{"id":36226,"date":"2018-07-09T18:49:46","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-12\/"},"modified":"2022-02-21T07:57:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T05:57:29","slug":"wall-12","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-12\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Torah-Genesis-12"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"12","date":"20250915","book":"Genesis","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"12","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"39785","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Genesis 12 - Judy Hammond ","post_title":"Genesis 12 - Judy Hammond","slug":"genesis-12-judy-hammond","old_id":"39785","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"Genesis 12","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"read by Judy Hammond","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/genesis-chapter-12-read-by-judy-hammond","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"12","date":"20250915","wall_id":"12"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"102201","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Go Forth!\u00a0 ","post_title":"Go Forth!\u00a0","slug":"go-forth","old_id":"102201","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"God gives Abram four goals: does he fulfill them?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u05dc\u05b6\u05da\u05b0\u05be\u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u059b \u05de\u05b5\u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05e6\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u05a5 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05de\u05bc\u05bd\u05d5\u05b9\u05dc\u05b7\u05d3\u05b0\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8\u0596 \u05d5\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u05d1\u05bc\u05b5\u05a3\u05d9\u05ea \u05d0\u05b8\u05d1\u05b4\u0591\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u0596\u05e8\u05b6\u05e5 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05a5\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05bd\u05da\u05bc\u05b8\u05c3\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cGo forth from your native land and from your birthplace and from your father\u2019s house to the land that I will show you\u201d (verse 1).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These famous words begin the story of Abram and the story of the Israelites. With this one phrase God sets out four main goals for Abram- 1) leave your land, 2) leave your birthplace, 3) leave your father\u2019s house, 4) go to the land that I show you. Each one of these commands presents a specific goal for Abram. Over the next few chapters, we will see Abram struggle to fulfill all of these at once. God moves closer to Abram as Abram gets closer to fulfilling these goals and moves away when Abram moves away from these goals.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For this introductory chapter to Abram we see a few attributes of his life. 1) family, 2) nomadism (Abram moves a lot in this one chapter) 3) his access to royalty, 4) his devotion to God, and 5) grand promises from God to Abram.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

1) <\/span>Family<\/span><\/em>- This comes across with Abram\u2019s relationship to Lot and to Sarai. We see Lot introduced twice and once as Abram\u2019s uncle, and Sarai is described as his wife eight times in the chapter and then is masqueraded as his sister.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

2)<\/span> Nomadism<\/span><\/em>- Abram does a lot of traveling in this chapter. He moves from Haran to Shechem, from Shechem to Beit El, from Beit El to the south, from the south to Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

3)<\/span> Access to royalty<\/span><\/em>- Abram is able to have an audience with Pharaoh, and seems important enough to not warrant a more severe penalty than being asked to leave Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

4)<\/span> Devotion to God<\/span><\/em>- In this chapter, Abram builds three altars- in Shechem and in Beit El. He also names these altars. It is also notable that he does not build an altar in Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

5)<\/span> Grand promises from God<\/em>- God promises Abram \u201cI will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing, etc.\u201d (verses 2-3), and that Abram\u2019s descendants will inherit the land (verse 7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Looking at Abram\u2019s goals, we can see the interaction with God change as he moves through the spectrum. For example, when he leaves Haran (leave your land), is in the land of Canaan (to the land I will show you), building an altar (from your \u201cbirthright\u201d of paganism), and not focused on his nephew Lot (from your father\u2019s house), Abram fulfills the four goals. God appears to him and blesses him. However, when he leaves for Egypt and puts his wife in danger to a foreign king, God does not appear to Abram.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102203,"alt":"","title":"-6211ff077e1b3--6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png.png","width":1016,"height":623,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png-300x184.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":184,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png-768x471.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":471,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png.png","large-width":1016,"large-height":623,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png.png","1536x1536-width":1016,"1536x1536-height":623,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png.png","2048x2048-width":1016,"2048x2048-height":623,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png.png","post_full_size-width":1016,"post_full_size-height":623,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/02\/6211ff077e1b3-6211ff077e1b4gen12-four.png-685x420.png","home_baner-width":685,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Go Forth!\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"God gives Abram four goals: does he fulfill 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Mother ","post_title":"Sarai\u2019s Mother","slug":"sarais-mother","old_id":"102198","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"My daughter, stay away \/ from Abram\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\"And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls they had acquired in Haran, and they went forth to go to the land of Canaan \u2026\"<\/em> (Genesis 12:5)
\r\n
\r\nSarai\u2019s Mother:<\/span>
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0My daughter, lift up your eyes and listen
\r\nto my voice; stay away
\r\nfrom Abram, do not go
\r\nwith him, do not
\r\nmarry him, he will
\r\nbury you
\r\nunder sand dunes of his madness
\r\nwith the shovel of his stubborn, obstinate faith;
\r\nhe will
\r\ndrown you
\r\nin the sea of his insanity
\r\nas wild waves of his prophecy
\r\nengulf you.
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 My daughter, let him
\r\nwander
\r\nalone, let him
\r\nseek horizons as distant
\r\nas sunset, as the border
\r\nof his mind, let his illusions
\r\nguide him, not you,
\r\nlet him
\r\nshepherd his flock of delusions
\r\non barren, rainless mountains
\r\nwithout you.
\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 My daughter, stay away
\r\nfrom Abram.<\/p>\r\n


