• Torah Portion To Reap Life's Benefits We Must Invest Ourselves Shabbat Lekh Lekha: Genesis I2:1-17:2• Isaiah 40:27-41:16 RABBI STEPHEN WEISS Special to The Jewish News A _s I — a l S 1 1 FORGET THE MALL We've Got It All! r 454) e'b Complete Acuvue® Disposable contacts Package Includes Exam, Fitting, Follow-Up Care, Care Kit and 7 Pairs Of AcuvlieLenses With Coupon • Excludes Previous. Orders • Expires 11/30/97 L J r *ifeNai.r, Eye Examination All Family Members Welcome Excludes Contact Lens Exam Excludes Previous orders With Coupon • Expires 11/30/97 Per Person L r Pe'r441;1434 Any Frames In Stock With Purchase of Prescription Lenses • Excludes Previous Orders • With Coupon Expires 11/30/97 L Doctor ROBERT FELDMAN 14 Mile Road ...lb.." 4716 Delemere • Royal Oak • (248) 549-3400 I Crooks I Optometrist Some insurances and vision care programs excluded. No other discounts apply. Deleme re write this column, the stock market has just taken us all on one of its famous roller coaster rides. After its worst tumble since Black Monday of 1987, the market rebounded with incredible vigor, gaining over 300 points in one day. Of course, the ups and downs of the stock market have their greatest effect on those who seek to play the market. Consistent long term investment always produces the greatest results. How do I know this is true? Because I am a party to a very long term invest- ment. Almost 4000 years to be exact. And in this week's sedrah, we read about the first two investors. Their fates were very or different. By looking at their portfolios, we can learn a great deal about ourselves. The first investor was Abraham. Abraham was a maverick. He didn't just buy the popular stock. He was the kind of person who was always a step ahead. Everyone else was still steeped in idol- * any Abraham invested in monotheism. In fact, he believed in it so much, he founded his own company, along with a senior partner. Part of the contract, or covenant, on which that partnership was based, was a promise of great returns on his invest- ment. God promises Abraham that he will be the father of a multitude of nations, that he will inherit a special -6) land, that the nations of the world will be blessed by him. But Abraham is will- ing to invest himself fully in this new relationship with God long before he ever hears these promises. In fact, by the time Abraham hears the call— Lekh Lekha, Go firth, Abraham has already devoted his life to serving God. The midrash recounts Abraham's attempt to turn the customers in his 0 father's idol shop away from idolatry. Eventually Abraham smashed the idols in the shop, leaving the stick in the hands of the biggest statue. His father was not pleased. He took Abraham before Nimrod the king who demanded Stephen Weiss is a rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek. that Abraham bow first to fire, then to water, clouds and wind. Each time Abraham refused. Nimrod decided to punish Abraham by throwing him into a fiery furnace. The future did not look too bright for Abraham at that moment. Some investors would have said this was a good time to sell. But Abraham stands firm. His faith in God cannot be shak- en. He is cast into the fiery furnace and steps out unscathed. God rewards Abraham for his consistent, unrelenting faith. The torah says Abraham set out for Canaan with the 70 souls which he made in Haran. Can a human being make souls? Certainly not. Our sages, therefore, suggested that these were peo- ple Abraham brought to belief in one God. Through his pattern of daily liv- ing, Abraham demonstrated his faith so convincingly that others joined him. He did this even before he heard the call. Even at great risk to himself Even with- out any indications he would get a good return on his invest- ment. Indeed he never lived to see God's promises fulfilled; but you and I are part of the living legacy of his commit- ment, and that of generations of Jews. The other investor was Abraham's brother Haran. Haran, too, was brought to the mouth of the fiery furnace alongside Abraham. "If Abraham survives," he said to himself "then I will side with Abraham and proclaim my belief in God. If Abraham dies, I will side with Nimrod!" When Abraham stepped forth from the furnace, Nimrod turned to Haran: "Who are you with?" Haran replied, "I am with Abraham." Nimrod's men took him and threw him into the furnace and the blazed consumed him. Why was it insufficient for Haran to proclaim his faith in God? Haran also invested in monotheism. But his invest- ment was a spur of the moment deci- sion. He was trying to play the market. He was watching to determine if its stock was going to rise or fall. When he saw it would rise, he jumped into the market. But he was not in it for the long haul. As soon as he could reap his bene- fits, he would pull out. This is the challenge posed to us by the parshat: Do we play the market, as Haran did? Do we wait for the single experience that will move us spiritually? Like the stock market, to get the most out of our tradition, we have to be will- ing to invest ourselves in it on an ongo- ing basis. 0 1 1 /7 1997 59