Parshas Lech Lecha1
1
Genesis 12:1 – 17:27
Haphtorah: Isaiah 40:27 – 41:16
The art of giving and getting a Blessing
In Parshas Lech Lecha we become acquainted on an intimate level with two righteous souls of the
highest order: Shem (Malki Tzedek) and Abraham. We have learned in Torah that Shem is
Lech Lecha
synonymous with Malki Tzedek, as Melech Shalem / King of Salem, hinted
at in the spelling of Shem’s name (‫ שם‬/ Shem is a Hebrew letter Shin and
Mem, which the words King of Salem contains).2
Shem is a founding father of the New World, and Abraham, his descendent, comes to light
after much anticipation from Shem that the world would produce an Abraham to continue the
mission of Shem: Spreading the Torah. Parshas Lech Lecha highlights their meeting in real time.
After the Flood, the Tower of Bavel, and the Great Dispersion, Shem and Abraham meet,
following Abraham’s war with the four kings in his venture to save Lot – with whom Hashem had
told Abraham not to associate upon entering the Land; we see in the end that Abraham could not
save Lot, due to Lot’s unholy inclination, and thus it was the angels that had to save him – and it
was in this meeting that Shem’s World would mesh into Abraham’s.
Shem carried the weight of ancient priesthood on his shoulders, something that he longed
to pass over to Abraham and the Nation of Priests that would ultimately emerge from him. It was
at this meeting where the transfer took place, a transfer that happened because Abraham took the
priesthood from Shem.3 A common misperception is that this taking implies by force, or that Shem
had somehow lost the priesthood, due to the sin of giving Blessings to Abraham before
acknowledging Hashem. But must we view the Torah in this way? Was there a deeper exchange
here, one resulting in Abraham taking the right of priesthood, not by force, but because Shem had
offered it to Abraham? After all, Jewish text suggests that Shem actually was acting in accordance
of tradition when greeting a righteous person who brings others back to being under the wings of
the Divine Presence, the Shechinah. So what was their exchange, in light of all the details? They
2
Baal HaTurim Lech Lecha.
Jacob ben Asher, also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash (Rabbeinu Asher) (probably born
in the Holy Roman Empire at Cologne about 1269 and probably died at Toledo, then in the Kingdom of Castile, about
1343); for more detail see list of Referenced Rabbinical Sages at the end of the book.
3
Talmud Tractate Nedarim 32.
were teaching us the methodology of giving Blessings, with Proper Conduct, the rights of
priesthood.
Every day, people receive and give Blessings. Let’s look at the proper template of how to
give a blessing, within “Derech Eretz,” proper conduct (Derech Eretz/ Proper Conduct is
considered part of the Oral Tradition/Torah that all Bnei Noach inherit):
If one were to Bless, “May you, Abraham be successful in all that you do!” The proper
response would be, “Ken Lemar!” “Yes! You too!” … (Ken LeMar means, “so to you”; Ken = so,
LeMar = to you)
Thus the Blessing will be returned to the person who gave the original Blessing, as this is
Derech Eretz of giving Blessings; it’s what Shem was teaching Abraham, and this is the Greatness
of Shem’s Character and Torah. Let’s have a look in the scriptures and see how the exchange plays
out:
“And he Blessed him” – Shem brought out bread and wine in celebration of Abraham’s
victory, as he was a Priest to God on High…And he (Abraham) Blessed him (Shem).
“And he said Blessed is Abraham, to God on High, Maker of Heaven and Earth” – The
method we have been told, is that Shem here blesses Abraham before God, as we see the next
statement from Shem, is Blessed is God… So why then does Shem Bless Abraham first? Derech
Eretz! Shem was simply saying, “Ken LeMar Abraham!” (Yes! You too!) – Ken LeMar, “and he
said Blessed is Abraham…” Shem had returned the Blessing to Abraham with Proper Conduct,
and immediately followed with, “And Blessed is God…”
“And Blessed is God, that He has delivered your enemies into your hand” – Shem may
have said, “Ken LeMar” to Abraham, as it is Derech Eretz, but the Torah and Message to Abraham
was, “Don’t forget about Hashem Abraham!” Thus it had been Abraham that preceded Blessings
of Shem before God, and Shem was placed into that same condition with the moral obligation of
“Ken Lemar”, returning the Blessing.
