Lech Lecha – Sermonette
Journey into the unknown
Lech Lecha begins with the first explicit divine command to Abram to leave his “land, birthplace and fathers house to the land that I will show you”.
Abram does not hesitate to leave. He literally picks up everything and begins an epic journey traversing the “fertile crescent” which takes weeks of travel and covers hundreds of miles. The Torah does not describe the journey in detail summing it up in a few verses (genesis12:1-6).
For a wonderful description of what the journey would probably have entailed see this article “Footsteps of Abraham by Malachi Martin 1983 : “From Ur, Abraham traveled 700 miles to the borders of present-day Iraq, another 700 miles into Syria, another 800 down to Egypt by the inland road, and then back into Canaan – what is now Israel.”
However the Torah is more interested in characterising for us the faith of Abraham than detailing the journey or giving us the GPS coordinates! The classic biblical commentator Rashi (1040-1105 France) explains why the verse is vague stating “to the land that I will show you” as oppose to explicitly stating “the land of Canaan”: He writes “God did not reveal the land to him immediately, in order to make it dear in his eyes and to give him reward for every command.”
It would appear that Abraham spiritually felt his way to the land of Canaan. He could sense its greater potential for holiness which drew him close. Abraham originated from Ur where they had at least 500 different deities! He was looking for a place that would connect him to the One God.
In other words Abraham (and Sarai who was his lifelong spiritual partner) was willing to journey into the unknown. This is the essence of faith. Many times, Hashem’s guiding hand can seem very hidden from us. As Isaiah said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” says the Lord”.
Yet the person of faith still holds fast to his or her relationship to God. Man, deep in his soul is in search of God. It is a never ending journey.
After the Shema in Shacharit each morning we recite an affirmation of the truths that are expressed in the Shema as follows:
“and firm, certain and enduring, upright and faithful, beloved and cherished, desired and pleasant, awesome and mighty, correct and acceptable good and beautiful is this (All that was affirmed above in Shema.) [affirmation] to us for all eternity. ”
If we were already certain of our faith, we would not need to affirm it!
Religious faith in Hebrew Emunah really translates as “faithfulness” which is a quite different concept to faith. Faith is about an intellectual belief in God. Faithfulness is loyalty and commitment to Hashem and His Torah.
As we read Lech Lecha this week ask yourself how you can commit your life more to a higher purpose. Covid 19 has changed the way we are living. For many of us our normal routines are up in the air. Life has become even more unpredictable.
The life of Abraham and Sarah teaches us how to live each moment dedicated to a Higher Source. I call this “spiritual mindfulness”.
Abraham and Sarah lived supreme lives of righteousness in the service of humanity. They epitomised the trait of chesed – lovingkindness.
We need to find ways to give more of ourselves to others. We all can make a difference in our little corner of the world.
May we all be blessed to walk in the spiritual footsteps of our ancestors Abraham and Sarah.
They began the Jewish journey it is our job to continue it.
Shabbat Shalom.