Lesson 1—The Journey to a New Land—The Story of Abraham

INTRODUCTION

At some point or another we all move from one place to another. The most obvious move is when we move out of the home of our parents. That move may take place when we begin our college studies or when we get married or when we just feel the time has come. Indeed, many of us move out of our parents’ home and then move again when we get married.

Moving, however, rarely ends at marriage. When married couples decide to have children they think about the kind of living conditions that are necessary for a young child. Most often young couples decide to move to a larger place where the child will have ample space. As families expand and grow the need for more space increases. Furthermore, at some point, the issue is not just space; it is community, a place more suitable for families with children of similar ages and with whom we share similar values and lifestyles and where our children’s educational needs can be met.

 Moving does not always end there. Even when we think we have found the perfect community, circumstances may force us to move yet again. For example, we may be forced to move because of a new job, changes in the makeup of our community, changes in our own lifestyles or values and a myriad of other considerations. When we reach the age of retirement we may move to be near our children and grandchildren (or to get away from them), or to be in a more suitable retirement community. Moving is just a part of life. We may dream of being able to settle in one place forever but that rarely happens. Circumstances change, some expected and some unexpected, and we have to adapt accordingly.

Go to the Discussion Board. How do we feel when we move to a new place? How do the circumstances of our move affect the way that we feel?

When we move, we are often excited at the start of something new and eagerly await the opportunities that may arise in our new home. Nevertheless, such moves are also accompanied by feelings of sadness for leaving our friends and family and a piece of ourselves behind, as well as anxiety and the fear of the unknown. But experiencing mixed emotions is common in moves that we make out of our own free choice to improve the quality of our physical, emotional and spiritual existence. However, when we are forced to move because of external pressures, the negative feelings often prevail.

I am raising the whole issue of moving here because we cannot begin to understand the history of our people without discussing it. Indeed, the very first story of our people involves a dramatic move from one place to another. And this story contains some of the central features of Jewish life that would continue to play an essential role in Jewish history for centuries to come. It is the very first story reported in the Torah (I am using this term to refer the Five Books of Moses, also known as the “Chumash” or “Pentateuch” meaning “five parts”) in relation to our forefather Abraham.

Let’s now begin our text study. At the outset I must mention one important thing with regard to the Torah text. There is great disagreement with regard to the authorship of the text (whether it is divine, divinely dictated, divinely inspired or entirely human). My aim in this course is to try to understand what the text says regardless of who wrote it.

Text Study 1

Read Genesis 12:1 and try to answer the following questions based strictly on the information provided in these verses:

1. From where was Abraham (his name was actually “Abram” until he was renamed “Abraham” later in his life) told to move?
2. By whom?
3. Where is he told to go? Locate his place of origin and the place of his destination on the map (maps 4,5 and 43 in the Macmillan Bible Atlas).

Suggested Answers:

1. The text tells us that he is to move from “your native land and from your father’s house”. Interestingly, the text does not tell us the name of the place (although most commentators maintain that it is Haran based on Gen. 11:31 and 24:4) and refers to the place as both “your native land” and “your father’s house”. It is most likely that the avoidance of the one and the addition of the other are deliberate and intended for emphasis. In other words, the Torah is trying to say that the name of the place doesn’t really matter. What matters is Abraham’s personal connection to it. He is told to leave both the place where he developed a personal attachment to the surroundings, the climate, the neighbors, the neighborhood, and where he grew accustomed to a particular life style, indeed, all of the things that had become a normal part of his life. But that wasn’t it. He was told to move from his “father’s house”. In other words, he was told to leave not just his surroundings but the most central feature of his physical and emotional existence – his family. He had to move away from his roots, his entire support system (interestingly, he understood that his wife was allowed to join him, as is evident from verse 5), the people he turned to in times of joy and in moments of despair, with whom he shared good times and bad, childhood memories, warmth and comfort (and of course no small measure of tension and grief), and the role that they shared in helping shape his emotional and spiritual identity. And who is asking him to do this heart wrenching thing?
2. “The Lord”. Who is this Lord that is asking so much of him? Did Abraham encounter this God before? The first mention of Abraham in the Torah is in the previous chapter verse 26. What does the text there tell us? That Abraham was the son of Terah. What in the subsequent verses? That he married Sarai (later renamed Sarah) that she couldn’t have children and that he was taken by his father Terah to Haran. Thus, there is no evidence in the text that he had any idea who this God was prior to this encounter with Him here (I will be am referring to God throughout this course in the masculine form, in accordance with Jewish tradition. A discussion of the problems involved in this gender attribution is a subject for another course). Although commentators over the years have offered an entire account of Abraham’s encounter with God prior to this story, there is no evidence in our text to support it, and we will be basing our analysis on ideas that emerge from the text.

Thus, Abraham is being called upon to uproot himself from his “native land” and “father’s house” and from all the range of emotions that are associated with these places, by a God he had not seen or heard ever before. And where is he told to go?

3. “To the land that I will show you”. What land is that? We all know that it was the land of Canaan (later referred to as the Land of Israel). But did Abraham know that? How could he have known? Indeed, the text emphasizes that Abraham had no idea where he was to go and that he would only know the land when God shows it to him.