“And he gave him tithes” – Abraham promptly gave Shem tithes, as he understood the
Teaching and Torah of Shem. In that moment, Abraham was fit to take the Priesthood from Shem.
Shem did not sin, nor lose the Priesthood in this exchange; what did happen was that Abraham
merited to take all that Shem had offered at that moment. Abraham could now take the priesthood4
and begin his journey of fathering a Nation of Priests; a journey made possible with the teaching,
influence, and Blessings of Shem HaGadol, the Great Shem as is brought down in the Torah.
Shem has taught us an eternal message and Torah: Where there is Torah, ie. Blessing God,
one must not lose sight of Derech Eretz. However Derech Eretz must not be divorced from Torah,
especially when concerning Hashem!
Thus Abraham has Blessed Shem, setting the stage not only for Abraham to learn the Torah
that would allow him to merit the priesthood, but we have all learned a major foundation of the
Torah of Malki Tzedek/Shem, he who is a Priest To God on High: We must Bless Hashem first
and foremost.
Abraham was thrilled to Bless Shem after his victory over the battle of the four Kings, and
did so before Blessing God. Shem in his righteous ways, said, “Ken LeMar” – “You Abraham also
should be Blessed”, “But remember Hashem is Blessed too! Blessed is Hashem on High Who has
delivered your enemies into your hand!” Abraham immediately understood the Torah of Shem,
and merited to be a Priest from Shem, and ultimately was then able to father the Kingdom of
Priests…thanks to the Torah tradition of Shem.
Abraham learned the ultimate Torah from Shem, and their exchange highlights to us, even
today, how to weave Derech Eretz / Proper Conduct seamlessly into the fabric of Torah, a Teaching
that the sages say are inseparable. It should then be of no surprise to witness that Abraham and
Shem are themselves inseparable!
Abraham called the site of their meeting: Yirah (to see, or revere).
Shem called the same site: Shalem (complete, or peace).
Together they formed an eternal city, Jerusalem! (a composite of the two words, Yirah and
Shalem) – A city of Reverence and Peace! Yerushalayim/Jerusalem.5
4
Talmud Tractate Nedarim 32.
5
Midrash Rabbah Genesis 56.
The site where the priests will serve God. The site of The Holy Temple. The site for Prayer
(The Third Temple is called “House of Prayer for all people in Scripture”6), where Bnei Noach
and Jews can exist together in Harmony…as the truth mandates this reality: Look no further than
Shem and Abraham in Parshas Lech Lecha, and the Torah exchanged by both Righteous Men.
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I will bring them to My holy mountain, and I will gladden them in My house of prayer; their elevation offerings and
their feast-offerings will find favor on My Altar, for My House will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.—
Isaiah 56:7.
The Gerim Made By Abraham and Sarah
In Parshas Lech Lecha the Torah teaches us that Abraham and Sarah “made souls in Charan.” If
this area of Torah is learned as a novice in the Noahide subject matter, it will often be said that
Lech Lecha
these new souls are Jewish souls, as Abraham and Sarah are portrayed as
being “The First Prototype Jewish Souls” or the first “converts.” As we will
learn in Parshas Chayei Sarah, Abraham and Sarah were not quite the first Jewish souls, but rather
the first pair of Ger Tzedek souls, and these new souls that they made in Charan would be a type
of Ger soul as well. “Ger” is usually translated as convert, and all the more so “Ger Tzedek,” which
means “Righteous Ger,” is usually simply thought to be a convert in connotation. However, as we
will learn throughout the course of the Torah, “Ger” is usually termed in conjunction with the Ger
Toshav, a loose association with the Noahide and the Ger Tzedek (Ger Toshav derivative),
however, is a Noahide that keeps nearly all of the Torah, Shabbat in particular, as a Noahide and
in contrast to a Jewish Shabbat. Abraham will openly declare upon himself this current definition
of Ger Tzedek, as we can learn through the nuances in his language in Genesis 23:4: "I am a Ger
and Toshav", which Chazal learn as a Ger Tzedek – Noahide. Here, too, in our parsha these new
souls are Gerim, who are being indoctrinated as Noahides.
