In the Jewish tradition, there’s a beautiful and deeply meaningful custom of studying Torah in honor or memory of an individual. At our weekly Shabbat morning Torah study and many of our adult learning classes, we invite students to dedicate their learning reflecting that practice.
As the war in Gaza enters its third week, I dedicate the Torah that I’ll be sharing to the victims of the terrorist attack, in memory of those who were killed, in solidarity with those who were taken hostage, and in honor of those who are risking their lives to protect the citizens of Israel. For the entire Torah portion click here.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃
“יהוה said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen 12:1)
With this command, the thousands-year Jewish connection to the land of Israel is affirmed. Scholars debate the date of composition within a span of several hundred years, but none debate the significance of the intent of this notion of Jewish origins. By placing the promise in the mouth (as it were) of the God of all the earth and establishing the promise to the traditional progenitor of the nation, our ancestors are affirming that the land is both an inheritance and a birthright.
As Abram and Sarai (their names are changed subsequently to Abraham and Sarah) strike out on their journey, the classic blessing that drives many in the Christian community to support is pronounced: “I will bless those who bless you…. (Gen 12:3). At this point, Abram and Sarai’s destination is not known; they are merely heading to a “land that I will show you.”
When the travelers arrive in Shechem (also known as Nablus today), Abram is promised a land without clear borders, and we’re told that “the Canaanites were then in the land.” This is an assertion that seems to foreshadow not only later Israelite challenges for claiming the territory but also issues in our present day over contested claims to the same city. Later Abram, Sarai and their offspring are promised a region as far as they can see. And then, a chapter later, the regions are farther expanded to reach from the Euphrates to the Nile. Here, the text’s intent is quite confusing as no previous or subsequent Israelite/Jewish nation ever claimed such expansive borders.
Yes, the Biblical text is complicated and sometimes strangely contradictory, but Abram’s journeys, the regional altars upon which he declares יהוה the grantor and guarantor of his claim to the land, reveals a passion for the land of Israel that has endured for nearly 3,000 years.
Rabbi Ron Stern
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