Rise, walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth,

 for I will give it to you.

(Bereishit 13:17)

 

Now it was about that time that Judah went down… (Bereishit 38:1) This is the meaning of what is written: A dispossessor will I bring to you who dwell in Mareshah (Micah 1:15). The Holy One said to Israel: I concluded [a covenant] with Abraham your father and told him, Rise, walk in the land (Bereishit 13:17), and I carried out My promise and I gave him all the land, as is written, The sons came and took possession of the land (Nehemiah 9:24) and I will bring you to this country of farm land (Jeremiah 2:7), a land which is yielding and full. But you angered me, you came and you defiled my land, etc. And what will I do to you? I will bring the nations and they will drive you from the land: A dispossessor will I bring to you who dwell in Mareshah (Micah 1:15), because you failed to heed the words of Micah of Mareshah.

(Midrash Aggadat Bereishit, 64)

 

... philosophically understood, the word "walking" [hit'halkhut] is used in connection with wisdom, as in the verse, When you walk, it shall lead you (Proverbs 6:22), and it is written, Man walks about as a tzelem, which is the form of the rational soul, and it is only mentioned in connection with singularly righteous people, those who seek wisdom, such as Noah, Enoch, Abraham, and the like. And since Abraham moved his mind in search of the sciences from one level to the next, and drove his rational soul continuously travelling in perceiving the universal southwards, the blessed Lord said to him: Rise, walk in the land. That is to say: Move the form of your mind in search of the existents that are in the land, for we do not find that Abraham actually walked across the width and breadth of the Land as the blessed Lord told him. Rather, we find that he stayed put and did not travel, as it is written, and Abram pitched his tent and came and dwelled. And in any event, that walking was a movement of the rational soul and quiescence of the body. That is the meaning of pitched his tent, as in a dweller of tents (Bereishit 25:27), for the quest for the sciences requires movement of the rational soul and quiescence of the body. That is the opposite of the body's needs which require movement of the body and quiescence of the soul. And He said, for I will give it to you [meaning] I will give you knowledge and wisdom to know the essence of the existents, as in the verse, And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon.

(Rabbeinu Behayeiy ad loc)

 

Abraham and Lot

Between Acquisitive Ethnocentrism and Morality¹

Pinhas Leiser

Abraham and his nephew Lot began their journey together, as it is written: And Lot went with him (Bereishit 12:4). We can understand from their walking together that at the beginning of his road Lot joined Abraham and linked his fate and goals to the fate of his uncle, who walked following God's command from his country and homeland to an unknown land.

The Torah tells us very little about Lot and to what extent he accepted the vision which led Abraham to be willing to leave all that was familiar and build a new culture, a culture of faith and loving-kindness.

Lot accompanied Abraham on his journey from Haran to the Land of Canaan, he apparently joined Abraham when he traveled to Egypt following the famine in Canaan and returned with Abraham to Canaan, when both had accumulated great wealth (Bereishit 13:2-5).

Abraham had, so to speak, an additional Individual accompanying him on his journey. At each stop along the way, a connection was established between Abraham and God. Sometimes God revealed Himself to Abraham, and other times Abraham built an altar to the Lord who appears to him. God punished Pharaoh, who took Sarai, Abraham's wife-sister, thus indirectly prompting Abraham's return to Canaan. Lot did not share in Abraham's connection with God.

A radical change takes place in the relationship between Abraham and Lot upon their return to Canaan (Genesis 13:6-12). This change is consummated when they separate and each goes his own way. Upon a first reading, it simply appears that overcrowded conditions prevented Abraham and Lot from dwelling near each other.

There is a well-known drasha on the dictum from Pirkei Avot 5:5, "And no man ever told his fellow, 'It is too crowded for me to sleep in Jerusalem.'" The drasha says that it was certainly crowded in Jerusalem, but no one ever complained about it. We can understand the following verse in the same spirit: And the land did not bear them to dwell together, for their possessions were many, and they could not dwell together (Bereishit 13:6). The repeated statement that they could not dwell together hints at difficulties of coexistence that were not merely technical in nature.

What, then, is the root of this inability to dwell together?

Rashi (13:7), following the Sages in Bereishit Rabbah, examines the tension between the herdsmen of Abraham and those of Lot in a different light:

And there was a quarrel - because Lot's shepherds were wicked men and grazed their cattle in other people's fields. Abraham's shepherds rebuked them for this act of robbery, but they replied, "The land has been given to Abram, and since he has no son as heir, Lot will be his heir - consequently this is not robbery." Scripture, however, states: The Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land, so that Abram was not yet entitled to possession.

According to Rashi, the disagreement between Abram's herdsmen (who apparently accepted Abram's values and followed his instructions) and Lot's herdsmen was concerned with values.

Two different perspectives on God's promise emerge here. Abraham's perspective is influenced by his constant, direct communication with God; that very connection enables him to see the Other.

