OCTOBER 30-31, 2009
THE PARSHA PAGE
Divine Motivation- Samuel Thompson
Avram journeys to the land of Canaan by foot
» Avram journey's to
Canaan
Parsha Points
» Pharaoh takes Sarai
» Avram battles the
kings
» God makes a covenant
with Avram
SOME LIGHT TORAH- Eliana Light
This parsha begins with two
seemingly simple words: lech
lecha. This phrase is often
translated as “go forth,” but
taking each word separately
leads us on a different path.
“Lech” is the command form
of “go,” so that makes sense.
But “lecha?” Most Brandeis
Hebrew students will tell
you that “lecha” means
“to you” in the male form.
A publication of Hillel at Brandeis
Editors: Chaya Bender, Brian Blumenthal
Contributors: Eliana Light, Jason Henry Simon-Birenbaum, Samuel Thompson
•
» Ishmael is born to Hagar
and Avram
» Avram's name is changed
to Avraham, Sarai's name is
changed to Sarah
» Avraham circumcises
himself at age 99
So, “lech lecha” becomes
“go to yourself.” This is the
command that God gives
Avram, the first thing God
ever tells him. But how does
one “go to yourself?”
Avram is about to set off
on an amazing journey. He
is to leave his native land
and his father’s house to
go to a "land that God will
show him". He is to become
LECH LECHA
The Message of the First Three Parshas- Chaya Bender
The first of the Five Books
of Moses is called "Genesis,"
which is a Greek word for
"origin." In Hebrew, the book
is named and begins with
the word "Bereshit," which
means "in the beginning."
Bereshit does begin with
a very detailed account of
creation, but that only lasts
for a couple of chapters. The
rest of the book focuses on the
growth of humankind and
tries to establish guidelines
of how to lead a successful
and moral way of life.
At first, the lessons are
taught through the lens
of "what not to do." For
example, one should not eat
forbidden fruit or be doomed
to a permanent expulsion
from paradise. Likewise,
one should not be corrupt
and wicked or be doomed to
a "great nation and have as
many descendants as the
stars in the sky and the
sand on the Earth". He is
to win battles, save kings,
amass wealth, and all the
other incredible adventures
we read of in the Torah.
He is taking a huge step
by following God. But the
first step, as God correctly
commands, was for Avram
death by a large scale flood.
With the stories of
Avraham, however, the real
goals of Bereshit start to
become clear. The first two
parshiyot span an impressive
1,948 years and twenty
generations. In contrast, this
and next week's parshiyot
focus on one hundred years
of Avraham's life. This
contrast makes it quite clear
that Avraham stood for what
"creation" was all about, what
every generation before him
couldn't quite grasp—leading
a moral way of life.
Watch as the stories of
the Matriarchs and the
Patriarchs unfold in the next
couple of weeks. Watch as
the concept of humanity
grows, and see what lessons
(both positive and negative)
can be extracted.
to journey into himself.
Whenever we are faced
with a challenge, a difficult
situation, or just a new
chapter in our lives, the first
thing we must do is take
stock of ourselves. We must
learn about ourselves, what
we value, who we hold dear,
who we are. Once we have
ventured into ourselves, no
journey is beyond us.
‫י״ג חשון תש״ע‬
‫לך לך‬