’s response why he is chosen to be the founder of the Jewish people. When Abraham is told of Sodom’s imminent destruction by God, he takes up the mantle of responsibility.
This emphasis on responsibility is highlighted in Abraham’s story but the motif runs through the beginning chapters of Genesis. When Adam and Eve are “caught” eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they don’t take responsibility but blame someone else. When Cain kills his brother Abel, he proclaims: Am I my brother’s keeper? It is the ultimate statement of non-responsibility. Noah doesn’t seem to feel responsible to save the lives of anybody but his family from the flood.
In the face of injustice Abraham does not ask: Am I my brother’s keeper? What relationship do I have to the people of Sodom (who are overwhelmingly evil). He takes up his responsibility by challenging God. In the face of the imminent destruction by God of the people of Sodom, Abraham asks “Will the judge of the whole world not do justice?” (Gen.18:25). Will innocent people die with the guilty? Abraham speaks truth to power.
That has always been our task as Jews. Abraham and Sarah are the "first immigrants" in the world. We are their children. We carry the baggage of difference wherever we travel. Abraham and Sarah were strangers in a strange land. Yet, they welcomed other strangers to their tent. We strive to travel the world via the way of righteousness and justice.
I have decided to use this space to offer a verse from the book of Psalms as an intention for the week.
"I will behold Your presence in deeds of righteousness,
awake I am filled with the vision of you." Ps. 85:11
Seeing God's presence in acts of righteousness is a powerful idea. Being conscious of the holiness found in righteousness can lead to a deeper awareness of the truth of the world.
Song
Or hadesh al tzion ta'ir
ve-nizkeh khulanu bimheirah le'oro
May a new light shine upon Zion.
May everyone be worthy of its light
