In Song: Lech Lecha
Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — to a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll.
In this week’s parsha, Lech Lecha, Avram is told to go up to the land of Canaan and settle in the land which will belong to his offspring.
Due to a famine, Avram temporarily relocates to Egypt.
After returning, He separates from his nephew, Lot. Lot is captured in a local power struggle, but is rescued by Avram.
Avram is told at the “Covenant of the Pieces” that his offspring will inherit the land after exile and slavery in return for serving God.
Avram fathers Ishmael through Hagar, his concubine.
God changes Avram and Sarai’s names to Avraham and Sarah and Avraham, Ishmael and all the males in the household undergo circumcision as a sign of connection to God.
As part of the “Covenant of the Pieces,” Avram is taken outside, where he is told to look at the sky and count the stars as an indication of the multiplicity of his offspring.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
