בס”ד

This blog post is a summary of a powerful lesson on parshat Lech Lecha. It’s definitely worth watching the full lesson on YouTube for a deeper insight. Here, we share some key ideas and practical lessons on how we can use our speech in daily life to build rather than break.

Walking in the Spirit of Abraham: Faith, Wealth, and Sedaka

Just pause for a moment and consider this sentence: “Leave your land, your birthplace, your father’s house, and go.”

No details. No map. Just a voice. Imagine the kind of person who would answer such a call. And then think of the kind of faith it takes to turn down wealth after winning a war. Modern logic might see it as a lateral move—a sideways step—but the Torah calls it something deeper: Go to yourself.

Faith begins where certainty ends.

Faith vs. Modern Success

Philosopher Stephen Hicks often says that philosophy shapes how we define success. Modern culture equates success with possession: the more you control, the freer you are.

But here’s the paradox: the father of faith becomes the father of nations not through owning, but by releasing. Abraham’s greatness wasn’t in intellect, conquest, or ambition. It was in faith—amuna. Genesis 15:6 tells us:

“He believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”

The Hebrew word sedaka can be translated as righteousness or justice. Abraham’s faith was a moral vision and trust in goodness even when the evidence wasn’t yet visible.

The Tests of Abraham: Faith and Wealth

Abraham’s journey offers two critical tests:

  1. The Test of Faith: Acting without knowing the outcome, trusting that the universe is governed by goodness. From returning a lost wallet to stepping into the sea before it parts, faith manifests in many magnitudes.
  2. The Test of Wealth: After defeating four kings, Abraham is offered immense riches by the king of Sodom. He refuses, saying:

“I will not take even a thread or a shoelace from you, lest you say, ‘I have made Abraham rich.’” (Genesis 14:23)

Here, Abraham recognizes that wealth isn’t earned—it’s entrusted by God. Ownership, he realizes, is a burden; stewardship is freedom. Wealth becomes a tool for responsibility, not control.

Sedaka: Justice, Not Charity

Many translate sedaka as charity, but it is more profound. Charity comes from the heart; sedaka comes from justice. It is an obligation to balance the scales of the world, ensuring those with abundance share with those in need.

Giving sedaka doesn’t decrease what we have—it increases abundance. It’s a radical trust in the infinite. Economics teaches scarcity, but sedaka transforms wealth from weight into flow. Abraham understood this: to give is to participate in God’s abundance.

Faith and Generosity as One

Faith without generosity becomes abstraction; generosity without faith becomes anxiety. Abraham united these ideas: to believe is to release control, and to give is to live that belief.

In a material mindset, success equals control, and wealth creates freedom—but also anxiety. In a faith mindset, trust creates freedom. Abraham saw that all comes from the possessor of heaven and earth, and he gave accordingly.

Think of wealth like water: hoarded, it stagnates; released, it irrigates. Sedaka turns resources from weight into life-giving flow. Faith and righteousness are not two separate acts—they are one lived experience.

Living in Abraham’s Covenant

To follow Abraham is to walk into the unknown without taking what isn’t ours. Faith isn’t blindness; it’s a sideways vision, discovering abundance where others see scarcity.

Faith is freedom from fear. Sedaka is that faith made visible in the world.

May we, children of the spirit of Abraham, see our wealth as entrusted to us, our giving as sacred, and our faith as the greatest sedaka of all.

By Rabbi Tani Burton

More shiurim of Rabbi Tani Burton

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