The Call We Must Answer. . . (adapted from Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson)
Each and every year, as Rabbi Sholom Dov Ber (1870-1920) would begin to study this week’s Torah portion, tears would roll down from his saintly face. The portion begins with G‑d’s instruction to Abraham to “Go from your land, your birth place and your father’s home, to the land that I will show you.”
And it was the recitation of these words that caused this holy Rabbi’s eyes to swell with tears. What did he see in this verse that melted his heart? What was it about this message that moved him so profoundly?
This brief instruction to Abraham, the first communication of G‑d to the father of Judaism, captures the essence, mystery and destiny of 4,000 years of Jewish history, a history soaked in so much courage, blood, tears and triumph. What is Jewishness? What is the ultimate meaning of Jewish existence?
It is the response to a call: “Go from your land, your birth place and your father’s home, to the land that I will show you.” Go away from yourself and become Mine. Judaism, in its truest meaning, is about creating a paradigm shift from self-centeredness to G‑d-centeredness; from my land to the land which I am shown.
3746 years ago, a lone human being, sophisticated and refined, heard a call. This was not merely an instruction about geography, a demand to relocate homes; it was an invitation to an existential shift. Leave yourself. Step away from your perspective, and begin to see things from My perspective. Stop living according to your habits and inclinations, and begin to live according to My will.
For one who never heard the call, this seems like lunacy. But Abraham and his descendant's heard a call and they could not remain indifferent. To betray it would be akin to a sensitive soul refusing to be moved by a heart-stirring poem or piece of music. When Abraham became aware of the living presence of G‑d, there was no turning back. He could deny it all he wanted, but he knew that life without it would be that much more shallow and superficial. To reject the call might have spelled loyalty to the scientific demand for laboratory-type evidence, but would have come at the expense of betraying his deepest layer of self.
Close to 4000 years later, the call still summons us. “Go from your land, your birth place and your father’s home, to the land that I will show you.” Step out of yourself and commit to that which G‑d desires of you. Allow your life to be linked to rays of truths looming larger than your ego.
Can we hear the call? Do we know how to respond? Well, we react by doing a mitzvah. Let’s do one more today!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
