“And YHWH said to Avram, ‘Go forth …!’” Thus begins one of our foundational stories.
Where is he to go? To what place? To what country? In that first revelation God asks Avraham to give up everything he had known, everything that was familiar. His home, his household, his extended family. To let go of the past and move forward into his future. And in anxious anticipation of that future he set out on his path.
And some years later, yet another impossible test: “Take your son, your only son… and go forth….” Again, he is to go, but this time the directive is to give up his future: His progeny and his household, which had just begun to take shape.
For that Avraham, who had abandoned his past and his future, there was nothing left but to exist in the present.
Three weeks ago the homes and households of so many were wiped out. We were asked to go forth as a people into an unknown land.
We still do not know where the future will lead us.
At present, what we are left with is learning from Avraham and living in the present moment. To act, to cope as we can. To listen as the voice of the Divine speaks to us.
The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel is the organization of Masorti (Conservative) Rabbis in Israel. For more information, you are welcome to contact: raisraelpresident@gmail.com