Lech Lecha
Gen. 12:1 -17:27
Précis: This parasha, “get you up” or “go yourself” (lech lecha) begins with “the call” of Abram to leave his home and depart for a new land. At God’s command, Abram and Sarai journey to Canaan. When famine strikes, they travel to Egypt, where Sarai is taken into Pharaoh’s harem after Abram calls her his “sister,” but she escapes without harm. They then leave Egypt, with Abram now a rich man. To avoid family squabbles, Abram separates himself from his nephew Lot (who moves to Sodom), but Abram is forced to rescue Lot and reaches a negotiated settlement with the locals. God promises him an heir. Because Sarai is barren, she offers Abram her servant (Hagar), and Hagar gives birth to a son, Ishmael. Abram is then promised a son through Sarai, to be his true heir. Abram’s name is changed to Abraham, and Sarai’s to Sarah, in recognition of the new Covenant with God, which is then symbolized by Abraham’s circumcision.
Gen. 13:8-10 “And Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no strife between us, and between my herdsmen and yours. Is not the whole land before us? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, I will take the right; if you the right, I will take the left.’"
Abram decides that “shalom bayit” (peaceful family relations) is more important than his right to make the selection of land, and Abram gives the choice to Lot.
I think the concept of "shalom bayit" is worth considering this week. It appears that we are headed for years of a continuing absence of “shalom bayit” in the American polity. Like Abram, we need to recognize that sometimes where there is disagreement, the parties need space between them: elbow room to lick wounds and reconsider points of view. Perhaps by emotionally separating a bit, we can regain what we have misplaced.
After Bob Dole's loss of the presidency to Bill Clinton, someone in the audience suggested to Dole that Clinton was his “enemy.” Dole immediately responded that Clinton was a political opponent, but never an “enemy.” Nixon was castigated by drawing up an “enemies list,” and properly so. During this election season we have all too often heard language of division. It seems unlikely as I pen these words, but I pray for a healing that will allow the United States to find "shalom bayit" and again be what President Reagan hoped it would be: a shining city on the hill.
