Lech-Lecha

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Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha (לך לך — Hebrew for "go!” or "leave!" or "go for you" — the first two words in the parshah) is the third weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 12:1–17:27. Jews in the Diaspora read it the third Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October or November.

Abram and Mechizedek (painting by Peter Paul Rubens)

[edit] Summary

[edit] The calling of Abraham

Abraham Journeying into the Land of Canaan (illustration by Gustave Doré)

God told Abram to leave his native land and his father’s house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him. (Gen. 12:1–3.) Following God’s command, at age 75, Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the wealth and persons that they had acquired in Haran, and traveled to the terebinth of Moreh, at Shechem in Canaan. (Gen. 12:4–6.)

God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would assign the land to his heirs, and Abram built an altar to God. (Gen. 12:7.) Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name. (Gen. 12:8.) Then Abram journeyed toward the Negeb. (Gen. 12:9.)

[edit] Wife as sister

Famine struck the land, so Abram went down to Egypt, asking Sarai to say that she was his sister so that the Egyptians would not kill him. (Gen. 12:10–13.) When they entered Egypt, Pharaoh’s courtiers praised her beauty to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife. (Gen. 12:14–15.) Because of her, Abram acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, slaves, and camels, but God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues. (Gen. 12:16–17.) Pharaoh questioned Abram why he had not told Pharaoh that Sarai was Abram’s wife, but had said that she was his sister.(Gen. 12:18–19.) Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and had his men take them away with all their possessions. (Gen. 12:19–20.)

[edit] Abram and Lot divide the land

Abram, Sarai, and Lot returned to the altar near Bethel. (Gen. 13:1–4.) Abram and Lot now had so many sheep and cattle that the land could not support them both, and their herdsmen quarreled. (Gen. 13:5–7.) Abram proposed to Lot that they separate, inviting Lot to choose which land he would take. (Gen. 13:8–9.) Lot saw how well watered the plain of the Jordan was, so he chose it for himself, and journeyed eastward, settling near Sodom, a city of very wicked sinners, while Abram remained in Canaan. (Gen. 13:10–13.)

God promised to give all the land that Abram could see to him and his offspring forever, and to make his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. (Gen. 13:14–17.) Abram moved to the terebinths of Mamre in Hebron, and built an altar there to God. (Gen. 13:18.)

[edit] War between the four kings and the five

The Mesopotamian Kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim made war on the Canaanite kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, who joined forces at the Valley of Siddim, now the Dead Sea. (Gen. 14:1–3.) The Canaanite kings had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth year. (Gen. 14:4.) In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings with him went on a military campaign and defeated several peoples in and around Canaan: the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, the Horites, the Amalekites, and the Amorites. (Gen. 14:5–7.) Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar engaged the four Mesopotamian kings in battle in the Valley of Siddim. (Gen. 14:8–9.) The Mesopotamians routed the Canaanites, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled into bitumen pits in the valley, while the rest escaped to the hill country. (Gen. 14:10.) The Mesopotamians seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed. (Gen. 14:11–12.)

Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek (painting by Dieric Bouts the Elder)

A fugitive brought the news to Abram, who mustered his 318 retainers, and pursued the invaders north to Dan. (Gen. 14:13–14.) Abram and his servants defeated them at night, chased them north of Damascus, and brought back all the people and possessions, including Lot and his possessions. (Gen. 14:15–16.)

When Abram returned, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the Valley of the King. (Gen. 14:17.) King Melchizedek of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God Most High, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen. 14:18–20.) The king of Sodom offered Abram to keep all the possessions if he would merely return the people, but Abram swore to God Most High not to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from Sodom, but would take only shares for the men who went with him. (Gen. 14:21–24.)

[edit] The covenant between the pieces

Some time later, the word of God appeared to Abram, saying not to fear, for his reward would be very great, but Abram questioned what God could give him, as he was destined to die childless, and his steward Eliezer of Damascus would be his heir. (Gen. 15:1–3.) The word of God replied that Eliezer would not be his heir, Abram’s own son would. (Gen. 15:4.) God took Abram outside and bade him to count the stars, for so numerous would his offspring be, and because Abram put his trust in God, God reckoned it to his merit. (Gen. 15:5–6.) God directed Abram to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a bird, to cut them in two, and to place each half opposite the other. (Gen. 15:9–10.) Abram drove away birds of prey that came down upon the carcasses, and as the sun was about to set, he fell into a deep sleep. (Gen. 15:11–12.) God told Abram that his offspring would be strangers in a land not theirs, and be enslaved 400 years, but God would execute judgment on the nation they were to serve, and in the end they would go free with great wealth and return in the fourth generation, after the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. (Gen. 15:13–16.) And there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces. (Gen. 15:17.) And God made a covenant with Abram to assign to his offspring the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates: the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (Gen. 15:18–21.)

