Rabbi Diana's Weekly Message

Dear KHN Community,

This week’s Torah portion is Parshat Lech-Lecha, the portion that describes the beginnings of the Jewish people.

God said to Avram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

I will make of you a great nation, 
And I will bless you; 
I will make your name great, 
And you shall be a blessing.”

(Genesis 12:1–2)

What exactly does Lech-lecha mean? Usually we read it as “go forth,” but because of specific Hebrew grammatical syntax, it can also be translated as “go to yourself”, a meaning with which many of the Hasidic rebbes resonate. In this time of fear and uncertainty, we need to find ways to ground ourselves. Some of us find meditation, yoga, reading Psalms, gardening, and creating art as ways that we can “go [deeper] into our Self”, that place where we connect with the Mystery, the Oneness.

Lech l’cha can also mean “go forth for yourself.” Rashi, the 11th-century commentator, teaches this means “go for your own benefit, for your own good.” Initially this sounds like an individual quest, as if Abraham hears the call and goes forth himself on a divinely guided spirit quest, like a timeless Hero’s Journey: leaving home on an unforeseen quest, facing challenges and gaining personal insights. Yet this is not what happens, though it’s a great personal metaphor.*

Abraham’s wife Sarah and his nephew Lot accompany him on this journey. Their family soon grows into a clan and by the end of Genesis/Breishit, into a tribe.

These days our sense of being part of groups can be shifting. Some of us are feeling particularly drawn to our Jewish community, our identity as Jews. Some of us are feeling stung and betrayed by communities and individuals with whom we previously have been connected as allies, and feel that many are not taking seriously the pain of the Jewish people right now. While it’s important to go to ourselves, and to participate in the practices which ground us, we need other people. We need to feel part of communities which can support us, even if we are not always in full agreement with each other. I am thankful for our KHN community, which can hold different viewpoints and where we can listen to each other.

Wishing our KHN community a peaceful Shabbat.

I look forward to seeing you this evening at 7:00 pm in person or online at:

(LINK DELETED FOR SECURITY)

I hope to see you Sunday morning at the Bagel U on Zoom where we explore Reconstructionism, led by Abraham Leibson and David Stoller. [Registration information in e-bulletin.]

Shabbat shalom, a gutn Shabbos,

Rabbi Diana

*Inspired by Rabbi Joanna Samuels