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Lech Lecha: The First Jew

Why Abram?

And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing….” Gen. 12:1-2

In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha (“Go Forth”), God speaks to Abram, commanding him to leave his birthplace and his father’s home and travel to a place he’s never been before. God tells him that there, Abram would be the progenitor of a great and blessed nation. Abram accepts his holy mission and devotes his life to serving God. This is the beginning of the Jewish story, and Abram (later Abraham) is the first Jew.

Before Abram’s life-changing “Lech Lecha moment,” the Torah tells us very little about him. We know only that he is the son of a man named Terah, and that his wife Sarai is barren, leaving the couple childless. In last week’s parsha Noach, God selects Noah for his own special mission, but we understand why because the Torah first introduces Noah as “a righteous man” (Gen. 6:9). Why isn’t Abram also given an introduction that explains why he was chosen?

The Sfas Emes (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, 1847-1905) was fascinated by this question and every year he shared a different answer with his students. One year he cited the Zohar, a foundational work of Jewish mysticism, saying that “God called out to everyone. But Abraham was the only one who listened.” God speaks to all of us all the time, for example in the language of events and in the natural world. Abraham looked around him and discerned proofs of a loving Creator everywhere. His deep desire to serve and come close to God prepared him to hear Divine messaging. When we’re interested in God, God is interested in us!

Image: Sea of Galilee

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