OCTOBER 26 • 2023 | 45
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two symbols in Bilaam’s
blessing, “How goodly are
your tents, Jacob, and your
dwelling places, Israel.”
Tents are for people on a
journey. Dwelling places are
for people who have found
home.
Psalm 1 uses two symbols
of the righteous individual.
On the one hand, he or she
is on the way, while the
wicked begin by walking,
then transition to standing
and sitting.
On the other hand, the
righteous is compared to a
tree, planted by streams of
water, that gives fruit in due
season and whose leaves do
not wither. We walk, but we
also stand still. We are on
a journey, but we are also
rooted like a tree.
In life, there are journeys
and encampments. Without
the encampments, we
suffer burnout. Without the
journey, we do not grow.
And life is growth. There is
no way to avoid challenge
and change. The late Rav
Aharon Lichtenstein z”l once
gave a beautiful shiur on
Robert Frost’s poem, Stopping
by Woods on a Snowy
Evening, with its closing
verse:
The woods are lovely dark
and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I
sleep,
And miles to go before I
sleep.
He analyzes the poem
in terms of Kierkegaard’s
distinction between the
aesthetic and ethical
dimensions of life. The poet
is enchanted by the aesthetic
beauty of the scene, the soft
silence of the falling snow,
the dark dignity of the tall
trees. He would love to stay
here in this timeless moment,
this eternity-in-an-hour. But
he knows that life has an
ethical dimension also, and
this demands action, not just
contemplation.
He has promises to keep;
he has duties toward the
world. So he must walk on
despite his tiredness.
He has miles to go before
he sleeps: he has work to
do while the breath of life is
within him.
The poet has stopped
briefly to enjoy the dark
wood and falling snow. He
has encamped. But now, like
the Israelites in Masei, he
must set out again.
For us as Jews, as for
Kierkegaard the theologian
and Robert Frost the poet,
ethics takes priority over
aesthetics.
Yes, there are moments
when we should, indeed
must, pause to see the beauty
of the world, but then we
must move on, for we have
promises to keep, including
the promises to ourselves and
to God.
Hence the life-changing
idea: Life is a journey, not a
destination.
We should never stand
still. Instead, we should
constantly set ourselves new
challenges that take us out
of our comfort zone. Life is
growth.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-
2020) was a global religious leader,
philosopher, the author of more
than 25 books and moral voice
for our time. His series of essays
on the weekly Torah portion,
entitled “Covenant & Conversation”
will continue to be shared and
distributed around the world.
Drafted & Enlisted
H
amas attacked Israel
on Oct. 7, committing
heinous acts against
children, young people and
the old; thousands of Israeli
reservists received the call to
join the soldiers of
the IDF in protecting
the country and its
citizens.
Despite years of
political polarization
and a months’ long
judicial crisis, more
than 100% of reserv-
ists accepted their
mission. It’s over-
whelming: Everyone
called to fight accept-
ed their obligation,
and even reservists
who did not receive the call
volunteered in defense of the
Jewish nation. Israelis were
drafted and enlisted.
Jews around the world sim-
ilarly received the call. The
Talmud reminds us, “All Jews
are responsible for one anoth-
er.” We Jews are “drafted” into
this obligation to care for and
protect each other by virtue of
our ancestry or prior conver-
sion to Judaism. In response
to the worst Jewish suffering
since the Holocaust, Jews
around the world felt a sense
of love for and commitment
to their people.
The sense that global Jewry
shares the fate of Israeli Jewry
was reenforced by the Day of
Rage proclaimed for Friday,
Oct. 13, when Hamas called
for jihad against all Jews. We
were reminded that Hamas’
war is not with Israel alone
and that Hamas’ intentions
have little to do with the
advancement of Palestinian
society or the freedom and
safety of the Palestinian peo-
ple. Rather, like the Nazis of
last century, Hamas desires
the destruction of the Jewish
people.
Jews are standing up to
Hamas’ evil: We are obli-
gated to do so, and we
choose to do so. We are
drafted to these efforts;
we also enlist for this
sacred work.
In this week’s Torah
portion, Abraham is
drafted and self-enlists to
battle against the hamas
(violence, lawlessness). As
an antidote, God instructs
Abraham, lech lecha: “go
forth” in faith to build a
people rooted in the pur-
suit of justice and the practice
of compassion: God drafted
Abraham.
In return for Abraham’s
responding to God’s call and
committing his offspring to
continue to battle hamas, God
promised the security of land
and lineage. They form a cov-
enant of mutual obligations.
Whether we volunteer or
because we are “volun-told,”
the destiny of the Jewish peo-
ple is to demonstrate to the
world how to pursue justice
and offer compassion; our
role is to serve as the antidote
to the hamas that confronts
us. The Land of Israel and
eternity as a people are our
reward. May we work to ful-
fill our end of the covenant
and, in turn, may God do the
same.
Rabbi Aaron Starr is spiritual leader
of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield. He is also the author of the
recently published book, “Don’t Forget
to Call Home: Lessons from God and
Grandpa on a Life of Meaning.”
SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi Aaron
Starr
Parshat
Lech Lecha:
Genesis 12:1-
17:27; Isaiah
40:27-41:16.