Names

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.  Abram and Sarai journey to Canaan. When famine strikes, they go to Egypt, where Sarai is taken into Pharaoh’s harem. She escapes without harm.  Because Sarai is barren, she offers Abram her servant (Hagar) who gives birth to Ishmael. Abram is then promised a son through Sarai. Abram’s name is changed to Abraham in recognition of a new Covenant with God, which is then symbolized by Abraham’s circumcision.

 

Gen. 17:5 “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”

            Names are very significant in this parasha. The cited verse changes Abram’s name to Abraham. Here, Abram is no longer merely the progenitor of the Jewish People. He will be the father of many nations.

            Our text will soon note that his son Ishmael is the individual whose descendants became the core of the Arab peoples. Indeed, several millennia later, Islam acknowledged Abraham to be their father as well. (Hence the source for the name of the recent Abraham Accords.)

            The entire Book of Genesis, however, is filled with disputes between and among family members. Having a common ancestor is no guarantee of amicability, let alone peace, among their descendants.

            This, of course, brings us around to Israel’s war against Hamas. The descendants of Abraham may have a common progenitor, but those who deliberately and systematically commit barbaric atrocities against Israeli civilians do not recognize kinship. Instead, Hamas remains intent on the destruction of Israel and of its (and all) Jews. Read their charter. They oppose any negotiations with the "Zionist entity." They seek not only one state from the river to the sea; they seek a state that is ruled by Sharia law, entirely free of Jews. They rule Gaza through violence and threat.

            When God asked Abraham “where are you?” he responded “I am here (hineni).” Now that Israel is threatened, we, too, must respond “hineni.”