(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃
What is the genius of Avraham? What is he the ancestor of?
- Faith?
- monotheism?
I want to explore the possibility that Avram's gift was for spiritual imagination
Etz Hayim on 12:1 Lech L'cha -- God's first words to Abram, translated as "Go forth" literally means "betake yourself." This is interpreted to mean "go forth and find your authentic self, to learn what you are meant to be.".
LECH LECHA: Go to find yourself - go exploring! The first journey is inwards
What does he need to be ready to leave behind?
His land, his birthplace, and the house of his father.
His assumptions, his sense of "common knowledge", and social conventions
TO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU: This is a journey that is open-ended and spiritually guided. A vision quest, of sorts.
אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק מָשָׁל לְאֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה עוֹבֵר מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם, וְרָאָה בִּירָה אַחַת דּוֹלֶקֶת, אָמַר תֹּאמַר שֶׁהַבִּירָה הַזּוֹ בְּלֹא מַנְהִיג, הֵצִיץ עָלָיו בַּעַל הַבִּירָה, אָמַר לוֹ אֲנִי הוּא בַּעַל הַבִּירָה. כָּךְ לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה אָבִינוּ אַבְרָהָם אוֹמֵר תֹּאמַר שֶׁהָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בְּלֹא מַנְהִיג, הֵצִיץ עָלָיו הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְאָמַר לוֹ אֲנִי הוּא בַּעַל הָעוֹלָם.
Rabbi Yitzchak said: this may be compared to a man who was traveling from place to place when he saw a castle aglow (could be lit up, could be on fire). He said, "Is it possible that this castle lacks a person to look after it?" The owner of the building looked at him and said to him, 'I am the master of the castle.'" What happened with Abraham our father was similar. He said, “Is it possible that this universe lacks a person to look after it?," the Holy Blessed One looked at him and said to him, 'I am the Master of the Universe.'"
The first insight is that the castle is lit up - what does it mean to notice that the world is "lit up" from the inside? How does that disrupt our sense of "business as usual"?
AND/OR
The first insight is that the castle is on fire - what does it mean to notice that the world is on fire? How does that disrupt our sense of "business as usual"?
The second insight is that there must be a "master" of the castle, even though the master is concealed! There is a larger reality at play here, but that this reality is hidden (where is the master of the house?)
The third insight is that the "master of the house" seeks relationship and partnership with us. (God peeks out of the castle, and takes an interest in Avram)
Right now, in the midst of a pandemic, a painfully fraught election, and a nationwide struggle for racial justice and police reform, we are being called to enter into a process of spiritual imagination.
Can we see that the castle is on fire?
Can we see that the castle is lit up - animated and full of potential?
What do we need to leave behind - like Avram - in order to pursue a more profound moral and spiritual imagination? What is scary about this (after all, it is traditionally understood do be a Divine test!)