Last week's reading was G*d's covenant with Noach, and through him, to all humanity, to continue the human race in perpetuity.
This week continues the theme of G*d's covenantal relationship with people, but this time specifically with Abraham, the first Patriarch of the Jews. Several times, G*d promises Abraham numerous descendants, but none are forthcoming. He is 86 years old when Ishmael is born, only to be driven away due to Sarah's jealousy. What then? Yet Abraham's faith never wavers! When he is 99 years old, he is promised once again,
|
'I have hereby covenanted with you: You shall be the father of a horde of nations.
Ani hineh veriti itach vehayita le'av hamon goyim. |
Once again, the essence of G*d's covenant with humanity is... children.
The Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore
said,
"The birth of a child is G*d's way of saying that life must go on."
I just shared that Tagore quote two days ago with a friend... in a different context, but hey, why are we all talking about the same things???
ReplyDeleteCue Twilight Zone music here...
DeleteWhat context?
My friend Nathan and I were talking about the Shoah, and how this quote was embroidered by my great-grandmother (who met Tagore in 1928 when he visited Hungary) when she was pregnant with my uncle Aaron.
Delete