LECH-LECHA 1998

The Torah portion we read today was Lech Lecha. The question can be asked, why is this Torah portion called Lech Lecha? Usually, the Torah portion is named after the first significant word in the Torah portion. This Torah portion opens with the words, "And G-d said to Avraham." A Torah portion cannot be named after G-d because the Torah is about how man should live, how man follows G-d's instructions, but why isn't this Torah portion named Avraham? After all, there are other Torah portions that are named after people. We have Noah, Chaye Sara, etc. Why isn't this Torah portion named Avraham? We know that we are not supposed to call Avraham Avram after his name was changed. This is different than Yaacov. Even after Yaacov's name was changed to Yisroel, he was still sometimes called Yaacov. The reason for that is that the name Yisroel means "he struggled with G-d and man and was victorious." Sometimes we struggle and are not victorious. Sometimes we do not live up to our potential. After Avram's name was changed to Avraham, which means not just the father of Ram but the father of many nations, G-d's name, Itself, was added to his name by the addition of the letter Hay. Avraham was to be G-d's instrument in transferring His teachings to eventually the whole world. He was to be a blessing. As Avram it was not clear that he would be able to transmit His teachings. After all, his father, Terach, also was heading toward the land of Canaan, we learn at the end of last week's Torah portion. However, he only got as far as Choron. Choron in Hebrew can also mean anger. He left Ur Kasteem Somaria because he knew that this was not a good place. It was filled with persecution and hatred. Terach knew what he did not like, but he did not know what he did like. It was similar to negative Jews today who know what they do not believe, but do not know what they do believe.  Abraham got to Canaan because he was positive. The word Canaan, itself, means to answer yes. Abraham had a message to deliver. Abraham's message, though, would die with him unless he had someone to transmit it to. We do not call this Torah portion Avram because it was not sure that Avram could transmit his message to the next generation.
In this Torah portion we learn how he first thought that Lot would be his heir, but Lot was a sharp businessman who engaged in sharp business practices. Even though he kept many of the rituals of our religion, he could not be the heir of Abraham. All he was interested in was making money. Then Abraham thought that Eliezer would be his heir, but Eliezer only knew how to obey orders. We know that in Judaism we have to question everything. Following orders was and is the excuse of Nazis. One of the things the rabbis have against Noah is that he did not argue with G-d to save the people, like Abraham argued with G-d to save the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. G-d has to follow His own moral law, according to Judaism. That's one of the reasons why Abraham went to the Akedah, the binding of Isaac so willingly. He knew that G-d would not let him down. Somehow things would turn out all right, and they did. Abraham then thought that his heir would be Ishmael, but Ishmael was a wild man who wanted to do just what he wanted to do. He was not responsible. It was only before Yitzchak was born that G-d changed his name to Abraham, the reason for that being that now he was going to have an heir. Why didn't G-d do this in the very beginning? Why did it take 25 years after he left the land of Mesopotamia to come to the land of Canaan before G-d changed his name?
The answer is that G-d wanted Abraham to know that life has many ups and downs, that his main job was to be a blessing. This meant that sometimes he had to forego monetary advantage. He had to suffer exile. He had to sacrifice for his ideals. When Abraham came to the land of Canaan, the land which G-d showed him, he immediately had to leave. Famine struck the land. Here he had listened to G-d and had done what He said, and when he came to the land, he had to leave. I am sure that the people of Canaan did not look at him as a blessing but as an evil omen. He went to Egypt, and his wife was taken. He then came back to the land of Canaan and had to split with Lot. He then was forced to wage war to redeem him. He then had problems with his wife and his concubine, Hagar, but he struck to his message.
The only way we can ever teach our children that Judaism is important is if we stick to it through thick and thin. G-d now knew that Abraham would be the role model to his children that was necessary to transmit the Jewish message.
In fact, in the next Torah portion, Vayera, we learn how G-d explicitly says, "I will tell Abraham about My plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because I know that he will command his children and his whole household after him to keep the ways of Hashem to do righteousness and justice."  An Avram could only convey a message to his contemporaries; an Avraham could convey his message to his children and his children's children. It is not easy to convey a message to your children and your children's children. You can only do this if they see that you, yourself, are carrying out your own teachings. So many people talk a good game, but when it comes to their actions, they cannot follow through on their own teachings. G-d did not change Avram's name to Avraham until Avraham could, by his own example, inspire his children to continue on with his message.
That's why this Torah portion is not called Avram. G-d does not want us to follow the example of an Avram. He wants us to follow the example of an Avraham. We Jews have been an ever-dying people. Every generation they predict out demise. We, though, continue, even though we suffer losses. We continue because we have people who live by their beliefs, who realize that the most important thing is to be a blessing even if that means you will suffer monetarily, even if it means you cannot blindly follow orders, and even if it means you have to defer your pleasures and not do what you want to do when you want to do it. When children see that their parents live by their ideals, they are more apt to follow these ideals. We know that you can really only teach by example.
I am reminded of the story they tell about three people who died and went up to heaven. Gabriel met them at heaven's gate and said, "Tomorrow will be your funerals down on earth. What would you like people to say about you?" The first person said, "I would like people to say about me that I was a good doctor, and I saved many lives, and I was a good family man." The second person said, "I would like people to say about me that I was a wonderful teacher. I influenced so many youngsters to make something of their lives, and I was a wonderful father." The third person said, "I would like people to say about me, "Look, he's moving!'" We Jewish people are always moving. We have learned from our father Abraham how to be an eternal people. Let us hope and pray that all of us will follow his example so that all our children and grandchildren will be Jews, that each of us will want to be a blessing so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day. Amen.