GENESIS XII-XVII
HEAR GOD’S CALL
Personally, I believe that the intellectually renowned work “Legends of the Jews” by Louis Ginsburg was a kind of continuation for adults of “The Heroes of the Bible” by Erna Schlesinger, one of the works that left very pleasant memories in my childhood during the first years of immersion in the world of books. Ginsburg’s work is of a different nature, because it is the result of a long investigation by a famous scholar of the Talmud (Oral Law) and the Midrash(Compendium of interpretations about the Bible). His work fills the void that is observed in the Torah (Pentateuch) on many occasions, when it omits relevant episodes about the lives of the heroes of the Bible.
What is the reason for the omission of relevant data? The answer is beyond our intellectual possibilities, when we postulate that the Torah is of divine origin. Thus, it was simply God’s will.
Ginsburg’s primary source is the Midrash Rabbah, which abounds in minute detail about the formative years of the characters who stamped her personal stamp on the destiny of the Jewish people and, therefore, of the Western world. For example: the Torah states that Moshe (Moses) was Kevad pe, he had difficulty with words. The Midrash explains: Moshe was subjected to a decisive test during his childhood in Pharaoh’s palace.
Astrologers informed the monarch that the savior of the Hebrew people had been born, pointing to the young Moshe as the future redeemer. Moshe was put to a test: he was presented with two trays, one with the precious metal gold and the other with burning coals. The astrologers would have demonstrated the correctness of their suspicion if Moshe had directed his hands totake possession of the gold. Indeed, Moshe channeled his hands towards the gold, but at the last moment, an angel diverted his hands towards the coals and when he felt the pain caused by contact with the extreme heat, the boy put his fingers in his mouth to appease the pain, which caused a burn on his tongue due to his difficulties with speech.
This Midrash collects ancient oral traditions that were taught in parallel to the written text of the Torah. However, there is an important distinction. The written text of the Torah comes directly from God through his chief prophet: Moshe. However, the Torah describes certain details of Moshe’s youth, his defense of the abused Hebrew slave, and his ineluctable commitment to justice. Although there are gaps, the Torahprovides some details that allow us to understand the future development of the character. This is the case of Noach (Noah),Yitschak (Isaac), Yaakov (Jacob) and other fundamental biblical characters.
The case of Avraham (Abraham), the first of the patriarchs, is different. The Torah introduces it with the divine instruction: Lech Lecha, leave the home of your fathers and then I will make you the father of a new nation. The Midrash, on the other hand, describes the patriarch’s background. It teaches that Avraham had been born into a home where idols were produced and that the young man knew that a totem was utterly incapable of deciding the fate of mankind, so he gave free rein let go of his spiritual restlessness. Somehow, he concluded that the universe had to be the work of a Supreme Being, a single God.
The Torah’s silence regarding Avraham’s background teaches perhaps that the only preparation necessary is boldness to question what is accepted as an incontrovertible norm and to be attuned to hear the word of God. God communicated with Avraham because he chose to listen to Him. God surely made some contact with others who disregarded the divine call.
The call for Avraham was Lech Lecha, for others it may be a different instruction. There are people of great spiritual sensitivity who even in the present receive a communication
privileged of God. The issue is to be emotionally and spiritually prepared to hear and assimilate the divine command and then be consistent with its implementation.
There is no doubt that one of the current problems lies in the lack of morality and attention to the fundamental values represented by the Ten Commandments for the religious person, and, perhaps, by a moral code that is not written, but is subscribed to by most of the human race. The call for an ethical life is made daily: what is missing is that it is heard. The destiny of globalized humanity is linked to compliance with this imperative.
MITZVAH: ORDINANCE OF THE TORAH IN THIS PARSHA
CONTAINS 1 POSITIVE MITSVAH
2. Genesis 17:10 Precept of circumcision
