Hello and welcome back to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation based in Mason City, Iowa. We're glad you're here again. A reminder that our next Erv Shabbat Service will be on November 18 at 7:00PM and our Midrash (Study Session) will be on Shabbat the 19th starting at 10:00AM. Both will take place at the shul. We hope to see you!
Take Action
This week's Torah Portion if Lech Lecha (Gen. 12 - 17). The Hebrew words actually mean "go forth". As we read, "Hashem said to Abram, Go forth from your land, from your relatives and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. And, I will make of you a great nation..."
In other words you've got to take action. Make a move. Stuff doesn't just happen. Sure you can "wish" to have a successful business or a successful marriage or a successful relationship with others but if you don't take action to make it happen...it's just an empty wish.
It's the same with our faith. If you leave the Torah in the Ark or the Chumash on the bookshelf or the Bible on the desk it ain't going to help you become more in tune with your faith. If you attend religious services a couple of times a year and then decide to skip out for weeks or even months what do you gain? To truly grow in your faith and to truly understand it...it takes action. It takes effort.
Transacting in Faith
There is an interesting line in this Parsha about Abram and his relationship with G-d: "And he trusted Hashem and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." What's going on here? Rabbi Abraham Twerski has some thoughts:
The Torah tells us that G-d considered the patriarch Abraham’s faith to be meritorious. But let us reflect a moment. If God spoke to any of us, would we not have an unshakeable faith? In what way is Abraham praiseworthy for believing in G-d with Whom he communicated directly?
This question is also asked about Moses. How could Moses fulfill the mitzvah of having faith in G-d when he was in direct contact with him? Again these two people communicated directly with Hashem. For us, however that is not the case.
The answer was given by Rabbi Mordechai of Lechovitz, who cited the Talmud that at the end of a person’s life when he stands before G-d, he will be asked, “Did you transact in faith?”. This is usually understood as asking whether one transacted business honestly. Rabbi Mordechai said that it has an additional meaning. When a person transacts in business, he negotiates and tries in every way to maximize his profit. He does not settle for a meager gain. his is what one will be asked at the end of his life: “Did you transact in faith?” i.e., did you do everything possible to maximize your faith, or did you just accept whatever you were given?
What This Means
Abraham and Moses transacted in faith. They, of course, knew there was a G-d after all they communicated directly with Him. They did not have to have faith in His existence. But they tried to strengthen their faith by coming to an ever greater knowledge of G-d, and believing even that which they could not see about G-d.
Some people take their faith in G-d for granted. Of course they believe that there is a G-d. But they may not have gone beyond that to try to know more and more about G-d. We have great works available to us to increase our faith and broaden our concept of G-d. If we fail to do so, we will have no answer when we are asked, “Did you seek to improve the quality of your faith? Did you transact in faith?”
In other words, to deepen our faith and our understanding of G-d it takes, you guessed it, work and effort.
Thank you for reading and Shabbat Shalom!
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