\r\nSarai:<\/span><\/em>
\r\nI will lift up my eyes to the mountains<\/em>
\r\nof my soul,<\/em>
\r\nfrom whence comes my help. There,<\/em>
\r\non their summits I hear<\/em>
\r\nechoes<\/em>
\r\nof Abram\u2019s voice<\/em>
\r\ncalling out to me, to come<\/em>
\r\nwith him, as he rises<\/em>
\r\nto the peak of his truth. <\/em>
\r\n
\r\nIn the valleys of grace below, a river<\/em>
\r\nflows<\/em>
\r\ntowards the ocean of belief;<\/em>
\r\n
\r\nand on its banks<\/em>
\r\ngrow fertile fields of faith<\/em>
\r\nand the orchard of our love.<\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102199,"alt":"","title":"-6211fbb14cb07--6211fbb14cb08gen12-mother 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In obedience to God\u2019s command, Abraham has left his father\u2019s house and the land of his birth, and now, several episodes later, he hears God speaking to him: \u201cFear not, Abraham, I am thy shield; thy reward shall be exceedingly great\u201d (Gen. 15:1). Abraham has his doubts about the promised reward. Why does he question it and why should God have been telling him just at that point not to fear? What was the meaning of the covenant that demanded that Abraham take a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram and dissect them so that the Divine would later pass \u201cbetween these pieces\u201d (Gen. 15:17\u201318)?<\/p>\r\n

Avner Moriah deciphers this strange covenant. Befitting the Hebrew phrase \u201ccovenant between the pieces,\u201d he divides his painting into ten vignettes. The central depiction illustrates the scene of the covenant, and the eight small squares, four on either side, figure the harsh future awaiting Abraham\u2019s children. Abraham is told not to fear for God will save them from their oppressors, and will eventually give them the land of Canaan, which at the time was home to pagan tribes, portrayed in the long narrow rectangle at the bottom (Gen. 15:19\u201321).<\/p>\r\n

In the central rectangle the artist visualizes the verse, \u201cAnd it came to pass that when the sun went down and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces\u201d (Gen 15:17). The spiral represents the spirit of God, with a green darkened sun, the smoking furnace, the flaming torch, the heads of animals in the furnace, and, above, stars against a stormy red sky. Abraham is raising his head toward God as if questioning his great reward when the promise to give him a child has not yet been fulfilled, and God shows him the multitude of the stars, symbolizing his seed (Gen.15:5).<\/p>\r\n

The first vignette on the right pictures the spirit of God showing Abraham the stars. In the second, Abraham is leaving Ur of the Chaldees, walking toward the land promised to him (Gen. 15:7). In the third, Abraham is standing with the severed animals, holding two birds he was told to take (Gen. 15:10), and in the fourth, \u201cthe birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abraham drove them away\u201d (Gen.15:11).<\/p>\r\n

The top square on the left shows Abraham lying on the ground in a deep sleep and above him, against dark brown skies, are pyramids and images of people in anguish (Gen. 15:12), which prefigures the fate awaiting his children, enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. The next vignette shows the splitting of the Red Sea with the Egyptian soldiers and horses drowning. God tells Abraham that this fearful prophecy is for the future and that he himself is assured of a peaceful death and an honorable burial. 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https:\/\/www.bloomsbury.com\/us\/reading-genesis-9780567381521), and the forthcoming Reading Exodus, and the author of the novel Questioning Return - https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Questioning-Return-Novel-Beth-Kissileff\/dp\/1942134231. \r\nHer journalism appears in many publications; she has taught most recently at the University of Pittsburgh. Visit her online at www.bethkissileff.com. ","short_description":"Beth Kissileff is the editor of the anthology Reading Genesis (Bloomsbury\/ T and T Clark, 2016) , a journalist and teacher.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36664,"alt":"","title":"BethKissileff","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","width":3478,"height":3200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-300x276.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":276,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-768x707.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":707,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1024x942.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":942,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1413,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1884,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-1200x1104.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1104,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/BethKissileff-e1533157952224-456x420.jpg","home_baner-width":456,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1069","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Neither closed in, like Noah, or trying to go back, like Lot, Abraham goes forth, and forward, into the wide world","post_main_content_content":"

When God ushers Noah into the ark, the verse reads, \u201cAnd God closed him in 'for his sake'\u201d (Gen. 7:16).\u00a0 By contrast, when Abraham is given a command at the beginning of this week\u2019s portion, it is not to close himself up, away from the world, but the very opposite, to journey forth.<\/p>\r\n

Abraham is worthy of being the first Jew, the ancestor of all Jews, and the one by which all converts to Judaism are dubbed \"child of Abraham,\" because of this very ability to go forth, to look outwards, with openness to the world.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The sense that this week\u2019s parasha, about choosing a place to go as being forward-looking, can be seen in the choice of Lot to go to a place that is \u201clike the garden of\u00a0the Lord, like the land of Egypt\u201d (13:10). Lot\u2019s \u00a0choice, to go backwards, to the garden of the Lord, presumably Eden, rather than forwards to Canaan like his uncle Abraham, shows why it is Abraham and his line rather than Lot who will be the progenitors of the Jewish people.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The sense of being able to go into a new place, into the world and be vulnerable is manifested most clearly in the command to circumcise enacted in chapter 17.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Last week, I had the privilege of attending two different circumcisions. I asked Rabbi Yisrael Altein, the father of one baby, now bearing the name Yehezkel ben Yisrael v\u2019Chana, what the ceremony meant to him, particularly the lines, \u201cIn your blood you live\u201d (Ezekiel 16:6).\u00a0He explained that it is the commitment to be willing to give up our lives for the sake of God, meaning not the blood itself, but the commitment to be able to do this.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

