PARSHA LECH LECHA
By Matthew Moshe Nolan
Beresheeth 12:1 – 17:27
12:1 Now vuvh had said to Avram, Get out of your country, and from your mishpacha, and from your abba’s bayit, to a land that I will show you:
2 And I will make of you a great nation, 3 and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a bracha:
3 And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all mishpachot of the earth be blessed – mixed. 4
4 So Avram departed, as vuvh had spoken to him; and Lot went with him: and Avram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Charan.
5 And Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the beings that they had gotten in Charan; and they went out to go into the land of Kanaan; and into the land of Kanaan they came.
6 And Avram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Kanaanites were then in the land.
7 And vuvh appeared to Avram, and said, To your zera will I give this land: and there he built an altar to vuvh, who appeared to him.
YHWH called Abram is Chavar/Friend forever- what an honor.
How is Yeshua related to this term “Chavar?”
Divre Hay’yamim 20:7Art not thou our Elohim,who didst drive out the inhabi- tants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
Divre Hay’yamim 19:11. Starting at the second to last Heh, counting 94 letters, seven times from R to L spells, Ha Rav Yeshua – The Great Yeshua – Yeshua is associated with the term Chavar.
Yeshayahu 41:8 But you, Israel are My Servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of my friend Avraham.
Starting with the last Mem counting eight letters three times spells, Moshiach – Messiah is associated to the friend of Elohim.
Lech Lecha – Lamed,Kof,Lamed,Kof. Means Go for yourself or Go alone!
Intro
Theme: land and descendants
No longer dealing with mankind on a universal level, but on a man and his descendants. YHWH moves his will from affecting universal to man (creation-Adam , now man then universal – Avraham-to the nations through seed.)
- Leaving and going it alone with YHWH
- Hagar or Hager.
A new point in the narrative of Beresheeth: Prior to Avraham all the drama’s have involved evasion and abdication of responsibility, Adam denies personnel responsibility, Cain denies moral responsibility, Noach fails to exercise collective responsibility and Babel was a rejection of cultural responsibility. Avraham is the turning point.
Where Adam was exiled from Eden against his will because of disobedience, Avraham accepts personnel responsibility and undergoes a kind of voluntary self-exile because of his belief in the divine command. Where Cain refused to be his “brothers keeper” Avraham rescues Lot, Avraham fulfilled the very principle that Cain denied. In contrast to Noach, Avraham prayed for the inhabitants of Sodom. Unlike the builders of Babel, Avraham understands the importance of establishing a culture of responsibility – a Hebrew culture.
Our life is to be a response to the commandments of YHWH. Before Avraham, Adam and Cain, like the vast majority of today’s believers viewed the divine commandments as more of a constraint from which they tried to break free from. By violence in the case of Cain and by building a high place in the case of the builders of Babel. For Avraham the divine command is life itself.
With Avraham a new faith is born, the faith of responsibility in which the commandments and the human will meet to give birth to a “new man.”
Leave your land….social forces, cultural identity and class system.
Leave the circumstances of your birth. innate instincts, carnal drives and genetic determination
Leave your fathers house… childhood influences, childhood traumas, relationships and rivalries.
Don’t hold on to old customs !
Children of Abraham – Lech Lecha! Lech – journey, Lecha – to yourself. Leave behind all external influences that turn you into a victim of circumstances beyond your control and travel inward to self-refinement. Travel for your own benefit and good, give up your past in order to have a future. It may seem like a sacrifice, but in the long run its not.
When we appear before Moshiach He won’t ask us, why weren’t we like Moshe or Yael He will ask why we weren’t ourselves, all that we were created to be. Don’t hold back, don’t let others hold you back, don’t diminish your full spiritual self to accommodate others comfort.
Our own spiritual journey is mirrored in Abraham’s life
YHWH’s call to Avraham is the same spiritual calling to us all.YHWH’s voice calls to every generation to “Please leave……..patriotism , those nationalistic feelings , the customs and feelings of your family….Flee to the source of your higher soul!
Avram was like you and I seeking meaning in the world. The first Ivri/Hebrew> Havar to cross over!
Beresheeth 12:1 Now YHWH had said to Avram, Get out of/lech lecha/ your country, and from your mishpacha, and from your abba’s
bayit, to a land that I will show you:
V.2(The five “ I wills of YHWH “ demonstrating His authority.)
“And I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you,
and make your name great;
and you shall be a bracha 
Change one vowel = A spring of water that purifies the defiled)
And I will bless them that bless you,
and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all mishpachot(Ref to Moshiach) of the earth be blessed – mixed.
