Ksharim - Makom Israel

L e s s o n 4:Early Ties I: Abraham in and out of the Land1. Outlinea. The promisesb. Walking aboutc. Conditionalityd. Exilee. Purchase2. IntroductionWe all know, of course, that “it all started with Abraham,” the first oleh chadash (newimmigrant). But what exactly started with him? A number of the episodes inAbraham’s life give insight and raise questions regarding the later relationship of thepeople Israel to the Land of Israel. This lesson reviews these episodes as the basic textsdefining recurrent themes in the history of that relationship. The focus of the lesson ison the peshat, the simple meaning of the biblical text, taken at face value, withoutattempting to apply the tools of either documentary analysis or rabbinic exegesis.3. Lesson goalsa. Familiarity with the Abraham narrative as it relates to the landb. Understanding of the concept of the conditionality of the promise of the landc. Awareness of various claims of the people to the land, arising from Abraham’sexperiences4. Expanded outlinea. The promisesi. The very beginning, of course is in Gen 12, with the sudden commandmentfor Abraham to leave his native land and his father’s house and to forth “tothe land that I will show you.” If he does so, God promises to make him “agreat nation” and a blessing.1. From the text (vs. 6) it seems that Abraham moved in among theCanaanites.2. One well-known rabbinical tradition tries to create a back story forAbraham’s rejecting his family and homeland and making aliyah tostart a new faith and a new nation: his disillusionment with the culturaland spiritual environment, a realization that it is empty andhypocritical (the midrash on Abraham and his father’s idol workshop).3. Interesting to note that Terah’s family had already begun themigration to Canaan without a command (why?) – but got stuck inHaran (11:31) (why?).4. Abraham’s migration route:http://www.anova.org/sev/atlas/htm/020.htm5. New land, new people, new religion – an important threefoldconnection that will stay with us as an ideal if not as a reality.33 Ksharim