Abraham and three Angels by Phillip Ratner
Rav. Jonathan Sacks – “How Freedom is Born, Practiced and Sustained”
Marx said that man is a product of social forces, themselves shaped by the interests of the ruling class, the owners of property of which the most significant is land. Therefore God said to Abraham, LEAVE YOUR LAND.
Spinoza said that man is made by innate instincts and biological drives given by birth, positing a genetic determinism. Therefore God said to Abraham, Leave the circumstances of your birth.
Freud said that we are the way we are because of the traumas of childhood, the influence of our early years, our relationships and rivalries with our parents, especially our father. Therefore God said to Abraham, Leave your father’s house.
Freedom is not a given of the human situation. Like the other distinctive achievements of the spirit – art, literature, music, poetry – it needs training, discipline, apprenticeship, the most demanding routines and the most painstaking attention to detail. No one composed a great novel or symphony without years of preparation. That is why most theories of human behaviour are simply false. They claim that we are either free or not; either we have choice or our behaviour is causally determined. Freedom is not an either/or. It is a process. It begins with dependence and only slowly, gradually, does it become liberty, the ability to stand back from the pressures and influences upon us and act in response to educated conscience, judgment, wisdom, moral literacy. It is, in short, a journey: Abraham’s journey.
That is the deep meaning of the words Lech Lecha. Normally they are translated as, “Go, leave, travel.” What they really mean is: journey (Lech) to yourself (Lecha). Leave behind all external influences that turn you into a victim of circumstances beyond your control, and travel inward to the self. It is there – only there – that freedom is born, practiced and sustained.
From Covenant and Conversation. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Genesis: book of beginnings pgs. 70-71