For a Jew, the openness and ability to see God as a \u201cliving and seeing God\u201d (Gen. 16:14) as Hagar claims, is not just in the covenant made when male flesh is circumcised.\u00a0The heart (Deuteronomy 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:4) and the mouth (Exodus 6:12) can also become circumcised and participate in the covenant through use of those organs as well.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The lesson of Abraham in the portion of Lech Lecha (\"go out\"), is not to stay closed inside an unchanging environment like Noah, but to go forth into the world even when that incurs risks.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":68044,"alt":"","title":"is51-Abraham_Lilien","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","width":495,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien-248x300.jpg","medium-width":248,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","medium_large-width":495,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","large-width":495,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","1536x1536-width":495,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","2048x2048-width":495,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","post_full_size-width":495,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien-347x420.jpg","home_baner-width":347,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Parashat Lech Lecha 5780","tile_main_caption":"Opening Up To The World","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Neither closed in, like Noah, or trying to go back, like Lot, Abraham goes forth, and forward, into the wide world","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":68044,"alt":"","title":"is51-Abraham_Lilien","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","width":495,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien-248x300.jpg","medium-width":248,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","medium_large-width":495,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","large-width":495,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","1536x1536-width":495,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","2048x2048-width":495,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien.jpg","post_full_size-width":495,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is51-Abraham_Lilien-347x420.jpg","home_baner-width":347,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1069"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":7,"id":"65371","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Lech Lecha \u2013 Who Is Up For The Challenge? ","post_title":"Lech Lecha \u2013 Who Is Up For The Challenge?","slug":"lech-lecha-who-is-up-for-the-challenge","old_id":"65371","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":45252,"post_title":"Pardes","slug":"pardes","old_id":"45252","first_name":"","last_name":"Pardes","description":"Pardes Institue of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. \r\nThrough relationships with faculty, the community and Jewish texts, students leave Pardes with refined critical thinking, improved communication and interpersonal skills and more nuanced and sensitive perspectives. The Pardes model has inspired four decades of Jewish leadership marked by openness, passion, Jewish literacy, knowledge and inclusivity, and continues to inspire new possibilities for Jewish communities worldwide.","short_description":"Pardes Institue of Jewish Studies is an open, co-ed and non-denominational Jewish learning community, based in Jerusalem and with programs worldwide. \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":45253,"alt":"","title":"Pardes rimon color logo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","width":392,"height":394,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","medium_large-width":392,"medium_large-height":394,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","large-width":392,"large-height":394,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","1536x1536-width":392,"1536x1536-height":394,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","2048x2048-width":392,"2048x2048-height":394,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","post_full_size-width":392,"post_full_size-height":394,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Pardes-rimon-color-logo.jpg","home_baner-width":392,"home_baner-height":394}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1069","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"An Interactive Parsha Experience, a new family-friendly parsha resource, complete with a parsha summary, questions, games, and activities that can be used around the shabbat table. This interactive resource, produced by The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators, is engaging for all ages.","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cAt the very start of Parshat Lech-lecha, God famously begins speaking to Avram \u2013 seemingly out of nowhere! God doesn\u2019t introduce Himself to Avram \u2013 God just cuts right to the chase and commands Avram to do something really difficult and kind of crazy. God says, \u201cLeave behind your homeland, your family and everything that is familiar to you so that you can go someplace new and strange. If you do this, I will bless you and make you a great nation.\u201d And Avram does it! He agrees to go on God\u2019s lekh-lekha mission\u2026 and as we probably know, this is the start of a very close relationship between God and Avram that, according to our tradition, still lasts today (since we are Avram\/Avraham\u2019s descendents)!\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Click here<\/a>\u00a0to download and print this week\u2019s Parsha Experience on Parshat Lech-lecha \u2013 Who is up for the Challenge?, from The Pardes Center for Jewish Educators.<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Interactive Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"Lech Lecha \u2013 Who Is Up For The Challenge?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Download the study guide","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45256,"alt":"","title":"pardes cover image","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pardes-cover-image-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1069"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"}]},{"order":8,"id":"65372","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Lech Lecha: A Palace in Flames ","post_title":"Lech Lecha: A Palace in Flames","slug":"lech-lecha-a-palace-in-flames","old_id":"65372","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42813,"post_title":"Covenant & Conversation","slug":"covenant-conversation","old_id":"42813","first_name":"","last_name":"Covenant & Conversation","description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. 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God speaks to Abraham for the first time and tells him to leave his father's house and the land of his birth and childhood. Together with his wife Sarah they leave without hesitation and set off on their journey to a new land and a new kind of faith \u2013 and so begins the adventure of Jewish history, with the Land of Israel as its central focus. Abraham and Sarah experience some setbacks on the way. There is a famine in Israel and they have to go to Egypt for a time. Then there is an argument between Abraham and his nephew Lot, and the two part ways. When Lot is captured in a local war, Abraham fights a battle to free him. God then makes a covenant (an agreement) with Abraham, promising him that he will have a child who will be the next link in the generations that will become the Jewish people. The sign of this covenant is Brit Milah.<\/p>\r\n

Download the Family Edition for Lech Lecha as a PDF<\/strong><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"A Palace in Flames","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"for Parashat Lech Lecha","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - 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The Brit, or Covenant, Between Abraham and God ","post_title":"Lech Lecha - The Brit, or Covenant, Between Abraham and God","slug":"lech-lecha-the-brit-or-covenant-between-abraham-and-god","old_id":"65374","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37754,"post_title":"BimBam","slug":"bimbam","old_id":"37754","first_name":"","last_name":"BimBam","description":"BimBam sparks connections to Judaism through digital storytelling for learners of all ages.","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37755,"alt":"","title":"bimbam","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","width":218,"height":217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium-width":218,"medium-height":217,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium_large-width":218,"medium_large-height":217,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","large-width":218,"large-height":217,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","1536x1536-width":218,"1536x1536-height":217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","2048x2048-width":218,"2048x2048-height":217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","post_full_size-width":218,"post_full_size-height":217,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","home_baner-width":218,"home_baner-height":217}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1069","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"What is a brit, a covenant?","post_main_content_content":"

You may know the word \"brit\" from the \"bris\" ritual but the word actually means \"covenant.<\/a>\" Learn about the Brit Bein HaBetarim<\/em>, or the covenant between the parts, as described in Parshat Lech Lecha. Written and narrated by Emily Shapiro Katz, a creative Jewish educator in Beer Sheva, Israel.<\/p>\r\n

