Abraham's Journey and Ours: A Jewish Yoga Exploration

(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יי אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ (ב) וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃

Genesis 12:1-2

God said to Avram, “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.

Judaism calls upon us to understand that our individual life journeys are both reflected in and illuminated by the larger journeys of our people (and vice versa), and that our success in life depends as much upon the integrity with which we progress as it does upon reaching our goals… Our people has been motivated in its journeys by sacred calling, by seemingly chance encounters, by fear, by wonder, by oppression, and by the promise of a better life. And the documentation of these journeys, the Torah, helps us both to make sense of it all and to better gauge our next steps. (from JCC Sheva Values - Masa)

Journaling: What journey are you on? What comforts are you leaving? (Note: after every yoga section, they come back to seated and journal their embodied responses to the text, before moving to next set of texts.)

רש"י על בראשית י״ב:א׳:א׳

(א) לך לך. לַהֲנָאָתְךָ וּלְטוֹבָתְךָ:

Rashi on Genesis 12:1:1

"Lech l'cha" - Literally, go for yourself - for your own benefit, for your own good.

הטור הארוך, בראשית י״ב:א׳:ב׳

(ב) מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך. אחרון אחרון קשה מארצך שקשה על האדם לצאת מארצו וממולדתך שקשה יותר ומבית אביך שקשה יותר:

Tur HaArokh, Genesis 12:1:2

“From your homeland, your birthplace, and from your father’s house.” The trial became progressively more difficult, as separating from one’s father’s house is more difficult than separating from the land one has been born in.

The order in which Avram is told to “go” seems to be backward. Wouldn’t it make more sense, in a geographical journey, for one to first leave one’s father’s house, then one’s city/village of birth, and then one’s land? Torah speaks to the need to travel internally as well as externally: first to leave our place of cultural comfort ["your land"], then the ways of thinking into which we were born ["your birthplace"], and finally separate ourselves from our parents ["your father's house"] in order to become what we must become. This journey travels not from land to land, but from the periphery of one’s being to the core – l’cha (literally, “to you”) – to one’s true self... Our desire is to be settled and secure, even as we understand the need and value of change, leaving behind, yearning, and aspiring almost constantly for something more. Each small leg of a longer journey carries unique significance. Each step affords us the opportunity for growth and learning. (from JCC Sheva Values - Masa)

Yoga: Warmup - hip circles, cat cow, thread the needle, childs pose, dynamic plank, down dog

Zohar 77-78
Lech l'cha - Go for yourself; travel in order to transform yourself, to create yourself anew.

בראשית רבה ל״ט

רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה פָּתַח: לְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנֶיךָ טוֹבִים שֶׁמֶן תּוּרַק שְׁמֶךָ, אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה לְמָה הָיָה אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ דוֹמֶה, לִצְלוֹחִית שֶׁל אַפּוֹפִּילְסִימוֹן מֻקֶּפֶת צָמִיד פָּתִיל, וּמֻנַּחַת בְּזָוִית, וְלֹא הָיָה רֵיחוֹ נוֹדֵף, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהָיְתָה מִטַּלְטֶלֶת הָיָה רֵיחוֹ נוֹדֵף. כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ טַלְטֵל עַצְמְךָ מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם וְשִׁמְךָ מִתְגַּדֵּל בָּעוֹלָם.

Bereshit Rabbah 39

Rabbi Berechya began: "Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance, Your name is decanted oil," (Song of Songs 1:3). What did Abraham resemble? A vial of myrrh sealed with a tight lid and lying in a corner, so that its fragrance was not diffused; once it was moved, however, its aroma was wafted. Similarly, God said to Avraham: Move yourself from place to place, and your name will become great in the world."

Yoga: Standing Poses - Sun Salutation, W2/Reverse/Side Angle flow, triangle, 1/2 moon. Drishti gaze in all directions. Extend through fingertips and lift through arms, sending "perfume" (organic energy) out.

משנה אבות ה׳:ג׳

(ג) עֲשָׂרָה נִסְיוֹנוֹת נִתְנַסָּה אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם, לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה חִבָּתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם:

Pirkei Avot 5:3

(3) With ten tests Abraham, our father, was tested - and he withstood them all; in order to show how great was the love of Abraham, our father - peace be upon him.

בראשית ט״ו:י״ב-י״ג

(יב) וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ לָב֔וֹא וְתַרְדֵּמָ֖ה נָפְלָ֣ה עַל־אַבְרָ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה אֵימָ֛ה חֲשֵׁכָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה נֹפֶ֥לֶת עָלָֽיו׃ (יג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאַבְרָ֗ם יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־גֵ֣ר יִהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃

Genesis 15:12-13

(12) As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Avram, and a great dark dread descended upon him. (13) And God said to Avram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years...

רש"י על בראשית ט״ו:י״ב:א׳

והנה אימה וגו'. רֶמֶז לְצָרוֹת וְחשֶׁךְ שֶׁל גָּלִיּוֹת:

Rashi on Genesis 15:12:1

'והנה אימה וגו and Lo, a horror, etc — This is symbolic of the woes and the gloom of the Jews in Exile (Genesis Rabbah 44:17).

Yoga: Twists - chair, twisting prayer chair, twisting lunge, eagle. Then, Forward folds - Humble Warrior, Warrior 3, Pyramid w/ reverse prayer hands, Prasarita (standing wide angle fold). Weave in Lion's Breath to address the anger.

רש"י על בראשית י״ב:ב׳:ג׳

והיה ברכה. הַבְּרָכוֹת נְתוּנוֹת בְּיָדְךָ; עַד עַכְשָׁו הָיוּ בְיָדִי, בֵּרַכְתִּי לְאָדָם וְנֹחַ, וּמֵעַכְשָׁו אַתָּה תְבָרֵךְ אֶת אֲשֶׁר תַּחְפֹּץ (בראשית רבה).

Rashi on Genesis 12:2:3

And you shall be a blessing: Blessings are entrusted to you; until now, they were in My power - I blessed Adam and Noah - but from now on you shall bless whomsoever you wish. (Genesis Rabbah 39:11)

Seated twists: 1/2 Lord of Fish, 1 knee straight w/ cow arms, firelog legs, etc.

Sfat Emet Lech Lecha 41
Why did God choose Avraham? [Quoting Zohar]: Avraham deserved to be addressed by God because he was capable of hearing the Lech Lecha, which God utters to all human beings, at all times.

"To be a source of blessings comes to mean to help God achieve God's compassionate self." (Aviva Zornberg)

Yoga - Head-to-knee seated f-fold, Dynamic Bridge with arms overhead, supine twist with open heart. Savasana. Ending meditation is priestly blessing (#14), either sung while they lay down, or together as mantra once they return seated:

סידור אשכנז, שבת, ליל שבת, ברכת הבנים

יְשִׂימְךָ אֱלֹקִים כְּאֶפְרַיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה. יְשִׂימֵךְ אֱלֹקִים כְּשָׂרָה, רִבְקָה, רָחֵל וְלֵאָה. יְבָרֶכְךָ ײַ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ. יָאֵר ײַ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ. יִשָּׂא ײַ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם.

Siddur Ashkenaz, Shabbat, Shabbat Evening, Blessing the Children

May God make you like Efraim and Menasheh/ like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. May you feel blessed. May you feel safe. May you feel luminous. May you feel loved.