WalkingTorah - Parashat Lech Lecha

WalkingTorah

Where ancient lessons guide modern life

Rabbi Aryeh A. Leifert (WalkingIsrael.com)

Parashat Lech Lecha פרשת לך לך

October 24, 2015 י”א מרחשוון תשע”ו

It seems that very often in political discourse, one side will accuse the other of being on “the wrong side of history,” or of being “out of the mainstream.” The implication is that this is a negative, with the logic being, why would anyone want to be on the “wrong side of history,” or “out of the mainstream”? After all, don’t we want history to look favorably upon us? Don’t we want to be in sync with the majority of public opinion?

Parashat Lech Lecha might suggest otherwise. After the War of the Kings, described in Genesis 14, Abraham is informed that his nephew, Lot, has been taken prisoner, and is being taken to Mesopotamia by the victorious kings. The word used to describe Abraham, however, is one which only appears in this story. Abraham is called “the Hebrew” (in the original Hebrew, עברי/ivri). The root letters of the word עברי/ivri are .ע.ב.ר/I.V.R. These 3 letters can mean “to pass over,” or “the other side.” In other words, the verse is describing Abraham as “the one from the other side.”

But the other side of what? In Bereishit Rabbah, it states: “The entire world was on one side, and Abraham was on the other side.” In other words, Abraham was preaching one view, that of ethical monotheism, and the world was preaching another view. To cite just a few examples of major differences between Abraham’s (or the Torah’s) view and the rest of the world:

• The world said that human sacrifice, and particularly child sacrifice, was demanded by the gods. Abraham said that such an act was an abomination before God.
• The world said that strangers (that is, non-members of a family or tribe) need not be cared for, and may in some cases be actively persecuted. The Torah demands over thirty times that we take care of, protect, and even love the stranger.
• The world said that if a person murders another, he may either claim sanctuary in the local temple, or pay a fine, to be determined by the social status of his victim. The Torah specifies that if a murderer claims sanctuary, he should be dragged away from the altar itself and punished. And there is no distinction between different victims’ social statuses. All lives are equal in the eyes of God.

We take these values for granted today, but when Abraham began preaching them, they were far from widely accepted. Yet Abraham preached on.

You know who was told he was going to be on “the wrong side of history”? Abraham. You know who was told he was “out of the mainstream”? Abraham. Indeed, if one would want to summarize the Jewish people’s world experience in a few words, one might say that it has been a history of being told that we were on “the wrong side of history,” and that we were “out of the mainstream.” But who cares? said Abraham, and said the Jewish people. We want to be on the side of what is right, and just, and good! This is not a popularity contest, this is a struggle between right and wrong, between just and unjust, and between good and evil.

Hopefully, millennia-old truths will eventually be seen as being on the right side of history, and be incorporated into the lives of the mainstream. Until then, however, may we be blessed with the courage to stand up for what is right, not necessarily for what is popular at that moment in time. In this way, we will truly be worthy heirs to the legacy of Abraham, “the one from the other side.”

(Bereishit Rabbah cited in ב. יאושזון, מאוצרנו הישן - בראשית, p. 65)

Rabbi Aryeh A. Leifert is originally from Teaneck, New Jersey. He served as an Assistant Rabbi and Judaics Studies principal in San Antonio, Texas from 2006-2009. In 2009, he moved to Israel with his family, where he works as a licensed tour guide for individuals, couples, families of all ages, groups, schools, and religious institutions. He also offers Virtual Tours of Israel through the internet. He may be reached via his website, WalkingIsrael.com.