This week’s parashat is the 3rd parashat in the book of B’reisheet also called Genesis, and is called Lech Lecha which means ‘Go out’.
Bullet Point Summary
– Avram told to leave his country and go to the place YHWH will show him and He will make him a great nation and bless him
– Avram, Sarai, and Lot take their stuff and leave Charan
– Avram builds an altar in Moreh
– Avram Pitched his tent East of Beit’el and built an altar there
– Avram journeyed South to Mitzrayim because of the famine in the land
– Avram asks Sarai to say she is his sister instead of his wife so the men of that place don’t kill him to take her
– Par’oh treats Avram well because he likes Sarai
– Par’oh sends them away when he finds out Sarai is Avram’s wife because YHWH plagued Par’oh
– Avram is rich and travels back to East of Beit’el where he built the altar
– Lot went with him but they could not dwell together because they had so many animals and so much wealth
– The herdsmen of Avram and Lot fought so Avram said let’s separate in peace
– Lot went East to the plain of Yarden and Avram went West to Sedom but the men of Sedom were evil
– Avram showed the land North, South, East, and West and told it will be given to him and his seed forever and to walk the border of it
– Avram came to Mamre and built an altar there
– The 4 kings of Shin’ar, Ellasar, Elam, and the nations made war with the 5 kings of Sedom, Ammorah, Admah, Tzevoyim, and Tzo’ar
– The 4 kings smote the Refa’im, Zuzims, Emim, Chori, and the Amori
– The 4 kings defeated the 5 kings in the valley of Siddim
– The 4 kings took the spoil of Sedom and Lot and his family and departed
– One escaped and went and told Avram that they took Lot his nephew as spoil
– Avram armed the men of his household 318 men and went and smote them in the night
– Avram brought back Lot and the captives to Sedom
– Malki-tzedek priest and King of Salem brought bread and wine and blessed Avram
– The king of Sedom offers Avram all the goods and spoil
– Avram said he wouldn’t take anything from the king so he couldn’t say he made Avram rich
– YHWH comes to Avram in a dream and tells him He is his shield and great reward
– YHWH promises the land and commands Avram to take animals and divide them on the altar
– Avram slept when the sun went down and saw a vision
– Fire passed through the pieces and YHWH made a covenant to give Avram the land
– Sarai tells Avram to take Hagar her maid as a wife to bear children because she could not
– Once she conceived a child Sarai was less esteemed in Hagar’s eyes
– Sarai complained to Avram
– Avram said she is still your maid do with her as you will and Sarai treated her harshly and Hagar fled
– An angel of YHWH found her by a well on the way to Shur and asked her where she was going
– The angel tells her to return and submit to Sarai and promises she will greatly multiply
– She is told she will have a son and shall call his name Yishma’el and he will be a wild man
– At 99 years old YHWH appeared to Avram and changed his name to Avraham
– Avram promised the land and commanded to circumcise himself and his males as a sign of the covenant
– The uncircumcised child shall be cut off from his people
– Elohim changed Sarai’s name to Sarah and said He would give her a son
– Avraham laughed and said shall he who is 100 years old or her that is 90 bear a son, please let Yishma’el live before you
– Elohim said you will indeed bare a son and shall call his name Yitzchak and I will establish an everlasting covenant with him and his seed
– As for Yishma’el he shall be a great nation and shall father 12 princes
– Avraham at 99 years old circumcised himself and his whole household
– Haftarah – YHWH promises to be there for His people and strengthen them and put them over their enemies
Parashat Text with Readers and Daily Portions (Reader 1 Starts on Saturday Evening)
Lech Lecha “Go Out”
Gen 12:1 – 17:27 , Isaiah 40:27 – 41:16
Reader 1 (Saturday Evening Portion)
Gen 12:1 Now YHWH had said unto Avram, Get you out of your country, and from your
kindred, and from your father’s house, unto a land that I will show you:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great;
and you shall be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall
all families of the earth be blessed.
Gen 12:4 So Avram departed, as YHWH had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and
Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan.
Gen 12:5 And Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that
they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Charan; and they went forth to go
into the land of Kena’an; and into the land of Kena’an they came.
Gen 12:6 And Avram passed through the land unto the place of Shekhem, unto the plain of
Moreh. And the Kena’ani was then in the land.
Gen 12:7 And YHWH appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto your seed will I give this land: and
there built he an altar unto YHWH, who appeared unto him.
