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Orchard of Delights # Lech Lecha
#
the earth (and, in particular, the Jewish people’s bond with the Holy this character trait as in almost every test he is called upon to adopt
Land) is not merely cerebral: it is in our blood; it is in the very fiber a stance or act in a way that is fundamentally opposed to his basic
of our bones. nature. Abraham is urged to “cross over” the confines of his nature

The profound connection between humanity and the earth is also and go “outside” all physical and even spiritual limitations. Such a
emphasized by Rashi’s resolution of what seems to be a contradiction capability is beautifully alluded to by the end of the aforementioned
in the biblical text. On the one hand, the Torah recounts that verse about creation – “in the day that God God [Hashem Elokim]
vegetation was created on the third day of creation. On the other made earth and heaven” (Genesis 2:4): earth is mentioned before
hand, the Torah later states: “And all the trees of the field were not heaven, the very opposite of the beginning of the verse.
yet on the earth and all the herbs of the field had not yet sprouted Abraham and the other patriarchs and matriarchs bequeathed to
for God had not yet sent rain upon the earth and there was no man their descendants the ability to overcome all obstacles. However,
to work the soil” (Genesis 2:5). Thus the apparent contradiction each person is obliged to make the effort and get the job done himself.
arises: was vegetation created before human beings or not? Rashi They merely endowed us with the ability to be God’s “chariot,”
explains that all the vegetation had been created but it had not yet drawing Godliness and goodness into the world. The rest is up to us.
sprouted above the earth’s surface. Without humanity’s prayers for
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precipitation, nothing on earth could grow. After Adam was created,
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he prayed, and God answered his prayers by causing everything to
grow.
The symbiotic relationship between humanity and the earth is
further emphasized by the following verses (Genesis 2:6-7): “And a
mist rose up from the earth and watered the face of the land. And
God formed the man of dust from the ground. And He blew into his
nostrils the soul of life and man became a living being.” According
to Rashi, the aforementioned mist formed clouds that moistened the
earth, creating the right mixture for man to be created from, much
like a baker adds water to flour in order to knead it into dough.
Here again we see the intrinsic connection of humanity to the earth
from which it is formed. The symbiotic relationship of humankind
and nature is most explicitly revealed in the relationship between
the Jewish people and their Holy Land. Hebron, from the Hebrew
root meaning “connection,” unites a Jew to not only the earth but to
the heavenly dimensions beyond this physical life as well. Abraham,
by burying Sarah in the earth below, opened the portal that connects
this world with the World to Come.

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