This Shabbat we study the parsha Lech Lecha, meaning “Go Forth” (Genesis 12:1). G-d speaks to Abram, commanding him “Go from  your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s  house, to the land which I will show you.” There, G-d says, he will be made into a great nation. Abram and his wife, Sarai, accompanied by his nephew Lot, journey to the land of Canaan, where Abram builds an altar and continues to spread the message of a one G-d. 

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Also in this parsha: Lot separates from Abram and settles in the evil city of Sodom; Sarai – who is barren -  tells Abram to marry her maidservant Hagar; G-d changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah; Ishmael is born to Hagar and Abraham but G-d promises that a son will be born to Sarah and Abraham in their old age; Abraham is commanded to circumcise himself and his descendants as a “sign of the covenant between Me (G-d) and you.” 

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Chabad.org

The haftorah for this week discusses Abraham's journey to the land of Canaan at G-d's behest, and touches upon Abraham's miraculous battle against the four kings, both of which are described in this week's Torah reading.

The prophet Isaiah addresses Israel's complaint: ""My way [of serving G-d] has been ignored by the Lord, and from my G-d, my judgment passes [unrewarded]."

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Isaiah reminds Israel of the Creator's greatness. The time will come when "He will give the tired strength, and to him who has no strength, He will increase strength. Youths shall become tired and weary, and young men shall stumble, but those who put their hope in the Lord shall renew [their] vigor, they shall raise wings as eagles; they shall run and not weary, they shall walk and not tire." Nevertheless, "there is no comprehension of His wisdom," and as such, at times we cannot understand why He chooses to delay the reward of the righteous.

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The haftorah then turns its attention to the idolatrous nations of the world. Isaiah reminds them of Abraham's greatness, how after arriving in Canaan he pursued and defeated four mighty kings. "The islands saw and feared; the ends of the earth quaked." Nevertheless, the nations who witness these miracles did not abandon their ways. "The [idol] craftsman strengthened the smith, the one who smoothes [the idol] with the hammer strengthened the one who wields the sledge hammer; the one who glues its coating says, 'It is good,' and he strengthened it with nails that it should not move..."

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G-d promises the Jewish nation to reward them for their loyalty to G-d. "Do not fear for I am with you; be not discouraged for I am your G-d. . . Behold all those incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded; those who quarreled with you shall be as naught and be lost."

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Chabad.org

Nobody believed Noah. But Abraham, some say, convinced most of his generation. 

Noah talked as someone who followed a tradition of the past. Abraham described how he had discovered G-d on his own.

Only once you have made wisdom your own can you share it with others.

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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Of the Messianic redemption it is written: “As in the days of your going out from the land of Egypt, I will show them wondrous things” (Michah 7:15). This means that it will be analogous to the redemption from Egypt: just as Israel was redeemed from Egypt as a reward for their faith, so too by virtue of our faith Moshiach will redeem us. Indeed, the Midrash (Shocher Tov, ch. 40) states that Israel is worthy of redemption as a reward for the kivuy (hoping for, and awaiting, the redemption). By virtue of Israel’s firm trust that “My salvation is near to come” (Isaiah 56:1), we shall merit that G-d shall redeem us with the complete and ultimate redemption, speedily, in our very own days.

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From an article by Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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The first snow of the winter is always a delight, but not when it arrives in October. Despondent over the nasty storm, I woke up that morning and ventured out into a street strewn with fallen trees and downed wires. Traffic lights were out of order and streets were slick with ice, but the real surprise came when I discovered our synagogue was without electricity. Without lights, we were hard-pressed to hold morning services. A number of regular attendees arrived and shared my gloom; many left shortly thereafter to pray at home, but several stayed on. We lit candles, donned tefillin and sat down to pray. My gaze wandered about the room, and my spirits slowly lifted. I was enchanted by the quaint scene, the darkened synagogue, flickering flames and heads hunched over the candles reading in the dim light; it was a setting reminiscent of the shtetl.

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A warmth spread through me as I surveyed the room, because in the darkness I beheld the heartiness of the Jew. It was morning, and despite the elements, despite the obstacles, these hearty Jews were at synagogue. I realized that the Jew is indeed, as G-d promised to Abraham, like the stars of the sky.

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Stars are sources of constant light. Even when the veil of darkness is drawn across the sky, the stars continue to shine. Humanity also boasts proverbial stars. These are the strong souls who, undaunted by challenge, overcome their personal darkness. On a normal morning, when the streets are dry and the lights are on, many Jews attend the synagogue. When raging storms and treacherous roads confine most of us to our homes, the rocklike strength of those undaunted by challenge draws our attention. It is then that these shining stars drive away our gloom, and impart in its stead inspiration and strength.

This is indeed what G-d meant when he told Abraham, “Gaze toward heaven and count the stars—see if you can count them.” And He then said to him, “So (numerous) shall your children be.” Science has yet to discover, let alone count and identify, every star. This is because they operate in the distant reaches of darkened galaxies, and the naked eye cannot pierce the vast skies to behold them all. Yet, despite the darkness, an occasional star does peek out at us from across the distance. It is for this reason that the star is of so much comfort to us. We are drawn to them because their twinkling light beckons us; they remind us that every challenge can be surmounted, every distance can be traversed and every darkness can be illuminated.

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Rather than an impediment to light, stars see the darkness as an opportunity to shine. Just like those Jews who prayed in the darkened synagogue, hunched over the dim and flickering light. These Jews are my stars: never daunted by challenge, never overwhelmed by the dark and never afraid of the night. These are the stars, who never allow an obstacle to get in the way of their commitment. These are the stars that inspire us in the night. These are the stars, in whose light we have no reason to fear the dark. It was not the candles that enlightened me that cold morning, but the bobbing heads above those candles. In those bobbing heads I saw the stars of which G-d spoke to Abraham. 

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From an article by Rabbi Lazer Gurkow

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