(Sunday Morning Portion)
Gen 12:8 And he removed from there unto a mountain on the east of Beit’el, and pitched his
tent, having Beit’el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he built an altar unto YHWH,
and called upon the name of YHWH.
Gen 12:9 And Avram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
Gen 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Avram went down into Mitzrayim to sojourn
there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
Gen 12:11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Mitzrayim, that he said
unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that you are a fair woman to look upon:
Gen 12:12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Mitzrayim shall see you, that they shall say,
This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save you alive.
Gen 12:13 Say, I pray you, you are my sister: that it may be well with me for your sake; and my
soul shall live because of you.
Reader 2 (Sunday Evening Portion)
Gen 12:14 And it came to pass, that, when Avram was come into Mitzrayim, the Mitzrayim
beheld the woman that she was very fair.
Gen 12:15 The princes also of Par’oh saw her, and commended her before Par’oh: and the
woman was taken into Par’oh’s house.
Gen 12:16 And he entreated Avram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he
donkeys, and menservants, and maidservants, and she donkeys, and camels.
Gen 12:17 And YHWH plagued Par’oh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai
Avram’s wife.
Gen 12:18 And Par’oh called Avram, and said, What is this that you have done unto me? why
did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Gen 12:19 Why said you, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now
therefore behold your wife, take her, and go your way.
Gen 12:20 And Par’oh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his
wife, and all that he had.
(Monday Morning Portion)
Gen 13:1 And Avram went up out of Mitzrayim, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot
with him, into the south.
Gen 13:2 And Avram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
Gen 13:3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beit’el, unto the place where his
tent had been at the beginning, between Beit’el and Ai;
Gen 13:4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Avram
called on the name of YHWH.
Reader 3 (Monday Evening Portion)
Gen 13:5 And Lot also, which went with Avram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
Gen 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their
substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
Gen 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Avram’s cattle and the herdmen of
Lot’s cattle: and the Kena’ani and the Perizzi dwelled then in the land.
Gen 13:8 And Avram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray you, between me and you, and
between my herdmen and your herdmen; for we be brethren.
Gen 13:9 Is not the whole land before you? separate yourself, I pray you, from me: if you will
take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you depart to the right hand, then I will go
to the left.
Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Yarden, that it was well
watered everywhere, before YHWH destroyed Sedom and Amorrah, as the garden of
YHWH, like the land of Mitzrayim, as you come unto Tzo’ar.
Gen 13:11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Yarden; and Lot journeyed east: and they
separated themselves the one from the other.
Gen 13:12 Avram dwelled in the land of Kena’an, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and
pitched his tent toward Sedom.
Gen 13:13 But the men of Sedom were wicked and sinners before YHWH exceedingly.
(Tuesday Morning Portion)
Gen 13:14 And YHWH said unto Avram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now
your eyes, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward,
and westward:
Gen 13:15 For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever.
Gen 13:16 And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the
dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered.
Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give
it unto you.
Gen 13:18 Then Avram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in
Chevron, and built there an altar unto YHWH.
Reader 4 (Tuesday Evening Portion)
Gen 14:1 And it came to pass in the days of Amrafel king of Shin’ar, Aryokh king of Ellasar,
Kedorla’omer king of Elam, and Tid’al king of nations;
Gen 14:2 That these made war with Bera king of Sedom, and with Birsha king of Amorrah,
Shin’av king of Admah, and Shem’ever king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is
Tzo’ar.
Gen 14:3 All these were joined together in the valley of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
Gen 14:4 Twelve years they served Kedorla’omer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
Gen 14:5 And in the fourteenth year came Kedorla’omer, and the kings that were with him, and
smote the Refa’im in Ashterot-Karnayim, and the Zuzims in Cham, and the Emims in
Shaveh Kiryatayim,
Gen 14:6 And the Chori in their mount Se’ir, unto El-Paran, which is by the wilderness.
Gen 14:7 And they returned, and came to En-Mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the
country of the Amaleki, and also the Amori, that dwelt in Chatzetzon-Tamar.
