Hope and Faith Amidst the Uncertainty and Fear: Lekh Lekha 5785

Imagine someone you don’t know that well, someone who never spoke to you before, calls you out of the blue and offers you a new job. It’s going to be great, she says, you’re going to have to relocate, you will need to leave your community, your tightly-knit family, and you and your wife will move for this new job.

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This new boss says this will be a great new chapter in your life; you will be very successful—a blessing to yourself and others.

Sounds good, right?

But, there is a catch. She tells you that she cannot tell you where you are going. She says that you are being sent to the land that she will show you – “el haaretz asher areka.” 

There are no other details. You are supposed to trust her, but you have no idea about the details.

I’m going to be honest. If I got that call, I would be, “What?!” 

“Um… Thank you so much. 

But I’m going to pass. Maybe you should ask someone else.”

* * *

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But, that’s not what Abraham does. When God tells him to go: “ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃

Go forth from your native land, your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen 12:1)

When God tells him, he goes. “Vayelekh Avram.”

Just like that.

He has this deep faith that leads him to follow this leader he does not really know.

* * *

I have always struggled with Abraham’s call to Divine service. Why is he chosen to build a new nation? How does he become our earliest spiritual ancestor, the first Jew, the first monotheist?

My favorite answer is from the Book of Jubilees, an early Jewish commentary written in Hebrew in the first century before the Common Era. While the book does not make the cut as one of the books of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, it is a rich source of early interpretations of our earlier texts.

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Here, the Torah says that Abraham becomes aware of God’s presence sitting outdoors on Rosh Hashanah in the desert near his childhood home. There is no light from the moon and he has a clear view of the stars, even the shooting stars that are common at that time of year in what is now Southern Iraq. 

At that time, the accepted understanding of the world was a form of astrology: the stars controlled everything, and by studying them, humans could find out what the weather would be, among other useful things.

But, as he sits there, Abraham becomes aware of something else. That there is something beyond the stars, something beyond the physical world, and he feels it, he senses it. 

He discovers Adonai, God, the One Who is all Places, the Oneness, the Force that binds all, the Power that flows the Universe.

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I love this understanding. God becomes real when we become aware. 

When we slow down and experience something, we can see beyond the world as we normally experience it. 

This can happen in nature or in shul, in a group or alone, in a lifecycle moment—joyous or sad—and sometimes, most intensely, in the space of the connection between two people, between two souls.

This means that Abraham is first open to becoming aware and then takes God’s instruction to heart. Even though he is far from perfect—Abraham develops a deep faith, optimism, and hope that runs through his life.

In this parashah alone, he experiences ups and downs and numerous challenges. Right off the bat, when he arrives in the Land of Israel, there is a famine, which leads to the problematic situation in Egypt. There are conflicts about property and there is war. His nephew is taken hostage which necessitates a risky rescue. He and his wife are not able to have children and there is great strife and suffering in his home. 

It’s a lot.

* * *

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This week, we experienced a political upheaval. Voters chose to change our leadership across almost all levels of government. After a campaign filled with lies, nastiness, assassination attempts, and new levels of hate, we find ourselves at this difficult moment.

Let us acknowledge that while many of us – including me – feel a profound sense of anxiety and fear of what the future holds, some of us may be relieved. Some of us think that Israel is now more secure. 

Given the last year and the upheaval in Israel this week with the firing of the Defense Minister, a voice of moderation and skill in a time of wars on six or seven fronts, I have no idea who will help Israel out of this morass.

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But I need to address the deep despair that I have heard from dozens and dozens in our community. 

Have we lost some of America’s values? 

Have we lost values that our Jewish tradition holds dear?

There are particular groups that are hurting this week.

There are groups of people and their families and their allies who are particularly afraid.

One of the values that seems at risk is loving the stranger. As the book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, states: V’ahavta er ha-Ger – love the stranger because you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 

Immigrants are people – there may be complexities around the issue of determining what to do with illegal immigration. Still, there is no ambiguity about how we treat people and all families. 

Kindness is our leading lodestar.

There is the value of respecting all people – k’vod habriyot, as the rabbis call it. We respect the differences among all people. We treat all people with the awareness that they are created in b’Tzelem Elohim – in the image of God. 

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LGBTQ+ people are scared. 

They were denigrated in this campaign. 

Many parents and students shared their deep fears with us this week.

And a third group, a large group: women. Misogyny and taking away women’s rights are not acceptable. 

We must ensure that they are protected and have control of their bodies, something our tradition enshrines in law.

And there are other concerns, other fears.

* * *

I have to admit that I am struggling with various emotions. I want to push myself and invite everyone toward a vision of optimism. The Jewish people have endured challenges before, and we believe in God’s spiritual support and guidance.

 Let us not lose hope in humanity, decency, and compassion. Our journey, like Abraham’s, has challenges, but like him, we hold fast to our basic faith, the core values that God teaches us. We do not lose Hatikvah, the hope that has supported us for millennia.

* * *

In the middle of the parashah, the Torah states that Abraham “וְהֶאֱמִ֖ן בַּֽיהֹוָ֑ה וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לּ֖וֹ צְדָקָֽה

And he put his trust in GOD, who reckoned it to his merit.” (Genesis 15:6)

Rashi, our great 11th-century French commentator, says that Abraham’s deep hope in this moment means he did not need a sign from God for reassurance. He knows that his connection with the Divine will sustain him. 

But then, Rashi notices that two verses later, Abraham’s faith seems to waver and Abraham asks, “בַּמָּ֥ה אֵדַ֖ע – how will I know” I will be successful in this new land?

So which is it: is Abraham faithful or not? 

Maybe he is both – he is scared and he is also holding hope.

Maybe he is just like us – feeling different emotions and navigating this moment. 

He is a regular person like any of us journeying into the unknown, unsure of what lies ahead of him and how to implement the values he is being taught.

* * *

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But there is one more lesson for us here. The Torah states that, because of Abraham’s faith was meritorious, God kind of gave him extra credit –  וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ לּ֖וֹ צְדָקָֽה – it was considered an act of righteousness.

Rashi is confused again – what did Abraham do to receive this merit, this tzedek, this righteousness? 

And why does God then promise him in the next verse that he and his progeny will be blessed to live in this land?

Citing the Talmud, Rashi says it’s not just him and his actions but future generations that will be engaged in God’s worship. 

I read that Abraham has faith. He hopes not just that he will persevere but that his children—who do not even exist—will internalize God’s values and act on them. 

* * *

And so it is for us as well. 

Let us find places of hope amidst the uncertainties. And let us affirm our core values to protect those who are most vulnerable. Then, our children, future generations, can take this hope and optimism and help make it a reality.

Faith and hope can lead to action, which can create new tomorrows.

May God help this vision come to fruition.