Lech Lecha- You bring the wine, I will bring the bread this friday night

10/9/2013

Recently the Jewish world has been discussing the results of the Pew research poll on American Jews and strategies to be used to ensure the survival of Judaism. Long before research polls and even before Judaism started, Avraham received advice on how to sustain the Jewish way of life.

In this week's Parsha Avraham meets the high priest Malky Tzedek who advises Avraham how to be successful. He brings Avraham bread and wine.
What is the deeper significance of Malky Tzedek giving Avraham bread and wine?

My brother in law, Rabbi Yeshaya Sussman taught me, bread is only good if it is fresh, if it is new and innovative. Wine is only good if it is old and aged, connected to the past. This is the lesson Malky Tzedek was teaching Avraham, it was about the proper balance between innovation and reverence for the past.

Judaism has to remain fresh and innovative using new technologies and new perspectives while remaining faithful to its ancient traditions and history. both are needed to sustain the Jewish people, and have a nice friday night dinner.

2 Comments

Tim

10/9/2013 03:12:37 pm

nice. Makes sense. The question of course is where to draw the line between new and old. Both are important. But sometimes people go to extremes like Chasidim who still think and act like they are in Poland in the 16th century or like the more left wing "modern" orthodox Jews who pick and choose what parts of the Torah they will abide by. Anyway, nice thoughts.

Esther

10/10/2013 03:30:30 am

B"H True that the bread should be fresh and the wine should be aged. And both require human intervention to get to the state of bread and wine. Human intervention could mean 'lowliness', the 'material world', negative connotations. In Judaism, human intervention is to elevate what is around us, our actions are to bring light to the world. We elevate our world also through speech. "A rolling stone does not gather moss...", so goes the saying. This Parsha of Lech Lecha is about getting up and going.....to go and bring light everywhere around us. How long would it take for the voyager to be able to gather the grain/wheat to make bread? For the vineyard to be ripe to press the grape? Thus, Avrohom Avinu is presented with the gifts of bread and wine which indicates an even deeper meaning steeped later by Dovid in Tehillim 130 about His delight when His children are united. The duty of Tzedaka, of Boaz leaving the corner of the field for Ruth to gather something to eat, the duty of opening your home to strangers (a deeper meaning, opening up Torah to the Ger....), which brings us back to Avrohom. He would leave his tent open to welcome guests. In our getting up and going, may we plant for the next one coming by to reap later on, and be welcomed by those sharing their crop. Aged wine and fresh bread for a nation that after two millenia of travels and travails, B"H now has a home -Israel- where wheat can be harvested and wine can grow in the Carmel Vineyards, among wineries, meaning full circle to Lech Lecha. We're home, the Shefa of our times ....

Lech Lecha- You bring the wine, I will bring the bread this friday night

Leave a Reply.