King of Kindness

You know that many people have their own comfort food. Well, I have my comfort Torah reading, and it’s Lech Lecha, which we read this week. After all the wonderful but stressful holidays and the last two Torah readings about how humanity is just bad from morning to night, it’s glorious to reconnect with our beloved Patriarch, Avraham.

Even though Avraham is mentioned in last week’s parsha, we really get to meet him this week when God tells him: Depart your land, your birthplace and your father’s home (Breishit 12:1).

There are many interpretations of this three part command, but this year I would like to quote the S’fat Emet, the second Rebbe of Gur: God’s command to Avraham to leave his land, birthplace, and father’s house symbolizes redirecting all desires to serve God with all one’s heart, soul, and possessions. “From your land” corresponds to serving with all one’s heart. “With all one’s soul” relates to one’s birthplace. “From your father’s house” parallels serving with all one’s possessions. 

In other words, Avraham intuited from God’s cryptic command the three principles that we declare in our recitation of the SHMA every morning and night. This idea adds to the mystique around Avraham’s profound intellect. Maimonides describes his search:

After this mighty man was weaned, he began to explore and think. Though he was a child, he began to think [incessantly] throughout the day and night, wondering: How is it possible for the sphere to continue to revolve without having anyone controlling it?…He had no teacher, nor was there anyone to inform him. Rather, he was mired in Ur Kasdim among the foolish idolaters…Ultimately, he appreciated the way of truth and understood the path of righteousness through his accurate comprehension. He realized that there was one God who controlled the sphere, that He created everything, and that there is no other God among all the other entities. (Laws of Idolatry 1:2-3)

If that was the only thing that we knew about Avraham, I would still be in awe of his towering intellect. However, we soon discover that this is not even the central pillar of his personality. He was the ISH CHESED, person of kindness and empathy.

Our first glimpse into his love of others comes just a few verses later:

Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed, and the persons that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. (verse 5).

This capacity to influence others into positive behavior is ultimately his greatest strength. Rebbe Nachman explains that this unique ability to attract and motivate other souls is truly the core of Avraham’s personality. The Rebbe says that Avraham is the embodiment of the verse: the Torah of loving kindness is on their tongue (Proverbs 31:26).

So, Avraham was able to introduce a radically new concept into the world of idolatry. However, even more remarkable is that he could bring them under the Wings of Divine service. These former idolaters entered the Covenant with Avraham. 

I concede that we are not Avraham. Our paltry skills pale in comparison with his amazing powers, but we do say that MA’ASEH AVOT SIMAN L’BANIM, the deeds of the Patriarchs are road markers for the offspring (us). Consequently, we must ask what imperative does this place upon us, Avraham’s descendants?

Personally, I have no plans to set up a welcoming tent on Derech Chevron here in Yerushalayim. But we must learn to be hospitable and welcoming in the kindest, sweetest ways. But is there more?

I think so.

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein gave an address about 20 years ago about outreach, not to the world, but to our Jewish brethren. He first listed all of the dangers of close contact with non-observant Jews. It truly could dilute our spiritual efforts in Torah study and Tefillah. His core idea was stated this way:

Three times a day we recite: To perfect the universe through the Almighty’s sovereignty, and all flesh shall call out in Your name (in the Aleinu prayer; L’TAKEN OLAM B’MALCHUT SHADAI).The aspiration is both clear and enthralling. If we are charged with ennobling the universal human spirit, how much more pressing should be our duty to knesset Israel?! 

How can God expect us to bring the non-Jew to Torah principles if we can’t spread our ideas to other Jews? 

He related that a former student contacted him to help him prepare for an interview for a rabbinic position. The young man wanted to know if he could approve of Holocaust commemorations together with other Jewish movements. Rav Aharon responded:

Shocked, I responded that, as far as I knew, the Nazis had not differentiated. Could we? In my stupefaction, I realized that we had an educational charge to fulfill…“And you shall love the Lord your God,” make him beloved to all His creations, like your patriarch Abraham.

These days the sad commemorations are basically weekly, not annually. If we don’t participate in, at least some of these events are really Torah Jews? Are we really the children of Avraham if we don’t share the burden of mourning?

Our awful war is testing the fabric of our society to see if it can endure. But it also tests our individual capacity for empathy. May we, please God, be worthy heirs to Avraham and his beloved partner, Sarah!