Be Like Avraham, Love Like Avraham

I’m a big Avraham fan.  (OK.  I’m a fan of all of our Biblical celebrities.)

Lech lecha.

Go.  Go for yourself.  Find your inner being.  Seek out a new path.

Ha-nefesh asher asu b’Charan – the souls Avraham and Sarah crafted in Charan.

Avraham and Sarah were the first outreach workers.  As Rambam wrote (Laws of Idolatry 1:3):

And thus Avraham went onward with his proclamations from city to city, and from government to government…When the people who congregated about him asked him concerning his preaching, he replied by imparting knowledge to each and every one according to his mentality…until there congregated about him thousands, even tens of thousands, and they became the people of Abraham's household, in whose heart he implanted this great cause… 

In 2009, I appeared in a documentary entitled Jerusalem: Center of the World to provide a rabbinic perspective on the history of Jerusalem.  In describing Avraham’s connection to the city, I called him, in a sense, the first mega-church preacher.  He was innovative and shared monotheism with the masses.

What was Avraham’s secret?  The Torah does not describe Avraham’s youth or any particular insights into how he developed his relationship with God.  The Midrash fills in some of the gaps – especially the idol store and the hammer account.  There are, however, a number of clues in Tanach.

One is in Isaiah 41:8, in which Avraham is described as: Avraham ohavi. This can be translated as, “Avraham my friend.”  I prefer: “Avraham, who loved me.”

Avraham loved God.  He was so full of love that it spilled over to others.  He loved God, so he loved people.

Avraham was full of love. He loved Sarah and Hagar.  He loved Yitzchak and Yishmael.  He loved Lot and Eliezer.

Sometimes, his love blinded him to the flaws of others, but it didn’t matter.  There is no such thing as too much love. 

Rabbi Rafi Feuerstein, a noted Israeli rabbi and educator, captured it well:

ומי שאוהב את אלוקים, זוכה ורואה את האור בכל דבר.

One who really loves God is able to see the light, the good, in everything.

Avraham loved God so much that he wanted others to experience what he experienced.  He shared this love with humanity.  Avraham possessed an ayin tova, a good eye, a positive outlook. (Avot 5:19)  Avraham had the right perspective.  He channeled his love for God through an ayin tova, to see the best in others and to seek out and connect with others.

We live in a world that desperately needs more of this connection.  It is so easy – especially when Covid keeps us apart or we have different views on who should be president – to be disconnected.  This disconnection is not by design or with any malice aforethought.  There is a lot that distracts us - cell phones, news, life - and not always a sense of fellowship for us to seek out others with an ayin tova like Avraham.

Rabbi Avrohom Pam, of blessed memory, was dean of Yeshiva Torah V’Da’as and a gentle soul.  Once, he was visiting a community as a guest speaker.  The rabbi sent to pick him up at the airport was anxious since they were running very late.

They moved rapidly past the gates, at which other flights were disembarking.  At one gate, there was a crowd as the arriving passengers were being welcomed warmly by friends and family.  Rav Pam stopped to watch the scene for a few moments, totally transfixed. The local rabbi tried to hurry him along.

In the car, the rabbi asked Rav Pam what it was about the airport scene that so fascinated him.  He answered:

The saddest of all human happenings is separation. And the most wonderful of all is reunion.  Whenever I see people, of whatever religion or background, who are joyfully coming together after a long separation, I feel spellbound, and I must stand by and witness that pure innocent joy as long as I can. 

A modern rabbi named Avraham appreciating the type of love modeled by the original Avraham.

The Torah (Bereishit 12:3) states that Avraham will be a source of blessing for all humanity.

וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה

All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you.

Rashi explains that the simplest was to understand this is:

אדם אומר לבנו תהא כאברהם

People will tell their children, “Be like Avraham." 

The people of the world will see blessing when more people act like Avraham.  It’s really quite simple.  Seek out God.  Love God.  Love people.  Repeat.

I say to my children: Be like Avraham.  Be motivated by love to connect to God and to people.  This will bring blessing to you.  This will bring blessing to us all.

Living with a Bereishit Mindset

 

I love the book of Bereishit.  It provides more than “just” the story of creation.  It provides a foundation for one’s entire approach to Jewish living.  It is engaging, full of life and color, and contains the stories that tell us who we are, while, at the same time, raising questions with which we must grapple.  How old is the universe?  Did that story really happen that way?  It is in encountering the text and in addressing – even if not answering – these questions where we forge the foundation of our faith and identity.

  

Bereishit is a guide to developing a “Yiddishe Kup,” a Jewish approach to life.

Rashi famously quotes the Midrash that the opening verse of Bereishit can be understood as teaching us: “God created the world for the sake of the Torah.”  What does this mean?  Torah is more than a source of knowledge.  Torah provides us with our worldview.  It is the source of the “Yiddishe Kup." 

As Jews in the modern world, our lives are shaped by what goes on around us.  At the same time, Bereishit is a reminder that we must try to filter that world through the prism of Torah. 

Easier said than done.

Nevertheless, when we say the berachot over the Torah acknowledging God choosing us to receive the Torah and calling this gift a source of eternal life, we are admitting that Torah is meant to shape our entire worldview.

Rabbi Norman Lamm, in a sermon nearly 50 years ago, told a story of discussing how Jews react to anti-Semitism with his uncle.  Rabbi Lamm had an American worldview, and his uncle was European born but also had a more modern outlook.  Rabbi Lamm was curious as to the psychology of a Jew who lived most of his life in the shtetl without exposure to more modern ideas.  How would that insular experience shape the reaction to anti-Semitism?

Rabbi Lamm’s uncle described how when he was a child in Europe walking with his grandfather, Rabbi Lamm’s great-grandfather, they were accosted by a young Polish peasant who hurled at them every foul-mouthed anti-Semitic insult often heard from both Polish peasants and intellectuals.  Rabbi Lamm’s uncle, having been exposed to the modern world, was shaken.  Yet he noticed that the older man simply continued walking as if nothing at all had ever happened.  He was impassive, unruffled, unconcerned.

The uncle said to his grandfather, “How can you just continue? Aren't you bothered by all this?”  Rabbi Lamm’s great-grandfather replied:

What are you talking about?  How can I possibly be concerned by the likes of him?  Don’t you understand?  I am a man who has Torah!  One who has Torah is never concerned by the ranting and the raving of some semi-ignorant lunatic.  The slings and arrows of that kind of fortune can never hurt him. 

I think of this story when trying to understand the sometimes radically divergent views taken by different parts of the Jewish community to the issues of the day.  Might one response be more Jewish?  Which side is that?  On the one hand, some reactions seem more traditional.  On the other hand, the times and circumstances may call for a different approach.  On the other hand…We’ve run out of hands!

The truth is, of course, complicated.  It is possible for divergent approaches to both emerge out of a Torah worldview.  Regardless of one's ultimate opinion, Jews should interpret the world around us through a uniquely Torah-informed perspective.

Golda Meir had many interactions with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during and after the Yom Kippur War.  The Prime Minister marshaled many reasons for assisting Israel - the country’s geo-strategic importance, its promotion of democracy, its attitude toward the Soviet Union, but she also appealed to Kissinger’s identity as a Jew.

Unimpressed, Kissinger responded, “I would like to inform you that I’m first an American citizen, second Secretary of State, and third a Jew.”

To which Meir replied, “In Israel, we read from right to left.”

As Jews, Torah provides us with information, inspiration, and guidance on how to live our lives.  It also provides us with something more.  One might call it pride or maybe it defies categorization.  As we face a changed world that seems to spin out of control with many issues dividing us, it behooves us to grab onto one thing which never changes: Torah.

No Dancing? No Kiddush? No Problem!

How can it be Simchat Torah without the familiar singing, dancing, gatherings, and Kiddush? (No Kiddush!?!) 

 

It should be noted that Simchat Torah is a holiday that did not exist.  The Torah commands us to observe a holiday after seven days of Sukkot.  We call that holiday “Shemini Atzeret.”  Outside of Israel, this holiday lasts for two days.  The whole idea of celebrating the cycle of reading the Torah only became widespread around 1,000 years ago.  

 

Since this holiday after Sukkot now has a theme, the joyous celebration of the Torah, the name Simchat Torah was born.  In Israel, they celebrate a one-day holiday that combines Shemini Atzeret with Simchat Torah.  In the Diaspora, since there are two days of the holiday, we call the first day Shemini Atzeret and the second day Simchat Torah. 

 

While we may be have gotten used to the “normal” way to celebrate this holiday, the soul of Simchat Torah is the joy found in Jewish living. 