SUBSCRIBE to BimBam [http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/bimbam<\/a>]<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kFCK4VVqb6Q","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Written and narrated by Emily Shapiro Katz","tile_main_caption":"Lech Lecha - The Brit, or Covenant, Between Abraham and God","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A Bimbam Video","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/kFCK4VVqb6Q","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1069"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"371","name":"Video","old_id":"771"}]},{"order":10,"id":"36262","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"The Price that Sarai Paid ","post_title":"The Price That Sarai Paid","slug":"the-price-that-sarai-paid","old_id":"36262","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33942,"post_title":"Hagit Bartuv","slug":"hagit-bartuv","old_id":"33942","first_name":"Hagit","last_name":"Bartuv","description":"Hagit Bartuv is the project and content leader of the Srigim initiative on Israeli moshavim whose goal is to enrich moshavim with more Jewish-Israeli culture. In 2013, as a modern Orthodox woman, she challenged the conversion court in Israel after she refused to accept their demand that she send her adopted child to an ultra-Orthodox pre-school. In the end, the court ruled in her favor and agreed to convert the child even though he would be educated in a secular preschool.\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Hagit Bartuv is the project and content leader of the Srigim initiative on Israeli moshavim","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33944,"alt":"","title":"\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea \u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","width":335,"height":335,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","medium_large-width":335,"medium_large-height":335,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","large-width":335,"large-height":335,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","1536x1536-width":335,"1536x1536-height":335,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","2048x2048-width":335,"2048x2048-height":335,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","post_full_size-width":335,"post_full_size-height":335,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05d7\u05d2\u05d9\u05ea-\u05d1\u05e8\u05d8\u05d5\u05d1.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":335}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The darker side of divine dedication...","post_main_content_content":"

So much has been written and explicated and said about this commandment \"Go forth!\" (Genesis 12:1), about the voice that called Abram and Abram's response. And if we read the verses carefully again, without midrashim, God's command and promise to Abram sound even more surprising, abrupt, in the middle of nowhere, \u201cGo forth and I will bless you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is really very impressive, but I get stuck on the verse \"Abram took his wife Sarai\" (12:5), the one who only a few verses ago was described as \u201cbarren, she had no child\u201d (Genesis 11:31). But God said, and Abram does not ask Sarai, nor does he consult or invite her. He simply takes her.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Abram is the prototypical believer, who devotes himself to God's word without question, with complete faith. But who else pays the price? And what is the direct and indirect price he pays? And is it a price worth paying? \u00a0In halachic Jewish thought, the word of God or His embodiment in halakhah is above all, and when you have to choose between halacha (Jewish law) and your own good or that of someone whom you love or even your acquaintances, there is no doubt what the decision is supposed to be.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Maybe it is not possible to lead a world in dialogue and consideration of all the details. Maybe it is not possible to create a revolution or a community when you take into account a barren woman who can barely open her grief-stricken eyes in the morning, or a mother with a sick or just confused child, or a father who could not sleep at night out of concern, or a friend who needs his distant friend on Shabbat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When you are changing the world or when you try to keep it from being damaged, it is hard to think of each breath that is generated by grief or shock, but what happens in the world with all these wrinkles in one\u2019s soul? And why is there anyone who is astonished at Abram's behavior in Egypt?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Abraham Hears God\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(part of\u00a0Sarah's Trials)<\/em> by Richard McBee, by courtesy of the artist<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102215,"alt":"","title":"-621210366f593--621210366f594gen12-Richard 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Price That Sarai Paid","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The darker side of divine dedication...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":102215,"alt":"","title":"-621210366f593--621210366f594gen12-Richard 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One\u2019s Comfort Zone ","post_title":"Leaving One\u2019s Comfort Zone","slug":"leaving-ones-comfort-zone","old_id":"36264","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36217,"post_title":"Moshik Aviv","slug":"moshik-aviv","old_id":"36217","first_name":"Moshik ","last_name":"Aviv ","description":"Lieutenant Colonel Moshik Aviv is head of the governmental office in charge of all official State ceremonies in Israel.\r\n","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36218,"alt":"","title":"moshik aviv","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv.jpg","width":432,"height":432,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv.jpg","medium_large-width":432,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv.jpg","large-width":432,"large-height":432,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv.jpg","1536x1536-width":432,"1536x1536-height":432,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv.jpg","2048x2048-width":432,"2048x2048-height":432,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv.jpg","post_full_size-width":432,"post_full_size-height":432,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moshik-aviv-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Only be making the journey to the other can we live up to our own destiny","post_main_content_content":"

