This week’s Torah portion of Lech L’cha contains one of Judaism’s most well known stories. In fact, I would probably place God’s command to Abraham of go forth and journey, Lech L’cha, as one of the five most important texts in the Torah.
Tonight, however, I want to talk about something that happens toward the end of Abraham’s journey.
Remember, he is not called Abraham yet. His name is Avram. After journeying for a while, he has amassed great wealth. Avram and Sarai do not yet have children, but they have oxen, cattle, silver and gold.
They are also traveling with Lot, and as the Torah tells us, he also had a lot of ‘stuff.’ Our portion says: Their possessions were so great that they could not remain together.1
The herdsmen of Abram’s cattle started to quarrel with the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. Worried that they would be attacked by the resident Canaanites and Perizzites, Abraham said to Lot:
Let there be no strife between you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen. Let us separate: If you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.2
One reading suggests that Avram was being a mensch, a peace keeper. Given his stature with God, he likely could have decreed a decrease in Lot’s possessions, or forced Lot and his clansmen to be sublimated under Abraham. But no, he treats lot like a complete equal. In some ways, its a very pragmatic approach. There’s plenty of land available. You go one way, and I’ll go another, no hard feelings.
Tradition teaches us that Avram passes ten different tests, but I don’t think that he passed this one. He took the path of least resistance. I think that the holy path would have been to find a way for them to indeed live together, perhaps downsizing a bit, but living together as partners and kinsman, rather than apart. Avram missed the opportunity to have a difficult conversation with Lot. He took the path of least resistance.
Can you imagine if Avram and Lot lived in modern day Manhattan, or Atlanta, or frankly, anywhere in 2019? The simple truth is that there is not enough space for everyone along with all of their wealth and things … and we need to learn to live together, and possibly with less. I fear that we are following in the footsteps of our first ancestor, turning away from the difficult choices and decisions.
Interestingly, it’s just in the next portion that Avram argues vehemently with God about saving people in the doomed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it’s possible that Avram learned this lesson. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in time for him to live alongside of Lot in peace.
But this is why we read this portion today. Because it is not too late for us to pass the test. In this global age of consumption and ecological plight, we need to learn to live together, solving our problems together, rather than ignoring them apart. Let’s all journey forth, lech l’cha toward that goal. Shabbat Shalom.
