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.
אֲנִ֕י הִנֵּ֥ה בְרִיתִ֖י אִתָּ֑ךְ וְהָיִ֕יתָ לְאַ֖ב הֲמ֥וֹן גּוֹיִֽם׃
Gen 17:2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous.”… 17:4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations…. 17:6 I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings shall come forth from you.”
How are we to understand this ancient text? What nations are descended from Abraham and Sarah? Which kings is the text referring to? Are they merely Israelite or does the author imagine kings of many nations? These questions have dogged traditional commentators for centuries.
The Torah itself provides a justification of sorts which is pointed out by the medieval Biblical scholar, Rashi. Here, Abram and Sarai’s names are changed to Abraham and Sarah. Rashi says the extra “h” /” ה” is from the word “hamon” or multitude, which is added to their names to indicate the fulfillment of the promise. Rashi points to Ishmael and the Arab nations as those intended descendants. Of course, it’s from this conclusion that the Abraham Accords establishing relations between modern Israel with modern Arab nations takes its name.
But that’s not the assumption of all commentators, Nachmanides (13th century Spain) claims that the “nations” are actually Jacob’s sons—the 12 Tribes. Though Nachmanides didn’t possess the knowledge about ancient Israel that we have today, he wasn’t so far from the truth as it seems that the ancient Israelite factions were as often at war with each other as they were with the nations surrounding them!
Modern Biblical Scholarship sheds an incredible light on the use of the term nations, suggesting that the text we are considering was influenced by the Persian empire (5th – 3rd century BCE) where the king did rule over many nations as its symbolic father. The Torah imagined a future Israelite/Jewish empire that rivaled Persia!
Clearly, we don’t embrace those grand aspirations and would be quite happy if our little strip of land on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean were left alone and allowed to exist in peace. Perhaps it is the image of Rabbi Yehuda from the Talmud (Bikkurim 64a) who sees Abraham and Sarah as the spiritual ancestors of all nations that is most resonant. We endeavor to be the world’s conscious, acting with integrity and pursuing justice. The challenges are many and the setbacks frequent, but as the heirs of Abraham and Sarah’s legacy we are determined to succeed.