In the verse (Genesis 12:1) \u201cGo forth from your native land and your father\u2019s house\u201d lies the key to dealing with all the pathologies and anomalies that exist within us, among us, and in the society we live in. <\/span>Lech lecha<\/em> <\/span>(meaning \u201cgo forth,\" but literally \u201cgo for or to yourself\u201d) \u00a0on your own behalf and for your own benefit. Leave from being close to yourself in the \u201cland\u201d where you are comfortable. Leave from your \u201cbirthplace.\u201d which is the extended family in which you grew up, and from your \u201cfather's house,\u201d i.e. from everything you knew, and try to take the positive charge and shake off the negative and go - this is for your own benefit, it is for you!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If we only make room and listen to opinions that are different from ours, if we open ourselves to someone who is not us and understand that he is one of us, and that he is us, then we can truly take in and accept the other. A shared fate \u00a0that has brought us to live here together, we join together and can influence and change the partnership of our destiny.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In saying \"Go forth\" there is a story of leaving our fixations and habits that are like a weight on our feet. \u00a0\u201cGo forth\u201d is a story of leaving our thoughts that label another person whom we do not know or do not desire to know because he is unlike us and different from us. Abra(ha)m, who was a righteous man, acted very differently from the poor education he received in his father's house. If each of us makes the journey from our own place to that of the other, we will be worthy of our country, our homeland, and our father's home, which will be more than ever, ours.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":36330,"alt":"","title":"trek2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","width":637,"height":217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2-300x102.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":102,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","medium_large-width":637,"medium_large-height":217,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","large-width":637,"large-height":217,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","1536x1536-width":637,"1536x1536-height":217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","2048x2048-width":637,"2048x2048-height":217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","post_full_size-width":637,"post_full_size-height":217,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","home_baner-width":637,"home_baner-height":217}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Leaving One\u2019s Comfort Zone","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Only be making the journey to the other can we live up to our own destiny","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":36330,"alt":"","title":"trek2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","width":637,"height":217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2-300x102.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":102,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","medium_large-width":637,"medium_large-height":217,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","large-width":637,"large-height":217,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","1536x1536-width":637,"1536x1536-height":217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","2048x2048-width":637,"2048x2048-height":217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","post_full_size-width":637,"post_full_size-height":217,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/trek2.jpg","home_baner-width":637,"home_baner-height":217}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"12","date":"20250915","wall_id":"12"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"433","name":"Other","old_id":"833"}]},{"order":12,"id":"36245","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"The (In)consequential in Genesis ","post_title":"The (In)consequential in Genesis","slug":"the-inconsequential-in-genesis","old_id":"36245","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34239,"post_title":"Matthew Kritz","slug":"matthew-kritz","old_id":"34239","first_name":"Matthew","last_name":"Kritz","description":"Matthew Kritz, of Silver Spring, will be starting his smicha studies in Israel next year; in the interim, he works at GalVentures and studies CPE at PrincetonHealth.","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34240,"alt":"","title":"Matthew","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Matthew-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Need there be a message?","post_main_content_content":"

Should Abraham have gone to Egypt? Was his decision righteous, wicked, or neutral? Throughout the biblical text, we have two clear indicators of when someone has done right or wrong: God can give a directive prior to the act, and God can bestow a reward or a punishment upon the doer following the act. Clear examples in Abraham\u2019s life include the journey to Canaan (12:1-9) and the binding of Isaac (2:1-18); in both cases, God gives an instruction, Abraham (mostly) follows through, and God bestows a reward. \u00a0We could read much of Genesis this way, and using these indicators, we could determine who has acted well in the stories, and hence what it would mean for us to act well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Neither of these indicators is present, though, when Abraham descends to Egypt. We are simply told that he chose to journey south due to a famine. But if a purported goal of Genesis is to teach us how to live, by providing examples of right and wrong, how shall we read an account of a key character taking action with neither divine directive nor divine response?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Later interpreters find a reward, such as the wealth Abraham earns (Tanchuma), or a punishment, such as the descent of Abraham\u2019s children to Egypt, leading to their servitude (Ramban), lurking within the story, allowing them to judge Abraham favorably or harshly. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the surface, however, Abraham simply goes, leaving no clear indication of whether he made the right choice, as the telling of a story does not, on its own, tell us whether the characters are positive or negative role models.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This suggests that some stories in Genesis (namely, those that lack both of the evaluative components) are not recorded in order to teach an actionable lesson, \u00a0but for some other reason. So at the core of this exegetical exploration of a brief step in Abraham\u2019s journey lies an essential question in reading Genesis specifically, and narrative components of the Torah in general. Need there be a message? If there are stories that aren't trying to teach lessons, then what are they trying to do? And what bearing does this have on how we understand the function of Genesis, and the Torah, as a whole?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The (In)consequential in Genesis","tile_main_caption":"Need there be a message? If there are stories that aren't trying to teach lessons, then what are they trying to do? And what bearing does this have on how we understand the function of Genesis, and the Torah, as a whole?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"12","date":"20250915","wall_id":"12"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"400","name":"Sin","old_id":"800"},{"term_id":"418","name":"Abraham","old_id":"818"}]},{"order":13,"id":"36247","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sarai in Egypt ","post_title":"Sarai In Egypt","slug":"sarai-in-egypt","old_id":"36247","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":35831,"post_title":"Ruth Fogelman","slug":"ruth-fogelman","old_id":"35831","first_name":"Ruth ","last_name":"Fogelman ","description":"Ruth Fogelman was born in England and has lived in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City for most of her life. She is the author of four books. Her poems, articles, short stories and photography have appeared in anthologies and various publications in Israel, USA and India, including Arc, Back to Joy: Little Reminders to Help Us Through Tough Times, The Deronda Review, Prosopisia, Poetica, and the International Literary Review. Ruth holds a Masters Degree from the Creative Writing Program of Bar Ilan University and leads the Pri Hadash Women\u2019s Writing Workshop in Jerusalem. \r\nShe is a member of the Israel Association of Writers in English\r\nVisit her website at http:\/\/jerusalemlives.weebly.com\r\n","short_description":"Ruth Fogelman is a poet, and lives in Jerusalem\u2019s Old City. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":35832,"alt":"","title":"Ruth Fogelman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","width":969,"height":973,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--768x771.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":771,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","large-width":969,"large-height":973,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","1536x1536-width":969,"1536x1536-height":973,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","2048x2048-width":969,"2048x2048-height":973,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman-.jpg","post_full_size-width":969,"post_full_size-height":973,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ruth-Fogelman--418x420.jpg","home_baner-width":418,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":" I lie As a plank of wood On Pharaoh\u2019s gilded bed\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

It had been a hard winter in Canaan \u2013<\/span><\/p>\r\n

No rain, the earth still parched \u2013<\/span><\/p>\r\n

No wheat grew.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Abram said we should go down<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To Egypt to buy wheat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Near Egypt\u2019s border Abram said,<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cSarai, my love, I fear<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That Pharaoh may kill me<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And take you alive,<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So say that you are my sister.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

