Lech Lecha: Go forth and find water….

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Parsha Summary: 

God said to Abram, “Go forth, go to yourself, out of your land, the place of your birth, your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” And there, once Abram figures out where there is, God will make him a blessing.  So Abram left.  

But soon there was famine in the land and Abram and Sarai went down to Egypt. Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister to spare his own life. When they returned from Egypt, Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s quarreled with each other over resources. They agree to separate. Lot chose the plain of Jordan. Abram chose the land of Canaan.  

Sarai was barren. She decided to give her handmaiden, Hagar, to Abram to be a surrogate mother. This doesn’t go especially well and Hagar runs away. Hagar is told by an angel to return to Sarai and submit to Sarai’s harsh treatment.  She is the first person to name G-d,  

G-d appears to Abram and tells him that he will make a covenant with him. And that Sarai will in fact bear a son, Isaac. As a sign of that covenant, Abram agrees to circumcise himself. As an old man, this would have been quite painful. There has been much written again about circumcision in the modern Jewish world, new organizations like Bruchim. Yet the text says that those who are not circumcised are cut off from their kin and this covenant. How do we balance these opposing views? 

Table Topics: 

  1. What does it mean to go forth or to go to yourself?
  2. How can science help us protect natural resources, water, food, and prevent quarraling, famine and refugee crises?  
  3. Infertility is still a problem today. Is there any circumstance where you think a surrogate would work? How has the science of infertility helped women today? 
  4. What are your opinions on circumcision? What does the Academy of American Pediatrics say? How does medical science inform your opinion? 

Labs at Home: 

Water Dowsing Experiment. Can you find water using a stick? Why or why not? Read this two articles and decide. OR come up with your own experiment to prove.  

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a3199/1281661/  

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-dowsing?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects  

Song:
Debbie Friedman – L’chi Lach 

Act of Kindness: 

Help someone make a party after the birth of child, to welcome them into the covenant. It could be for a girl child or a boy child. Offer to help the new mother.