Abraham’s Faith
D’var Torah on Parashat Lekh Lekha
November 8, 2024
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
Nearly three decades ago I fulfilled the requirement of delivering a “senior sermon” to the faculty and my fellow students at Hebrew Union College in New York City, where I received my rabbinic ordination the following year. The topic I was assigned was this week’s Torah portion, Lekh-Lekha (“Go forth,” Genesis 12:1—17:27). Preparing this sermon led me to question—and later, better to understand—Abraham’s faith.
The title of this portion is part of God’s call to Abraham to leave his homeland and go forth to a land which “I [God] will show you.” These words mark the beginning not only of Abram’s travels (the “H” in his name will be added later in the portion), but also the beginning of the journey of the entire Jewish People through history.
The motivating factor in both is Faith. But Abraham’s faith, unlike ours, his descendants and followers, was complete and unwavering. He is eager to follow God’s commands to the letter, with no delay. Even when told to offer his only beloved son, Isaac, as sacrifice to God, “Abraham rose early in the morning” (Gen. 22:3), not wanting to lose a moment in fulfilling God’s command. He does hesitate briefly however, when, due to a famine in Canaan, he is forced to go to Egypt, where food was plentiful, but which was also a place known for rampant immorality and abuse. “Tell them you are my sister,” Abraham asks Sarah, his wife, “so that I may live because of you. If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘She is his wife,’ they will kill me and let you live. Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you” (Gen. 12:12-13).
Naturally, as soon as Pharaoh sees Sarah he is smitten by her beauty and takes her to his palace, intending to make her his wife. Abraham must have had a premonition that this is exactly what would happen, and yet he went along with it. Pragmatic optimism, perhaps.
But faith? Faith that somehow God would save Sarah? In Abraham’s case, the answer, of course, would have to be yes.
This was the extent Abraham’s faith. The same faith that led him to be willing to entrust his son Isaac to God’s will.
And yet, when Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was taken captive along with the entire population of Sodom, Abraham musters all his allies to chase the attackers who had captured them. Where was Abraham’s faith then, I asked in my sermon. Why did he not trust God to redeem Lot and the other captives? Why did he feel compelled to give pursuit and free them himself?
One answer could be that the Torah is teaching a moral lesson here: Freeing the captive is a time-bound mitzvah (a sacred commandment that must be fulfilled within a specific time frame). In the captives’ lives, time was of the essence. People were in imminent danger. Lives were at stake. It is as though God was telling Abraham (see also Mekhilta on Ex. 14:15), “This is not a time to pray. Now go forth and do what you must do!”
Yet something continued to trouble me. At what point are we called upon to rely on our faith in God, and when does life compel us to rely instead on ourselves?
Why were Lot’s life and safety so much more pressing than Sarah’s and Isaac’s that Abraham was driven to action instead of prayer?
Perhaps Abraham, man of faith, also knew something about corruption and evil. Humanity was endowed with free choice to do both right and wrong, to do evil as well as to pursue justice. With some, however, evil becomes their pursuit, and they let nothing stand in their way. The Pharaoh in Abraham’s story was not the same Pharaoh as in Moses’s time. The latter “hardens his heart;” the former shows greater flexibility. He is not beyond redemption. He can still do the right thing, as long as he knows what that is. Abraham was taking a reasonable chance.
Moreover, the Zohar—the Book of Splendor, the ultimate text of Jewish mysticism—extols Sarah’s righteousness and its effect on Pharaoh: “Come and behold, the Shechinah [God’s Presence on earth] did not leave Sarah at all during that night. When Pharaoh approached her, an angel came and hit him. And whenever Sarah said, ‘Hit,’ he hit” (Zohar, Lech Lecha 13).
Abraham, praying throughout the night, knew how strong Sarah’s faith was, and he put his trust in that.
Similarly, Abraham must have been certain of Isaac’s faith. The short conversation between father and son (Gen. 22:7-8) as they walk together shows complete innocence, faith and trust. Abraham knew how strong the bond was between God and Isaac. He trusted his son’s faith enough to believe that it would match God’s faith. And so he didn’t argue, never said a word in reproach of a God who had promised that it would be through Isaac that the Covenant would be maintained (Gen. 17:21).
But Lot was another matter. Though raised in Abraham’s care, later on Lot preferred to live among the citizens of Sodom. Despite holding on to some of the values and traditions he picked up as a child, Lot’s faith in God was not whole, and Abraham was well aware of that. It would require more than prayer to save Lot.
From the first day that God commands Abraham to leave his homeland (and according to the Midrash, even earlier), Abraham’s faith is tested and proven. But then, so is God’s. The lesson we need to take from this portion is not only that Abraham had complete faith in God. We already knew that. What we learn in addition is about God’s faith in us. Faith is a two-way street, or if you will, a stream of energy and strength that we can depend on and become part of.
Faith isn’t the same as certainty, but it does give us strength to overcome obstacles. Our faith may not be the same as Abraham’s; each of us creates a unique bond with our Creator, some stronger than others. We all hope however that God will hear our prayers and answer them. But sometimes, faith requires action as much—or even more than—merely faith.
It's up to each of us to determine how to move forward, how to proceed on our journey towards a better day and a promised land. One thing is certain though: What’s required is both faith and action, each in the right amount, each at the right place and time.
© 2024 by Boaz D. Heilman
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