6 months ago

Lech Lecha: Why G_d made Abram a Loser.

In this week’s reading we find the foundation of Judaism: G-d chose a man called Avram, promised him greatness, fame, fortune and even the land of Israel if he would leave everything and move there …… and he did! But when he arrived in the Promised Land he was greeted by a famine and had to ‘go down’ (12:10) to Egypt to avoid starvation. And then his wife got kidnapped.
Is that a way to start a religion?
True G-d did promise him the power to bless (12:2) the land of Israel (12:7) and an eternal covenant of circumcision (17:10).
But, after all, G-d is king of the Universe; EVERYTHING is His for the giving! Why didn’t He promise Abraham eternal bliss or world conquest? Why just these three things? And why didn’t He keep his promises about fame and fortune?
To understand this here is a story.
Shraga was a simple wagon driver and he was always happy. He eked out his meager living by taking people from one town to another. When the weather was nice, the horses were feeling good and there were customers it was easy for him to be happy but if not, he always found something to be happy about. Even on the day when anyone else would be miserable!
That day, when he set out the morning to look for work in the next town the sky was clear and the cool autumn air was fresh and crisp. But an hour into his journey the temperature suddenly dropped, clouds blackened the sky and in no time torrential rain and freezing winds were cutting through his coat and it was almost impossible to move.
He whipped the horses. He was freezing and drenched to the bone. It looked like it would rain forever and the horses were barely making progress. In another few hours it would be night. Who knows if he would make it home alive? But he managed to sing a happy tune to himself and hope for the best.
Then, suddenly, through the storm and torrents of rain he noticed someone standing in the road up to his ankles in mud, waiving furiously and trying to shout through the howling wind. He stopped, stretched out his hand and pulled the man into the wagon, next to him on his seat and took him under the blanket that he had put over his head. It was a Jew! What was he doing on the road in the middle of nowhere? They huddled together, he turned the carriage around, so the wind was at his back and two hours later they were in Shraga’s home, wearing dry clothes and sitting by the stove sipping hot soup.
The traveler turned out to be none other than the Holy Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sussov the Holy Sussover Rebbe. He had set off in the morning to visit his elderly parents and got caught in the storm.
“Well” the Rebbe said, “now that you saved my life I want to give you a blessing of riches and fame. What do you own? Do you have anything of value?”
“Fame? Blessing? Thank you Rabbi! Wow! Thank you!! Err, anything of value? Not much.” Shraga shrugged his shoulders and replied. “I mean no one would buy my wagon or my house or anything else. I guess the only things worth anything are my horses. That’s it! have two strong healthy horses.”
“Nu” Answered the Rebbe, “Good! One will be for Purim and one for Passover. Now I must be gone. Thank you again and G-d bless you!”
He shook Shraga’s hand and left, closing the door behind him and leaving poor Shraga more confused than happy. “”One for Purim and one for Passover? Wonder what he meant by that?” he said to his wife.
A few months later, just before Purim when the joy of the approaching holiday was in the air, one of the horses suddenly died. With no other choice and with a heavy heart he sold its dead carcass to the local gentile butcher and its skin to the tanner. With the money he celebrated the holiday in style and even filled his house with guests!
Then, a month later, one week before Passover another tragedy struck; the second horse died as well which, although giving him enough money to make a Passover holiday fit for a king, left him without any source of income.
Now he understood what the Rebbe meant! ‘One for Purim and one for Passover’.. But he wished the Rebbe hadn’t said it. The holidays were wonderful but now he was left with no horses and no money. What would he do?
He asked around in the streets and in the Synagogue if anyone knew how he could make a few Kopeks to feed his family with no luck. There was simply no work.
But Shraga did not lose hope. He talked it over with his wife and decided to go wandering. G-d would certainly help. One thing for sure, he would starve sitting at home. He packed his Talit (prayer shawl) Tefillin and a loaf of bread and set off early the next morning to wherever his feet would take him after resolving firmly not to lose his good mood.
After a few days he happened at an inn and sat down to rest his weary bones when suddenly he heard two fellows sitting in the corner talking in loud tones.
“What are we going to do?” said one of them slapping the table in frustration. “The man is insane!! This makes the fifth manager in two months. Every manager we bring he fires! Next thing he’ll fire us! What are we going to do?! “The other fellow just kept letting out moans and grunts, shrugging his shoulders and throwing up his hands in despair.
Shraga immediately stood and walked over to them. “Excuse me. I just came in from the road and, well, I couldn’t help overhearing what you were saying. What type of a manager are you looking for?”
The two men looked at Shraga, then at one another in disbelief and one of them answered.
“The Poritz (landowner) needs a manager for his lands.” “We are two of his tenant farmers,” the other interrupted. Then the first one resumed, “He owns all the farmland in these parts. He just fired the one who used to manage the lands and he assigned us to find him a new one. A new manager. Were you ever a manger? That is… could you do such a thing? Manage a huge estate?”
“Listen,” The other one declared in despair, “it’s not going to work! This fellow is a Jew. You’re a Jew, right? Well, the Poritz hates people, everyone! But he hates Jews ten times as much. Are you willing to take a chance of being whipped and beaten? Are you crazy enough to take the chance? You don’t know him…he’s a real maniac!! He might even kill you!”
But to their amazement Shraga agreed. They took him to meet the Poritz and, for some reason the cruel maniac took a liking to him! Shraga even told a joke that make the Poritz, perhaps for the first time in his life, smile. He gave Shraga the job immediately and heaped praises on the two fellows who brought him.
That was only the beginning. Shraga, who had never managed anything other than his horses actually succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. He somehow always made the right decisions, said the right things at the right time and, most important; the Poritz loved him!
Every few months he gave Shraga more and more responsibility until simple Shraga became a wealthy and influential figure; helping everyone in the entire area, in fact because of him even the Poritz became charitable and less anti-Semitic until he urged Shraga to invite Jews to live on his lands and give them work.
Now he understood the Rebbe’s blessing. If his horses hadn’t died, he would have missed all these blessings.
This answers our questions about G-d not keeping His word.
Abraham was something like Shraga before he lost his horses; within reason.
By leaving everything behind both of them became a new TYPES of people; Shraga became rich and Abraham became the first human to advertise the Creator and to bring G-d’s blessings to the world.
And he inherited this trait to the Jewish people: Doing what G-d wants, receiving what ONLY The Creator can give and distributing it to humanity.
What does the Creator want, and what can the Creator give?
G-d wants us to do everything possible to reveal Him HERE in this world through His commandments (as happened for a limited time and place when He gave the Torah at Sinai) and He will GIVE us the power and assistance to make it happen.
That is the meaning of the three gifts G-d gave to Abraham: Circumcision, the land of Israel and the power to bless.
Circumcision means connection ourselves, and our physical body to the Creator. the Land of Israel connects the physical world to the Creator. And Blessing means bringing G-d’s goodness into humanity.
And G-d assist us by sending Moshiach!
Moshiach will be a great Jewish leader and teacher like King David and Moses before him, who will reveal the results of our efforts here in the entire physical world:
Then G-d will circumcise our hearts (Deut.30:6) return all the Jews to Israel and fill the world with the blessing and awareness of G-d, (see Rambam, Laws of Kings Chapt. 11 https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188356/jewish/Melachim-uMilchamot-Chapter-11.htm andTanya; Igrot Kodesh chap. 4).
That is the goal of Jewish people begun by Abraham. And today it can be hastened by doing what the Lubavitcher Rebbe says
And not much is lacking. We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish suffering, hopes and prayers. Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can tilt the scales and reveal …….
Moshiach NOW!!

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