Weekly Torah Portion

By Baal Tefillah Marc Lamb

Who Made You?

Dear Congregation, 

I have an image in my mind of an old man, grizzled and gray, sitting at the edge of a tent in a windswept desert. He searches the horizon, almost desperately, looking for strangers to welcome in, strangers with whom he can share the revelation of one God.

Who is he? Abraham, of course, the father of nations. Not exactly the first Jew, but the first monotheist- the believer in one God. 

This week’s Torah portion reminded me of his power through one small word. When Abraham and Sarah leave their home at God’s command, the Torah says they took with them “the souls that they had made in Haran.” The Hebrew word is asu, “made.” It’s an unusual way to describe people. What does it mean to make a soul?

The Sages explain that these were people Abraham and Sarah brought close to God. The Midrash notices that the verb is plural, “they made,” and teaches that Abraham taught the men and Sarah taught the women. They were a team, and what a team!

Abraham and Sarah did not give birth to these people or create their bodies. But they changed the direction of their lives so profoundly that the Torah speaks of them as having made them. That is a powerful idea.

And we know it from our own lives. Many of us can name someone who made us, so to speak: a teacher who saw something in us, a grandparent who championed us, a friend whose friendship gave us confidence. Our lives go in many directions, but so many of us have been influenced, shaped, and yes, made, by those we meet along the way.

So take a moment this Shabbat and ask yourself: who made you? Who saw something in you that you didn’t yet see in yourself? Perhaps that person never knew what they had done. Perhaps a few words of encouragement, spoken decades ago and long forgotten by the speaker, changed the course of your life.

If that person is still with us, consider telling them. A short note or a phone call may be the best Shabbat gift you can give. And if they are no longer here, consider passing it on to someone who needs to hear it from you.

Shabbat Shalom,

Marc Lamb