The Power of Example
Family Edition

The Summary

This is an abridged version of the essay The Power of Example written by Rabbi Sacks in 2011.

Until Lech Lecha, the Torah focused on all of humanity. Adam, Chava, Kayin, and Hevel are human archetypes. The first pair represent the tensions between husband and wife, the latter the rivalry between siblings. Then comes another pair of stories – the Flood, and the building of the Tower of Bavel ­– this time about society as a whole. Each is about the tension between freedom and order. All four narratives are about the human condition. Their message is universal and eternal, as befits a book about God, who is universal and eternal. In the first eleven chapters of Bereishit, we see the God who created the universe, made all of humanity in His image, blessed the first humans, and made a covenant with all humankind after the Flood. The God of the universe is the universal God.

Why then does the entire story shift in Bereishit 12? From here onward it is no longer about humanity as a whole but about one man (Avraham), one woman (Sarah), and their children, who - by the time of the book of Shemot - have become a large and significant people, but still no more than one nation among many.

What is happening here? Does God lose interest in everyone else? That surely cannot be the case. We have many examples to show us that God cares about all of humanity.

When Yosef looks back on his time in Egypt, he tells his brothers that it turned out well, as he was able to save many people in Egypt from starvation, as well as his own family. When God sends Yonah to Nineveh, the Assyrian city, it is to persuade the people to repent and thus avoid their destruction. Yonah doesn’t understand why at first, but he comes to see that God is concerned not only with Bnei Yisrael but with the Assyrians too.

So why does our Torah for the most part shift focus to Avraham, and from them on only follow him and his family? The stories in Bereishit 1-11 teach us that people do not naturally live as God wishes. They sin. They even kill one another. So after the Flood, God becomes not only our Creator but also our Teacher. He instructs humanity, and He does so in two ways: He sets out general rules – the covenant with Noach – and then He chooses an example, Avraham and his family. They are to become role-models, compelling examples of what it means to live closely and faithfully in the presence of God, not for their sake alone but for the sake of humanity as a whole. Avraham is recognised as a man of God by his contemporaries, even though they are not a part of his specific covenant.

The same is true of Yosef, the only member of Avraham’s family in Bereishit whose life among the Gentiles is described in detail. He is constantly reminding others about God.

Jews are not called on to be Jews for the sake of Jews alone. They are called on to be a living, vivid, persuasive example of what it is to live by the will of God, so that others too come to recognise God and serve Him, each in their own way, within the parameters of the general principles of the covenant with Noach. We are not called on to convert humanity, but we are called on to inspire humanity by being compelling role-models of what it is to live, humbly but unshakably in the presence of God, as His servants, His witnesses, and His ambassadors. This is not for our sake alone but for the sake of humanity as a whole.

To be a Jew is to be one of God’s ambassadors to the world for the sake of being a blessing to the world, and that necessarily means engaging with the world, acting in such a way as to inspire others as Avraham and Yosef inspired their contemporaries. That is the challenge to which Avraham was summoned at the beginning of this week’s Parsha, and it remains our challenge today.

Around the Shabbat Table

Questions to Ponder

1. Why do you think it is important for the Jewish people to be “ambassadors to the world”?
2. Can you suggest some ways that we can be role-models and ambassadors?
3. Who else in the Tanach plays a similar educational role that Avraham plays - for both the Jewish people and the other nations?

On the Parsha

Written by Sara Lamm

Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

The Parsha in a Nutshell

God commands Avram to leave his homeland for Canaan. Avram, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot, journey there, but a famine drives them to Egypt, where Sarai is briefly taken by Paroh. Returning to Canaan, Lot moves to Sodom. Avram rescues him from captivity and is blessed by Malkizedek. God makes a brit with Avram, foretelling Israel’s exile and promising them the Holy Land.

Still childless, Sarai suggests Avram marry her maidservant Hagar, who gives birth to Ishmael. God renames Avram to Avraham and Sarai to Sarah. He promises them a son, Yitzchak. Avraham is commanded to circumcise himself and his male descendants as a covenant sign, which he promptly does.

Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks

Delving Deeper

One key element of this week’s Parsha is the focus that shifts from the story of humanity to the story of one family and their experience of how to live a life close to God.

This shift is significant because universal principles can often be too abstract, too hard to follow, as was seen in the narratives of Adam and Eve through the story of Bavel. In choosing Avraham and his descendants, God is not abandoning the rest of humanity but rather offering a living model of faith and ethical behaviour - something the world greatly needed, to learn how to apply these principles.

Avraham’s journey of trust, obedience, and moral responsibility becomes a tangible expression of the values God wants all of humanity to follow. Through Avraham the world can see what it means to live a righteous life under God’s guidance.

How can we follow Avraham’s example and inspire others through individual and communal actions?

Parsha Activity

Mitzvah Challenge!

Prepare: Before Shabbat, ask everyone to come up with a list of ways to support others. The ideas can be both serious and funny. Then cut each item on everyone’s list into separate strips of card or paper.

Play: Take turns drawing cards and performing the good deed or role-playing the scenarios, and then discussing how these actions can help and inspire others. In so doing, we can try to be like Avraham, and hopefully take these ideas forward into next week!

A Story for the Ages

Akiva and Rachel

There once lived a man named Rabbi Akiva, who became one of the greatest leaders in Jewish history. But his life began very differently. Akiva grew up very poor, never even learning to read or write. He began work as a shepherd for a wealthy man named Kalba Savu’a, and for many years he thought learning Torah wasn’t possible for him.

