Parashat Lekh
Lekha 5766/ November 12, 2005
Lectures on
the weekly Torah reading by the faculty of
“To
Do or Not To Do”
Dr. Gaby Barzilai
Department
of Bible
Abraham is known in Jewish tradition for having faced many ordeals: “Our patriarch Abraham of blessed memory was put to the test in ten trials and faced them all successfully” (Abot 5.3). Who was supposed to benefit from them and what purpose did they serve? These questions have come up time and again in biblical exegesis through the ages. We too will try our hand at offering some answers.
The first test that Abraham
faced comes up at the very beginning of Parashat Lekh Lekha; from this
one and others in the parasha, we can learn something about the essence of
trials in general and Abraham’s trials in particular. The divine command to
leave his father’s house and his homeland and to set off for an unknown
destination placed Abraham in a moral dilemma of the highest magnitude; on the
one hand, there was G-d’s absolute command, which must be obeyed, yet on the
other hand there was the duty of respecting one’s father, which itself is a
value of prime importance.
[1]
Abraham had to make a decision in favor
of one or the other of these important values.
In contrast to the simplicity with which
verse 4 relates that “Abram went forth as the Lord had commanded him,” the text
in Genesis
Gen. 11:31 – Terah’s Departure |
Gen. 12:5 – Abraham’s
Departure |
|
Terah took his son Abram,
his grandson Lot the son of and they set out together
from but when they had come as
far as |
Abram took his wife Sarai
and his brother’s son and they set out for the When they arrived in the |
The use of similar words and expressions in these two passages indicates that following his father’s footsteps (literally) was of incomparable importance to Abraham, yet nevertheless he obeyed G-d’s command and set off for an unknown land. Rabbi Mordechai Breuer illustrated the two faces of Abraham’s journey in a most marvelous way, [2] and from his commentary we can understand the magnitude of the Abraham’s dilemma. The need to choose between conflicting values is one of the characteristics of Abraham’s trials. It is not so hard to do the right thing when it is perfectly clear what is right and what is wrong. The true trial lies in deciding between two values both of which are important, when there is no way to uphold both simultaneously.
How
to Decide?
In
his trials, Abraham was repeatedly called upon to make such moral
decisions. For example, further on
in the same chapter he had to decide whether to remain in the land to which G-d
had sent him, or to go to
The
actual process of deciding and the acts that followed from his decisions were
themselves the trials that Abraham faced.
The need to choose between conflicting values is not unique to Abraham’s
trials, and as we shall see it is characteristic of trials in general, even
those that we must face today.
Trials
of the Heart
There
is another characteristic to Abraham’s trials which is unique: Most of his travails
take place on the level of his consciousness, within Abraham’s soul.
By showing his willingness to leave his
father’s house and give up his past life, Abraham passes the test without
actually being required to sever all his ties with the past.
True, he left his home and went to an
unknown land, but upon coming to the land he found that in complying with G-d’s
command he also succeeded in fulfilling his father’s wish to reach the
Who
Benefits from Being Tested?
So much for the essence of trials; but why put someone to the test at all? Who benefits from the trial? Three basic approaches to this question can be seen in the midrash in Genesis Rabbah (ch. 32.3):
It is written: “The Lord seeks out the righteous man, but loathes the wicked one who loves injustice” (Ps. 11:5). Rabbi Jonathan said: A potter does not check the quality of fragile vessels, which he has but to strike once and they break. Which does he examine? The sturdy vessels, that even if he strikes them several times they do not break. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, does not put trials before the wicked, rather before the righteous, as it is said: “The Lord seeks out [Heb. yivhan, also meaning “examines”] the righteous man.” It is also written (Gen. 22:1): “G-d put Abraham to the test.” Rabbi Jose ben Haninah said: When a flax worker knows that his flax is good, the more he pounds it, the better it becomes, and when he beats it, it becomes finer; but when he knows his flax is not good, he has but to pound it once and the fiber breaks. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, does not put the wicked to the test, but rather the righteous, as it is said: “The Lord seeks out the righteous man.” Rabbi Eleazar said: This may be compared to a landlord who has two cows, one robust and one weak; on which would he put the yoke, not on the robust one? Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, puts the righteous to the test, as it is written, “The Lord seeks out the righteous man.” [4]
This midrash presents three views reflecting three different notions about putting a person to the test. The potter strikes his pots to check which ones are fit for use. Similarly, G-d tests and examines human beings to know how strong and reliable they are and how well they will succeed in doing His work. In contrast, the flax farmer breaks the flax in order to refine and improve it. If the flax stalks are good and strong, the more he breaks them the more numerous and fine the fibers that he can extract from them. The object of the trial in this instance is the person himself who is put to the test, who is improved and refined by his trials. In the third parable, the test is the yoke that is put on the neck of the animal that is harnessed to the plow. The beneficiary is the field which is plowed and then yields its fruits; similarly, the beneficiaries of Abraham’are those who read and study the Torah, who see in the biblical figure a model to be emulated and learn from his deeds.
Many of the medieval biblical exegetes were divided more or less along the lines of these three approaches. Ibn Ezra maintained that G-d put Abraham to the test to see to what extent he was G-d-fearing and to reward him for that. Nahmanides followed the example of the flax dealer, maintaining that the trials were mostly for the benefit of the person tested. Rashi and Radak both were of the opinion that the narrative of Abraham’s trials was intended for the world’s edification, both in the time of Abraham and in all times and places that one might read and study the stories of Abraham. [5]
[1] A simple computation based on
Genesis 11:26, 32 and Genesis 12:4 indicates that after Abraham’s departure
Terah lived another sixty years in
[2] R. Mordechai Breuer, Pirkei
Mo’adot, Vol. 1,
[3] For example, see Nahmanides,
who maintains in his commentary that Abraham sinned by going down to
[4] Cf. also Midrash Tanhuma,
Parashat Va-Yera, par. 20.
[5] It would take too long to
discuss the modern commentaries on this subject, but see the following
sources: R. Eliyahu Ki-Tov, “Nisyonot,”
Sefer ha-Parshiyot, Vol. 1, pp. 351-356; Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Hamishah
Sifrei Emunah,