God sees that simply speaking to Abraham and making promises to him will not be sufficient. Abraham’s spirit is depleted. So God takes him around the shoulder, so to speak, and walks him outside. This moment of intimate, non-verbal contact is beautifully, but simply, conveyed. God and Abraham walk slowly together, wordlessly, moving from within the enclosed tent where Abraham lived and out into the night air. And the next moment continues with this feeling. God does not make more promises to Abram. Instead God has Abraham look up into the vast expanse of the star-studded evening sky. God’s nearness to Abraham is palpable. Yet God does not depend on God’s own Presence to penetrate Abram’s spirit and revive it. God depends on the emotional effect that comes from looking up into the sky. It is standing under the sky’s array of stars that will be able to impress Abraham, rather than God’s own infinite Being. Even Abraham, who speaks directly with God, needs the more attainable experience of simply pondering nature in order to regain his trust and faith in God. And so God makes sure to offer Abraham that experience – whatever will work to help Abraham regain his faith. And he does: “And he had faith in the Eternal; and He counted it as if he had given Him a gift.” (v. 6)

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein

image:  “Night Lights” © Jason Jenkins altered and used with permission via Creative Commons License