Parashah of the week: Lech Lecha

This is Abram’s response to the King of Sodom’s proposal on how to divide the spoils following the battle against the four kings, in which Abram had assisted. The king wanted the captives but would let Abram keep the property. Abram wanted none of it,

A thread might be a reference to a hair tie (according to Shmuel David Luzzatto, 19^th century), in which case Abram was saying, “I won’t take anything from the head to the foot.” God had already promised to shower Abram with blessing (Genesis 12:2). He didn’t need Sodom’s war booty, Rashi explains.

Abram might also have been drawing a distinction between Sodom’s philosophy and his own. Sodom related only to the immediate and so viewed anything lacking intrinsic value as worthless. Hence, the Talmud tells us, “if someone had a row of bricks, the people of Sodom would come and each steal one” (Sanhedrin 109b). For Sodom, a single brick held no value.

Abram in contrast saw potential and value in everything, including threads and sandal straps. Without thread, a garment will fall apart. Without straps a sandal will slip off and become lost. Abram’s God is the God of small things.

And what applies to objects, applies equally to people. Every life is precious, no one too inconsequential to be overlooked. Generosity must be extended without distinction.

And so, these items re-appear in Jewish lore and law in the context of human need and relationship.

Rahab, the prostitute, ties a red thread to her window during the conquest of Jericho and is saved (Joshua 2:1-21). A childless widow removes the sandal of her brother-in-law in the halitzah ceremony used to avoid a levirate marriage. Jewish law insists that a strap is fitted to the sandal to ensure that it needs to be removed, instead of falling off by itself (Talmud Yevamot 102a).

The thread and the sandal strap also feature within the context of divine / human relationship. Of the lover in the Song of Songs, symbolic of the Jewish people, it is written, “your lips are like a scarlet thread” (4:3) and “how fair are your feet in sandals” (7:2). The Midrash links these verses to Abraham’s generosity (Shemot Rabbah 41:2). And in the Talmud, the thread and the sandal strap become the sky-blue thread of tzizit and the leather straps of tefillin (Sotah 17a).

Generous in our giving, principled in our refusing, valuing the apparently inconsequential. These are worthy standards to live up to.