Lech Lecha
11 Cheshvan 5773 / October
26-27, 2012
In this week’s portion, Lech
Lecha, we find Abram (his name was changed later to Abraham!) being
instructed by God to leave his native land, and to journey “to the land
that I will show you.” Abram brings his
wife, Sarai (name changed later to Sarah), his nephew, Lot, and their
collective households (think: cattle, slaves, etc. -- they were pretty wealthy
folks).
After a brief trip to Egypt due to famine where Abram
lies about Sarai being his wife by having her agree to pretend that she is
actually his sister in order to save his life (she was quite attractive, and
Abram was afraid he’d be killed if the Egyptians knew he was her husband), Abram
and Lot finally reached a massive open area and needed to decide where they
would settle with their respective flocks (they couldn’t settle in the location
because their flocks were too numerous to be contained in the same space). Abram
let Lot choose where to settle, and Lot chose the more fertile land, near
Sodom.
It seems that no selfish act goes unpunished, as shortly
after settling in, Lot is captured by rival kings who conquered the land where
he lived. Upon hearing this, Abram
called all the members of his estate to arms, and they went, battled, and freed
Lot from captivity.
What does it mean to put your life and property at risk in
order to rescue another?
Who in your life would you make such a potential sacrifice
for?
As Jews, we have a bit too much experience with needing to
be rescued. Our history is littered with
examples of others taking advantage of us and making us prisoners. While at times others would take personal
risks in order to save us, unfortunately mass mobilizations making rescuing us
a priority didn’t frequently materialize.
More recently, Jewish resources and resourcefulness in the
United States and autonomy in Israel have allowed for Jews to play an active
role in rescuing other Jews when necessary.
See, for example, the work done with Soviet
Jewry and Ethiopian
Jewry.
We learn in the Talmud (Shevuot 39a): "Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh” – all
Jews are responsible for one another.
What are we to make of this charge of
responsibility?
Many of us wouldn’t take the risk that Abram took for our
own family members – let alone strangers who happen to share a common heritage.
Can we truly strive to work towards the
wellbeing of Jews around the world that we don’t even know?
Nineteenth Century Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus (whose work
can be found on the Statue
of Liberty) may have said it best: “None of us is free
until we are all free.”
This Shabbat, reflect on what it is to
uproot and leave your home, as Abraham (then called Abram) did.
Compare this with being trapped –
imprisoned – and not being permitted to leave, as so many of our Jewish (and
non-Jewish) brethren have had to deal with throughout history.
Resolve to be conscious of freedoms
being denied to others. Be ready to
act. Be ready to sacrifice. Because our perceived freedom is meaningless
if others aren’t being permitted to partake of it.
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