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.