This devar Torah by Rabbi Joel Kenigsberg is published in this week's Hanassi Highlights. You can also read it in Hebrew, thanks to ChatGPT, here.
It can be a great challenge in
life to see beyond our immediate circumstances. So much of our attention is
naturally focused on the present: the challenges we face, the uncertainties
that surround us, and the realities that seem impossible to change. Yet sometimes a different
perspective can transform the way we understand both our present and our
future.
In Parshat Lech Lecha, Hashem
promises Avraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars: “He
took him outside and said: Look towards the heavens and count the stars… So
shall your offspring be” (Bereishit 15:5).
Why does the Torah emphasise that Hashem took Avraham outside? Surely it
would have been sufficient to tell him to look at the stars.
Rashi offers two explanations. On
a literal level, Hashem brought Avraham outside to look up at the stars. But
Rashi also cites the Midrash: Tzei me’itztagninut shelcha – “Go beyond
your astrology.” Avraham is being shown that his future, and that of his
descendants, is not bound by the ordinary limitations of nature.
Perhaps there is an additional
dimension to this message. When
Hashem takes Avraham outside, He is not merely directing his gaze towards the
heavens. He is inviting him to contemplate a vision far beyond the immediate
present: generations yet to be born, a nation yet to emerge, and a Divine
promise that will unfold over thousands of years. The stars represent more than countless descendants. They offer
a glimpse of a future whose full significance cannot yet be imagined.
Hashem is inviting Avraham to see
not only what is, but what can be. And
perhaps this is a lesson for us as well. We
live in a time when the events of each day can consume our attention. Every
crisis, disagreement and uncertainty can seem overwhelming. Yet the story of
the Jewish people is not defined by any single moment in history.
We are the descendants of Avraham
Avinu, heirs to a covenant that has endured through generations of exile,
persecution and renewal. Today, we have the extraordinary privilege of
witnessing the return of our people to our ancestral homeland and the rebuilding
of Jewish life in Jerusalem.
These are developments that
countless generations could scarcely have imagined, yet they are part of the
unfolding promise first given to Avraham beneath the stars.
At times, we too need to lift our
eyes beyond the immediate horizon, to appreciate how far we have come, and to
recognise the possibilities that still lie ahead.
The story that began with Avraham
is not merely a story of our past. It is a story that continues to unfold, and
one that we have both the privilege and responsibility to help shape.
Shabbat Shalom!
You can also read Rabbi Kenigsberg's piece for Lech Lecha last year, "A Matter of Mindsets". by clicking here.
