Community from One Generation to the Next
Rabbi Julie Pelc

Torah Portion: Lekh Lekha ("Go forth..."), Genesis 12:1-17:27

Haftarah Portion: Isaiah 40:27-41:!6

In his commentary to Lech Lecha, Dr. David Aaron notes that the stories in Genesis "create a narrative bridge" of genealogical continuity from one generation to the next. He goes on to illustrate how this narrative bridge leads to the creation of a covenant between God and Abram's descendants. Dr Aaron writes, "Genesis helps its audience develop a sense of self... saying: if Abram could do it, we can do it!"

One important (and physical) way that this covenant is passed through generations is through the ritual of circumcision. Through Berit Mila, contemporary parents and children are linked in a chain of Jewish parents and children dating back through millennia, across space and time to our biblical ancestors. Berit Mila is a participatory act of both ancient and contemporary history. As we pass through the rite of circumcision as parents, inviting our own children into the tradition, we gift them with an identity steeped in the richness of the past, a vested commitment to the present, and a promise of the future. Although circumcision has been practiced in different cultures for over three thousand years, in Judaism this act has taken on special significance and represents bringing a child into the divine covenant between God and the Jewish people. Descriptions of circumcisions are found in the Bible. In Genesis 17:9-13, God instructs Abraham to circumcise male children on the eighth day throughout the generations. According to Jewish tradition, it is a parent's obligation to circumcise a son and offer a threefold blessing for the child: a life enriched by Torah, the wedding canopy (chuppah), and good deeds. Today, a mohel or mohelet is routinely designated by parents to fulfill this custom.

As inheritors of a rich tradition, we are also responsible for enriching it and reinterpreting its meaning for a new generation of Jews. One way we have done so in recent history is to create a ritual wherein daughters are entered into the covenant of the Jewish people in their own parallel, albeit different, ritual, the Berit Bat.

In essence, these rituals allow us to join hands with Abram as he sets forth on a journey into the unknown in Lech Lecha, to laugh with Sarai when she learns she is pregnant, to journey with Joseph into Egypt and to cross the sea with Miriam and Moses as they take a chance on freedom. We can imagine how it felt for Abraham as he prepared to offer his own son to God and we share in the wash of relief he experienced when an angel called out, "Abraham! Abraham!" enabling him to pause, reflect, and change course. When we participate in the ritual of Berit Mila and create ceremonies of Berit Bat we, in essence, declare, "Yes! if Abram could do it, we can do it!" We place our trust in the One God, and we elect to walk alongside our ancestors in the path of Jewish life. We invite our children to follow and pray that they will choose to welcome their own children into the covenant after them.