More than fifty years of marriage<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Were as a bowl of desert sand<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Trickling through my fingers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For more than fifty years we shared one life,<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shared one loaf of bread,<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And he said I\u2019m not his wife.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

But how could I<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let him be killed<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Because of me?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Now I lie<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As a plank of wood<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On Pharaoh\u2019s gilded bed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I pray to leave this golden death<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And return to my tent of life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Night after night<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I watch the moon grow round<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And release its fullness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Is Abram still alive?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Has he forgotten where I am?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Has he been banished from this land?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Is he planning my esca<\/span>pe?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Will Abram take me back?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

From the author's Cradled in God's Arms<\/em><\/p>\r\n

image:\u00a0Isaac Isaacsz: Pharaoh gives Sarah back to Abraham, 1640\u00a0 \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102219,"alt":"","title":"-6212134aa2789--6212134aa278agen12-Abraham Sarai 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She has an M.A. in Bible from Hebrew U. and is active in the Jerusalem community gardens and works in narration \/ dubbing. \r\n","short_description":"Esther Israel is a Jerusalem educator ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36351,"alt":"","title":"esther israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793.jpg","width":840,"height":852,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793-296x300.jpg","medium-width":296,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793-768x779.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":779,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-768x1024.jpg","large-width":768,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793.jpg","1536x1536-width":840,"1536x1536-height":852,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793.jpg","2048x2048-width":840,"2048x2048-height":852,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-900x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/esther-israel-e1532930792793-414x420.jpg","home_baner-width":414,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Abram's pilgrimage and the Judean exile 800 years later were along the same route.","post_main_content_content":"

In Genesis 11, Terah left Ur of the Chaldeans (in southern Iraq, by the Persian gulf) for Canaan, but upon arriving at Haran (close to today's Turkish- Syrian border) he settled there.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The next move is God's, not Terah's. By calling upon Abram to move on, the <\/span>entire<\/span><\/em> move becomes a religious journey: The many hundreds of miles that separate Ur from Canaan become the sign of mutual choice. A look at any map of the region shows that most of the land between is the great desert in today's Jordan and Syria. The only way to travel it by foot or animal is by following the rivers that run north-south: (the Euphrates, or the Tigris, if one wished also to bear east) and then one of \u00a0the east-west streams, eventually reaching a tributary of the Jordan river, which one could follow south and enter Canaan. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

An intimidating journey, a once-in-a-lifetime move. The offspring of the chosen man will eventually populate the chosen place to which he has come.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Some 800 years later the kingdom of Judah was destroyed, and the Babylonians exiled its people. The route of exile to southern Babylon is effectively the same as Abram's, in reverse. The main centers of Jewish settlement in Babylon were along the southern Euphrates, and the route of \u00a0the \"Babylonian death march\" for thousands of Judean captives was, by necessity, the same. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Is it surprising, then, to find in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, prophets at that time, echoes of the Jews' wondering whether the exile indicated their having been \"de-chosen\" by God?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When some of the Jews returned to Judea in the wake of Cyrus's Declaration in 538 BCE they followed the same route back; they saw themselves as the new exodus, redeemed by God, Cyrus and their choice to begin again. <\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":36313,"alt":"","title":"\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc.jpg","width":1280,"height":904,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc-768x542.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc-1024x723.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":723,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":904,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":904,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/\u05de\u05e1\u05e2_\u05d2\u05d5\u05dc\u05d9_\u05d1\u05d1\u05dc-595x420.jpg","home_baner-width":595,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The 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He escaped from Iran along with his brother in 1985. His mother and sister left the following year, followed by his father who was smuggled out last. Robert lives with his wife and three children in Denver, CO. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Robert Salehrabi is an endodontist in in Denver, CO. He escaped from Iran along with his brother in 1985. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34266,"alt":"","title":"robert s","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","medium-width":150,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","medium_large-width":150,"medium_large-height":150,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","large-width":150,"large-height":150,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","1536x1536-width":150,"1536x1536-height":150,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","2048x2048-width":150,"2048x2048-height":150,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","post_full_size-width":150,"post_full_size-height":150,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/robert-s.jpg","home_baner-width":150,"home_baner-height":150}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"I too left my land, my birthplace, my father\u2019s house. Like Abraham our father, I escaped from Aram Naharaim.","post_main_content_content":"

