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Thoughts on the Parsha ~
Parshas Lech Lecha
Test by Design
By: Daniel Listhaus
וַה' אָמַר אֶל אַבְרָם אַחֲרֵי
הִפָּרֶד לוֹט מֵעִמּוֹ שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה מִן הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה
שָׁם צָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה וָקֵדְמָה וָיָמָּה: כִּי אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר
אַתָּה רֹאֶה לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד עוֹלָם:
“Hashem said to Avram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Raise now
your eyes and look out from where you are: northward, southward, eastward, and
westward. For all the land that you see, to you will I give it, and to your
descendants forever. ”
-Lech Lecha 13:14-15
The
Torah[1]
relates that Lot’s shepherds of Lot started quarreling with the Avraham’s
shepherds. Rashi[2]
explains that the cause of the dispute was that Lot’s shepherds would graze
their cattle in the fields of others, and Avrahams’s shepherds would rebuke
them saying that they were stealing by allowing their animals to graze and
others’ fields. However, Lot’s shepherds would just rationalize and retort that
the land [Eretz Yisroel] was promised to Avraham, and being that he has
no heir, Lot’s family would inherit it so it is not really stealing. This of
course was nothing more than a rationalization because as the next passuk (verse)
says, “The Canaanite and Perizzite were then dwelling in the land”, so Avraham
did not yet have possession of it. As we know, this argument resulted in Lot separating
from Avraham and moving to Sodom.
The
passuk[3]
tells us that right after Lot parted from Avraham, Hashem came to Avraham and
told him to look around in all four directions, that all the land he could see
will be his and his descendents forever. Rashi[4]
is bothered by why the Torah feels it necessary to stress the fact that it
was specifically right after Lot left Avraham that Hashem came to speak to him.
Rashi answers that the entire time Lot was with Avraham, Hashem did not
speak to Avraham because Lot was wicked.
The
S’forno, however, has a different approach. The S’forno[5] writes
that the reason Hashem waited to tell this to Avraham until after Lot left was
because Hashem was concerned that had He come to Avraham while Lot was still around,
the reinforced message that Eretz Yisroel would be given to Avraham
would have caused Lot and his shepherds to become haughty and feel that they
already owned the place and make themselves comfortable, stealing whatever they
wanted. Therefore, Hashem waited for Lot to leave before he spoke to Avraham
and showed him all the land He promised to him and his descendents.
The
obvious problem with this S’forno is that Hashem’s plan did not seem to
work. The S’forno is saying that Hashem waited for lot to leave Avraham
in order to speak to him because He did not want Lot to come to steal. However,
that happened anyway! The whole reason why Lot and Avraham split up was because
of the fighting that Avraham’s shepherds had with Lot’s to try to get them to
stop stealing others’ property. So what did Hashem gain – so to speak – by waiting
for Lot to leave in order to speak to Avraham? It seems like either way Lot
ended up feeling that he had divine rights to Eretz Yisroel?
The
purpose of life and G-d’s role in this world are topics that have been debated
for centuries. There are so many levels of belief each varying when it comes to
understanding these core questions. Some believe that the world was created by
accident and that humans are a product of chance. Therefore, by definition,
life has no purpose, ethics, morals, or expectations other than those made up by
man in order to live together under the same sky. Others believe that G-d put
us here for His entertainment, which does not either even deserve a refutation.
We as Jews however not only hold onto Judaism – the Torah she’bichsacv (Written
Torah), the Torah she’ba’al peh (Oral Torah), and our mesorah (tradition)
– as a religion, but rather even more, that it contains in it the chochmah (wisdom)
and insight into the purpose of mankind and the world as a whole with an order
and system to everything – even including things as basic as thought, speech
and the most mundane of actions such as which shoe lace to tie first. Not only
is the world and everything in it purposeful, but Hashem’s involvement is
intricate and intimate.
As
a person lives through life, he or she is inevitably met with struggles and challenges.
Sometimes these challenges are in the form of a spiritual struggle bein adom
l’makom. Other times it is an interpersonal struggle bein adom l’chaveiro.
Sometimes we are challenged financially, sometimes physically, and other
times mentally or emotionally. And often times we could even prove to be our own worst
enemies and have internal struggles which eat us up alive.
Although to
point to a single idea and declare it as the purpose of life is way beyond the
scope of this d’var Torah, what we could do as at least understand that
there is a purpose which exists and that life’s challenges are not only a
necessary means to achieve that purpose, but that life’s challenges are
actually hand-picked for us individually by Hashem Himself. Hashem understands our
nature perfectly, for he created us. Therefore it is He alone who is able to construct
the perfect challenges for us to overcome and grow from. Hashem knows
the different measures of the various middos (character traits) He
injected in each person individually. Each person has his or her own breaking
point, level of patience, degree of frustration and anger, etc. All of these
aspects are taken into account and used to create the perfect test for us to
grow in the areas we struggle in. Hashem sends us these purposely and they are
only meant to help us. The key to it all, though, is the understanding that
Hashem never sends us something that is impossible for us to overcome. Yes,
things may be extremely difficult, and yes we will fail many times. However,
Hashem never sets us up for guaranteed failure. Every nisayon (test) is
with the trust and hope that we will make the right decisions and overcome it.
Perhaps
with this we could better understand the S’forno. Lot was clearly
someone who was wicked and although would never be able to withstand the types
of tests that Avraham was challenged with, he was given his own little challenge
– to not succumb to his rationalizations and thievery. Hashem sent Lot this
test and alas he failed. However, the nisayon given to him was one he
could have won; and had he passed the test and not succumbed to his wickedness,
he would have grown and become a better person. However, had Hashem come to
reinforce the message to Avraham, that
he was to receive Eretz Yisroel, while Lot was still around, then
Lot’s test would have become inaccurate because it would have been to difficult
for him to hold himself back from stealing, and Hashem does not give us tests
that we cannot pass.
We
must realize that Hashem is not out to get us and that all nisyonos sent
our way are ones we are capable of passing. Bearing this in mind as we meet our
challenges in whichever form they take, we could perhaps tip the scale in our
favor and start off with a positive attitude and an even better shot at winning.