Go the Discussion Board. Would you be inclined to heed this call? How much should people have to sacrifice for God and for religion?

It is hard to imagine anyone today in his right mind heeding such a call. This is especially true given our skepticism in general and our skepticism about anything supernatural or divine. Unless we really don’t like our homes and our families or we like adventures and are extremely trusting of others (not a quality that people who receive junk mail informing us of million dollar sweepstake winnings are likely to develop easily). Our most likely response would be a resounding “Are you crazy?” Alternatively a typically American response might be “What are you giving me in return?” or “If you pay me a million dollars I‘ll think about it.”            

Of course the God of the Torah does not act haphazardly. There must be something behind this call to Abraham for which he is asked to sacrifice so much. For that we must continue.

Text Study 2

Please read verses 2-3 and answer the following questions:

1. What is the subject of these verses?
2. What is the key word in these verses? What does this indicate about the essence of the promise?
3. What are the various elements of the promise? Compare your answers to N. Sarna’s commentary in the JPS Torah Commentary to Genesis. (Scan Commentary)
4.  After hearing this promise would you be more inclined to heed this divine call?

Suggested Answers:

1. The subject is God’s promise to Abram. Of course we will need to understand what possesses God to makes such a lofty promise which is a subject that we will address in our next lesson.
2. The key word is “bless” which appears 5 times in the span of two verses. Thus the central feature of the promise to Abraham is blessing.
3. It is difficult to determine the substance of each of the blessings and that is why it should not be surprising if there are different interpretations among you. Sarna’s division is helpful and well thought out but by no means is it definitive. There is a difference of opinion among the scholars and even if there weren’t it would be perfectly okay for you to offer your own interpretation (provided of course that it is based on a genuine effort to understand the text). Sarna suggests a seven-part division which proceeds “in three stages from the particular to the universal: a blessing on Abraham personally, a blessing (or curse) on those with whom he interacts, a blessing on the entire human race.
4. Now to the crux of the matter. Perhaps these lofty promises make the idea of heeding God’s seem less improbable. After all who wouldn’t relish the opportunity of becoming a great nation, blessed with prosperity, fame, popularity and a source of blessing to mankind? It seems like a dream come true. No! It seems like it is too good even for a dream. It exceeds even Martin Luther King’s dream of a society that makes no distinctions based on the color of one’s skin. One would have to be crazy to turn this opportunity down!

On the other hand, who is making these grandiose promises? A God who we’ve never seen or heard before. Furthermore, Abraham is both childless and 75 years old (see verse 4). How is he going to become “a great nation”? Maybe if God were to split the sea or something we would think about it. The promises sound great, almost irresistible, but nothing short of ridiculous. We would probably dismiss God as some lunatic and we would discard his promises as we would a fortune cookie (not the cookie of course just the paper with our fortune) or as we would dump the letters flashing our million dollar earnings in the National Sweepstakes. In the best of circumstances we might allow ourselves to take a few minutes of our time and take a peek around the corner in the extremely unlikely chance that there is some truth in this promise much as some of us might actually open the sweepstakes envelope in the one in a million chance that it is real before throwing it in the garbage (I must admit that the first time I received one of those letters it had me going for a while. Ah, the innocence of youth!) Perhaps we would be willing to believe such promises if they were put on our doorstep or if they were handed to us on a silver platter. Perhaps we will spend a few dollars on a lottery ticket if the rewards are so great (or a few hundred dollars… no I’ve never done that although I’ve thought about it when the jackpot was outrageously high). But to risk leaving our homes and families for some unknown place where we will allegedly be greeted with grandiose blessings is quite another thing.  And we would probably think that anyone willing to do so is simply out of their minds.

Text Study 3- to be studied in chevruta

Read verses 4-9 and answer the following questions:

1. How did Abraham respond to God’s call?
2. Why do you suppose the Torah mentioned Abraham’s age at this point?
3. See Sarna in the JPS Commentary (scan commentary). Why did Abraham stop at Shechem?
4. What does God promise Abraham at Shechem? What is new in this promise?
5. Why does the Torah tell us at the end of verse 6 “the Canaanites were then in the land”?
6. What is Abraham’s immediate reaction? What is its’ significance?
7. Look at the map (map 44 in the Macmillan Bible Atlas) and try to explain the significance of Abraham’stravels?

Suggested Answers:

1. “Abraham went forth as the Lord had commanded him”. Okay let’s imagine that he was the adventurous type, a person who was willing to take risks for potential gains, remote as they may be. Yes, there are some people who traverse the earth in search of gold and precious jewels and others who enter the depths of the oceans in the search of lost treasures, but these people do these things knowing full well that the chances of finding these riches are very slim. If they are reasonably sane they don’t invest all of their time and money in these adventures but are motivated partly, if not mostly, by the excitement of the search itself and view it as a source of fun.