[edit] Hagar and Ishmael

Having borne no children after 10 years in Canaan, Sarai bade Abram to consort with her Egyptian maidservant Hagar, so that Sarai might have a son through her, and Abram did as Sarai requested. (Gen. 16:1–3.) When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was lowered in her esteem, and Sarai complained to Abram. (Gen. 16:4–5.) Abram told Sarai that her maid was in her hands, and Sarai treated her harshly, so Hagar ran away. (Gen. 16:6.)

An angel of God found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, and asked her where she came from and where she was going, and she replied that she was running away from her mistress. (Gen. 16:7–8.) The angel told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her harsh treatment, for God would make Hagar’s offspring too numerous to count; she would bear a son whom she should name Ishmael, for God had paid heed to her suffering. (Gen. 16:9–11.) Ishmael would be a wild ass of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him, but he would dwell alongside his kinsmen. (Gen. 16:12.) Hagar called God “El-roi,” meaning that she had gone on seeing after God saw her, and the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. (Gen. 16:13–14.) And when Abram was 86 years old, Hagar bore him a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael. (Gen. 16:15–16.)

[edit] The covenant of circumcision

When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to Abram as El Shaddai and asked him to walk in God’s ways and be blameless, for God would establish a covenant with him and make him exceedingly numerous. (Gen. 17:1–2.) Abram threw himself on his face, and God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, promising to make him the father of a multitude of nations and kings. (Gen. 17:3–6.) God promised to maintain the covenant with Abraham and his offspring as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, and assigned all the land of Canaan to him and his offspring as an everlasting holding. (Gen. 17:7–8.) God further told Abraham that he and his offspring throughout the ages were to keep God’s covenant and every male (including every slave) was to be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin at the age of eight days as a sign of the covenant with God. (Gen. 17:9–13.) If any male failed to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person was to be cut off from his kin for having broken God’s covenant. (Gen. 17:14.)

And God renamed Sarai as Sarah, and told Abraham that God would bless her and give Abraham a son by her so that she would give rise to nations and rulers. (Gen. 17:15–16.) Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed at the thought that a child could be born to a man of a hundred and a woman of ninety, and Abraham asked God to bless Ishmael. (Gen. 17:17–18.) But God told him that Sarah would bear Abraham a son, and Abraham was to name him Isaac, and God would maintain the everlasting covenant with him and his offspring. (Gen. 17:19.) In response to Abraham’s prayer, God blessed Ishmael as well and promised to make him exceedingly numerous, the father of twelve chieftains and a great nation. (Gen. 17:20.) But God would maintain the covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah would bear at the same season the next year. (Gen. 17:21.) And when God finished speaking, God disappeared. (Gen. 17:22.) That very day, Abraham circumcised himself at the age of 99, Ishmael at the age of 13, and every male in his household, as God had directed. (Gen. 17:23–27.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Genesis chapter 12

The Midrash asked why God chose Abraham. Rabbi Hiyya said that Abraham's father Terah manufactured idols and once went away and left Abraham to mind the store. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abraham to offer it to the idols. Abraham took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abraham explain what he had done. Abraham told Terah that the idols fought among themselves and the largest broke the others with the stick. “Why do you make sport of me?” Terah cried, “Do they have any knowledge?” Abraham replied, “Listen to what you are saying!” (Genesis Rabbah 38:13.)

The Mishnah taught that Abraham suffered ten trials — starting at Genesis 12:1 — and withstood them all. (Avot 5:3.) The Babylonian Talmud reported that some deduced from Genesis 12:1–2 that change of place can cancel a man’s doom, but another argued that it was the merit of the land of Israel that availed Abraham. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b.)

Rab Judah deduced from Genesis 12:3 that to refuse to say grace when given a cup to bless is one of three things that shorten a man’s life. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55a.) And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi deduced from Genesis 12:3 that every kohen who pronounces the benediction is himself blessed. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 38b.)

