Lech Lecha

 

Last week’s parsha, Noah, ended with

וַיִּקַּ֨ח תֶּ֜רַח אֶת־אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֗וֹ וְאֶת־ל֤וֹט בֶּן־הָרָן֙ בֶּן־בְּנ֔וֹ וְאֵת֙ שָׂרַ֣י כַּלָּת֔וֹ אֵ֖שֶׁת אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּצְא֨וּ אִתָּ֜ם מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ עַד־חָרָ֖ן וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there.

This week’s parsha begins with an explanation:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְ

אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃

Now the Lord said to Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, to the land that I will show thee:

It seems that Gd told Avram to make this journey. Initially, Terach and the remainder of his family came along, but stopped short of the goal. Only Avram and Sarai and Lot (and an unidentified retinue: וְאֶת־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂ֣וּ בְחָרָ֑ן, and the souls that they had acquired in Ḥaran;) went on to the goal…for a minute.

But there was a famine in this promised land, so Avram decided (he was not so instructed) to go to Egypt. Should Avram have stayed in Canaan? How bad would it have been? Would they starve? Would they be impoverished? Would Gd come to the rescue? Is it permissible to test Gd that way? Was Gd testing Avram and his family?  Perhaps the instruction to go to Canaan meant visiting and did not necessitate staying. Is it permissible to ask these questions?

Avram decides to go to Egypt. He recognizes that it may (will) cost him his relationship with Sarai, his wife. Avram has stayed with Sarai even though they are childless, they have no heir. Theirs is a special relationship that does not depend upon the fulfillment of the usual expectations. Desperation leads to a demeaning misrepresentation of the relationship between Avram and Sarai as siblings. Gd intervenes to rescue Sarai from the harem of the Pharaoh, from the most debasing consequences of chattel slavery. Had Avram and Sarai told the truth, would Gd have saved them?  Pharaoh gifts Avram a fortune because of his alleged sibling relationship to the desirable Sarai. What is the lesson in profiting from the deception? Did this episode incur a debt from the descendants of Avram to a future Pharaoh?

Nephew Lot separates from Avram. He appears to ultimately obtain a portion in or near the Promised Land, separate from the realm of Avram. An alliance of the precursors of Babylon, Assyria, Persia, etc, invade and take Lot captive along with, the less deserving, kings of Sodom and Amorah. This invasion ( by future oppressors) involves the displacement of early indigenous peoples (Raphaim, Zuzim, Chorim). Conquest becomes a claim to land. Avram decides (no Gd instructions) to rescue his nephew ( and those taken captive with him). He mobilizes a force of 318 ( a small number?) and defeats the invading armies, rescuing the captives. Does conquest over the invaders entitle Avram to be the new ruler? Avram returns the political situation to the status quo ante bellum.

 

A strange ritual with separated animal halves, followed by a dream state, precedes another revelation to Avram. It is a vague picture of the future  with descendants enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years, emerging to inherit the lands  of Canaan. Why does this vision require a ritual? How can Avram accept this dark prophecy of subjugation for 400 years? Does the bleakness of the prediction make it more credible? Does the Egyptian servitude play against Avram’s Egyptian guilt?

Sarai tries to solve the heir problem by providing her servant, the Egyptian Hagar, as a surrogate wife.  Hagar quickly conceives. Hagar becomes arrogant. The drama plays out with Hagar fleeing to a well in the desert ( a well that was not there when she was later banished with her son Ishmael).  An angel reassures her that the child she is carrying will spawn a great nation. Does Ishmael have a claim to the holy land as son of Avram? The story forces the claim to the land (and tradition) to depend upon legalisms rather than heredity.

Gd appears to Avram, age 99, without ceremony. Throughout this parsha, Gd is referred to by several names. The E and J, familiar from previous chapters are both here. After Avram’s military victory, the Power on High is introduced by Melchizedek, the regional priest, and accepted by Avram. Now Gd (J) is introduced as the Almighty.

Gd proposes a covenant. This one will require some surgery: circumcision. I came to appreciate how bizarre and intrinsically repulsive this custom is when it was done to my son and, even more, to my grandsons. Our family was participating in a ritual considered cruel and abusive by international pediatric associations… and I was happy about it!  The act, contrary to the scientific establishment, was truly entry into a covenant with the invisible and long silent Gd. It represents a choice of priorities, a choice of allies. Avram immediately implemented his decision.

Gd interacts with names in this week’s parsha. Gd chooses Ishmael for Hagar’s son and Yitzchak for Sarah’s, yet to be born, child. Gd grants the names Abraham and Sarah. Their fate has been adjusted. Together they will spawn our nation.

Gd rewards the faithful. Misinterpretation is a problem.  The corrections are costly.