Lech-Lecha

Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha (לך לך — Hebrew for "go!” or "leave!" or "go for you" — the first two words in the parshah) is the third weekly Torah portion ("parshah") in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0112.htm 12:1–17:27.] Jews in the Diaspora read it the third Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in October or November.

ummary

The calling of Abraham

God told Abram to leave his native land and his father’s house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him. () Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name. () When they entered Egypt, Pharaoh’s courtiers praised her beauty to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife. () Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and had his men take them away with all their possessions. () Abram proposed to Lot that they separate, inviting Lot to choose which land he would take. () Abram moved to the terebinths of Mamre in Hebron, and built an altar there to God. () In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings with him went on a military campaign and defeated several peoples in and around Canaan: the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, the Horites, the Amalekites, and the Amorites. () The Mesopotamians seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed. ()

When Abram returned, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the Valley of the King. ()

The covenant between the pieces

Some time later, the word of God appeared to Abram, saying not to fear, for his reward would be very great, but Abram questioned what God could give him, as he was destined to die childless, and his steward Eliezer of Damascus would be his heir. () God directed Abram to bring a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a bird, to cut them in two, and to place each half opposite the other. () And there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces. () When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was lowered in her esteem, and Sarai complained to Abram. () The angel told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her harsh treatment, for God would make Hagar’s offspring too numerous to count; she would bear a son whom she should name Ishmael, for God had paid heed to her suffering. () And when Abram was 86 years old, Hagar bore him a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael. () God promised to maintain the covenant with Abraham and his offspring as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, and assigned all the land of Canaan to him and his offspring as an everlasting holding. ()

And God renamed Sarai as Sarah, and told Abraham that God would bless her and give Abraham a son by her so that she would give rise to nations and rulers. () In response to Abraham’s prayer, God blessed Ishmael as well and promised to make him exceedingly numerous, the father of twelve chieftains and a great nation. () That very day, Abraham circumcised himself at the age of 99, Ishmael at the age of 13, and every male in his household, as God had directed. ( that change of place can cancel a man’s doom, but another argued that it was the merit of the land of Israel that availed Abraham. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b.)

Rab Judah deduced from that the Torah regards the man who teaches Torah to his neighbor’s son as though he had fashioned him. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 99b.)

The Mishnah equated the terebinth of Moreh to which Abraham journeyed in that Israel’s troops survived at the Battle of Ai in the days of Joshua.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 44b.)

The Rabbis deduced from that a man must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man’s home only on account of her. (Babylonian Talmud Baba Metzia 59a.)

Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that leprosy resulted from seven things: slander, bloodshed, vain oath, incest, arrogance, robbery, and envy. The Gemara cited God’s striking Pharaoh with plagues in , quoting Abraham to ask: “Master of the Universe, should Israel sin before You, will You do to them as You have done to the generation of the Flood and to the generation of the Dispersion?” God replied: “No.” Abraham then said to God: “Master of the Universe, ‘Let me know whereby I shall inherit it.’” ( that his descendants would return from Egyptian slavery to support the proposition that the merits of the father bring about benefits for future generations. (Mishnah Eduyot 2:9.)

Genesis chapter 17

Rabbi deduced from )(Maimonides. "Mishneh Torah", [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/p0001.htm#215 Positive Commandment 215.] Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. "The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides". Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:230–31. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. "Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education". Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:85–87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is:
*for Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews: Isaiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1040.htm#27 40:27–41:16]
*for Karaite Jews: Joshua [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0624.htm#3 24:3–18]

The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Lech Lecha, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Saba, the maqam that symbolizes a covenant ("berit"). It is appropriate because in this parshah, Abraham and his sons undergo circumcisions, a ritual that signifies a covenant between man and God.

Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Ancient

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20030816212418/www.bol.ucla.edu/~szuchman/Sources.htm Vassal treaties] of Esarhaddon. Babylonia, 681–669 B.C.E.
*"To go/pass through" in Hans G. Guterbock & Harry A. Hoffner (eds.), [http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/PUB/SRC/CHD/CHDP.pdf "The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago", vol. P, 36-37.] Chicago: University of Chicago, 1997.