Resh Lakish deduced from Genesis 12:5 that the Torah regards the man who teaches Torah to his neighbor’s son as though he had fashioned him. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 99b.)

The Mishnah equated the terebinth of Moreh to which Abraham journeyed in Genesis 12:6 with the terebinths of Moreh to which Moses directed the Israelites to journey in Deuteronomy 11:30 to hear the blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Mishnah Sotah 7:5; Babylonian Talmud Sotah 32a), and the Talmud equated both with Shechem. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 33b.)

Rabbi Elazar said that one should always anticipate misfortune with prayer; for it was only by virtue of Abraham’s prayer between Beth-el and Ai reported in Genesis 12:8 that Israel’s troops survived at the Battle of Ai in the days of Joshua.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 44b.)

The Rabbis deduced from Genesis 12:10 that when there is a famine in town, one should emigrate. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 60b.)

Rab deduced from Genesis 12:11 that Abraham had not even looked at his own wife before that point. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 16a.)

Rabbi Helbo deduced from Genesis 12:16 that a man must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man’s home only on account of her. (Babylonian Talmud Baba Metzia 59a.)

Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that leprosy resulted from seven things: slander, bloodshed, vain oath, incest, arrogance, robbery, and envy. The Gemara cited God’s striking Pharaoh with plagues in Genesis 12:17 to show that incest had led to leprosy. (Babylonian Talmud Arachin 16a.)

[edit] Genesis chapter 13

The Mishnah deduced from Genesis 13:13 that the men of Sodom would have no place in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:3; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 107b, 109a.)

[edit] Genesis chapter 15

The Babylonian Talmud expanded on Abraham's conversation with God in Genesis 15:1–21, quoting Abraham to ask: “Master of the Universe, should Israel sin before You, will You do to them as You have done to the generation of the Flood and to the generation of the Dispersion?” God replied: “No.” Abraham then said to God: “Master of the Universe, ‘Let me know whereby I shall inherit it.’” (Gen. 15:8.) God answered: “Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old.” (Gen. 15:9.) Abraham then continued: “Master of the Universe! This holds good while the Temple remains in being, but when the Temple will no longer be, what will become of them?” God replied: “I have already long ago provided for them in the Torah the order of sacrifices, and whenever they read it, I will deem it as if they had offered them before me, and I will grant them pardon for all their iniquities.” (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 27b.)

The Mishnah pointed to God’s announcement to Abraham in Genesis 15:16 that his descendants would return from Egyptian slavery to support the proposition that the merits of the father bring about benefits for future generations. (Mishnah Eduyot 2:9.)

[edit] Genesis chapter 17

Rabbi deduced from Genesis 17:1 that only after Abraham had circumcised himself was he considered complete and whole. (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31b.) The Mishnah notes that transgressing the command of circumcision in Genesis 17:14 is one of 36 transgressions that cause the transgressor to be cut off from his people. (Mishnah Keritot 1:1; Babylonian Talmud Keritot 2a.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there is one positive commandment in the parshah:

The precept of circumcision (Gen. 17:10.)

(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Positive Commandment 215. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:230–31. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:85–87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

Isaiah (painting by Michelangelo)

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is:

for Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews: Isaiah 40:27–41:16
for Karaite Jews: Joshua 24:3–18

[edit] The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Lech Lecha, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Saba, the maqam that symbolizes a covenant (berit). It is appropriate because in this parshah, Abraham and his sons undergo circumcisions, a ritual that signifies a covenant between man and God.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

[edit] Ancient

Vassal treaties of Esarhaddon. Babylonia, 681–669 B.C.E.
"To go/pass through" in Hans G. Guterbock & Harry A. Hoffner (eds.), The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, vol. P, 36-37. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1997.

[edit] Biblical

Genesis 20:1–16; 22:17 (numerous as stars); 26:1–33.
Exodus 4:24–26 (circumcision).
Deuteronomy 1:10 (numerous as stars).
Jeremiah 34:18–20.

[edit] Early nonrabbinic

The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek. Dead Sea scroll 11Q13. Land of Israel, 1st Century B.C.E. Reprinted in Géza Vermes. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 500–02. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7139-9131-3.

Josephus

Josephus. The Wars of the Jews, 5:9:4; 7:10:1. Circa 75 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 716. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
Qur’an 2:258; 4:163; 6:74–84; 19:41–50. Arabia, 7th Century.

