Parshat Lech Lecha 2020
CHULA VISTA, California — There is hardly a day that passes when I don’t marvel at an individua’s power and ability to move mountains and change history.
Our current presidential election underscores the importance of one vote and a single individual’s power to bring about change in society. The same could be said concerning Abraham.
Abraham believed he could change and transform the world.
It is all the more remarkable when we consider how old Abraham actually was when he received his revelation. The Torah tells us that he was already 75 years old. Abraham could have opted for a comfortable retirement, and everyone would have understood. But instead, Abraham receives his calling. If we were able to ask some of Abram’s contemporaries, we might expect to hear, “What? Are you crazy? Have you talked to your therapist lately? What about a nice hobby instead?”
Who would ever have imagined that an “old-timer” named “Abram” was destined to become “the father of many of peoples” (cf. Gen 17:20; 21:13)?
Abraham was indeed just one person, one human being, yet this one person changed the world. Our Parasha teaches us that one man, one woman, one family with one dream can change the course of history. We have already seen this point dramatically illustrated in last week’s Torah portion, Parshat Noah, where Noah, as a singular individual, is depicted as literally “saving the world.”
Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi once said something so original, people in the congregation asked him, “Who are you to introduce such a change or innovation?” He replied, I am the one God had spoken to.
We must never underestimate our ability to make a difference.
As you can see, one man can make a difference. There is a famous old story about the Opter Rebbe, who once told his followers that he wanted to change the world when he was a young idealist man.
As he got older, he discovered that he couldn’t change the world, so he set out to change his community. But alas, this too proved to be too difficult. Years later, now he was a family man, and so he decided to change his family. But even this proved to be too difficult. Finally, he looked in the mirror and said, “I can only change myself.”
But herein lies the secret. When we change ourselves, herein lies our power to change the world. By changing himself, by responding faithfully to God’s beckoning call, Abraham not changed his own destiny, but he also changed the world.
One of the first self-help thinkers of the 20th century was James Allen, who wrote a short book, “As a Man Thinketh” Allen argued, that each human being must recognize that s/he is the creator and shaper of one’s destiny. Our thoughts impact the lives we live. Indeed, our society and world is a manifestation of the type of thoughts we entertain and carry out. Our future is shaped and built by our present desires, goals, thoughts and actions.
Abraham knew this point quite well.
One of the reasons Abraham is the founder of the Jewish people, is because he is sometimes referred to as an “Evri” one who comes from the other side of the Euphrates River. Yet, our Sages teach us that Abraham is called an Evri; he comes from the Other Side – i.e., he is a non-conformist. He is willing to follow his own path.
In the Midrashic literature, Abram showed a willingness to stand up against all forms of authoritarianism.
He is not daunted by the spectacle of power. Abraham stands apart because of the strength of his convictions against the MANY, who told him he could not make a difference.
There is a time when we must stand up to be counted.
Let me tell you a brief anecdote.
Some years ago, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev spoke before the Supreme Soviet and was severely critical of the late Premier Josef Stalin. While speaking, someone from the audience sent up a note: “What were you doing when Stalin committed all these atrocities?”
Khrushchev shouted, “Who sent up that note?” Not a person stirred.
“I’ll give him one minute to stand up!” The seconds ticked off. Still, no one moved.
“All right, I’ll tell you what I was doing. I was doing exactly what the writer of this note was doing–exactly nothing! I was afraid to be counted!”
Totalitarianism fears the power of One. It strives hard to make everyone alike, regardless of the cost. Modern totalitarianism can be sophisticated in its techniques, but its aim to amass power is unscrupulous.
ABRAHAM LIVES IN EACH OF US
If you want to truly understand why antisemitism has never gone out of vogue, realize that the Jewish people have always respected the individual’s rights over the rights of the State. In this country, Jews have always been the foremost leaders whenever civil liberties are at risk.
God rules supreme, not the State. Whether a leader is as powerful as Pharaoh himself, or as ruthless as Stalin and Hitler, the Jew responds to the voice of conscience, the voice of God Who alone commands and summons his entire being to do what is right.
Abraham, the Jewish people’s founder, wasn’t afraid to be different. He didn’t follow fashion; he created it instead. He was not daunted by the spectacle of power. Abraham stands apart because of the strength of his convictions against the MANY, who told him he could not make a difference.
The power of just one man can sometimes affect the fate of the many. As Jews, we should never get depressed because we are a small people. Greatness is never measured quantitatively, but rather it is measured qualitatively. It is hard to imagine how the world would look, were it not for Abraham’s will and desire to make a difference.
As Abraham’s seed, we must contain the same potential for greatness. But to change the world, we must first begin changing ourselves in terms of our thoughts, words, and deeds. We have to believe that we are truly unique beings God placed us here to share our talents with one another.
When looking out at the world, it might seem that one might seem like an insignificant number, but if we shift to a historical perspective, we can see how lone individuals have impacted the world they lived in.
The power of ONE can indeed change and better the world, or conversely, bring the world to the edge of an abyss. Each of us here has the same power that has motivated great people like Abraham, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Henrietta Szold, the Hadassah founder. We all have that same capacity.
But it depends upon us responding to the voice of God within us.
The choice is in our hands.
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Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula vista. He may be contacted via michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com