The Torah reading for this week portrays the decision of Abram and Sarai
to leave their home as a life-changing choice in response to God’s command.
The rabbis explained that
Abram, the newly minted monotheist,
could no longer abide by the
polytheistic ways of his family.
And, they saw Abram and Sarai
as a couple destined for something greater.
We are not unlike Abram and
Sarai, even on one of the seemingly unspectacular and routine days in our
lives.
Every morning is a lech l’cha
or l’chi lach for each of us.
The schedule in our minds,
our calendar book,
or our personal digital
device that constantly connects with cyberspace
tells us where we need to be
and when.
But that is not the story of
our daylong journey.
Our daily narrative is a
reflection on HOW we spent our time
and HOW it changed us, even
in small ways.
Did we do something new today
– or yesterday – or the day before?
Did we gain a new insight?
Did we receive a challenge
from someone
that made us think about how
we could grow as a person?
Did we hear someone else’s
story that moved us to take on
a new belief or position on a
particular issue?
Did we unexpectedly cross a
threshold that will forever affect who we are?
For Abram and Sarai, lech
l’cha and l’chi lach meant that they would each
GO FOR THEMSELVES, FOR THEIR
OWN BENEFIT.
Their journey, however, would
have consequences for their children,
their grandchildren and other
generations yet to come.
For us, every day, every step
we take, is significant,
and we may realize that in
the moment
or we may only know it later.
We may even respond to our
own “lech l’cha” or “l’chi lach”
when we stop and see that HOLINESS,
k’dushah,
is all around us, ours for the taking.
Every space can be a MAKOM
KADOSH, a holy place,
And when we rise every
morning, we can make each day KADOSH, holy,
through what we learn and
through what we do
to make that time special and
meaningful.
May the words we pray and
sing tonight help us,
individually and together, to
find the holy, HAKADOSH,
in the where and when of our
lives. And let us say
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment