Sedra of the week: Lech Lecha
Rabbi Jonny Roodyn looks ahead to this week's portion of the torah
The first two sedras of the Torah seem like a comedy of errors. Adam and Eve eat from the forbidden fruit, Cain murders his brother in cold blood and humanity becomes so depraved that they are wiped out in a flood.
To add insult to injury, humanity 2.0 attempts a rebellion against the Almighty with the Tower of Babel, resulting in linguistic and geographical conflict. This is a world that appears to be spiralling to self-destruction with the three major flaws mentioned in Pirkei Avot 4:21: Jealousy, lust and the pursuit of honour.
Lech Lecha sees the focus shift to one man and his family. Abram is singled out for a mission, to rectify a heathen world devoid of morals by bringing humanity back to an awareness of God.
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin explains that Bereishit is referred to as sefer hayashar, “the book of the just”, referring to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their families.
The word yashar actually means “straight”, meaning one could draw a figurative straight line from their values to actions.
Abraham is a philosopher, who discovers the world has an Infinite Creator, decades before that Creator ever appears to him. He rectifies the sin of jealousy through pursuing loving kindness, as evidenced from his open home and his desire to save Sodom.
Isaac is a man of inner strength and moral fortitude, as seen during the episode of the Akeida and rectifies the sin of lust.
Jacob, the man of truth, fights for his values against those who sought to deceive him and rectifies the sin of (false) honour.
The stories of Bereishit are full of layers of meaning, teaching us how to draw a straight line from values to action.
- Rabbi Roodyn is education director of Jewish Futures Trust
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
