In Poland, Even Winnie-the-Pooh Has a Holocaust Story
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GOOD MORNING! Generally, when sitting down to compose the weekly column I check the archives to see what I have written previously on the upcoming Torah portion. I began writing this column at the end of 2020, which corresponded to the beginning of the Hebrew year 5780 (which is how they are archived). So, I was a bit surprised to find that Lech Lecha of 5780 was not my writing, but rather it was one of the last columns written by my beloved friend Rabbi Kalman Packouz, of blessed memory.
At the time he was suffering from stage four prostate cancer and he devoted most of the column to expressing gratitude for everything going on in his life, including what he termed his “health opportunity” (as opposed to being his “health crisis”). This was a term he had picked up at a health and wellness retreat center in San Diego, a place he very much enjoyed going. In fact, I joined him there several times.
To be honest, I never quite warmed to the term “health opportunity” – it always seemed a bit disingenuous to me. But in the succeeding years I have attained a greater appreciation for the concept of “opportunity,” and it is particularly relevant to this week’s Torah portion.
Often when people go through particularly challenging times the common refrain is “God is testing me.” This week I would like to examine what that really means. After all, isn’t the Almighty omniscient? What is the point of a test? Moreover, what is considered a test?
Regular readers of the Shabbat Shalom Fax of Life are undoubtedly aware of my utter disdain for Hollywood and its ongoing contribution to the moral decay of the American people. However, when they occasionally get something right it should be acknowledged.
In the movieEvan Almighty (2007), Morgan Freeman reprises his role as God trying to teach humanity about valuing the right things in life. In this movie, the beleaguered wife of the lead character is dealing with her workaholic husband who suddenly – and against his will – is transformed into a modern-day Noah, complete with building an ark. She grows quite despondent that her husband, who was previously “merely” inattentive to the family’s needs, seems to be losing his mind.
Of course, the movie is silly and preposterous, but the following dialogue is actually golden. The scene opens with the wife sitting alone in a restaurant crying when Morgan Freeman (“God”) appears to her as a waiter and says, “Let me ask you something: If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does He give them the opportunity to be patient?”
“If they pray for courage, does God give them courage or does He give them opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm, fuzzy feelings or does He give them opportunities to love each other?”
The point is that life is not about what gifts we are given. It is about what we do with the opportunities that are presented to us over the course of our lives so that we can achieve personal growth. Similarly, in this week’s Torah reading, we are introduced to many seminal events in the life of our forefather Abraham.
Much of Judaism’s views on principles of personal conduct were compiled two thousand years ago in the famous work known as Pirkei Avot – Ethics of our Fathers. In chapter five we find the following statement: “Our father Abraham was tested with ten different tests; he withstood them and showed his love [for God]” (Avot 5:3).
There is some discussion among the commentators about what events in Abraham’s life are included in the list of the ten tests. According to Maimonides these are the Ten Tests of Abraham:
The first of Abraham’s tests is found in the opening sentences of this week’s Torah reading:
“God said to Abraham; ‘Go for yourself, away from your homeland, from your birthplace, and your father’s home, to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you great and make you a blessing’” (Genesis 12:1-2).
The famous medieval Biblical commentator known as Rashi explains the Almighty’s curious statement to Abraham “Go for yourself” means that the Almighty was telling Abraham that if he left his birthplace and his father’s home he would be given three gifts: 1) He would merit to have children/nationhood 2) He would become very wealthy 3) He would become world-famous.
While there is some discussion by the commentators as to which events in Abraham’s life are included on the list of Ten Tests, it is universally agreed that the Almighty asking Abraham to leave his home and go to Canaan is on the list.
This seems a little odd. While it’s true that God asked Abraham to pick himself up and move to a foreign land, God is also promising incredible compensation for his troubles. After all, who wouldn’t move somewhere with the proviso that they will be guaranteed the three amazing blessings of family and nationhood, wealth, and fame? Honestly, what kind of test is that?
Superficially, one may answer that the test is to see whether Abraham leaves his homeland because a) God asked him to do so or b) because he wanted the promised benefits. But this solution is untenable for several reasons.
Firstly, this approach betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of a test. God does not administer a test to gauge a person’s loyalty; the Almighty is omniscient and knows exactly how loyal someone is. A test from God is meant to give one an opportunity for personal growth.
Secondly, this understanding actually contradicts the very words of God. The Almighty clearly tells Abraham “Go for yourself,” i.e. for your own sake. If the incentives were only offered as part of the test, God would have simply said, “Go.”
So, we are left with our original question: What sort of test is this that the Almighty is promising Abraham money, fame, and nationhood? Every single one of us would be thrilled to accept that offer!
The answer lies in our shallow understanding of these gifts and the responsibility that comes with them. Most of us think it would be great to have a billion dollars; “I could buy the most amazing houses and boats and not have to worry about paying bills or having to show up to work!”
Unfortunately, we all tend to think this way because of the shallow and superficial value systems of modern society, which can be summed up with the following credo: “How can I make the most amount of money with the least amount of effort so that I can focus on giving myself the maximum amount of pleasure?”
In reality, every test from the Almighty is an opportunity to grow as a person. The purpose of a “test” is not to give a person a passing or failing grade. A test allows one to learn something about oneself through challenge and thereby elevate oneself through personal growth. These “tests” teach us who we are and, even more importantly, who we can become.
That is exactly the test that the Almighty was giving Abraham. Are you going to use these gifts for a life focused on maximizing personal pleasure for yourself or will you employ them to better humanity?
Abraham was the first Jew and the origin of the Jewish people. This was because Abraham came to recognize that we live in a theocentric world and not an egocentric world. This worldview enabled him to realize that all resources should be used to further the Almighty’s plan for the world.
Abraham passed the test because he understood the maxim that having enormous wealth, fame, or power does not mean “I can now do more for myself;” it just means “I have been ‘gifted’ a ginormous responsibility.”
Many, if not most of us, upon realizing that these gifts are not for personal use, would run in the other direction rather than accept them. This is because the responsibility for properly administering these gifts for a higher purpose is a lot of work (and usually thankless).
If one is able to succeed in doing the right thing with the resources entrusted to him, he will feel an incredible sense of accomplishment, and this results in enormous personal pleasure. After all, true happiness is derived from accomplishment; it is the source of everlasting pleasure and, ultimately, the very reason we were created. This is what God meant when He said to Abraham, “Go for yourself.”
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.
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.
– Winston Churchill
Dedicated with Deep Appreciation to
Robert Altman
