God said to Avram: Go for yourself from your land; from your birthplace; from the house of your father – to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you; I will make you famous – and be a blessing! (Gen 12:1-2)

This has a poetic feel, don’t you think? What if we analyzed it as if it were a poem? What questions would arise?

When you look at Biblical poetry, says scholar Murray Lichtenstein, look for three things: balance, collapsing of time and place, and encouragement of inner dialogue. All three are at play in these two short verses.

Each verse includes three intensifying synonyms and one concluding phrase. Three increasingly dramatic descriptions Avram’s journey are matched by three escalating rewards God will give. Will the intensity of Avram’s risk be matched by the intensity of his reward?

One verse ends by noting Avram does not yet know where he is going. The other ends declaring that he will surely be a blessing. Will the reward come at the destination or en route?

The two verses leap from a proposal to its gift-filled implementation. No details are disclosed about how Avram can move from letting go of the past to finding future fulfillment. Will actual events fill the gap over time, or is Avram only invited to travel a psychic distance? Must Avram travel a psychic distance before he acts? What have we ourselves done to move from the familiar to the unknown? From origins beyond our control to consciously created results? From dysfunctional places to healthy, harmonious ones?

And: Aren’t these questions of the hour???

For more reflections on Parshat Lech-Lecha (Genesis 12:1 -17:27), click here.

Image: bodymindsoulcentre.com