Lot and his herdsmen understand God's promise as an absolute declaration from which profit and power can be gained; it is a promise that may be immediately acted upon, and it trumps any other considerations. According to this perspective, neither present reality nor those moral considerations which might prevent the promise from being carried out immediately - here and now - should be taken into account, since God's promise transcends everything else and sweeps away all other factors in its path.

In contrast to Lot, Abraham and his herdsmen comprehend the importance of distinguishing between God's promise and the existing reality. They also understand that moral considerations are never overridden by God's promise, since Abraham's God is the Judge of the whole earth and it could not be that He would not do justice. It is this world view which explains Abraham's negotiations with God regarding the minimum number of righteous people needed to save Sodom.

While Abraham felt gratitude towards God for the promise granted to him, he was also profoundly anxious about the realization of this promise.

When Abraham reached Elon Moreh, God revealed Himself to him and promised him that He would give his descendents the land of Canaan. Abraham responded by building an altar to the Lord who appeared to him. Rashi, following the Midrash, provides this commentary: "for the good tidings that he would have children, and for the good tidings that they would possess the Land of Israel" (Rashi Bereishit 12:7). Abraham's act of building an altar is thus a religious response, an expression of gratitude.

The next verse (12:8) mentions that Abraham builds another altar. Here Rashi again borrows a midrashic idea:

And he built there an altar - He perceived through the gift of prophecy that his descendents would stumble there through Achan's transgression: therefore he prayed for them there.

Abraham understands that in spite of God's promise, his children might misinterpret the moral significance of the promise and be dragged down. They might commit undesirable acts as a result of impulses stimulated by the act of conquering the land (Achan). The second altar that Abraham builds expresses this anxiety and represents both the hope and prayer that in the end his descendents will be worthy of the promise (Achan's transgression during the conquest of the land did indeed occur between Beth-El and HaAi).

When the land was promised once more to Abraham in the Pact of the Cut Pieces [Brit ben HaBetarim], Abraham asks, how will I know that I will inherit it? (Bereishit 15:8). The commentators Rabbi Ovadiah from Solfranu ("Seforno") and RaMBaN provide us with their interpretations. Seforno (15:8) writes:

How will I know? Perhaps my children will sin and not merit to inherit it.

RaMBaN (15:7) writes:

...and so he asked, how will I know that I will inherit it? This is not like the question, What is the sign? (II Kings 20:8). And the Holy One, blessed be He, did not act as He did regarding the other signs by showing him a sign or a miracle or something wondrous. Rather, He asked Abraham to know with true knowledge that he would inherit it, and that neither he nor his descendents would commit a sin preventing this from happening, and that the Canaanites would not repent, making applicable to them the prophecy: At one instant I may speak about plucking up, breaking down, or destroying a nation. If, however, that nation turns from its evil ways because of my words against it, I repent of the evil I thought of inflicting upon it (Jeremiah 18:7-8). The Holy One, blessed be He, made a pact with him that he would inherit it in any event.

Thus, Abraham is afraid that the realization of the promise will depend on the actions of his children and therefore he is very concerned. The promise is strengthened by the establishment of a covenant which is reciprocal in nature. Thus, Rashi (17:7-8) writes:

And I will establish My covenant - And what is this Covenant? To be a God unto you.

For an everlasting possession - and there I will be your God.

That is, the promise made because of the covenant is not a guarantee or deed of registry. The existence of the covenant between God and Abraham's descendents is conditional on being a God unto you. True, there is a lasting imprint of the covenant passed down from generation to generation through the ritual of circumcision, which is "The Covenant of Our Father Abraham." However, the possession which is everlasting in the spiritual realm is not a prize but rather an anchor in reality enabling the fulfillment of the spiritual and moral vision - there I will be your God.

Lot is not a partner in this vision, as Rashi (13:11) writes following the Midrash:

And Lot journeyed from the East [mikedem]: he distanced himself from the Ancient One [mikadmono] of the world. He said, “I care neither for Abram nor for his God.

The absence of Abraham's God - the judge of all the land and the God of loving-kindness - from Lot's journey, is an essential element in Lot's concrete, absolute, and aggressive understanding of God's promise.

Abraham is able to distinguish between the promise he believes in, the promise given as part of a covenant, and the practical and moral possibilities for the realization of that promise. Abraham is very anxious about the potential dangers involved in transforming the promise into reality through force and harm to others.

Abraham's only suggestion for dealing with the conflict is, Please separate yourself from me. Abraham probably understood that the land could not support them to dwell together. The deep ideological conflict between the two views would not enable the continuation of their journey together. These differences could even deteriorate into a state of civil war resulting in bloodshed. Therefore, the separation enabled each of them to choose the path they believed in. This separation enables us to examine the potential results of the different paths chosen by Lot and Abraham:

At the end of the story Lot reaches Sodom, a city full of evil and sinful inhabitants and he needs Abraham's help to save him. The entire land, including that of Lot, was promised to Abraham, who upheld the conditions of the covenant.