[edit] Classical rabbinic

Mishnah: Nedarim 3:11; Sotah 7:5; Sanhedrin 10:3; Eduyot 2:9; Avot 5:3; Keritot 1:1. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 412, 458, 605, 645–46, 685, 836. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
Tosefta: Berakhot 1:12–13; Shabbat 7:24, 15:9; Yevamot 8:5; Nedarim 2:5; Sotah 5:12; Sanhedrin 13:8; Eduyot 1:14. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 17a–b; Sheviit 43b. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1, 6b. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Genesis Rabbah 39:1–47:10. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.

Talmud

Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 7b, 9b, 13a, 49a, 55a, 56b, 64a; Shabbat 89b, 97a, 105a, 108a, 118b, 130a, 132a–b, 133b, 135a–b, 156a; Eruvin 40b, 53a; Pesachim 52a, 69b, 87b, 92a; Sukkah 31a; Beitzah 8b; Rosh Hashanah 16b; Taanit 27b; Megillah 16b, 31b; Moed Katan 13a, 25b, 27b, 29a; Chagigah 12a, 13a; Yevamot 5b, 13b–14a, 42a, 64a, 70b–71a, 72a, 100b; Ketubot 112a; Nedarim 31b–32b; Nazir 23a–b; Sotah 4b, 17a, 32a, 33b, 38b, 46b; Gittin 2a; Kiddushin 29a, 39a, 41b; Bava Kamma 38b, 60b, 88a, 92b–93a; Bava Metzia 59a; Bava Batra 15b–16a, 56a, 100a, 127a, 163a; Sanhedrin 38b, 44a–b, 59b, 92b, 95b–96a, 99a–b, 107b, 109a, 111a; Makkot 8b, 13b, 23b–24a; Avodah Zarah 9a, 26b–27a; Horayot 10b; Menachot 42a; Chullin 49a, 65a, 89a; Arakhin 16a–b; Keritot 2a; Meilah 17b; Niddah 61a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 5:2:1. 6th–7th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Pesiqta deRab Kahana: An Analytical Translation and Explanation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:71. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-072-8.

[edit] Medieval

Rashi. Commentary. Genesis 12–17. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:115–72. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9.
Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:14, 16, 34, 44, 80; 3:7; 4:17. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 90, 92, 108, 110, 132, 142, 223. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
Zohar 76b–96b. Spain, late 13th Century.

[edit] Modern

Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 2:26; 3:33, 34, 35, 36. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 332, 417, 436, 443–44, 459–60. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. Mesillat Yesharim, ch. 4. Amsterdam, 1740. Reprinted in Mesillat Yesharim: The Path of the Just, 53. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1966. ISBN 0-87306-114-4.
Moses Mendelssohn. Jerusalem, § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander Altmann, 100. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6.
Irving Fineman. Jacob, An Autobiograhical Novel, 11, 17. New York: Random House, 1941.
Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 4–11, 36, 43, 52–54, 59, 78, 89–91, 93, 95–98, 100–02, 125, 141, 148, 153–54, 177, 256–57, 309–10, 339–55, 385, 425, 492, 523, 555, 593–94, 596, 671, 763, 778–79, 781, 788, 806, 859. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
Zofia Kossak. The Covenant: A Novel of the Life of Abraham the Prophet. New York: Roy, 1951.
Martin Buber. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
Mario Brelich. The Holy Embrace. Translated by John Shepley. Marlboro, Vermont: Marlboro Press, 1994. ISBN 1-56897-002-1. Originally published as Il Sacro Amplesso. Milan: Adelphi Edizioni s.p.a., 1972.
Terrence Malick. Days of Heaven. 1978.
Margaret Atwood. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1986. ISBN 0-395-40425-8.
Adin Steinsaltz. Biblical Images, 12–29. New York: Basic Books, 1984. ISBN 0-465-00670-1.
Walter Wangerin, Jr. The Book of God, 13–25. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996. ISBN 0-310-20005-9.
Orson Scott Card. Sarah: Women of Genesis. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2000. ISBN 1-57008-994-9.
David A. deSilva. “Why Did God Choose Abraham?” Bible Review 16 (3) (June 2000): 16–21, 42–44.
Marek Halter, Sarah. New York: Crown Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-4000-5272-6.