GOOD MORNING! Sometimes we forget that life is a journey – we make mistakes and we experience ups and downs. It is in the nature of humans look in the rear view mirror of our lives and say, “If only I had…” married earlier, had children earlier, prioritized family over career, focused on my health, etc. – the menu of potential regrets is endless.

We find in Jewish thought that the difference between an angel and a human is described as the difference between being static or being dynamic. Angels are static; they are created with a singular purpose and thus do not have the ability to sin – but that also means that they cannot grow or achieve. Humans, on the other hand, can absolutely falter and fail, but we also have the potential to transcend our selfish wants and “needs” and transform into higher beings. This is part of the reason that the Torah was given to the world of man and not to the angelic realm.

Sometimes life is about perspective and not giving up. Thomas Edison tried a few thousand different materials in search of a filament for his light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant despaired, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing; I am getting to the point that I am not sure if we can use electricity properly.” Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We now know that there are thousands of elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

In this week's Torah reading we find an extraordinary lesson about understanding who we are and what our perspective on our past should be. The Torah portion begins with the Almighty telling Abraham:

“Go away from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation I will bless you and make you famous. You shall become a blessing” (Genesis 12:1-2).

The Biblical text gives us no indication of why God chose Abraham (as opposed to its explanation of God’s choice of Noah, for example), however, the sages of the midrash give us a hint.

From a very young age Abraham was focused on uncovering the identity of the Master of the World. As a child, Abraham was walking and saw a beautiful palace that was aglow. He wondered aloud, “Is it possible that in a castle such as this there is no one to look after it? It is lit up, and well cared for, there must be a master of this castle!” The owner of the castle peered out from one of the windows and replied, “I am the master of the castle!”

Abraham then looked at the world around him and asked the very same question. He recognized that a world that is so carefully crafted with such a specific design and natural order must also have a master. In this way, he began his journey and his search for the Almighty.

Abraham’s father Terah was an idol worshipper who was in the business of selling idols. One day his father went out and left young Abraham in charge. A woman arrived, holding a plate of grain. She said to Abraham: “Take this and offer it before them.” Avraham got up, took a stick in his hands, and smashed all the idols, leaving the stick in the hand of the largest idol.

When his father returned, he asked: “Who did this to them?”

Abraham answered, “What have I to hide? A woman came, carrying a plate of grain. She said to me, ‘Take this and offer it before them.’ I offered it before them, and the idols started bickering. This one here said, ‘I shall eat first.’ Then that one said, ‘I shall eat first.’ Finally, the largest idol got up, took the stick, and shattered all of them!” Terah started yelling: “What nonsense are you telling me! Are they then conscious?!?” Abraham retorted, “Do your ears not hear what your lips are saying?”

His father turned him over to King Nimrod who ruled that such insolence toward their gods was punishable by death. He gave the child Abraham the opportunity to recant and return to idol worship, which Abraham refused. Nimrod had him thrown into a fiery furnace from which Abraham was miraculously saved.

Maimonides explains that in his youth Abraham actually worshipped idols with his family; yet he always wondered who was really causing the earth to continuously revolve, and his heart was searching. Ultimately, he realized that there was one God who created everything, and that there is no other God.

Abraham also knew that the entire idol worshipping world was making a mistake: “Abraham was forty years old when he became aware of his Creator. When he recognized and knew Him, he began to debate with others, telling them that they were not following a proper path [...]” (Laws of Idol Worship 1:3).

Yet Maimonides’ assertion seems to be an outright contradiction to a passage in the Talmud. The Talmud makes an exegetical analysis of the verses in the Bible and concludes, “Said R’ Ami son of Abba - ‘Abraham was three years old when he recognized his Creator.’” The medieval commentators ask how is possible for Maimonides to state that Abraham was forty years old when he became aware of his Creator while the Talmud clearly states that he was three?

I am reminded of the time, some thirty years ago, when I was a newly married graduate student. Several of my friends who were also newly married had gathered to discuss some of the more interesting aspects of married life. One of my friends told us the following story.

He got home after the afternoon study session and found his wife sitting on the bed crying. “What’s the matter?” he asked. She just shrugged and continued to sob. After some questioning, she told him that she was really hungry but there was nothing that she wanted to eat.

He proceeded to list a whole menu of food options that he would gladly make for her – grilled cheese, pizza, pasta, eggs, but she continuously shook her head no. She seemed to be slipping further into depression and he pleaded that he would be happy to make her anything she wanted: grilled chicken, baked salmon, or he could get Chinese takeout. No, no, no.

Finally, she agreed that if he made her a steak she’d eat it. He quickly ran to the store for ingredients and prepared it. After just a few bites she said was no longer hungry. However, her mood was suddenly transformed into one of happiness and her eyes were shining brightly.

I marveled at my friend’s patience, persistence, and understanding. Looking back, I realize that even those options he offered that were “wrong,” were also so very right. Because with each new option he communicated how much he cared for her and really just wanted to make her happy.

The same applied to Abraham. At the age of three Avraham began his quest to find the real truth. In reality, it took many years and many missteps to arrive at the truth. Still, once he embarked on searching for a meaningful relationship with the Almighty – whether or not the actual path was correct – it became part the journey to find the One True God – and the entirety of that effort was precious to the Almighty. Abraham was forty when he finally crystallized the proper philosophical theology and began to preach it to the world. But Maimonides fully agrees that this process began when Abraham was three.

Often, individuals who make a U-turn and change their lives for the better try to suppress the memories of their prior life and their “mistakes” or unenlightened behavior and pretend as if those things never happened. We see from here that this is not the right approach. Rather, our obligation is to utilize those experiences to help others. This is how one can elevate the entire journey of their earlier life.

You can’t alter your personal history. You can, however, change your perception of it. If you take all your experiences and you grow from them, then every mistake becomes part of your growth process and an indispensable step in the accession to your new self. Thus, we must redefine the narrative of our memories, understanding how it impacts both our present and future.

Lastly, every person’s present and future eventually turns into their past. Thus, who we are today, what we do today, and our actions in the future also has a cumulative effect that creates a net change to our past. Therefore, the more we change, the better our “new” past defines us.

Lech Lecha, Genesis 12:1 – 17:27

The Almighty commands Abram (later renamed Abraham) to leave Haran and go to “the place that I will show you” (which turned out to be the land of Canaan – later renamed the Land of Israel). The Almighty then gives Abram an eternal message to the Jewish people and to the nations of the world, “I will bless those who bless you and he who curses you I will curse.” Finding a famine, Abram travels to Egypt asking Sarai (later renamed Sarah) to say she is his sister so they won’t kill him to marry her (the Egyptians were particular not to commit adultery...so they would kill the husband instead).

Pharaoh evicts Abram from Egypt after attempting to take Sarai for a wife. They settle in Hebron (also known as Kiryat Arba) and his nephew Lot settles in Sodom. Abram rescues Lot – who was taken captive – in the Battle of the Four Kings against the Five Kings.

Entering into a covenant with the Almighty (all covenants with the Almighty are eternal, never to be abrogated or replaced by new covenants), Abram is told that his descendants will be enslaved for 400 years and that his descendants (via Isaac not Ishmael, “through Isaac will offspring be considered yours” (Genesis 21:8)) will be given the land “from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”

Sarai, childless, gives her handmaid Hagar to Abram for a wife so that he will have children. Ishmael (the grandfather of our Arab cousins) is born. The covenant of brit mila, religious circumcision, is made (17:3-8), God changes their names to Abraham and Sarah and tells them that Sarah will give birth to Isaac (Yitzchak). Abraham circumcises all the males of his household.