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Lech-Lecha is a Torah portion that pushes Abram (his name only becomes Abraham later) to come face to face with extraordinary challenges. Each trial Abram deals with very differently. These reactions, I believe, give insight into Abram.

In the opening verses, Abram is called by God to “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

Being called by God to leave everything he knows had to have been terrifying. However, it appears that Abram calmly followed God’s command: “Abram went forth as Adonai had commanded him, and Lot went with him.” During their journey, they stopped to build an altar along the way. During this challenge, Abram trusted God to follow through with the blessings that are promised by God. He was not afraid.

The journey continued. They were about to enter Egypt. Suddenly, Abram, who had appeared so fearless just a few verses before, said to his wife Sarai (her name will become Sarah later as well), “I know what a beautiful woman you are. If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘she is his wife’, they will kill me and let you live. Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive, thanks to you.”

Abram, afraid, made a poor moral choice. Historian Nahum Sarna writes, Abram, the man of implicit faith in God’s word, is fearful of the evil of which people are capable.”

Abram will face many more challenges throughout his journey. In just these two examples, Abram was so clearly… human. He was flawed and struggling and learning—just like us. And through these narratives, we have so much to learn.

~ Rabbi Allison Vann