Biblical

*; [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0122.htm#17 22:17] (numerous as stars); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0126.htm 26:1–33] .
*Exodus [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0204.htm 4:24–26] (circumcision).
*Deuteronomy [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0501.htm#10 1:10] (numerous as stars).
*Jeremiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1134.htm#18 34:18–20.]

Early nonrabbinic

* [http://reluctant-messenger.com/melchizedek.htm "The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek"] . Dead Sea scroll 11Q13. Land of Israel, 1st Century B.C.E. Reprinted in Géza Vermes. "The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English", 500–02. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7139-9131-3.
*Josephus. "The Wars of the Jews", Circa 75 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition". Translated by William Whiston, 716. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
*Qur’an Arabia, 7th Century.

Classical rabbinic

*Mishnah: Nedarim 3:11; Sotah 7:5; Sanhedrin 10:3; Eduyot 2:9; Avot 5:3; Keritot 1:1. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Mishnah: A New Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 412, 458, 605, 645–46, 685, 836. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
*Tosefta: Berakhot 1:12–13; Shabbat 7:24, 15:9; Yevamot 8:5; Nedarim 2:5; Sotah 5:12; Sanhedrin 13:8; Eduyot 1:14. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction". Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
*Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 17a–b; Sheviit 43b. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Yerushalmi". Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1, 6b. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
*Genesis Rabbah 39:1–47:10. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Genesis". Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 7b, 9b, 13a, 49a, 55a, 56b, 64a; Shabbat 89b, 97a, 105a, 108a, 118b, 130a, 132a–b, 133b, 135a–b, 156a; Eruvin 40b, 53a; Pesachim 52a, 69b, 87b, 92a; Sukkah 31a; Beitzah 8b; Rosh Hashanah 16b; Taanit 27b; Megillah 16b, 31b; Moed Katan 13a, 25b, 27b, 29a; Chagigah 12a, 13a; Yevamot 5b, 13b–14a, 42a, 64a, 70b–71a, 72a, 100b; Ketubot 112a; Nedarim 31b–32b; Nazir 23a–b; Sotah 4b, 17a, 32a, 33b, 38b, 46b; Gittin 2a; Kiddushin 29a, 39a, 41b; Bava Kamma 38b, 60b, 88a, 92b–93a; Bava Metzia 59a; Bava Batra 15b–16a, 56a, 100a, 127a, 163a; Sanhedrin 38b, 44a–b, 59b, 92b, 95b–96a, 99a–b, 107b, 109a, 111a; Makkot 8b, 13b, 23b–24a; Avodah Zarah 9a, 26b–27a; Horayot 10b; Menachot 42a; Chullin 49a, 65a, 89a; Arakhin 16a–b; Keritot 2a; Meilah 17b; Niddah 61a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Bavli". Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
*Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 5:2:1. 6th–7th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Pesiqta deRab Kahana: An Analytical Translation and Explanation." Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:71. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-072-8.

Medieval

*Rashi. "Commentary". [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=8176&showrashi=true Genesis 12–17.] Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. "The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated". Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:115–72. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9.
*Judah Halevi. "Kuzari". [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/khz/khz02.htm 2:14, 16, 34, 44, 80;] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/khz/khz03.htm 3:7;] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/khz/khz04.htm 4:17.] Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. "Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel." Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 90, 92, 108, 110, 132, 142, 223. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
*Zohar [http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/zohar&vol=5 76b–96b.] Spain, late 13th Century.