 

Rambam (Maimonides) teaches (Laws of Shofar, Lulav, and Sukkah 8:15): 

        The happiness with which a person should rejoice in the fulfillment of the mitzvot  and the love of God who                commanded them is a great service …there is no  greatness or   honor other than celebrating before God… 

 

On Simchat Torah, we reinforce that our joyous Judaism comes from Torah.  Usually, we sing and dance.  We encourage everyone to come close to the Torah.  We bring our children and show them a good time.  Judaism can be fun.  We honor the conclusion of the reading of the Torah, and we celebrate starting it again. 

 

This year, we need to do things differently.  This year, we need to dig down deeper to find the joy.  We need to get back to the basics. 

 

At the heart of Judaism is Torah. 

Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon, a prominent teacher and author in Israel, made an excellent suggestion for this Simchat Torah.  During hakafot, which will have to be different this year, dance in place while holding a sefer, a Jewish book of learning.  It can be a Jewish book you are finishing, or in the middle of studying, or want to study in the coming year.  After all, Simchat Torah is about finishing the Torah and starting it again.   Let’s each rejoice in our personal commitment to Torah study while in shul with the congregation. 

 

This year, when we cannot sing and dance together, when we can’t get close to one another, and when we can’t congregate together over Kiddush, let’s hold a sefer, a Jewish book.  It can be a chumash, a Mishnah, Gemara, book of Jewish thought, or any Jewish topics.  (I am happy to offer guidance and suggestions.) 

 

This Simchat Torah, there is one thing we can all do together and that’s express our commitment to the core of Judaism: Torah. 

Armed & Ready for Victory

 

 

In 1953, the Israeli general turned historian Yigal Yadin discovered a series of ancient letters in the Judean desert. The letters contain a request for arba minim, the four species:

Shimon to Yehuda, son of Menashe at Qiryat ‘Arabayyah: I have sent you two donkeys [in order] that you send with them two men to Yehonatan son of Ba’yan and to Mesabala [in Ein Gedi, so] that they pack and send to the camp, to you, lulavin and etrogin. And you are to send additional persons from your place and let them bring hadasin and aravin. And prepare them [probably, “tithe them”] and deliver them to the camp, because the population [army?] is large. Fare well (shelam)!

From the signature of the letters, scholars have identified “Shimon” as Shimon Bar Koziba, better known as Shimon Bar Kochba, the leader of the last revolt against to Romans 60 years after the destruction of the Second Temple.

In effect, the last commander of Judea sent letters that were discovered by, essentially, the first commander of a revived Judea, Yigal Allon. And the subject matter was the lulav.

It makes sense for the lulav and arba minim to play such a prominent role in lives of Jewish warriors. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 30:3) explains that when two litigants go to court, the winner leaves carrying a lulav – as a part of a proud victory celebration.

The lulav represents victory.

Maybe that’s why the Gemara (Sukkah 41b) mentions how the people of Jerusalem carried it everywhere:

Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok says: This was the custom of the people of Jerusalem during the festival of Sukkot. A person leaves the house with lulav in hand; he goes to the synagogue, and his lulav is in his hand; he recites Shema and prays, and his lulav is in his hand…he goes to visit the sick or to console mourners, and his lulav is in his hand;

Why carry the lulav everywhere?

On Sukkot, we try to experience a feeling of victory. Maybe the victory of emerging from the High Holidays written into the book of life. Maybe the historic victory of God protecting the Jewish people. Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (Ha'amek Davar, Devarim 16:15) describes the rejoicing of Sukkot as a celebration of the "continued triumphant existence of the Jewish nation and its dedication to a holy path."

I think these words speak to us right now. These past months have been full of defeats and setbacks of all kinds – physical, emotional, societal. Nevertheless, we made it! Please God, we will make it further!

This Sukkot, we celebrate the fact that we're here. We may not all be exactly where we want to be or how we want to be. We bear the physical and emotional scars of the past six months. But we are, thank God, here - and we will celebrate joyously!

As we wave our lulav, let’s consider it a symbol of victory, celebrating our survival and flourishing even in the face of incredible odds. Let’s think about our role as the carriers of a great tradition and our responsibility to proudly live visible Jewish lives with confidence and commitment. Such a reflection on our incredible past and a commitment to, please God, our glorious future is indeed cause for celebration on this holiday of Z’man Simchateinu.