Isaiah 14:13 Sa.tan tries to steal YHWH’s authority with his own five “I wills “.For you have said in your lev, I will ascend into the shamayim, I will exalt my kesay above the cochavim of El: I will sit also upon the Mount of the Congregation on the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will
be like El-Elyon
Notice we have a choice: move to our higher calling by putting ourselves subject to YHWH’s authority, be like Avraham. Or move to old familiar spirits and seek to be like the world.
ELS: Starting with the first Lamed in Beresheeth 12:1-2 with an eight ELS four times from L to R spells Yisrael. Also from the first Mem using a 17 ELS L to R spells Moshiach.
12:4 So Avram departed, as YHWH had spoken to him; and Lot went with him: and Avram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Charan.5 And Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the beings that they had gotten in Charan; and they went out to go into the land of Kanaan; and into the land of Kanaan they came.
The journey: progressive . Not as one would think : Fathers house , community, country.Torah teaches the opposite .First the physical action then the spiritual outcome : country, community , Fathers house. Leave the past behind Don’t keep Torah secretly! That’s still being in your country and community! – you never left! Don’t be silent around your family ! That’s still being in your father’s house!
Person: there is no Hebrew word for person. Adam-human, Ben Adam-mortal-son of man, Ish-male, Enosh-humanity. Why? Person comes from the Latin persona, mask, a mask worn by an actor on stage, a character being played out in front of all. Avraham didn’t care how he seemed to others, what people thought of him, he wasn’t acting, so why care? Men judge by appearances but YHWH sees the heart, We’re called to be known not by how we may seem to others, but by what others may not care to take the time to see, the heart.
Lot: Lot chose the good land with the evil inhabitants, he put the material before the moral and the spiritual, like Eve when she saw the fruit of the tree of knowledge was pleasant to the eyes, Lot judged by appearances, If we’re the children of the covenant we are to walk by sound not sight, the voice of YHWH not the seduction of sight.
Beresheeth/Genesis 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Avram went
down into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; for the famine was severe in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Mitzrayim, that he said to Sarai his wife, See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look upon: 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Mitzrim shall see you, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save you alive.
13 Please say you are my sister: that it may be well with me for your sake; and my being shall live because of you.14 And it came to pass, that, when Avram came into Mitzrayim, the Mitzrim beheld the woman that she was very beautiful.15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s bayit.16 And he treated Avram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and male donkeys, and male avadim, and female avadim, and female donkeys, and camels.17 And vivo plagued Pharaoh and his bayit with great plagues because of Sarai Avram’s wife.18 And Pharaoh called Avram, and said, What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, She is my sister? So I might have
Mistakenly taken her to me as my wife: now therefore see your wife, take her, and go your way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had. And Avram went up out of Mitzrayim, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Avram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
The prophecy of decent: Abraham as a picture of YHWH and Sarai is a picture of Israel.
Avram marries Sarai, YHWH marries Israel
Famine in the land and they descend into Egypt
The bride/Sarai’s identity is veiled. Israel as YHWH’s people is veiled
Sarai is possessed and taken captive by Pharaoh. Israel is possessed and taken captive by Pharaoh
A Plague strikes Pharaoh and he releases the bride Sarai and later Israel
Both accounts end with the bride plundering Egypt
Hagar: We mostly focus on the journey of Avraham in parsha lech lecha, but in reality there are two journeys in this parsha. The journey of Hagar.
Beresheeth 16:1 Now Sarai Avram’s wife bore him no children: and she had a handmaid, a Mitzri, whose name was Hagar.2 And Sarai said to Avram, See now, vuvh has restrained me from bearing: Please, go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her; And Avram listened to the voice of Sarai.3 And Sarai Avram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Mitzri, after Avram had dwelt ten years in the land of Kanaan, and gave her to her husband Avram to be his wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said to Avram, My wrong is upon you: I have given my maid into your bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: vuvh judge between me and you.6 But Avram said to Sarai, See, your maid is in your hand; do to her as it pleases you. And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her face.7 And the Malach-vuvh found her by a fountain of mayim in the wilderness, by the fountain on the derech to Shur. 8 And He said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from? And where will you go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.9 And the Malach-vuvh said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands. 10 And the Malach-vuvh said to her, I will multiply your zera exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.11 And the Malach-vuvh said to her, See, you are with child, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Yishma-El; because vuvh has heard your affliction.12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers.13 And she called on the Name of vuvh that spoke to her, You are El-Roi: for she said, Have I even here looked upon Him that sees me? 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-Lahai-Roi; and it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Avram a son: and Avram called his son’s name, which Hagar bore, Yishma-El. 16 And Avram was eighty-six years old, when Hagar bore Yishma-El to Avram.
YHWH’s Malach speaks directly to Hagar, in verse 13 Hagar names YHWH, would YHWH speak to a woman and would she dare reply? What happened to Hagar in this parsha?
