Getting Out, Hanging In

By RABBI DAVID ROSENN

Parashat Lech L'kha (Genesis 11:1-17:27)

There was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down to Egypt to live there, since the famine was so severe in the land.

(Genesis 12:10)

A short while after he arrived in the land of Israel from Mesopotamia, famine swept the land. Abraham left, looking for a place where food would be available to him and the members of his household. A similar situation occurs in the Book of Ruth, and Naomi and her husband Elimelekh leave Bethlehem for Moab, where the famine has not reached. The rabbis are sharply critical of Elimelekh's decision to emigrate during a time of famine, because they viewed his leaving as an abdication of responsibility:

"In the days when the chieftains ruled, there was a famine in the land; and a man of Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the countryside of Moab. The man's name was Elimelekh...And Elimelekh died..."

Now why was Elimelekh punished? Because he caused people to despair. Elimelekh can be compared to a rich person who lived in a certain province. The people of that province, depending on him, used to say, "Should years of drought come, that man has enough to supply everyone with food for ten years." However, when a year of drought did arrive, his servant went out into the marketplace with her empty basket in her hands. The people of the province said, "Look! The person on whom we depend in the event of drought to feed the entire province for ten years, his servant stands in the middle of the marketplace with her empty basket in her hand!"

So, too with Elimelekh. He was one of the wealthy people in his area, one of the sustainers of the generation. But when years of famine came, he said to himself: "Now everyone will come knocking at my door begging for food"...So he got up and ran away from them.

(Ruth Rabbah 1:4)

According to this teaching, those who can sustain the community in a time of scarcity have an obligation to do so. Even if it means losing your personal fortune, you must share your resources with others whose lives are at stake.

Today, we know that there are others dying of malnutrition and hunger in other parts of the world. What obligations do we in the United States have to share our resources with them? What about people in our own cities and towns who are hungry?

Under what circumstances do you think it is acceptable to flee a situation in which people need help in order to rescue yourself? Why do you think Abraham left the Land of Israel during the famine?

© AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps