Genesis 12:1-17:27 – Isaiah 40:27-41:16 – Matthew 2:1-12

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Lekh-Lekha
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
In Summary
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Lekh-Lekha

1. In Genesis 12:5, Abraham and Sarah take with them "all the souls which they had made in Haran." Our sages say that this refers to all the people that they had brought to faith in God. How did Abraham go about making disciples? What does this teach us about qiruv (outreach)? What similarities are their with the Brit Chadasha's view of qiruv? As Messianic Jewish communities what type of talmidim ("disciples") should we be making?

Rabbi Jason Sobel

Traditionally, Christian Scholars hold that "all the souls" mentioned in this verse refers to the slaves and servants that Abraham and Sarah acquired in Haran. This interpretation is implied by most Christian versions of the Bible, when they translate the Hebrew clause ve'et hannefesh asher ‘asu beCharan as "all the people they had acquired in Haran". 

This however is not the most literal translation of the words nefesh, which literally means soul, and ‘asu which means to fashion or make. In fact, the verb ‘asu is used in the creation account alongside the word bara which means "to create." Many scholars and theologians point out that the verb bara' refers to things that God created ex nihilo ("out of nothing"), while ‘asa refers to things that God fashioned out of already existing matter. In light of this, the sages teach,

"The Souls that they made in Haran" (Genesis 12:5) - this refers to all those pagan men and women that Abraham and Sarah brought to faith in the God of Israel, which shows that he who brings a stranger near and causes him to become a worshipper of God is deemed as though he created him.

Genesis Rabba 39:14

The primary way that Abraham and Sarah engaged in qiruv ("outreach"), according to our sages, was through hachnasat orchim ("hospitality").

Our father Abraham would bring people into his home, give them food and drink, befriend them, and thus attract them, and then bring them to faith and draw them under the wings of the Divine Presence. Hence you learn that a man who brings a single creature under the wings of the Divine Presence is accounted as if he had created him, shaped him, and articulated his parts.

Sifre Deuteronomy 32

What we learn from this is that kindness and hospitality are foundational ingredients in qiruv. Ultimately, if our outreach is to be effective, we must open both our heart and home to people in order to build meaningful relationships with them. 

Like Abraham, our primary goal is not to save souls, but make souls i.e. talmidim. Often we forget that discipleship is the fundamental and long-term aspect of qiruv. Is this not what Messiah Yeshua Rabbenu taught us when he said, 

Go therefore and make talmidim ("disciples") of all the nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20

If you look closely at the opening command of Messiah's Mandate, you notice that there are several verbal parallels between what God said to Abraham in this week's parasha and what God says to us through Messiah. These parallels are not accidental but rather allude to the fact the Messiah's mandate to make talmidim is rooted in the divine mission God entrusted to Abraham and the Jewish people to be a light to all nations. In fact, Messiah often ate with people, fed them, built relationships, and showed great kindness in the course of his ministry.

What type of talmidim are we supposed to make? We must remember the word qiruv comes from the verb qarav that means to draw near. To what are we supposed to be drawing people near? As Messianic Jewish communities we are responsible for drawing people closer to the God of Israel through Messiah. As a Jewish Messianic community, we are also called to bring people closer to the Torah and the Jewish people in general. By so doing, we honor God, help the individual, and ensure the survival of our people by strengthening their bond to Torah and klal Yisrael, the Jewish people. Failure to do so usually leads either to assimilation into the Church or re-integration into the wider Jewish community apart from Yeshua faith. Both are harmful to the future of our movement. Therefore, let us be diligent and intentional about making talmidim who are equally passionate and committed to Messiah Yeshua, Torah, and the Jewish people.

2. At the end of Parashat Lekh-Lekha, Abraham receives the commandment to circumcise his household. The Torah describes Abraham as responding to the commandment be‘etzem hayyom hazzeh - on this very same day (Genesis 17:23). Why does the Torah emphasize this point? What lessons do we learn from Abraham's example?

Rabbi Jonathan Kaplan

In Parashat Lekh-Lekha, God's interaction with humanity is particularized to the family of Abram and Sarai. This parasha begins with his call narrative, recounts their circuitous journey to the land of promise via a sojourn in Egypt, and culminates in the newly renamed Abraham marking all the males of his household (including Ishmael!) with the sign of God's covenant - the absence of a foreskin. As it says in the Torah: vayyamol 'et besar ‘arlatam be'etzem hayyom hazzeh ka'asher dibber 'itto Eloqim - and he circumcised their foreskins on this very same day just as God said (Genesis 17:23).

Regardless of his motivations, the Torah reminds us that Abraham did not delay in circumcising all the males of his household be‘etzem hayyom hazzeh - on this very same day! This phrase is overly emphatic. If the Torah wanted to specify the day, it could have easily said bayyom hazzeh - on this day. But it takes the extra step to tell us be‘etzem hayyom hazzeh. Why the ‘etzem?

The mepharshim (Medieval commentators) observe this problem as well. Saadia Gaon and David Qimchi observe that this phrase means "on the same day which God commanded." Rashi takes it to mean that Abraham did not tarry and performed the circumcisions during the day and not into the night. When the phrase appears again three verses later, Ibn Ezra points to the great number of people whom Abraham circumcised that day - 318 children, his slaves, Ishmael his only son, and himself. Ibn Ezra attributes his quickness to a desire "to do and fulfill the will of God."

This emphasis on mitzva - commandment and obedience - is striking. Why does the parasha end here on this emphatic commandment and Abraham's diligent obedience when so much of this section has been concerned with Abraham's call and God's giving of the promise? How do commandment and obedience fit into this section of call and promise?

For Abraham, as the Torah shows us, answers God's call and promise at the beginning and throughout Lekh-Lekha with obedience. This pattern of promise answered with obedience is central to Israel's understanding of the giving of the Torah.  As Messianic Jews, as people who stood at Sinai with all Israel, the Torah remains central to our identity as Abraham and Sarah's descendents. For just as Abraham and Sarah received the promise through which all the nations of the world are blessed, they were also obedient to God's demands upon them as bearers of that promise - particularly through circumcision.    For God's deliverance of Abraham's descendents from Egypt and giving of the Torah was done out of God's own faithfulness to the promise first made to Abraham (Exodus 3:1ff). Our obedience is our answer to God's promise. As we said at Sinai - Na‘aseh veNishma‘ - we will do and obey (Exodus 24:7). As our father Abraham did on this very day - be‘etzem hayyom hazzeh - so to are we called to a life of obedience lived in response to God's promise on this very day, a life of keeping the mandate of mitzva.