Abraham, on the other hand, didn’t do this out of self interest at all. The fact that Abraham “went forth as the Lord had commanded him” emphasizes that his sole motivation was the fulfillment of God’s will. Furthermore, there is no trace of doubt or skepticism. He went without questioning, without thinking that this might be a hoax, some bad joke that some prankster was playing on him. Why did he do this? Was he a fool? What is the significance of Abraham’s behavior for future generations?

As we mentioned earlier, at the ripe old age of 75, and still childless, the divine promise “I will make of you a great nation” must have seemed absurd. Furthermore, the fact that he had to embark upon a journey to a new land at such an age should have make him think twice, if not to laugh it off completely as some silly joke. Although many of us at 75 are still bouncing around and living to the fullest, few of us are still subjecting our bodies to the same kind of physical exertion that we did at 25. At 75 we would be happy to take a cruise to a new exotic land, as long as we can put our feet up on the deck, relax at the pool while being entertained by live music, and as long as we can take a break for an occasional game of shuffleboard. To walk on foot to some unknown place, knowing that we will never be returning home is quite another thing. Thus, the Torah mentions Abraham’sage in order to emphasize to what incredible lengths Abraham was willing to go in following God’s command. 

3. Sarna suggests that Shechem was a logical place to stop for travelers and pastoral nomads because of its proximity to springs and wells. The real significance of Shechem, however, will become clear when we read the following verses.
4. In Shechem, God promises “I will assign this land to your offspring”, thus the term “The Promised Land”. The earlier promises required Abraham to go to a new land where he would become a great and blessed nation but it did not say that that land would eventually become his own. Perhaps God omitted this promise in His initial calling as a test of Abraham’sfaith in God (although to believe that an entire land would be given to us by God requires no less faith!) It may also be that “seeing is believing”. In other words, God wanted Abraham to see what is was that He was referring so that the promise of the land would be more appealing. Of course this assumes that what Abraham saw was good… which brings us to questions 5.

5. The Torah in verse 6 informs us parenthetically that the “Canaanites were then in the land”. At first glance this historical fact seems trivial and of no interest. Upon careful examination however this little fact is anything but trivial. In verse 7 God promised Abraham the land where he had just arrived. But he didn’t promise him the land but rather “I will assign this land to your offspring”. In other words, Abraham wasn’t going to inherit the land; his offspring were. But if God wanted Abraham to inherit the land why not just give it to him then and there?? Because “The Canaanites were then in the land”. The land was occupied by another people. It was not a desert wasteland but an occupied land. God could have cordially, or not so cordially, escorted the Canaanites out of the land if He so desired but He chose not to do so. The territorial rights of the nations inhabiting the land had to be respected. Thus, Abraham had to wait for the fulfillment of this promise. The question of how long Abraham would have to wait will be discussed in lesson 5.
6. Abraham reacted to all of this as only Abraham would. Although he realizes that he will not live to see the fulfillment of God’s promises, that he had sacrificed everything for blessings from which he will never benefit personally, he does not argue or complain. What does he do? He builds altar to God (altars were the central form of worship in those days) in gratitude for the promise of the land. Indeed, it is significant that he builds an altar in the city of Shechem which was a holy site for pagan worship. Rather than seek a “holier” location for the worship of His God he builds an altar in a pagan site and thus endows it with a new religious sanctity.

The importance of this cannot be overlooked. There are those who believe that genuine worship of God requires withdrawal from general society and the creation of a Jewish community that is separated and isolated from everyone else, a ghetto as it were. It is often asked, how can we maintain our distinctiveness in the midst of a society whose values are so alien and often antithetical to the values of Judaism? How can Jews remain loyal to the Jewish faith when the population at large believes in something else and views us as strange and out of place? Abraham here symbolizes to future generations that God can be worshiped even in the midst of idolatry, that we need not withdraw from the world and into ourselves but rather go out into the world, transform it and make it a better place.

7.  Abraham stopped in three places, Shechem (identified by scholars as the mound known as Tell Balata near the modern day Shechem (Nablus), east of Bethel (identified by scholars with the modern village of Beitin about 10 miles North of Jerusalem) and then toward the Negeb which is southern and southeastern Judah around Beer-Sheba. Why did he stop at these places? Why does the Torah need to tell us this?

As the map makes clear, Shechem is in the North, Bethel is in the center and the Negeb is in the South. In other words, Abraham was not merely roaming; he was covering the length of the country from North to South. He was, so to speak, checking out the land that was promised to him, trying to get a foothold in it, to become familiar with it, much as we check out new electronic equipment, appliances or cars when we first purchase them. The only difference is that Abraham was acting as though the land was his even though it wasn’t his yet nor was going to become his during his lifetime. Abraham was able to live through the doldrums of the present because of his faith in a bright future, to find meaning and purpose in the here and now, encouraged by his belief in a better day, to live as though his dream had already been fulfilled, even though it was a dream deferred.

Bibliography

Cassuto, U. (1964), A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, pp. 301-333

Sarna, N. (1989). The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, Philadelphia: JPS, pp. 88-92

Zornberg, A. (1995). “Travails of Faith” in Genesis: The Beginning of Desire, Philadelphia: JPS, pp. 72-96