The Midrash Rabbah, on Parshas Lech Lecha, says of these new souls: “…the Nefesh
(lowest level of soul; directly affiliated with a Noahide in this context) that they made…" these are
the Gerim (Noahides, conversion of soul from Idol Worshipper to a Believer of Hashem – the basic
distinction of a Ger Toshav, which is presumably Abraham and Sarah’s intent) of whom converted,
and if so, since they converted why should it say ‘they made?’ – rather to teach you that all who
cause conversion from idolatry, it is as if you made them…and why does it say ‘they made them?’
– “showing that Abraham converted the men, and Sarah converted the women.” Again, it should
be noted that conversion here is a loose usage of words as if to say converted the soul from its
inclination to serve idols, and to begin serving Hashem, while effectively functioning in the World
as a Ger Toshav; this is especially fitting in this time and place, for Abraham was now functioning
in the Land, and he is equally operating on a level that was not applicable to Noach, thereby making
Abraham the Ger, while Noach and Shem were proverbially THERE in the Land, building the
World. Abraham and Sarah would then refine the populace.
From this understanding of the text, the commentaries to this Midrash fittingly offer
interesting support and new revelation that sheds light on Noahides. The Talmud7 states that the
process of conversion in fact begins with being a Noahide, and the subject is considered as a newly
born child. The Midrash commentary confirms this fact as it states that this person’s Nefesh is in
fact New. Should this new Noahide decide to convert, he now possesses the level of Nefesh that is
divorced from idolatry, and he is then empowered to journey as far as this Nefesh wishes to go; as
we know, it is a viable option to go against conversion and to remain a Ger Tzedek, should he enter
this domain.
The commentaries also suggest that as Abraham and Sarah were making these new souls,
they also brought them the merit of entering the World to Come, to which the Rambam8 clearly
states: a Noahide certainly merits the World to Come.
As we have learned in the first two parshaot of the Torah, Adam and Noach populated and
repopulated the World; this was their prime task. Noach did plant Torah and the Seven Laws into
the fabric of this Creation, yet his primary function was to populate, expand, develop, etc. Shem
can be seen, therefore, as an intermediary, extending Noach’s work and setting up the refinement
of the Creation; to free himself from Noach would cause Shem to lose sight of the vision and
blueprint that was being laid out. Due to this dynamic that was playing out, there was a surety that
God would produce an Abraham, someone who would go amongst the masses and refine the
people - pipeline as the World began to become filled with souls; Abraham would be the one to
clip away idolatry from the souls who were willing, convert them to new ways of being, and
ultimately create them as believers of God. It is for this reason that we cannot compare Noach to
Abraham, as their jobs were in contrast, even opposing each other from a certain perspective.
Through this model we see how imperative the three rung rope really is: Noach – Shem – Abraham,
and then onto Abraham – Issac – Jacob, followed by the Israelite Priest – Levite – Israelite. The
Noahides also have a basic three rung approach with the Ger Tzedek – Ger Toshav – and Ger
Toshav who only believes in God but does not follow the Seven Laws. Understanding Abraham
7
Talmud Tractate Yevamos 48b.
8
Moshe ben Maimon (1138- 1204); for more detail see list of Referenced Rabbinical Sages at the end of the book.
(and the perspective of the threesome) gives us clarity into all Spiritual societies that came from
Noach onward, and even until today.
People are fast to assume that since the Torah was given to the Jewish People, it must
follow that all of its themes are normatively Jewish. Yet, it is the sacred Ger that reminds us all of
the true nature of the Torah: the Torah as a Universal document must never be lost! The suggestion
that the Ger is a convert is a poor understanding that could eventually cause the perspective student
to run astray with a "working definition" that contradicts the Torah. As we find here, and in other
“Ger locations,” the Torah educates with the Ger in a unique way that brings us to new revelations
of the Torah, and the opaque gray areas of Torah that are shrouded in mystery come alive in an
almost Technicolor. A simple clarification into Abraham’s status, and therefore the status of the
souls that he made, causes an explosion of Noahide Torah to rush to the surface and creates an
urge to be given over.
The Torah is restored by the Ger, and even the Messiah will come first to teach the Torah
to the Righteous Gerim, who compose the first tier of returned exiles. The Torah will have her own
type of redemption – one that will lead to a clear vision of where the Torah came from – and in
this case, it shouldn’t be surprising that while the Torah may have erupted in Abraham, it was
certainly inspired by Noach and Shem, after all, Abraham was the Ger Tzedek, who made Gerim
– to help THEM complete their mission. And with God’s help, we all will, and can all perhaps be
blessed with our own portion of the Toldos Noach, like Abraham before us.
Abraham My Lover – The First Ger Tzedek
God loves Abraham. Abraham is a Ger. Abraham loves God. Under these terms, one will conclude
and realize the true meaning of the text: “Abraham My Lover” – and that this Love is
Lech Lecha
unconditional, running the gauntlet of every faction of Love contained in the
Torah. If you want – Love God, Love Israel, Love Jews, Love Gerim, Love
Torah, Love your neighbor, Love your wife, Love your son – every true love on Earth, then perhaps
one should invest time into understanding Abraham, the first (Ger Tzedek) of all Gerim. To put it
simply, Jews are commanded to Love (to which the commentators will apologize for the difficulty
that runs towards perceived impossibility of this command) while the Ger (i.e. Abraham) simply
falls in love.
To first understand matters, we as people don’t dictate our emotional affairs with God
(when undeserved). If I feel like loving God (or at least convince myself of this new religious
flavor) there is no guarantee that God will openly Love me back. Yes, God loves us all, yet as
Torah will show time and time again, if one is so bold as to claim to Love the God of Israel, your
grace period is quite short, and soon you will have the merit of meeting “Mr. Test” – for any
serious follower of Torah will have his faith based on love tested promptly by God. Yet the Torah
is littered with exceptions to the rule, no matter what; sometimes it’s the widow, or the orphan, or
the Levite….or the Ger. And always remember, God Loves the Ger. He just does.
Yes, we try to Love God, and sometimes it works out, and sometimes we stumble in our
efforts, not different than any flesh and blood relationship. Where God is different is that His side
of the equation is not based on a flesh and blood (emotional) response. God might weigh it out as
a test, as was mentioned, He could enter merit into the equation; this could be a matter of
repentance; there are essentially a myriad of ways that God will act towards a human yearning for
Him. At that rate, all we can say is that God is Good, righteous, Just, and the True Judge. Some
will experience a clear path to God, while others will be met with challenges. Yet the biggest
perceived impediment to God’s Love (as the Love is always there, that’s the point of the effort and
the Torah on the matter to encourage the Servant of God to Love God through various agencies
and Mitzvot, all leading to Love Hashem your God) might not be in the ingredients of which we
approach Him, but rather in the withdrawal of the subject’s own Love! In fact, if one is compelled
to Love God from trial, one can ask: why do good people suffer, and if from the source of Blessing,
one can belittle the actual dynamic taking place as a perceived happenstance.
Underneath the complexities of Life and Love – “He loves me/He loves me not” – for
whatever reason, and all of one’s struggles and life-made-easy moments, the relationship might be
different than you ever imagined. In fact, you may be operating the Abraham program, all the
while you are searching for merit in Abraham! In other words, as you search for God, and to offer
Love to Him, He may have already found you; Joe average may be, perhaps, something different
from God. Sometimes God pours out His love for the sake of His love, and this becomes the
foundation of being a Ger (Tzedek). Should this be the case, instead of “trying” to Love God, one
would need to realize “God loves me!” – I am a Ger – and at that point, it becomes the journey of
falling in Love.
The Torah is for Jews and Gerim. Jews are commanded to Love God, Love your fellow,
Love the Ger, etc. One could even say this is one reason why God created the Jews out of the
World’s Gerim: to be a Nation that would forever be charged and bound to the task of preserving
the art of Love. Moses reiterates often in the Book of Devarim, “What does Hashem your God
want from you – only to Love Hashem your God!” This is the very premise of the Shema, in which
we proclaim a Love for God, after declaring His unique One-ness over His peoples. This begs the
question then, as to the nature of the Ger – if he really even exists.