Gen 14:8 And there went out the king of Sedom, and the king of Amorrah, and the king of
Admah, and the king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela (the same is Tzo’ar;) and they joined
battle with them in the valley of Siddim;
Gen 14:9 With Kedorla’omer the king of Elam, and with Tid’al king of nations, and Amrafel king
of Shin’ar, and Aryokh king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
Gen 14:10 And the vale of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sedom and Amorrah fled,
and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
Gen 14:11 And they took all the goods of Sedom and Amorrah, and all their victuals, and went
their way.
Gen 14:12 And they took Lot, Avram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sedom, and his goods, and
departed.
(Wednesday Morning Portion)
Gen 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Avram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in
the plain of Mamre the Amori, brother of Eshkol, and brother of Aner: and these were
confederate with Avram.
Gen 14:14 And when Avram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained
servants, born in his own house, three hundred eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Gen 14:15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them,
and pursued them unto Chovah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Gen 14:16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his
goods, and the women also, and the people.
Gen 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of
Kedorla’omer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the
king’s Valley.
Gen 14:18 And Malki-tzedek king of Shalem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the
priest of El Elyon.
Gen 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Avram of El Elyon, possessor of heaven and
earth:
Gen 14:20 And blessed be El Elyon, which has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he
gave him tithes of all.
Reader 5 (Wednesday Evening Portion)
Gen 14:21 And the king of Sedom said unto Avram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to
yourself.
Gen 14:22 And Avram said to the king of Sedom, I have lift up my hand unto YHWH, El Elyon,
the possessor of heaven and earth,
Gen 14:23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any
thing that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Avram rich:
Gen 14:24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which
went with me, Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
(Thursday Morning Portion)
Gen 15:1 After these things the word of YHWH came unto Avram in a vision, saying, Fear not,
Avram: I am your shield, and your exceeding great reward.
Gen 15:2 And Avram said, YHWH Elohim, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the
steward of my house is this Eli’ezer of Damascus?
Gen 15:3 And Avram said, Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house
is my heir.
Gen 15:4 And, behold, the word of YHWH came unto him, saying, This shall not be your heir;
but he that shall come forth out of your own bowels shall be your heir.
Gen 15:5 And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the
stars, if you be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall your seed be.
Gen 15:6 And he believed in YHWH; and He counted it to him for righteousness.
Reader 6 (Thursday Evening Portion)
Gen 15:7 And He said unto him, I am YHWH that brought you out of Ur of the Kasdim, to give
you this land to inherit it.
Gen 15:8 And he said, YHWH Elohim, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Gen 15:9 And He said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three
years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
Gen 15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece
one against another: but the birds divided he not.
Gen 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Avram drove them away.
Gen 15:12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Avram; and, lo, an horror
of great darkness fell upon him.
Gen 15:13 And He said unto Avram, Know of a surety that your seed shall be a stranger in a land
that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Gen 15:14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they
come out with great substance.
Gen 15:15 And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
Gen 15:16 But in the fourth generation they shall come here again: for the lawlessness of the
Amori is not yet full.
Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a
smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
Gen 15:18 In the same day YHWH made a covenant with Avram, saying, Unto your seed have I
given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Perat:
Gen 15:19 The Kinim, and the Kenizzi, and the Kadmoni,
Gen 15:20 And the Chitti, and the Perizzi, and the Refa’im,
Gen 15:21 And the Amori, and the Kena’anim, and the Girgashi, and the Yevusi.
Gen 16:1 Now Sarai Avram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, a Mitzrayim,
whose name was Hagar.
Gen 16:2 And Sarai said unto Avram, Behold now, YHWH has restrained me from bearing: I
pray you, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Avram
hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Gen 16:3 And Sarai Avram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Mitzrayim, after Avram had dwelt
ten years in the land of Kena’an, and gave her to her husband Avram to be his wife.
Gen 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had
conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Avram, My wrong be upon you: I have given my maid into your
bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: YHWH judge
between me and you.
Gen 16:6 But Avram said unto Sarai, Behold, your maid is in your hand; do to her as it pleases
you. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
Gen 16:7 And the angel of YHWH found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the
fountain in the way to Shur.
Gen 16:8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where came you? and where will you go? And she
said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
Gen 16:9 And the angel of YHWH said unto her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself
under her hands.
Gen 16:10 And the angel of YHWH said unto her, I will multiply your seed exceedingly, that it
shall not be numbered for multitude.
Gen 16:11 And the angel of YHWH said unto her, Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a
son, and shall call his name Yishma’el; because YHWH has heard your affliction.