3 things that mirror Avram’s experiences.
Not Lech Lecha - go forth – masc, but Lechi Lach, go forth – fem. Hagar has her own personal journey and leaves her home.
- 1. YHWH made a covenant with her, just as he did with Avraham.
- 2. She’ll have numerous offspring.
- 3. She’s told her son’s name before his birth just as later Avraham is told his sons name before his birth.
But…there is something so different, so distinct and special about Hagar’s relationship to YHWH. Hagar gives Elohim a name, Avraham never did this, and Sarai never did this. Hagar is more comfortable with YHWH, she doesn’t need signs like Avraham, she accepts her circumstance the way it is and draws toward Elohim and names Him, and she demonstrates a personal relationship. Her son is called Ishmael – Elohim hears and she calls Elohim El Roi, Elohim who sees me…later Avraham names the mountain where he took Yitzhak, Adonai sees.
Mayim Elohim: Water and spiritual belief and strength – try fasting! Sarah and Rebekah are first introduced at wells; Israel is strengthened when they cross the Red Sea and whenever there is a lack of water they begin to murmur and their faith dims, evidently weak. When Miryam – who means sea, dies, Israel was without water and began to quarrel and loose faith. Moshe Rabainu, frustrated strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. Hagar is sent out to the wilderness where she and Ishmael run out of water, she looses her faith and sits down to watch her son die. But the Elohim who she hears will open her eyes, become the Elohim who she hears and sees and He opens her eyes and she finds a well, refreshment and Be’er-lehai-roi well of the living one who sees me.
Is Hagar still an outsider? Hager = Adonai is foreign, or after she is cast out with little faith, a woman of bondage, does she find the Mayim Chayim and find salvation and become not Hager, but הagar – Adonai dwells?
Galutyah – Sarai and Hagar – Two Covenants. An allegory aimed at Pharisaic Jews. One son is produced by emunah. One son is produced from a lack of faith. The upcoming allegory does not teach that the Torah is bondage. In this allegory, or story, Mt. Sinai corresponds to, or is like, Jerusalem that produces slaves. Spiritually, the residents at Jerusalem were by and large unsaved and following the rabbis blindly, they had approached the mountain, if you will, without faith and were thus slaves to the leading of the rabbis. The other son approaches Mt Sinai by faith and is thus led by Ruach Ha Kodesh; this son’s faith corresponds to the New Jerusalem above.
21 Tell me, you that desire to be under the law;(Ergon Nomos – Pharisaic law)
do you not listen to the Torah?( Rav is again juxtaposing OL and WL) 22 For it is written, that Avraham had two sons, the one by a female eved, the other by a free woman.23 But he who was from the female eved was born after the flesh;
but he from the free woman was by promise. 24 Which things are allegories: for these are the two covenants;(Not the OT vs. the NT. 1. Mt Sinai = Torah ,2 relationship – promise is est. first. the one from Har Sinai Torah without intimate connection) , that brings forth slavery (Dev 27,28 if disobeyed), which is Hagar.(before she was cast out)25 For this Hagar is Har Sinai in Arabia(Where is Mt Sinai?), and corresponds to Yahrushalayim that now exists, and is in slavery with her children.(The Jerusalem of Paul’s day was in bondage, like Hagar. Jerusalem was in bondage to the Pharisaic OL and related to Torah without faith. You can’t go to Mt Sinai without faith) 26 But the Yahrushalayim that is above is free, which is the eema of us all.( The comparison is not law, or Torah versus grace, as is commonly misunderstood, but two different women, operating by two different approaches from two different Jerusalem’s, producing two different kinds of children. We, as children of faith are to look to the Jerusalem above which is operating through the Spirit of YHWH and Isaac, this is where the Torah will go out from when Moshiach reigns.) 27 For it is written,( Yeshayahu 54 and Hoshea 2) Gilah, you barren that did not bear;(Who is the barren? Ephraim Israel)break forth and shout for simcha, you that did not have labor: for the barren and deserted one has many more children than she who has had a husband.(Judah and Ephraim Is 50:1, Jer 3:8, Hos 9:16) 28 Now we, Yisraelite brothers, are like Yitzchak was; we are the children of promise. 29 But as it was then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Ruach Ha kodesh, even so, it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Katuv tell us to do? Cast out the female eved and her son( OL and bondage to sin and the seed of unbelief ): for the son of the female eved shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. 31 So then, Yisraelite brothers, we are not children of the female eved, but of the free woman.
One son is produced by faith – sons of the Written Word, one son is produced by no faith and isn’t the heir to the covenants – sons of the rabbis – OL.
JAN