I too left my land, my birthplace, my father\u2019s house. Like Abraham our father, I escaped from Aram Naharaim.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It was September of 1985, and I was filled with anxiety. In just a number of days Shay, my fifteen year old brother, and I (then eighteen) would leave our parents, our sister, our community, and our birthplace Tehran. This was not going to be an easy journey physically or emotionally, we were leaving Iran, our family\u2019s home for the past 2,500 years.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My mind was racing: what if we are caught by the Iranians? What if the truck breaks down in the desert, or worse if it is in an accident in an isolated location? What will happen if the smuggler hands us over? Even if we arrive safely, how am I going to adjust to life in a new country, live in a completely different culture? Nonetheless I knew, that if I wanted to evade the Iranian army, if I wanted to live a free Jewish future I needed to leave my land, my birthplace, my father\u2019s house.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Tehran is in Northern Iran, and our plan was to cross the Southern border into Pakistan. Goodbye mom, Bye-bye dad, time to fly southeast to Zahedan. Upon arrival we followed the smuggler, without a word or gestures, through the airport to his car. There were two other Jewish boys in the car already, quite a relief. \u00a0The four of us were driven into a tiny village and left in a home. Our smuggler returned some two hours later with a pickup truck. We jumped into the bed and drove east, toward Pakistan. At some point the truck veered off the road into the desert, driving right through the roadless desert.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At around 10 PM, we entered a mountainous region, we were handed over to four motorcycles who drove us through the mountain pointing out the distant lights of the Iranian bases. After some six or so hours we stopped. One of the drivers pointed to a ditch, and said \u201cthere is the border, we have made into Pakistan.\u201d \u201cNo way\u201d I responded, \u201cwhere is the wall, the fence, the security guards?\u201d We drove two or so more miles, and were transferred into the truck of the Pakistani smugglers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After some thirty-six hours, after multiple exchanges we were in Pakistan. Not quite the promised land, but, the watermelon that I ate in a remote village near the border a couple of hours later tasted to me like it came straight from Eden.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The story is not just mine, and Shay\u2019s, it is the story of thousands of young Persian Jewish boys, who left behind their beautiful home and crossed the desert into Pakistan, or the hills into Turkey, who followed God\u2019s call to Abraham of <\/span>Lech Lecha<\/span><\/em>, \u201cgo forth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102212,"alt":"","title":"-62120c2b8e90a--62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep desert.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg.jpg","width":1920,"height":1278,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg-768x511.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":511,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg-1024x682.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":682,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1022,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1278,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg-1200x799.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":799,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/07\/62120c2b8e90a-62120c2b8e90bgen12-jeep-desert.jpg-631x420.jpg","home_baner-width":631,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"My Own Private Lech-Lecha","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"I too left my land, my birthplace, my father\u2019s house. 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","post_title":"Should He Stay or Should He Go?","slug":"should-he-stay-or-should-he-go","old_id":"36275","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36277,"post_title":"Yedidya Sinclair","slug":"yedidya-sinclair","old_id":"36277","first_name":"Yedidya","last_name":"Sinclair","description":"Rabbi Yedidya Sinclair serves as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon, the leading US Jewish environmental organization. From 2011-16 he was Vice President for Research and Senior Economist at Energiya Global, a Jerusalem-based solar energy company focused on the developing world and he continues to consult on renewable energy and climate change preparedness. In 2014 he published together with Hazon, a translation of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook's great work on shmitta, the Sabbatical year, \"Introduction to Shabbat Ha'aretz.\" Yedidya holds a BA from Oxford University, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and lives with his family in Jerusalem.","short_description":"Yedidya Sinclair is a Jerusalem-based rabbi and economist, and is Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hazon. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36278,"alt":"","title":"yedidya sinclair","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","width":200,"height":200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","medium_large-width":200,"medium_large-height":200,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","large-width":200,"large-height":200,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","1536x1536-width":200,"1536x1536-height":200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","2048x2048-width":200,"2048x2048-height":200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","post_full_size-width":200,"post_full_size-height":200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/yedidya-sinclair.jpg","home_baner-width":200,"home_baner-height":200}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Parallel, plural truths in reading the Torah and in life.","post_main_content_content":"

In this chapter, Abraham hears and acts and on God's call to leave his father's house and go on a journey to the Land of Israel. Through this journey, Abraham will be blessed and will fulfill his destiny as founder of the Jewish people, as well as father to the great monotheistic faiths. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet right after Abraham arrives in the Land, he leaves! Impelled by a famine, he and his family move to Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Was he right? Rashi (1040-1105) thought that Abraham had no choice but to leave, commenting, \"the famine was in the land<\/span> of Israel <\/span>alone<\/span><\/em>, to test him as to whether he would question the words of God, who commanded him to go to the Land of Canaan <\/span>and now he was forcing him to leave it<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i>\" In this reading, Abraham's faith was tested by the impossibility of staying in the land God had promised that Abraham had set his heart upon. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rashi suggests that leaving was unavoidable, and implies that the stay in Egypt was essential, and integral to the blessing that Abraham was promised.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ramban, (1194-1270) remarkably, says no. Abraham sinned by leaving the land where God had explicitly told him to go. \"He should have trusted in God to save him from famine.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I am obsessed and awestruck by the stories of the pioneer settlers to Israel in the late 19th and early 20th century who suffered untold hardship, starvation, disease, violent death, and horrific infant mortality to establish a foothold in the Land. For some, like Fishel Salomon of Yesod Ha'amalah, their resilience was rooted in unshakable faith: \"God has brought us here, and nothing else make us leave,\" he said, channeling the Ramban. Many others however did leave, to the Americas or Europe. Despite their dedication and idealism, they felt forced away by unbearable privations, like Abraham in Rashi's reading. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I feel that this history echoes both Rashi and Rambam's readings and shows the possibility of parallel, plural truths in reading the Torah and in life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Can I deny or discount the blessings many of those who left and their descendants have gathered in their journeys, some still ongoing, to other lands? \u00a0Yet, without the stubbornness of the settlers who stayed in the face of unimaginable hardships, and without the suffering and sacrifice of those who continue to defend it, there would be no Jewish state today.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":102210,"alt":"","title":"-62120a27b0913--62120a27b0914gen12-parallel 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of Israel","old_id":"830"}]},{"order":17,"id":"36280","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"A Bold Beginning ","post_title":"A Bold Beginning","slug":"a-bold-beginning","old_id":"36280","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How could a child who rejected the way of his father become a father of children who would not reject his way in turn?","post_main_content_content":"

