Dear TBZ Community:
The journey of Abraham begins in this week’s parasha (Torah portion). With the words:
לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ
Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you
…the journey to the land of Canaan begins.
This is the beginning of the story of our people and the beginning of our journey to the land of Israel. This is the beginning of our longing – both spiritual and geographical, philosophical and real – for the land that is shown to us by God to bring forth the promise of Torah and the values that we carry. And along the journey we become the people of Israel.
The quality that Abraham represents in the mystical tradition is hesed, love or loving kindness. In the words of Rabbi Art Green: “Hesed is the God of love, calling forth in us the response of love. Hesed in the soul is our love of God and all of God’s creatures, our ability to continue this divine flow, passing on to others the gift of love…As hesed is first to emerge within God, Abraham is the first of God’s earthly followers, the man of love, the one who will leave everything behind and follow God across the deserts. He offers to God the gift of his entire life, he is even willing to place his beloved son upon the altar” (Ehyeh, A kabbalah for Tomorrow, page 47).
And this week, the notion that the one who first walked to the land of Israel, our first patriarch Abraham, is the manifestation of love and compassion, feels like the most important message I could hear.
Following this week’s elections in Israel, with the return of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister, and the rise of extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir in government, I feel we need the reminder that the journey towards this land was done from a place of love and compassion. At this time, it is frightening to see MK Itamar Ben Gvir, an extremist politician who has a record of hate speech and violence, elected to the Israeli government. In the words of Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah (the rabbinic call for human rights), of which I am a board member: “Any form of hatred is not a Jewish value and those who incite political or social violence in the name of our faith should be called out and criticized.”
As I woke up on Wednesday after the election, I was not surprised, though I was heartbroken. I reminded myself that I will not lose hope that Israel can be and do better, much better, for all its citizens and neighbors. With these election results the rights of so many people are at risk, including palestinians and arab-israeli citizens, LGBTQ, women and refugees in Israel. I will not lose hope that Israel can treat ALL people with dignity and justice. Right now, this feels like a very difficult task, but I know I will keep fighting for it. And this week’s parasha reminds me that the first sojourner to our land, the one that walked to Canaan following the promise that there is a place for the Jewish people, was a person who embodied love and justice and not hatred and violence. That is our commitment.
To read the full statement from Rabbi Jill Jacobs go HERE.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing. And may we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia