Lech Lecha
Genesis 12:1-17:27
Isaiah 40:27-41:16
In the midst of everything, a friend called, sounding a bit anxious. Of course, many people are sounding a little anxious and out of balance these days, and at first I thought she wanted to talk about the terrorist threats. But no, there was something more. Her husband had been diagnosed with cancer. Surgery had been scheduled for the following day, and she was calling to ask for prayer. She had contacted friends and colleagues, asking everyone to pray for her husband’s healing, and for her ability to be there for him, in the midst of her own fear. She asked us to pray that she be helped to stay “centered in God” as she walked through this time.
I was moved by her request, pleased that she had asked me to be part of the circle of prayer that would be a support to her. And I was struck by her hope for herself, her ability to articulate her desire to be calm, grounded and present for her husband. For her, this would mean remembering that she is surrounded by the reality of the Divine at every moment. She knows that this is the truth of things, but that (like all of us) her awareness of The Holy waxes and wanes. So she needs to pray — and for her friends to pray for her — to maintain that awareness more of the time. Without it, she might well be carried away by fear.
“Centered in God.” I think this is what we all need right now, though each of us may describe this in different ways. Without this kind of deep centeredness, the sense of vulnerability in which we are all living might be too hard to bear.
In this week’s parashah, God calls Avraham to embark on a great journey. Geographically, the journey had already begun, for we were told at the end of last week’s parashah that Avraham’s family had left Ur for Haran, but there the initiative had been taken by Avraham’s father, Terach (Genesis 11:31). Now, God calls Avraham to claim the journey as his own, with a new goal, a new set of life tasks. It is now that Avraham and Sarah’s spiritual journey, as the forebears of our people, begins.
The Chassidic commentary Mei HaShilo’ach describes the journey in the following way: “Avraham our father began to explore and seek out the root of his life, having understood that all the pleasures of this world do not amount to true life. [He had come to understand that] the pleasures of this world only serve to soothe worries and obstacles in our path. But once the worries are eased, what is the core of life for which the world was created?
“Concerning this, the Blessed One said to him, ‘Lech lecha’ — ‘Go forth’ [literally, ‘Go yourself’], that is, go into yourself, for truly all the matters of this world cannot be called life. The essence of life is to be found within you. [As it is said, in the Haftarah] ‘You will rejoice in God, and glory in the Holy One of Israel’ (Isaiah 41:16).”
In this view, Avraham’s essential life journey, and our own, is a matter of traveling far beyond the pursuit of pleasure and comfort. Surely, Jewish practice encourages us to savor the many beauties of life, indeed, to appreciate their sanctity. But the destination is not satisfaction, pleasure or comfort, but a progressively deeper knowledge that we live in a world of God’s creation, suffused with hidden sparks of Divinity. Deep within us, sometimes buried very deep beneath anxiety and pain, is a place where the Divine Spirit has a home, connected to tiny dwelling places of the Divine within every person, every moment, every aspect of creation. When our lives are grounded in this place of sanctuary, we can know a deep and unshakable joy, more satisfying than any material pleasure, and far more dependable.
In these difficult times, we need this spiritual grounding more urgently than ever. So much is unfamiliar, uncertain and frightening. We have lost our moorings, our sense of safety and predictability. We must go deeper to find a way to keep our balance, to stay hopeful and to make wise personal decisions about how to serve Life in these times of great need. Otherwise, we find ourselves battered by the latest news report, the latest evidence of hate, the most recent wave of fear.
This Shabbat, let us hear God’s call to Avraham and Sarah, a call to root ourselves more deeply in our Source. In this, may we find joy and comfort.