Ahava Emunah : Love Faith: A Message to My Only Son

Genesis Chapter 12

1And the Lord said to Avram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.		אוַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ:
2And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing.		בוְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַֽאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַֽאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶֽהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה:
3And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you."		גוַֽאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רֲכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָֽאֲדָמָֽה:

Mazal tov to you, my beloved and only son, Zachariah! This past Shabbat was your Bar Mitzvah. My dear husband and I rented the fanciest hall in our city, hired caterers and music and had decorations prepared...

And then we realized - perhaps now isn't the time for big adult parties. It's been my dream for years to plan a Bar Mitzvah celebration fit for a 13 year old boy and his friends and that's what we did. The fancy hall was cancelled, caterers were juggled and a most beautiful 25 hours of celebrations ensued!

It's truly a once in a lifetime moment that a mother gets to go to Shul (synagogue) and hear her son read her favorite parsha from the Torah; Parshat Lech Lecha.

In this parsha, we learn that G*d spoke to Avram, and told him him, “Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.”

Many of our friends, who were present at the Kiddush after Shul, are blessed and were lucky enough to have experienced making Aliya (moving to Israel) to the HolyLand. I looked around our Shul hall into a sea of friendly faces; our beloved friends who baked fancy baked goods and made gorgeous platters of fruit and vegetables, and even one dear friend made THREE types of homemade herring for the occasion!

It takes immense faith to "go from your land" and make a new home in the Middle East, however in 1991, I arrived in Israel with my parents and 3 of my 5 brothers and in 2000 my future husband, your Abba (father) made Aliya to marry me - but that's a whole other story....

Chasdei Shamayim, Hashem blessed us with 2 perfect daughters and when the time came for #3, I yearned for YOU, Zachariah, a son. Perhaps my yearning wasn't as painful and profound as our mother, Sarah and Father Avraham, however I prayed night and day for you, my beloved son to come down from the Heavens to be our child; our son.

15And God said to Abraham, "Your wife Sarai-you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name.		טווַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֔ם שָׂרַ֣י אִשְׁתְּךָ֔ לֹֽא־תִקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמָ֖הּ שָׂרָ֑י כִּ֥י שָׂרָ֖ה שְׁמָֽהּ:
16And I will bless her, and I will give you a son from her, and I will bless her, and she will become [a mother of] nations; kings of nations will be from her. "		טזוּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֣י אֹתָ֔הּ וְגַ֨ם נָתַ֧תִּי מִמֶּ֛נָּה לְךָ֖ בֵּ֑ן וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֨יהָ֙ וְהָֽיְתָ֣ה לְגוֹיִ֔ם מַלְכֵ֥י עַמִּ֖ים מִמֶּ֥נָּה יִֽהְיֽוּ:
17And Abraham fell on his face and rejoiced, and he said to himself, "Will [a child] be born to one who is a hundred years old, and will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?"		יזוַיִּפֹּ֧ל אַבְרָהָ֛ם עַל־פָּנָ֖יו וַיִּצְחָ֑ק וַיֹּ֣אמֶר בְּלִבּ֗וֹ הַלְּבֶ֤ן מֵאָֽה־שָׁנָה֙ יִוָּלֵ֔ד וְאִ֨ם־שָׂרָ֔ה הֲבַת־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה תֵּלֵֽד:

Unlike Avraham or Sarah, I didn't laugh. I cried tears of joy - still only in my 20's.... and when you were 8 days old, we brought you to "the altar" of the Shul and a special bond was created, as a “sign of the covenant between you and Hashem" - just as Avraham was commanded.

G‑d told Avraham that, he will be made into a great nation and we know this to be true and everything that G*d does is good!

From the moment that I first held you in my arms and looked into your kind eyes, I knew you would be the son I prayed for.

Zachariah, you are adored by all who know you. You are intelligent beyond your years - how many boys can solve a Rubiks Cube in mere seconds?!

If I had to choose one attribute that stands out the most, it is your selflessness and chessed. Your kindness goes beyond that of the average young man or boy. You put others first and emulate the chessed of Avraham Aveinu. Wherever I go, I hear that very sentiment; from your teachers and rabbis, other parents, and of course your family.

From birth, you were a happy and content infant and child. Zachariah, you're not known to complain and through your gratitude for everything that you have - you are a content person. In your content and gracious nature, I see the greatness of our Father, Avraham.

On Shabbat, Parshat Lech Lecha, you reminded us of the greatness of Avraham and the gratitude that he possessed.

Avraham's life was a life full of contentment because even when times were were difficult, he never stopped being mindful of all of the great things that Hashem blessed him with.

I hope that you will continue to walk the path of Avraham:

humble

giving

welcoming and caring for others

You, Zachariah, are full of gratitude for what you have and this contentment, this gratitude will take you far in life.

And so his story begins; the story of my son, the young man, Zachariah, the content and kind one who I pray shall continue to walk the path of contentment, kindness, and gratitude.

I am truly grateful to have witnessed the day my only son became a man - in the eyes of G*d and the holy Torah. Bless you, my son, I will love you forever.