To be a Great Nation, Be a Blessing

Be a Great Nation, Be a Blessing. ELECTION LECH L’CHA
Rabbi Angela W. Buchdahl

It has been a big week.
A new leader has been selected for our nation:
his name is Abraham.
Yes, this week we are In parshat Lech L’cha – when God selects Abraham
to be in covenantal relationship–
Lech L’cha! God calls him – Go forth!
And I will make of you a great nation.
I will make your name great. And you shall be a blessing.

What the Torah doesn’t tell us, is WHY Abraham was chosen by God.
In fact, before his selection, there is nothing that hints
at why he should be our leader.
Abraham is not, like Noah, called “righteous in his generation.”
He is already quite old, at 75, to lead.
Indeed, one of the few detailed stories in this portion
paints a disturbing picture of Abraham’s self-centered behavior
when he lies to Pharaoh about Sarah being his ‘sister,’
rather than his wife, in order to protect and enrich himself.
Not exactly the moral character you want to see in your leader.

Nevertheless God chose Abraham.
And Abraham and Sarah do find a home in Canaan.
Abraham becomes preoccupied with building up his life,
he prospers and gains status, but he begins to despair
because despite Abraham and Sarah’s many blessings,
a key component of their covenantal promise remains unfulfilled.

Abraham, the leader of our faith, turns to God
and has his first clear crisis of faith:
Saying: “O Lord God, all that you have given is great, but I am still childless...”
Abraham loses hope in the promise of a great nation.

God doesn’t comfort, or say, “don’t worry,” or “have faith.”
Instead God instructs Abraham to act:
“Go outside, Look now towards heaven and count the stars
…so shall your seed be.”

Abraham does just that.
He steps outside himself, looks up to the heavens,
counts the vast expanse of stars, and feels awe.
And the Torah says:
Ve’he’emin b’Adonai. “And Abraham trusted in God.”
It’s the first time that word EMUNAH, is ever used in the Torah.

Emunah is frequently translated as “faith.”
And you might think of Faith and Trust as interchangeable
But there is an important difference.
Faith is a noun. It is something you can have or possess:
As in, “I have faith.”
But trust here, is a verb.
As in, “Abraham trusted in God”
Trust is something you DO. It’s action.

When Abraham steps outside himself and looks above,
he finally transcends his own personal desires –and understands
that he serves something much bigger than himself.
God then asks Abraham to make sacrifices, saying:
“Bring me a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a bird.”
Abraham was clearly prosperous.
The portion ends with God’s asking Abraham
to affirm the covenant with circumcision– at age 99.
That’s a pretty big sacrifice.

Only when Abraham trusts in the Divine – and transcends self-centeredness
and sacrifices on behalf of something greater than himself –
only then does Abraham become the leader we come to know and admire:
the leader who goes out of his way to welcome the stranger,
who fights for justice in Sodom and Gomorrah,
and establishes our nation in the Promised Land.
I pray that our President-elect can also trust – in the promise of this country
and transcend divisions and sacrifice on behalf of the greater good.

We have just come through a polarizing, difficult election.
Approximately half of our country – including people in these pews,
and out there (point to livestream) – are celebrating,
or at least believing Tuesday had the right outcome,
and the other half of our country, including many here, and out there
are feeling dispirited, alienated, are having a crisis of faith.

No matter which way you voted, I think all of us feel uncertainty in the future,
and share concerns for how such a divided country can heal,
and move forward more united so that all of us can live
with dignity and prosperity.
Without doing so, we can never be a great nation.

I’m not here to say ‘don’t worry,’ or ‘have faith.’
But rather to convey the wisdom from this week’s Torah’s portion
which says: You want to be a great nation? You must trust in it.
You must work for it.
I think our country’s leaders were onto something when they put
on all our currency: In God we trust.
That’s not an act of blind or passive faith
that this country would live up to our highest ideals and aspirations.
It’s a call to make sure it does.

How could each of us have our own Abraham moment –
of stepping outside our bubble, transcending ourselves,
and feeling not just awe,
but that we are responsible for one another?

Can we lead like Abraham,
who went out of his way to welcome the stranger?
Both the stranger from a different land,
and the stranger with the differing point of view?

Can we sacrifice like Abraham on behalf of our shared humanity?
and look beyond our contempt to be curious?
Can we connect instead of withdraw?

This Shabbat falls between Election Day and Veteran’s Day.
Throughout America’s history, thousands in the armed services
have trusted in this country by safeguarding its values of freedom and liberty
with their own lives.

Every one of us will be called upon to transcend and sacrifice.
And lest you think you’re off the hook, I share a teaching from Orthodox Rabbi Dov Linzer in dialogue with Abby Pogrebin in It Takes Two to Torah:
He asks:
“Why, of all people in humanity, did God choose Abraham?”
The Sfat Emet, a 19th Century Chassidic commentator says:
Actually, God didn’t choose him in particular.
God said “Lech L’cha” to all of humanity….
but Abraham was the only one who was listening.

Indeed, God didn’t just put out that call once, but continues to call –
all of us.
The question is –are we listening?”

Lech Lcha.
God is calling each and every one of you.
You want a great nation? Follow the call.

When God says, “And you shall be a blessing,”
don’t hear that as a prophecy.
That is a charge: Be a Blessing.

Lech L’cha. Go forth. Be A Blessing
And together, we will make a great nation.