LECH LECHA: The Invisible Core

The perenially odd religion

It is the nature of Judaism, as seen from the outside in, to appear as a bizarre shell of ritualistic laws.  Oddly enough, this is true even as a person continues to move deeper into Torah and mitzvot himself -- the frontier just beyond his grasp remains somewhat alien.  In fact, it is central to the sustained vibrancy of Jewish life to continue to ask, "why do we do this like this?  Isn't this weird?"  So much so that the Aron haKodesh, the Ark of the Covenant, is crowned with a "Zer Zahav" (Shmot 25:24) -- rather than the normal word for crown ("keter"), the word "zer" connoting foreignness ("zar") is used...

The invisible core

Despite this, G!d did us a massive favor by beginning the Torah with the book of Bereishit, filled with the narrative of the creation of the world, Adam, Noach, and our forefathers.  Everyone can relate to Bereishit.  I can't say I've been to too many churches or mosques, but I can't imagine too many Friday/Sunday sermons revolve around the sacrificial laws in Leviticus.  The stories of Genesis are what captivate the attention of children, and the deeper Torah therein is what first attracts the uninitiated adult.

It should not be lost upon us, however, that this was all crafted with great Wisdom.  The principles embodied by the lives of our forefathers are meant to enter and lay the fertile soil in our hearts from which the rest of Torah will sprout.  In other words, beginning the Torah with Bereishit is not a Divine marketting gimick, but rather establishing what the inner core of Torah should be within us throughout our lives.

Sekhel haYashar ("a straight mind")

Avraham was well known throughout the fertile crescent as a deeply religious man, hailed as "the prince of G!d" (23:6) and reknowned by kings as prophet (20:9-10).  When his nephew Lot is taken captive in war, the refugee Og comes to implore for Avraham's military support.  Naturally, he appeals to Avraham as the "עברי," the "Hebrew," who stood on the "other side of the river" in support of G!d against a world of idol worshippers.  He tries to reel him into the war under the pretense of a crusade against Amrafel, who is Nimrod, the leader of the "humanistic," anti-G!d Tower of Babel movement (Rashi 14:1, 10:8-9).

Amidst Og's theo-political propaganda, Avraham hears one thing, "וישמע אברהם כי נשבה אחיו"  "Avraham heard that his brother [nephew] had been captured."

Immediately, "וירק את חניכיו" "he armed [and mobilized] his students" (14:14).

There was a reason more fundamental than theology to go to war -- his family was in trouble. 

The Talmud calls our forefathers, "ישרים" the "straight ones" (Avoda Zara 25a).  While they certainly followed the letter of the law to perfection (Kidushin 82a), their outlook was not defined by the letter of the law.  The Avot did not wish to merely fulfill their obligations like a checklist.  Rather, their deepest desire was that everything they did should be directed straight towards G!d.  Behind our lives of mitzvot, of fulfilling obligations, we must strive in our cores to be yashar, straight like the Avot (hence our name "Yisrael" ישראל).  One does not have to be at the end of the spiritual path to be moving straight.  Even at the beginning, it is critical that we orient ourselves according to what is yashar. 

Yashrut, straightness, therefore must exist in one's mind even if there were no articulated obligations.  Meaning, if G!d were to give us "the day off" from Torah, we wouldn't throw off our yarmulkas and sheitles and go to Vegas; we would continue to live the exact same way because a straight mind demands such.  The converse is that even with obligations in place, a yashar like Avraham Avinu continues to make decision rooted in fundamentals -- the "basics" do not become obsolete even as one advances spiritually.   

The prejorative usage of "frumkeit" can be defined as religion without the core of yashrut that was embodied by our forefathers.  We can understand now, however, that it is a matter of חינוך ("Chinuch"), preparation/education.  "Chinuch," is definied by Rashi right here on our verse, as the first entrance of a person or vessel into his specialized task (14:14), meaning education should put one on the same path he will be on in the future (Proverbs 22:6).  If a math teacher takes a right-brain, artistically-minded student but only trains him to think in a left-brain, analytic way, he will suffer tremendously and end up hating math forever.  Education, therefore must be the initiation of the student into the beginning of the same path of life.  This implies that one's 1st experiences with Judaism should naturally lead into his maturity in Judaism.  The fertile soil of yashrut, and derech ertez, "basics" become the spiritual sprouting ground for a Judaism in which the law is not an end unto itself, but the path to becoming a better person, a more G!dly person and one who is deeply concerned for the world around him.    

...Immediately, "וירק את חניכיו" "[Avraham] armed [and mobilized] his chanichav [students]" (14:14, this is the first time this word appears in Torah).  Fully aware that his life was giving birth to a people, Avraham prepared the invisible core of Judaism in the most basic of values.

[This dvar Torah is primarily based on the ideas developed by the Ktav veHakabalah and R' Yaakov Kaminetsky in their commentaries on the Chumash]