Timeless Torah

Abraham begins his career as a wanderer. He will leave his home in Mesopotamia, stop in Canaan, travel to Egypt and soon enough turn around. In the Holy Land itself, the first Patriarch will wander from Chevron on to Beer Sheva, then the Philistine coast and finally to the Mountain of Moriah. Apparently, staying put is not part of the Jewish psyche.

All of this of course can be blamed not on Abraham’s wanderlust, but on the directive of G-d who orders our foremost of nomads to, “Go out from your land, from your place of birth and the house of your fathers, to the land which I will show you.”

This mysterious land is not described. Its location is not given. Nor is there any mission for Abraham outlined for when he does reach his destination. Rashi, the father of Bible commentators, posits that the s. reason for the ambiguity was, “To reward him (Abraham) for every word (spoken about it).”

This is similar, continues Rashi, to the episode where Hashem commands Abraham to bring his child as an offering. Once again, instead of being direct and stating from the very outset that Isaac is the intended sacrifice, G-d seemingly plays word games. To paraphrase Rashi on that verse which reads, “Take your son, your only one, who you love, Isaac.”

G-d said, “Please take your son.”

Abraham responded, “I have two sons.”

G-d: “I meant, your only one.”

Abraham: “Ishmael is an only son to his mother, and Isaac is an only son to his mother.”

G-d: “Take the one whom you love.”

Abraham: “I truly love them both.”

Finally G-d: “Take Isaac.”

In this case, G-d wanted to reward Abraham not for just fulfilling the one order to take Isaac, but for obeying four orders (son, only, love, Isaac). In a similar vein we are informed that Hashem wished to magnify the reward to Abraham. Therefore had G-d immediately stated that the destination was to be Israel, Abraham would only have one mitzvah in the bag.

A chassidic perspective is offered by the Modzhitzer Rebbe on this question. When a person or family normally undertakes a move, their neighbor’s first question is, “Where are you going?” Obviously anyone who is moving already knows the answer. The name and location of their future community is surely known. In all probability they have a job, a new lease, and are fairly certain where their children will be attending school.

Abraham’s journey was different. Hashem told him to pack, but not the destination. Thus when people saw Abraham hosting a going-away-garage sale and loading up the wagons, everyone asked, “So where are you going? And Abraham had no rational response, since he himself did not know. And he had to admit as much to them.

Would you accept from your neighbor an, “I don’t know where I am going” answer? Well, neither did they. Consequently, Abraham’s contemporaries came back with, “So why are you moving?” and “What do you intend to do there?”

Eventually, Abraham was forced to provide more detail, to explain to them that he was commanded to do this by a G-d that no one had ever seen. Our ancestor must have been confronted more than the average fellow whose leaving seems planned and purposeful. The local busybodies and yentas must have given him a hard time. And all he could do was proclaim his faith that G-d would lead him to his destiny and reveal his mission.

That Abraham did not know his destination, forcing him to explain to others about G-d, and how one must act in accordance with his principles and beliefs (far more than would otherwise have been necessary) was not to embarrass Abraham or cause him discomfort. “No,” says the Rebbe of Modzhitz, its purpose was to, “reward him for every word!”

The more visible one is as a Jew, the more likely one is to be asked questions such as, “What does this mitzvah mean? What are you doing? Why do you have to be so different?” Those questions can be embarrassing. People don’t want to perceived as strange. This is especially true when we don’t have a so-called reasonable explanation. In fact, often times all we can mumble is, “That’s what G-d wants. So it says in His Torah.” Then, as a matter of course, we are required to defend the Jewish way of life, our adherence to our heritage, our faith in G-d’s plan, etc.

Why do we endure the stares, inquiries, and discussions? Because in promoting G-d’s Word; we are rewarded for each of our own.