God As an Ally
A journey of four thousand years begins with God鈥檚 command to Abraham. 鈥淕o forth,鈥� God urges Abraham, 鈥渇rom your land, from your birthplace and from your father鈥檚 house to the land that I will show you鈥� (Gen. 12:1). Psychically, one senses the sacrifice inherent in God鈥檚 desire. And clearly God does not make it easy for his prophet. The three expressions employed by the divine voice make it increasingly more difficult for Abraham to leave鈥攈is land, his birthplace, and his father鈥檚 house. Indeed, the rabbinic mind imagines that leaving one鈥檚 land is not so difficult. But to abandon one鈥檚 birthplace and family requires pain and sacrifice. As Everett Fox writes, here Abraham is being asked to give up his past, while in the narrative of the Akeidah (the binding of Isaac), he is requested to give up his future. How sensitive is God in asking Abraham to sacrifice his past? What clues are we given in Parashat Lekh Lekha?
In explaining the third verse of our Torah reading, Joseph ben Isaac B鈥檏hor Shor showcases God鈥檚 sensitivity to Abraham. He writes,
鈥淚 will love those who love you and I will hate those who hate you鈥� means, 鈥渄o not let your heart say that I do not have a colleague or redeemer in the land, and if someone hates me, and seeks to do me harm, no one will stand up against him. Or if someone loves me, then who will give him recompense for such love?鈥� For a person who has close friends鈥攅veryone (those friends) supports those who honor and benefit him. I will be for you a lover and a redeemer.
And so, when God declares that 鈥淚 will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you,鈥� there is a profound sense that God recognizes Abraham鈥檚 existential loneliness in this sacred endeavor. God singles out Abraham. No doubt insecurity and alienation plague the nascent prophet. Rather than avoiding the issue, God addresses the topic head on鈥攕aying to Abraham, 鈥測ou will not be alone.鈥� I will be the ally and friend that you crave as you move forward.
God鈥檚 assurance provides a lesson in leadership for the 绿帽社 People. Too often, standing up for what is ethical and moral in this world leads one to isolation. The 绿帽社 People and the State of Israel prove to be case studies in such a phenomenon. We find ourselves, at times, without partners and without friends. God鈥檚 promise to Abraham, in the words of B鈥檏hor Shor, is one that that is eternal: 鈥�I will be for you a lover and a redeemer.鈥� May we always see God as an ally in our sacred work and may it be true that the 鈥渇amilies of the earth鈥� be blessed by the loyal descendants of Abraham.
