Parashat Lekh Lekha: Prayer in the Parashah
User Profile Picture
ByHadar Institute

Prayer in the Parashah תְּפִלָּה

At the end of the first בְּרָכָה (berakhah, blessing) of the Amidah, we describe God as מָגֵן אַבְרָהָם (magen Avraham, shield of Avraham). If you’ve wondered where this description comes from, the answer is: Parashat Lekh Lekha! Here, God says:
בראשית ט״ו:א׳
אַל תִּירָא אַבְרָם אָנֹכִי מָגֵן לָךְ
Genesis 15:1
Don’t fear, Avram, I am a magen (shield) for you
These words describe God’s promise to protect Avram. But if you keep reading the story, you see that Avram has a hard time believing God’s promise.
Avram says things like:
  • “God, You told me I’d have lots of children, but I don’t see any…” (Bereishit 15:2-3)
  • “God, You promised me a land, but how do I really know I’ll get it?” (Bereishit 15:8)
    • Even after his questions and doubts, though, Avram eventually finds faith in God. The Torah tells this to us with these words (Bereishit 15:6): ‘וְהֶאֱמִן בַּה (ve-he’emin ba-Hashem).
  • Sometimes it can be hard to believe in promises from God, or promises about God. Do you ever feel like Avram felt?
  • When we say “magen Avraham” in the Amidah, we can remember what Avram did with his questions and his struggles. He brought them directly to God, and that seemed to help him find a closer connection to God. In tefillah, we can try that too.
    • -------------------
    -------------------