This is my favorite portion in the entire Torah, and often brings me to tears. After Judah's passionate plea on behalf of Benjamin, Joesph reveals himself to his brothers, and comforts them, saying their sin was part of God's plan.
Pharaoh, too, is delighted, and urges Joseph to bring his family, including his elderly father, to Egypt. Pharaoh adds: "Do not even give a thought to your belongings." (44:20). There perhaps is an important lesson in that remark.
When we make changes, we have to commit to them. Jacob and his sons would have to leave the Promised Land to descend to Egypt. In doing so, they would certainly have been wondering if they were making a reasonable choice.
Were they not already in the Promised Land? Why wouldn't they stay there once they had arrived? Hadn't it been hard enough to return once, when Jacob -- now Israel -- had to face the prospect of war and death at the hands of Esau?
Sometimes we have to make choices that turn out to be part of our overall destiny, even if they do not appear at first to be in line with our goals. That does not mean giving up on our goals, but perhaps giving up a level of control.
Note that Pharaoh -- at this stage, a God-fearing character -- does not tell them to forget about the Land of Israel. He tells them to forget about their "belongings" -- their material possessions that they must one day lose anyway.
We have to let go of things that do not matter in order to make choices that take us down unexpected paths toward the things that matter most. And we have to trust that God Himself in in charge of our overall mission and journey.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
