Ira and Nan Spector

SUMMARY of Weekly Parsha - Genesis 12:1–17:27 (Lech L'cha)

In this week’s Torah portion, Lech-Lecha, the third portion in the book of Genesis, God speaks for the first time to our ancestor Abraham (whose name was still Abram at the time).

The first sentence of this Torah portion (Genesis 12:1) draws much attention from the commentators. “God said to Abram: ‘Go from your land (Lech lecha m’eretzcha), from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.'”

Thus begins the journey that will lead Abraham to find the land of Canaan, the Land of Israel that is the destination of the Jewish people throughout the Bible and even today.

A look at the Hebrew in this sentence, however, reveals a peculiarity. The word “Lech” is the command, second person form of the word, “L’lechet“–“to go.”

The next word, “l’cha,” is an article which tells us that the previous word is meant to be in the second person (for example, “Ten lecha” would mean “give to you”). Since the form of the verb “to go” the Bible uses is already in the second person form, the word “lecha” is superfluous.

Commentators offer various meanings of this extra article, translating the sentence as “Go for yourself,” “Go by yourself” or “Go to yourself.”

Rabbinic tradition teaches that God’s commandment to Abraham to leave his home is one of the ten tests he is presented during his life. Some of the other tests, such as the binding of Isaac and the commandment to circumcise himself when he was 99 years old, seem to be the defining moments in Abraham’s life.

However, when Abraham is referred to later in this week’s Parashah (14:13) as “Ha-Ivri” (literally, “The Hebrew”), our sages teach us that the word “Ivri” is a reference to the word “avar,” from “l’avor” – “to cross over;” the Bible is referring to Abraham as “The one who Crossed Over.”

Here, it seems Abraham’s defining characteristic is that he crossed over the Euphrates to go to Canaan as God had commanded him.