To Bless the Space Between Us (Rabbi Sacks on Vayera, Covenant & Conversation)

The Rabbi Sacks Legacy

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 601 Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to Rabbi Sacks' commentary on the weekly Torah portion. This series of Covenant & Conversation essays explores the theme of finding spirituality in the Torah, week by week, parsha by parsha. You can find the full written article on Vayera available to read, print, and share, by visiting: https://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/vayera/to-bless-the-space-between-us/ The new FAMILY EDITION is now also available: https://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-family-edition/vayera/to-bless-the-space-between-us/ For more articles, videos, and other material from Rabbi Sacks, please visit www.RabbiSacks.org and follow @RabbiSacks. The Rabbi Sacks Legacy continues to share weekly inspiration from Rabbi Sacks. This piece was originally written and recorded by Rabbi Sacks in 2015. With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship of Covenant & Conversation, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel.

Transcript

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0:00.0	To bless the space between us.
0:04.0	There's a mystery at the heart of the biblical story of Abraham,
0:08.0	and it has immense implications for our understanding of Judaism.
0:13.0	Who was Abraham and why was he chosen?
0:16.0	The answer is far from obvious.
0:18.0	Now where is he described as was Noah as
0:21.1	a siddik as a righteous man, Tamim Hayabudurotov, perfect in his generations.
0:28.1	We have no portrait of him like the young Moses, physically intervening in conflicts
0:33.6	as a protest against injustice. He wasn't a soldier like David or a visionary like Isaiah.
0:40.3	In only one place near the beginning of our Parasha does the Torah say why God singled him out.
0:48.3	Then the Lord said, Hamachasai, may Avraham, shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
0:55.9	Because Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,
0:59.5	and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
1:02.7	Ki, Adati for I have chosen him.
1:05.0	Le Manna, Ashe, Yitzavid, Banavet, Betoah, Harav,
1:07.9	so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just,
1:15.6	so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.
1:19.6	Abraham was chosen in order to be a father.
1:24.6	Indeed Abraham's original name, Avram, means mighty father, and his enlarged name,
1:33.4	Avraham means father of many nations. No sooner do we notice this, incidentally, that we
1:41.3	recall that the first person in history to be given a proper name was
1:46.9	Chava, Eve. Because said Adam, she is Aem Kulchai, the mother of all life. Incidentally, note
	...

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