This story enables us to make a deep and profound examination of the distinction made by people of faith between God's promise and concrete reality, which requires consideration of moral values as an important element in the promise. Peaceful coexistence may be impossible between "Abram's herdsmen" and "Lot's herdsmen," and so, in order to avoid a bloody conflict (as in the quarrel between Cain and Abel, to which the Midrash assigns a moral character), the two sides should peacefully separate or find an alternate way to peacefully settle the conflict, allowing room for differing opinions and respecting democratic decisions. Unfortunately, the events in Kikar Rabin (then Kikar Malkhei Yisrael) of Motza'ei Shabbat Parashat Lekh Lekha 5756 demonstrate this all too clearly. Has Israeli society learned anything since that gloomy night?

[1]. This devar Torah is based on an earlier version, which appeared in issue 54 of Shabbat Shalom. I think it has lost none of its relevance.

Pinhas Leiser, editor of Shabbat Shalom, is a psychologist.

 

And you shall come to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age

You shall be buried at a good old age: He revealed to him that Ishmael would repent during his lifetime.

(Rashi on Bereishit 15:15, following Bereishit Rabbah 38)

 

...here the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the sons. It hints at how the children of Ishmael will draw near to the truth and believe in one God in the end of days, and separate themselves from the idolaters, as our rabbi [the RaMBaM] wrote. That is what Isaac meant when he pleaded for Esau: Let the scoundrel be spared [yet he learns not righteousness; in a place of integrity he does wrong - He ignores the majesty of the Lord] (Isaiah 26:10); [Isaac pleaded] that he [Esau] would also distance himself from idolatry in the end of days, but the answer [to his plea] was in a place of integrity [he does wrong] therefore he ignores the majesty of the Lord, and will worship idols until and in that day the Lord shall be one.

(Rabbi Meir Simkha Mi'Dvinsk's Meshekh Hokhmah on Bereishit 15:15)

 

Abram passed through the land, as far as the Place of Shekhem, as far as the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. God was seen by Abram and said: "I will give this land to your seed." - The promise, the covenant, the condition, and the choice.

The Canaanites degenerated in this land until they reached the lowest level of moral turpitude, until the merciful God Himself sentenced them to exile or extermination. Thus we see: The Holy One wished to renew mankind, to return his Presence to man's domain. To reach this end, He chose that land which was suitable for this, and those who dwell therein in accordance with God's will possess the potential for achieving every moral excellence. But then, as later, there lived inhabitants who corrupted their ways, and were condemned to annihilation. Therefore, the Torah was given in the wilderness - to teach us that man's improvement depends neither on time nor on place. In this place, where degeneracy had sunk to its lowest - here the Holy Presence began to return to earth. Thus we learn: True, the nature of a land does influence the nature of the nation and its attributes. But the divine component in man, the ability to earn God's proximity - these are attainable by any nation and people, in Lapland as well as in Greece. The land where Abraham dwells can also be a dwelling-place for murderers; the same land can contain both seer and assassin… The denizen of the land must choose between the apex of moral elevation and the nadir of brutish depravity - between blessing/life and curse/death. It is possible that these diametrically opposed alternatives are symbolized by the proximity of the two mountains, the blossoming Mount Gerizim alongside the barren Mount Eval.

(Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, Bereishit 12:6-7)

 

…similarly in general affairs between people. Sons have the right to inherit their father's possessions. But the question whether or not these belongings will remain intact in the sons' hands depends not upon the sons' rights of inheritance. It is depends on what use the sons make of the legacy.

(From Prof. Y. Leibowitz, z"l, Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat HaShavua, p. 58)

 

Midrashei Tzafon

From the pen of our member, Ronen Ahituv

Please come to my handmaid (16:3)

Sarai said to Abram: "Come to my maidservant and make me a son through her." Abram told her: "Yes, but only on the condition that you release her from servitude and I marry her as a wife," for it is written: And she gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. As a wife - and not as a concubine; as a wife - and not as a maidservant.

Sarai saw that Hagar became pregnant, she said: "Now this one will be important and I will be secondary." The verse was fulfilled through her: When a maidservant inherits her mistress (Proverbs 30:23). That is the sense of the verse: And she saw she had become pregnant, and her mistress became unimportant in her eyes - in her mistress's eyes. She went out and said to Abram: May my injustice be upon you!

Abram stood, thinking: "One verse says, If she is displeasing to her master... he shall not rule over her to sell her to another person, when he betrays her (Shemot 21:8), but another verse says: work them forever (Vayikra 25:46). Could I be allowed to enslave her to this one, after I freed her, thus betraying her? She went back and said: and if the wife of one's youth becomes displeasing? Abram told her: Here is your maidservant in your hand.

Hagar stood and thought: "Am I Abram's wife? Or am I Sarai's maidservant?" She departed to the wilderness, and when the angel saw her and called her Hagar, Sarai's maidservant, she said: "Certainly from before Sarai my mistress, I am fleeing."

 

 

 

 

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