One day, he met Kalba’s kind daughter, a woman called Rachel. She encouraged Akiva to begin learning, even though he was already 40 years old, and thought he was far too old to start. Rachel became his wife, and with her support and his own determination, Akiva started studying Torah. Kalba disowned Rachel for marrying a poor man, but she believed in Akiva, and gave up everything to support his learning. They each worked hard every day, never giving up, and eventually he became a rabbi and one of the wisest teachers in all of Israel.

Rabbi Akiva taught his students something very important: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” He believed that we should always treat others with kindness and respect, just as we’d like to be treated.

Rabbi Akiva wasn’t just a great teacher; he was also a role-model. He and Rachel led by example, showing everyone that no matter where you come from or how old you are, you can do good in the world and help others. Their lives remind us that by being kind and helping people around us, we can inspire them, just as Rabbi Akiva inspired thousands of his students.

During hard times for the Jewish people, Rabbi Akiva stood up for what was right, even when it was dangerous. He taught that doing good wasn’t just about nice words but about taking action. He showed us that to inspire others, we must lead by example.

On the Haftara

Written by Rabbi Barry Kleinberg

Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

HAFTARA SUMMARY

The Haftara in a Nutshell

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 40:27-41:16

In this passage, God addresses the complaints of the Israelites, reassuring them that He has not forgotten them despite their suffering. He reminds them that He does not grow weary, and we can trust in His unmatched power as the Creator of the universe.

God promises to give strength and power to the weak, encouraging them to trust in Him for renewal and endurance. He also challenges the nations to recognise His sovereignty, declaring His role in raising up a righteous leader from the east. God speaks to Israel of His support and protection, promising to transform their weaknesses into strength and to help them triumph over their enemies, cutting them down like a farmer threshes chaff.

Is it possible to see God in history? Are there world events which leave us feeling that we have seen God’s involvement in our lives?

Points to Ponder

1. How do you maintain a close relationship even when your friend or loved one is physically far away?
2. Can you find any similar ways to maintain a close relationship with God, who we cannot physically see, hear, or touch?
3. Can you express how a close relationship with God radically differs from our close relationships with friends, family members, and other loved ones?

Tanach Connections

Parsha and Haftara Links

At first glance, it is not easy to find a clear link between this week’s Parsha and Haftara, but there are a few possible links to be found.

To start with, there is a general link between the travels of Avraham from Ur Cassdim to Canaan (at the stage when he was known as Avram) and the exiles’ return from Babylonia to Judah in the Haftara. 

A second possible link is Yishayahu’s reference to Avraham in his address to the people. Yishayahu rarely mentions the patriarchs (Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov) as he is a prophet speaking for his time and for future generations, so he doesn’t tend to look backwards. However, in our Haftara he refers to “the seed of Avraham, My beloved” (Is. 41:8). But is that enough of a link for this passage to be chosen as the Haftara to Lech Lecha? 

In fact, this reference to Avraham as, “My beloved”, which can be more literally translated as, “the one who loves me” has a beautiful deep message. Rashi comments on this verse that, Avraham reached God out of love rather than fear. This is the preferred route to God, as expressed in the Talmud (Sotah 31a). Similarly, the Jews, exiled in Bavel, had lost their direct link to God. They had lost their land and the holy Temple in Jerusalem. In exile, the Jewish people could not need bring sin offerings to God, or any korbanot at all, and they were not promised good harvests through their avodah (Temple service) the way they had been in the past. Yet, despite all of this, Yishayahu tells us that they acted like Avraham and maintained their selfless love of God throughout their exile.

Putting the Prophets into Context

The Book of Isaiah

The first three Haftarot (all from the Book of Isaiah) in the annual cycle of Haftarot deal with the promise of the future redemption of Israel. The clear focus on this topic over the course of these past three weeks may be understood in light of the contents of these parshiyot.

Bereishit opens with the story of creation and building, but closes with a picture of a broken world dominated by sin and evil passions. Immediately following the creation story, the Torah describes the decline of man and the world. God’s conclusion from all this is regret about having created the world and disappointment in those He had created. The Haftara brings us an optimistic message of redemption as a concrete hope.

Parshat Noach also leaves us at a low point. It tells of destruction (the Flood), reconstruction (rebuilding, followed by building the Tower of Bavel), and then renewed destruction. The story leads us from a new world blessed with a unique covenant to one of division and dispersion, humankind being scattered across the entire world in the wake of sin. Parshat Bereishit concludes with general destruction, and Parshat Noach ends with the model of sin and exile. In both cases, it falls upon the prophet (in the Haftarot) to console the nation and present creation and the waters of Noach as a source of hope and consolation.

The message of this week’s Parsha is not pessimistic, but rather optimistic. It is marked by the selection of the future people of Israel and the covenant made with the Patriarchs; the land of Israel is promised to the people of Israel. The power of the individual and the meaning of a relationship between man and God are presented in all their majesty and grandeur. This, however, does not remove the need for a prophecy of consolation, but rather it makes it all the more necessary from the opposite direction – the gap between the optimistic world of Lech Lecha and the grave circumstances of the people in exile. Thus, the Haftara is once again taken from the chapters of consolation in the book of Isaiah as a message of hope. We will not be reading a Haftara from Isaiah again for while.

Quote of the Week

“Avraham performed no miracles, commanded no armies, ruled no kingdom, gathered no mass of disciples and made no spectacular prophecies. Yet there can be no serious doubt that he is the most influential person who ever lived, counted today, as he is, as the spiritual grandfather of more than half of the six billion people on the face of the planet... All other civilisations rise and fall. The faith of Avraham survives.”

The Great Partnership, Introduction