Rabbi Heller's Blog

In the last 36 hours I’ve heard from many friends, in our community and beyond. Some are experiencing existential fear. Common themes that they express  include concern that causes, legal protections and fundamental values that matter to them will fall under attack; that they, or those they love, will be denied life-saving medical care; and that radical right-wing hatred, against them and others, has been emboldened. Others are expressing optimism. They share that for the last year, or for far longer, they have felt failed by institutions, people and ideologies they trusted, and feel that only new leadership will listen to their concerns. Some are hopeful that a new administration will be better at protecting them from hate directed at them from the radical left. In the future, we will have the benefit of hindsight to look back and judge the full impact of the decision that the American people made this week. Today, I want to try to offer a different insight about how to navigate the times ahead.

This week’s portion, Lech Lecha, talks about a pivotal moment in the relationship between Avram, our patriarch (not yet known as Abraham), and Lot his nephew. What starts as a dispute among their shepherds leads to the conclusion that “this land is not big enough for the both of us” and that the two of them must part ways. Avram famously says, “if you go left, I will go right; if you go right, I will go left.” Lot chooses the fertile, but sinful territory of Sodom, while Avram continues to roam the land. What a tragic level of division, that this family can no longer live together. It is not hard to draw the analogy to the current moment, as we have come to the end of a contentious fight over who will be our shepherds. There are those who, even now, base their ideology on “if you go left, I will go right.” What matters to them is not whether the path is objectively best, but that it is the opposite of the path chosen by one’s opponent. Each might say that they are on the true path and the others are divergent.

Lot does not fare well in Sodom; there is a war of four kings against five kings and the city is conquered, with Lot is taken captive.  Avram mobilizes to save his nephew, despite the acrimony between them.  As we read this story, we are reminded that as a Jewish community, we cannot help but be involved in the conflicts of kings and rulers, and we should be mindful that aligning ourselves too closely to any one ruler may seem beneficial but may also be at our peril. For some members of our Jewish community, Avram’s actions might be a reminder that at times of conflict, one cannot sit back, but must mobilize. For others, it might be a reminder that if we find ourselves in a position of strength, while those who we consider family find themselves on the losing side, we have an obligation to use our power to prevent them from being brought low.

There is much more that can and will be said on this topic, but I’ll offer a final observation. After I wrote my comments above, I realized that Rabbi Konigsburg had addressed some of the same ideas in his comments on Lech Lecha in November, 2016. There is something that is both disheartening but also hopeful about the fact that, despite wars and a pandemic, we’ve only moved so far in the last eight years. Jewish history, and world history, are cyclical. What seems revolutionary or cataclysmic in the moment often ends up being part of a pattern that is neither more glorious nor more ghastly than what came before.

The split with Lot and the war of the kings were among the first of 10 tests that Avram would face. Those tests are what transformed Avram the lonely wanderer into Abraham, founder of our faith.. I hope that those who feel fear this week, those who feel hope (and those who feel both) all recognize that there are more times of testing ahead. I hope that we will learn from Abraham’s example, and make sure that we do not let our divisions cut our deepest connections. If you are feeling afraid, let that fear lead to positive action. If you are feeling powerful, use that power to ensure that none are left behind.