In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, it seems that Abram has just arrived in Canaan. He is still in motion, not even settled in one place yet, when famine hits the land. The Torah tells us:
וַיְהִי רָעָב בָּאָרֶץ וַיֵּרֶד אַבְרָם מִצְרַיְמָה לָגוּר שָׁם כִּי-כָבֵד הָרָעָב בָּאָרֶץ
There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land (Genesis 12:10).
The famine was ka’ved: heavy, severe, serious. Serious enough that Abram can not stay in this should-be new home. He takes his family and travels to Egypt to search for food.
Our tradition teaches that Abram underwent a series of ten trials in his lifetime, of which this is one: having to navigate through famine and leaving for Egypt after just arriving in Canaan. It must be a dire situation for Abram to move so soon after moving; after all, at the beginning of our parsha (Torah portion), God speaks to Abram and tells him “Lech lecha” (“Leave”): “Go from the place where you were born, from your home, from anything you know and move to Canaan, says God.” This initial move is a trial, a test of Abram’s faith to go to a new place that God will show. But during the famine, Abram is tested not just to move somewhere that he doesn’t yet know, but to move while he and his household are hungry. And the hunger is ka’ved, heavy, even dangerous.
Through yet another trial in the land of Egypt, Abram acquires many animals, slaves, and much material wealth. Once Abram and his family leave Egypt and return to the land of Canaan, Torah describes Abram:
וְאַבְרָם כָּבֵד מְאֹד בַּמִּקְנֶה בַּכֶּסֶף וּבַזָּהָב
Now Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold (Genesis 13:2).
Interestingly, the Torah again chooses the word ka’ved, heavy, to describe Abram’s wealth. Ka’ved is not the only way to say rich in Hebrew. Abram returns to Canaan rich, yes, but he is also literally coming back to Canaan heavy, burdened, weighed down by all that he acquired during his time in Egypt.
The Torah is teaching us an important lesson through Abram’s personal experience of this word; there are similarities between the two states. To be hungry and to be wealthy both have their weight. Abram moves from one state to another, from serious hunger to serious riches, each bringing with them responsibility to care for others. He leaves his new home in search of food for himself and his family. And he returns home, not yet understanding that his wealth and power will be its own trial of how to use it. And also, as our ancestor Abram models, any of us, at any time, might go from from secure to insecure or from insecure to secure.
Food insecurity is on my mind these days. The uncertainty that 42 million people in our country face if November SNAP benefits are not distributed is staggeringly heavy. Without governmental help, already vulnerable individuals and families face even greater challenges to get food on the table for themselves and their families. It is not a state of famine exactly, but this hunger is ka’ved, serious, heavy, all-consuming. For those of us who have never experienced food insecurity or who no longer experience food insecurity, it draws our attention to the plight of so many in our community who experience hunger as a daily fact of life. Hunger is not just somewhere out there, far away from us. It affects our neighbors, our communities, our elders, our children, our families. Hunger and food insecurity exists in every single county in America, often hiding in plain sight.
Rav Claudia sent an email yesterday sharing resources. If you are in need, or if you are connected to someone who is in need, we hope that these resources will help you navigate this difficult time. And in that email is also an invitation to those of us who have the ability to help to do so. Torah teaches us that to have means, to be ka’ved, (including to have an abundance of time), is an opportunity to use that wealth of resources wisely.
May we experience this weighty moment as Abram did, as an invitation into taking responsibility and to action.
May we find strength and courage to receive the help we need and to open our hearts and our hands with generosity.
Shabbat shalom,
Rav Leah