Shabbat Lech Lecha
Torah Portion: Genesis 12:1-17:27 / Haftarah Portion: Isaiah 40:27-41:16
“Our Best Selves”
Dear Friends,
How can Avram’s journey still inspire us today? At 75 years of age, Avram heard God’s call to leave Mesopotamia and go to a new land, the Land of Israel. While we cannot be sure of what Avram actually heard, his journey was certainly one of self-discovery in that Avram founded a new religion based on the worship of the Eternal One. Over time, Avram’s name would change to Avraham, or Abraham, representing that he was the leader of a great clan and one of great influence.
The journey of Abraham serves as a model for each of us. Hiss quest was a model for us to discover the Divine spark within, the pintele Yid, and channel it into our hearts and minds. From this we learn that life is a search for meaning and faith. Our tradition teaches us to hear a God’s voice and receive the call to grow in our awareness and identity. We must continually seek ways of bringing healing and compassion to our world.
In this week’s portion, Lech Lecha, we learn to take risks in the pursuit of maturity, wisdom, and higher goals of leadership. In searching for life’s highest ideals as become our best selves.
Shabbat shalom.
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow
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