Gen 16:12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand
against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Gen 16:13 And she called the name of YHWH that spoke unto her, You Elohim see me: for she
said, Have I also here looked after him that sees me?
Gen 16:14 Wherefore the well was called Be’er-lachai-ro’i; behold, it is between Kadesh and
Bered.
Gen 16:15 And Hagar bare Avram a son: and Avram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare,
Yishma’el.
Gen 16:16 And Avram was eighty six years old, when Hagar bare Yishma’el to Avram.
Gen 17:1 And when Avram was ninety nine years old, YHWH appeared to Avram, and said unto
him, I am El Shaddai; walk before me, and be you perfect.
Gen 17:2 And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.
Gen 17:3 And Avram fell on his face: and Elohim talked with him, saying,
Gen 17:4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
Gen 17:5 Neither shall your name anymore be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham;
for a father of many nations have I made you.
Gen 17:6 And I will make you exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall
come out of you.
Reader 7 (6th Day Friday Morning Double Portion)
Gen 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you in their
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be an Elohim unto you, and to your seed after you.
Gen 17:8 And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a
stranger, all the land of Kena’an, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their Elohim.
Gen 17:9 And Elohim said unto Avraham, You shall keep my covenant therefore, you, and your
seed after you in their generations.
Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after
you; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Gen 17:11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a sign of the
covenant between me and you.
Gen 17:12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your
generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not
of your seed.
Gen 17:13 He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must needs be
circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Gen 17:14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that
soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.
Gen 17:15 And Elohim said unto Avraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name
Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Gen 17:16 And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall
be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Gen 17:17 Then Avraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be
born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Gen 17:18 And Avraham said unto Elohim, O that Yishma’el might live before you!
Gen 17:19 And Elohim said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed; and you shall call his
name Yitzchak: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and
with his seed after him.
Gen 17:20 And as for Yishma’el, I have heard you: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make
him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will
make him a great nation.
Gen 17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Yitzchak, which Sarah shall bear unto you at
this set time in the next year.
Gen 17:22 And He left off talking with him, and Elohim went up from Avraham.
Gen 17:23 And Avraham took Yishma’el his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that
were bought with his money, every male among the men of Avraham’s house; and
circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as Elohim had said unto him.
Gen 17:24 And Avraham was ninety nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his
foreskin.
Gen 17:25 And Yishma’el his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh
of his foreskin.
Gen 17:26 In the selfsame day was Avraham circumcised, and Yishma’el his son.
Gen 17:27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the
stranger, were circumcised with him.
Haftarah (Shabbat Evening Portion)
Isa 40:27 Why say you, O Ya’akov, and speak, O Yisra’el, My way is hid from YHWH, and my
judgment is passed over from my Elohim?
Isa 40:28 Have you not known? have you not heard, that the everlasting Elohim, YHWH, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his
understanding.
Isa 40:29 He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength.
Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon YHWH shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isa 41:1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them
come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
Isa 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations
before him, and made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as
driven stubble to his bow.
Isa 41:3 He pursued them, and passed safely; by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
Isa 41:4 Who has wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I YHWH,
the first, and with the last; I am He.
Isa 41:5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
Isa 41:6 They helped everyone his neighbour; and everyone said to his brother, Be of good
courage.
Isa 41:7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smooths with the hammer him
that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it
should not be moved.
Isa 41:8 But you, Yisra’el, are my servant, Ya’akov whom I have chosen, the seed of Avraham
my friend.
Isa 41:9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called you from the chief men
thereof, and said unto you, You are my servant; I have chosen you, and not cast you away.
Isa 41:10 Fear you not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your Elohim: I will
strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of my
righteousness.
Isa 41:11 Behold, all they that were incensed against you shall be ashamed and confounded:
they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with you shall perish.
Isa 41:12 You shall seek them, and shall not find them, them that contended with you: they that
war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nothing.
Isa 41:13 For I YHWH your Elohim will hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will
help you.
Isa 41:14 Fear not, you worm Ya’akov, and you men of Yisra’el; I will help you, saith YHWH,
and your redeemer, the Holy One of Yisra’el.
Isa 41:15 Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: you shall
thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff.
Isa 41:16 You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall
scatter them: and you shall rejoice in YHWH, and shall glory in the Holy One of Yisra’el.
Review Torah Summaries (Shabbat Morning Portion)