The good news is that he does exist, and the journey of the Ger is unique in the eyes of
God, for if Noach found grace in the eyes of God, we can at least say the same thing about every
Ger; one could call it the Naaman9 moment, when one realizes he is having a God/Jewish moment,
and needs the prophet of Israel stat! Okay, not always is there a prophet of Israel standing nearby,
but thanks to God’s providence (mazal), Jews and (invisible/unknown) Gerim are intertwined, and
have been since God said “I am Hashem Your God,” and even going back to Shem and Abraham
where it all began to take its current shape. Thus, for every Naaman moment, a Jew (even if
unbeknownst to himself) will have his “be a light to the nations moment” – and this is where the
falling into Love begins − not much different from Naaman, who departs from Elisha the Prophet,
in order to properly fall in Love, and fall out of idolatry.
9
The account of Naaman is found in Kings II Chapter 5.
It is here the Ger Toshav is born and the path of the Ger Tzedek begins; he need not search for
Abraham outside of himself in a mythological “what if” scenario, for he is now a student of
Abraham, finally realized as a Lover of God in God’s eyes. This is where the path to the Garden
of Eden and joining hands with the Shechinah will fill the heart of the Ger. God loves the Ger, and
the Ger Loves God – not much different from Shir Hashirim,10 and the Love that King Solomon
compares to the Holy of Holies.
The Ger in Love, who loves by responding to, and recognizing, God’s love upon him, for
simply realizing that he is a noble Ger to God, will literally fall in Love on many levels and to the
furthest extents. He will Love Israel, Love the Jews, Love his fellow man, etc. – in short, for every
Torah precept of Love, the Ger is there. The irony is in his relationship with the Jew, for the Jew
knows not of this Love, struggles with his inclinations that counter love, and even denounces the
Love of the Ger; the entire time the Ger is there in Brotherhood for the Jew, yet the Jew remains
blind to the Divine dynamic. Oddly, this scenario plays out throughout the entire Torah, from Kain
and Abel, Yishmael and Isaac, all the way until today. For all that, the Jew is challenged by the
yoke of Heaven, the Ger has fallen into place, and has become a standing partner in Serving God.
How ironic is it then that Loving Ger should be discouraged from Torah, prayer,
Brotherhood, Mitzvot, song and dance, etc. To put it mildly, the Ger has been put into a place of
Love, and his soul’s desire now is to express this Love! – all in the name of serving God from
Love, and, most uniquely, from the lack of command, rather from the very fact that God has Loved
him, and he has seen this Love and acts to preserve it for eternity. The Ger, under the spread wings
of the Shekinah, will delight in the path of Torah, such that the Zohar explains that this is the way
to healing all of the World’s sufferings (…urging people to accept their divine role and place, such
that God’s Love reaches all of the Torah’s subjects; Gerim, Priests, Levites, etc. All must be
realized and accepted to find content within the soul, and this alleviates suffering).
The crown jewel to such philosophy is the Shabbat, for it resonates in the exact light of the
Noahide Laws. Just as one takes the Laws in the fashion as Moses taught at Sinai, so too a Ger is
to take Shabbat. Not for his sake is he to take Shabbat, but to join the Brit of Yisrael11 (who is
10
Song of Songs, also called Song of Solomon.
11
Covenant of Israel.
sworn to guard/preserve God’s creation of the World as represented by Shabbat; this serves as the
World’s continued existence as well), as an expression of “Amen” to the Jewish command of
Shabbat. The Torah hints at this by stating “My Sabbaths you shall keep” – implying two peoples’
Sabbaths; along with commentary that suggests this, is the deeper appreciation that the reason
Hashem created Shabbat in the first place, was for World Peace between those who keep the Torah.
In short, God Loves the Ger. The Ger Loves God. Abraham was called by God His Lover,
and the Ger, from then on, until the end of time, shall be subjected to falling in Love. There is
nothing to fear from such providence, for one’s salvation is to finally find this Love; Blessed is the
Ger to be of the first to know God’s Love, and Blessed is Am Yisrael12 to have a faithful
Lover/Brother in the Ger. One day the Jews will give back the light and Love to the Ger, as he
was created to do, but ironically, by that time, the Ger’s Love will already have played its part in
bringing Mashiach. Torah of Mashiach? – learn to Love, and that journey began with the Ger. You
may even want to call him Tzedek…like Abraham, who loved God, as the father of all Gerim, and
who fulfilled the Torah’s deepest desire – in making Gerim. As Torah states, God loves the Ger,
and there is no greater Honor to God than having Gerim return to walk the Divine path.
12
People of Israel.