The power of one

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

CHULA VISTA, California —There is hardly a day that passes when I don’t marvel at the power of individuals to move mountains and change history.

Abraham believed he could change and transform the world. 

It is all the more remarkable, when we consider Abraham’s age. The Torah tells us that he was already 75 years old.  Abraham could have opted for 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 and yet, one person changed the world. Our parsha teaches us that one man, one woman one family with one dream, can change the course of history.

As you can see, one man can make a difference. There is an old famous story about the Opter Rebbe who once told his followers, that when he was a young idealist man, he wanted to change the world.

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 is the secret. When we change ourselves, we also change the world. By changing himself, by responding faithfully to God’s beckoning call, Abraham not changes his own destiny, but he also changes the world. Abraham believed in the power of One.

One of the reasons Abraham is the founder of the Jewish people, is because he is sometimes referred to as an “Evri” “the 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 was 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.

Some years ago Premier Khrushchev was speaking before the Supreme Soviet and was severely critical of the late Premier Stalin. While he was 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. Midrashic tales about Abraham often stress how he was prepared to stand up for his principles—even if the whole world differed from him.

Defying autocratic authority is something that Jews have been doing for centuries. When it comes to following immoral orders, one must follow the dictates of conscience and faith over the rule of authority.

God rules supreme—and 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.

One of the reasons Abraham is the founder of the Jewish people, was because he wasn’t afraid to be different. He didn’t follow fashion, he created it instead.

Heroes who defy autocratic authority are not a limited to the great heroes of the Bible. In every generation, there are heroes of the human spirit—and recently we have witnessed such heroes in our own country.

This past week the story of the terrible Benghazi attack is finally becoming known.

The news is finally coming out Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods was part of a small team who was at the CIA annex about a mile from the U.S. consulate where Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team came under attack. He and Glen A. Doherty, another ex-Navy Seal decided something had to be done.

When he and others heard the shots fired, they informed their higher-ups at the annex to tell them what they were hearing and requested permission to go to the consulate and help out. They were told to “stand down,” according to sources familiar with the exchange. Soon after, they were again told to “stand down.”

We do not know who gave those orders to “stand down.” We do know that General Patraeus and Hillary Clinton never gave such orders. The White House is eerily silent and refuses to give answers to the questions every American wants to know.

In any event, Tyrone Woods disregarded the mysterious of the person who said, “Stand down.” Had more American soldiers followed his example, the Ambassador and the other victims might still be alive.

The real heroes of humanity are not necessarily the ones who make executive decisions based upon political considerations. Real heroes are the ones who listen to the voice of God through the stirrings of conscience.

Let us pray that the stories of these brave two Navy Seals be told for generations to come.

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Rabbi Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista.  He may be contacted at michael.samuel@sdjewishworld.com