Modern

*Thomas Hobbes. "Leviathan", England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 332, 417, 436, 443–44, 459–60. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
*Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. "Mesillat Yesharim", ch. 4. Amsterdam, 1740. Reprinted in "Mesillat Yesharim: The Path of the Just", 53. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1966. ISBN 0-87306-114-4.
*Moses Mendelssohn. "Jerusalem", § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in "Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism". Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander Altmann, 100. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6.
*Irving Fineman. "Jacob, An Autobiograhical Novel", 11, 17. New York: Random House, 1941.
*Thomas Mann. "Joseph and His Brothers". Translated by John E. Woods, 4–11, 36, 43, 52–54, 59, 78, 89–91, 93, 95–98, 100–02, 125, 141, 148, 153–54, 177, 256–57, 309–10, 339–55, 385, 425, 492, 523, 555, 593–94, 596, 671, 763, 778–79, 781, 788, 806, 859. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as "Joseph und seine Brüder". Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*Zofia Kossak. "The Covenant: A Novel of the Life of Abraham the Prophet". New York: Roy, 1951.
*Martin Buber. "On the Bible: Eighteen studies", 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
*Mario Brelich. "The Holy Embrace". Translated by John Shepley. Marlboro, Vermont: Marlboro Press, 1994. ISBN 1-56897-002-1. Originally published as "Il Sacro Amplesso". Milan: Adelphi Edizioni s.p.a., 1972.
*Terrence Malick. "Days of Heaven". 1978.
*Margaret Atwood. "The Handmaid's Tale". Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1986. ISBN 0-395-40425-8.
*Adin Steinsaltz. "Biblical Images", 12–29. New York: Basic Books, 1984. ISBN 0-465-00670-1.
*Walter Wangerin, Jr. "The Book of God", 13–25. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996. ISBN 0-310-20005-9.
*Orson Scott Card. "Sarah: Women of Genesis". Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2000. ISBN 1-57008-994-9.
*David A. deSilva. “Why Did God Choose Abraham?” "Bible Review" 16 (3) (June 2000): 16–21, 42–44.
*Marek Halter, "Sarah". New York: Crown Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-4000-5272-6.

External links

Texts

* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0112.htm Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation]
* [http://bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=1&chapter=12&verse=1&portion=3 Hear the parshah chanted]

Commentaries

* [http://www.jtsa.edu/community/parashah/archives/index.shtml#gen Commentaries] from the Jewish Theological Seminary
* [http://judaism.uj.edu/Content/InfoUnits.asp?CID=897 Commentaries] from the University of Judaism
* [http://www.uscj.org/Lekh_Lekha_57677100.html Torah Sparks] from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
* [http://www.ou.org/torah/archive1.htm Commentaries] from the Orthodox Union
* [http://ajrsem.org/index.php?id=199 Commentaries] from the Academy for Jewish Religion
* [http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=9169 Commentaries] from Chabad.org
* [http://urj.org/torah/genesis/index.cfm? Commentaries] and [http://urj.org/shabbat/genesis/ Family Shabbat Table Talk] from the Union for Reform Judaism
* [http://www2.jrf.org/recon-dt/index.php Commentaries] from Reconstructionist Judaism
* [http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha/parsha.html?id1=3 Commentaries] from [http://www.torah.org/ Torah.org]
* [http://www.aish.com/torahPortion/pArchive.asp?eventType=3&eventName=Lech+Lecha Commentaries] from [http://www.aish.com/ Aish.com]
* [http://www.shiur.com/index.php?id=C0_234_6&spar=234&s_id=234 Commentaries] from [http://www.shiur.com/ Shiur.com]
* [http://www.tfdixie.com/parshat/lech/ Commentaries] from [http://www.tfdixie.com/ Torah from Dixie]
* [http://ohr.edu/yhiy/article.php/2773 Commentary] from [http://ohr.edu/index.php Ohr Sameach]
* [http://www.judaic.org/addtl_files/lekh%20lekha.htm Commentaries] from [http://www.judaic.org/ The Sephardic Institute]
* [http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/lekhlkha_index.htm Commentaries] from [http://www.myjewishlearning.com/index.htm MyJewishLearning.com]
* [http://www.judaic.org/addtl_files/lekh%20lekha.htm Commentaries] and [http://www.judaic.org/tabletalk/lekh%20lekha5762.htm Shabbat Table Talk] from [http://www.judaic.org/ The Sephardic Institute]
* [http://www.parshaparts.com/archive/5767/lech.php Commentaries] from [http://www.parshaparts.com/index.php Parshah Parts]
* [http://www.anshe.org/parsha/lechlecha.htm Commentary] from [http://www.anshe.org/ Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles]
* [http://www.rabbishmuel.com/files/torah_tidbits16.intro-lekhlekhah2.doc Torah Tidbits] from [http://www.ostt.org/ Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah]
* [http://www.teach613.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=73&Itemid=48 Commentary] from [http://www.teach613.org/index.php Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill]
* [http://www.zehut.net//vid1.htm Video of the song Lech-Lecha]