Category — Lech Lecha

Three Jews were condemned to death by firing squad. They stood against the wall, holding hands and shivering with fear, as they closed their eyes in trepidation, waiting for the end. The countdown began: 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4…
Realizing that their time had come, one Jew opened his mouth and cried out, “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod!”
His companions opened their eyes in shock and quickly admonished him: “Silence, you fool! You’ll get us all
into trouble!”

Religious pride has always been a rarity. Yes, pride existed since the dawn of history, but was it used only for self-centered purposes such as wealth and conquest. It was pride that killed Abel. It was pride on which the idea to build the Tower of Babel was formed. And it was pride that caused nations to rise and fall. But pride in beliefs and religion – who ever heard of that?
Such was the way of the world for the first two millennia.
Then Abraham came onto the scene. Born to typical, upper-class, idol-worshiping parents, already as a youngster he broke the rules. All alone, he began questioning the origins of the universe, the secret of creation, and man’s purpose in life. Blind faith in rock and stone did not appeal to him as the ideal way to live.
After much searching, he found G-d. In the sun, moon and mountains, and in the depth of the human psyche; in the happiness of the sunny days, and in the tears of the rainy nights, he found the divine touch.
And once he found that truth, his life and destiny was changed for eternity. The revolution burnt in his bones, and his mission kept his soul aflame. One more touched by the message, one more connected to the divine – that was all he lived for, all that counted.
It wasn’t easy; he was betrayed by his father and thrown into a fiery pit, shunned by society and labeled an outcast, yet his conviction did not falter. Against the whole world stood one lonely creature fighting not for personal pride but for a noble cause, not for conquest of land but for conquest of hearts and minds. And he won.
In truth one may call Abraham the first man to walk out of the box; the first human to break from the norm
and be “open-minded”; the father of all philosophers.
Well it’s almost four millennia later, and the children of Abraham are still on it, fighting the forces of evil with forces of good, and dispelling darkness with the brilliant light of our faith
and our Torah.
While the Jewish nation as a whole is experiencing a renaissance, as many of us reconnect to our roots, there are still those left untouched by the message, their souls resting on low flames and religious pride is in the dust, stored in the some old dusty album up in the attic.
To them and to all of us, let the story of our grandfather be a shining example of the virtue of pride, the
obligation to question and probe for answers. And, most importantly, a reminder and call for our responsibility to share with the world. We must stand up for the right stuff (not only the preservation of endangered species) and fight the war on evil.
Change is what the world wants. Let us give to them.

Let’s take a look at Abraham’s psychological analysis.

Resume

Name: Abraham

Age: 75

Marital status: Married to his niece Sarah.

Children: None.

Siblings: Brother Nachor, who was also his brother-in-law through marriage. Second brother, Haran , committed suicide.

Relationship with parents: Rebellious adolescence. Was caught smashing his father’s idols. His distressed father reported him to the government which condemned him to death. Miraculously he escaped unscathed.

Friends: Um, has no friends, shunned by society.

Country of residence: None. He’s a nomad, traveling constantly from place to place.

Mission statement: To convince the world of the existence of a Divine Creator.

Boy, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to come up with a serious analysis of this resume. The man has no family, has suicidal genes, has not had the parental opportunity for emotional growth, and lacks stability due to constant travel.

Freud would have a field day with this guy. This is prime show ‘n tell for the effect of environment and nurture. This guy is a born loser.

But history is witness to the irony of fate.

The man who changed the world more than anyone else in history – by founding monotheism, fathering the Jewish people, and providing a true example of courage and defiance – is, surprisingly, the destined unfortunate: Abraham.

Was Abraham crazy?

Well, here are the facts. He went against everyone. He circumcised himself at age 99. He believed in G-d when He promised that Abraham would father a child in his old age. He fought a one-man war against the mightiest alliance of kings.

He kicked his own son out of his home because G-d said so. He almost slaughtered his second son. And there’s more.

By today’s standards, he was crazy. And many a thinker would blame his “quirks” on his tough childhood. If his handwriting would be analyzed by a graphologist… what would it tell?

Our history is full of the “psychological unhealthy”: From Noah the loner to Abraham the rebellious, from Isaac who was emotionally abused by his brother, to Jacob who competed with his murderous twin-brother for their father’s love. Joseph was sold as a slave by his very own brothers. And the list goes on.

Face it: We are a nation of crazies.

That’s if being different and passionate defines craziness.

So dear friend: Do you have issues? You’re in good company.

Welcome to the club.

Three Jews were condemned to death by firing squad. They stood against the wall, holding hands and shivering with fear, as they closed their eyes in trepidation, waiting for the end. The countdown began: 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4…
Realizing that their time had come, one Jew opened his mouth and cried out, “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod!”
His companions opened their eyes in shock and quickly admonished him: “Silence, you fool! You’ll get us all into trouble!”
***
Religious pride has always been a rarity. Pride existed since the dawn of history, but was used only for self-centered purposes such as wealth and conquest. It was pride that killed Abel. It was pride on which the idea to build the Tower of Babel was formed. And it was pride that caused nations to rise and fall. It was all about man, his lusts and his ego. But pride in beliefs and religion – who ever heard of that?
Such was the way of the world for the first two millennia.
Then, finally, Abraham came onto the scene. Born to typical, upper-class, idol-worshiping parents, already as a youngster he broke the rules. All alone, he began questioning the origins of the universe, the secret of creation, and man’s purpose in life. Blind faith in rock and stone did not appeal to him as the ideal way to live.
. After much searching, he found G-d. In the sun, moon and mountains, and in the depth of the human psyche, in the happiness of the sunny days, and in the tears of the rainy nights, he found the divine touch. He discovered The Truth.
And once he found that truth, his life and destiny was changed for eternity. The revolution burnt in his bones, and his mission kept his soul aflame. One more touched by the message, one more connected to the divine – that was all he lived for, all that counted.
It wasn’t easy; he was betrayed by his father and thrown into a fiery pit, shunned by society and labeled an outcast, yet his conviction did not falter. Against the whole world stood one lonely creature fighting not for personal pride but for a noble cause, not for conquest of land but for conquest of hearts and minds. And he won.
In truth one may call Abraham the first man to walk out of the box; the first human to break from the norm and be “open-minded”; the father of all philosophers

Almost four millennia later, the children of Abraham are still on it, fighting the forces of evil with forces of good and dispelling darkness with the brilliant light of our faith and our Torah.
While the Jewish nation as a whole is experiencing a renaissance, with many of us reconnecting to our roots, there are still those left untouched by the message, their souls resting on low flames. Their religious pride is in the dust, stored in the old album up in the attic.
To them and to all of us, let the story of our grandfather be a shining example of the virtue of pride, the obligation to question and probe for answers. And, most importantly, let it remind us of our responsibility to share with the world. We must stand up for the right stuff (not only the preservation of endangered species) and fight the war on evil.
If we change our opinion of ourselves, the world’s opinion will respond in like manner. Be proud and be admired; be apologetic and shameful and you’ll be disgraced. It’s just the way of the world.