Abraham

Advertisements

TRENDING

Advertisements

4 min read

FacebookTwitterLinkedInPrintFriendlyShare

It's no wonder that going against the grain is part of the essence of being Jewish. Abraham was the world's first Jewish radical.

Jewish
tradition says that Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, was the epitome
of greatness, and from him we learn lessons to help us as we live our own
lives. Let us examine why.

God
said to Abraham, go for yourself from your land, and from your birthplace, and
from your father's house, to the land that I will show you ... (Genesis 12:1)

This
command is puzzling. At this point in the Torah, Abraham has already left his
land and his birthplace. So why is God instructing him to leave a place that he
has already left?

The
answer lies in understanding that Abraham's move is more than physical. God is
asking him to make a journey not just of the body but of the soul.He is asking
him to leave the comfort of the assumptions he holds about the meaning of life.

God is
asking Abraham to re-think his values and his goals and decide whether they are
in fact his or simply the result of the environment in which he happened to be
born.

BUCKING
THE TREND

Think
for a moment about when and where you were born and raised. Under different
circumstances you could just as easily have been born in Switzerland or Poland
or Africa. And here you are today. What if today were 1960 or 2160?

In a
different place or time we would probably be very different people, with very
different values. So would our children.

In a different place or time we would probably be very different people, with very different values.

What
would stay constant? What are the values that shape our direction and establish
our goals? These values go beyond the country listed on our passports or the
era that we are born into.

A child
in the 1960s encountered philosophies of immense freedom and self-expression.
Today the world has swung back to be more conservative and structured. What is
politically correct today was not 30 years ago and will not be 30 years from
now.

Judaism
says that trends are just that -- they come and they go. Our challenge is to
take the time to look beyond current fads and trends and embrace those critical
values that affect us in a deeper, everlasting way.

LEAVING
THE FAMILIAR

When God
asks Abraham to leave the land of his birth He gives the instructions in a
curious order. First He tells him to leave his country, then his city, then his
family's home. Normally when one is leaving the order is reversed -- you leave
your home, then your city, and then your country.

This
tells us that when re-examining our values, it's easiest to begin with the
values of our country, for it has the least impact on us as compared to our
community, or our home. The order is not geographical, but personal.

What we
believe in, what we stand for, and what we are living for should be well
thought out, not dependent on where we happen to reside or what is in fashion.
This thought process takes effort, and sometimes a little pain.

What we believe in, what we stand for, and what we are living for should not be dependent on what is in fashion.

The
message of Abraham is that all of us must stop, and think to ourselves: "What
do I really believe in? What are my goals in life?"

It is
the greatness of Abraham that he heard this message from the Almighty, and went
forth on a quest of self-discovery that still reverberates today.

Adapted
from Lori Palatnik's
Remember My Soul.
Buy the book from
amazon.com

Click here to comment on this article
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
EXPLORE
LEARN
MORE
Explore
Learn
Resources
Next Steps
About
Donate
Menu
Languages
Menu
Social
.