This chapter<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>and indeed Jewish history, begins with the words, \u201cGod said to Abraham, Go from your land, your birthplace and your father\u2019s house to a land I will show you\u201d (Gen. 12:1). This is the boldest beginning of any account of a life in the Hebrew Bible. It seems to come from nowhere.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Torah gives us no portrait of Abraham\u2019s childhood, his youth, his relationship with the other members of his family, how he came to marry Sarah, or the qualities of character that made God single him out to become the initiator of what ultimately turned out to be the greatest revolution in the religious history of humankind, what is called nowadays Abrahamic monotheism. I have argued, that biblical narrative is far more subtle than we usually take it to be. It is deliberately written to be understood at different levels at different stages in our moral growth. There is a surface narrative. But there is also, often, a deeper story that we only come to notice and understand when we have reached a certain level of maturity.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we are young we hear the enchanting \u2013 indeed empowering \u2013 story of Abraham breaking his father\u2019s idols, with its message that a child can sometimes be right and a parent wrong, especially when it comes to spirituality and faith. Only much later in life do we hear the far deeper truth \u2013 hidden in the guise of a simple genealogy at the end of the previous parsha \u2013 that Abraham was actually completing a journey his father began.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There was idolatry in Abraham\u2019s family background. But Genesis 11 says that it was Terach who took Abraham, not Abraham who took Terach, from Ur to go to the land of Canaan. There was no immediate and radical break between father and son.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed it is hard to imagine how it could have been otherwise. Abram \u2013 Abraham\u2019s original name \u2013 means \u201cmighty father\u201d. Abraham himself was chosen \u201cso that he will instruct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord\u201d (Gen. 18:19) \u2013 that is, he was chosen to be a model parent. How could a child who rejected the way of his father become a father of children who would not reject his way in turn? It makes more sense to say that Terach already had doubts about idolatry and it was he who inspired Abraham to go further, spiritually and physically. Abraham continued a journey his father had begun, thereby helping Isaac and Jacob, his son and grandson, to chart their own ways of serving God \u2013 the same God but encountered in different ways.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Excerpted from: http:\/\/rabbisacks.org\/journey-of-the-generations-lech-lecha-5776\/<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59557,"alt":"","title":"2sam1-father-and-son","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"A Bold Beginning","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How could a child who rejected the way of his father become a father of children who would not reject his way in turn?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59557,"alt":"","title":"2sam1-father-and-son","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam1-father-and-son-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"12","date":"20250915","wall_id":"12"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"354","name":"Rabbi Sacks","old_id":"754"},{"term_id":"418","name":"Abraham","old_id":"818"},{"term_id":"429","name":"Idolatry","old_id":"829"}]},{"order":18,"id":"36211","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"MiliMiliM - The Hebrew Corner - Gen12 ","post_title":"MiliMiliM - The Hebrew Corner - Gen12","slug":"milimilim-the-hebrew-corner-gen12","old_id":"36211","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\u05d2\u05d5\u05d9 \u2013 Goy - Nation","post_main_content_content":"

In Gen 12:2 God says to Abraham: \u201cI will make of you a <\/span>goy gadol<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are Yiddish words, or Yiddishly inflected words, taken from Hebrew that are close in meaning to the Hebrew source. And then there are those that have put some distance between themselves and their Hebraic origin. This is one of those words. You may know this word as referring to non-Jews, but as you can see from the above translation, the word <\/span>goy<\/span><\/i> in Hebrew means \u201cnation.\u201d It makes no sense to read this as God promising Abraham to make him into \u201ca big non-Jew.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Goy<\/span><\/i>, meaning nation, can refer, as here, to the descendants of Abraham, and later, the people of Israel, as a nation. One of the aspirations of Israel is to become a <\/span>goy kadosh<\/span><\/i>, which does not mean \u201ca sanctimonious gentile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So how did <\/span>goy<\/span><\/i> come to mean specifically \u201cnon-Jew\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It came to mean \"non-Jew\" since the plural \u05d2\u05d5\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd, <\/span>goyi\u02cam<\/span><\/i> (in Biblical as in modern Hebrew the stress being on the final syllable, not as in Yiddish) means \"nations,\" i.e., all those (other) nations, that is \"not us,\" and thus non-Jews. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Note that while the original denotation of this term is completely neutral and non-derogatory, the connotations that have since developed are of course something else entirely. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

A minor linguistic point: the term makes sense in the plural (<\/span>goyim<\/span><\/i> = gentiles), but the backformation that an individual non-Jew is called a <\/span>goy<\/span><\/i> (literally, \"nation\"), besides the unavoidable disparaging tone that has accreted, doesn't make great grammatical sense.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the long history of the Jewish people, in all the lands of its dispersion, there have been many different, evolving relations with the various surrounding populations. One recent turn in this history is the proposal by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie<\/a>, pioneering founder rabbi of the Lab\/Shul in New York City, and friend of 929, to rethink the question of intermarriage and our attitudes towards it. For him, there is room for more categories of identity between Jew and goy<\/a>, types of allies of the Jewish people who may not formally convert, that can bring much happiness. 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- The Hebrew Corner","tile_main_caption":"\u05d2\u05d5\u05d9 \u2013 Goy - Nation","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"... a word from the daily chapter...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":102205,"alt":"","title":"-6211ffce15e65--6211ffce15e66gen12-milim 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12","slug":"lessons-on-the-daily-chapter-gen-12","old_id":"36260","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Lessons on the Daily Chapter - Gen 12","tile_main_caption":"Short talks by Adam Mintz and by David Silber","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Rabbi Silber's teachings are dedicated in memory of Joan Silverstein Meyers and Ellen Goodstein Koplow. ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/sets\/genesis-chapter-12","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"2","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Genesis","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"12","date":"20250915","wall_id":"12"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":20,"id":"36272","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Chapter Summary - Gen12 ","post_title":"Chapter Summary - Gen12","slug":"chapter-summary-gen12","old_id":"36272","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"12","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Chapter 12: \u201cGo forth\u201d- an order, a mission, a blessing\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

\u201cGo forth\u201d (12:1) are the first two words that God says to Abraham (whose name is currently \u00a0Abram); they are an order which is also a blessing, a mission, and a promise.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The order: to leave his homeland and go to an unknown land. (Really unknown as it says in Genesis 12:1 \"to the land that I will show you.\u201d He leaves the GPS with God until it says \"you have reached your destination.\")<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The purpose: for the first time in the Bible, there is a horizon. Abram will be a nation that ... will bring a blessing to humanity. How? To deal with this, there are a few more books in the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The blessing: the word \u201cblessing\u201d is repeated five times in two verses (verses 2-3). A blessing is guaranteed to Abram. End of discussion.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The chapter is conducted in three geographical segments:<\/span><\/p>\r\n