A Bridgehead in the World

Stepping stone 1

It took a very long time for Israel to put its stories in writing. If we place Abram around 2000 B.C., we’ve already moved forward 1,000 years before we encounter the lives and writings of Kings David and Solomon—kings who were still invoking God’s covenant at that time.
The major editorial revisions of the biblical stories did not appear until the sixth century B.C., during Israel’s Babylonian exile. But that period also produced a cultural masterpiece without parallel. The Hebrew text is arranged as a dazzling geometric pattern of letters and words that are also numerically staggering; for the Hebrew letters all have a numerical value, to which a symbolic value is also attached.

What interests us now is the order of the first five books of the Bible, which also form the heart of Judaism: the “Torah,” also known as the five “Books of Moses.” In Judaism , they are known as Bereishit (In the Beginning), Shemot (Names), Vayikra (And He Called), Bemidbar (In the Wilderness), and Devarim (Words or Deeds). In European languages, influenced by Latin and ecclesiastical interpretation, they became: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
It is not until the second book of the Torah that Israel is discussed as a people. Which book, then, precedes it? The Church has interpreted it as a book about the creation of the world, but in doing so, it is mistaken. Bereishit deals with principles—that which fundamentally determines the life of Israel. In this first book of the Torah, Israel explains what it means and how it feels to be God’s bridgehead on earth. That makes sense, too. You first introduce yourself properly: who you are and where you come from. And in this case: why you have something to say that everyone should take to heart.

By the time these words are committed to paper, the people of Israel have already been on their journey as God’s covenant people for centuries. And by now, they also know what that means for their own lives and how the nations surrounding Israel respond to it. Israel recounts its experiences in this regard in narrative form through the lives of several “firstborns,” namely: Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
The Book of Genesis thus explains what it means to be a people created by God and what that fundamentally implies for their own identity in relation to the other nations of the earth. It does so by elaborating on the concept of “firstborn status.” Abram and his descendants are chosen by God to function, as it were, as the “firstborn” in God’s great family of all nations. Those nations are thus the brothers and sisters of Israel.

Step 2

Almost immediately, it becomes clear in the stories that this birthright is not a biological fact. It is God’s choice; He determines who is the chosen one . In all the stories in Genesis, however, there is a struggle among the brothers for the birthright: between Ishmael and Isaac, between Jacob and Esau, and between Joseph and his brothers.
It is no coincidence, then, that all these stories repeatedly emphasize that the birthright —or the status of the firstborn—is not a natural right! It is a place granted within the greater whole, and this election carries an enormous responsibility. If that responsibility were to sink in even for a moment among the brothers and sisters of Israel, no one would fight over this choice anymore. Rather, out of respect, they would make room for the chosen firstborn to fulfill his task properly.

As the stories unfold, it becomes increasingly clear what the birthright entails.
As the firstborn, you are your father’s right-hand man in governing the family and the tribe. As such, you are privileged—but also held accountable!—and you represent your father to your brothers and sisters. But you also represent your brothers and sisters to your father; you ensure that their experiences and messages reach him.

And, as the stories show, this firstborn is especially dedicated to God, the One, and bears God’s blessing. That is to say: the One is with him—perhaps even in spite of him!—so that in his wake there may be shalom and blessing for all.
All of this, incidentally, should sound familiar to Christians. After all, all these meanings apply to Jesus, who in Christian theology is called the “Firstborn” of the Father. That is as Jewish—that is, as biblical—a concept as one can imagine. We’ll come back to that later.

Step 3

Throughout the Genesis stories, it also becomes clear what kind of pressure the firstborn experiences. He suffers because of his own position; sometimes he fails to recognize that position, and sometimes he abuses it. He can deny that position, or it can make him arrogant; he can do everything a person is capable of doing, both positive and negative. It also places an enormous demand on faith in God, and that trust is by no means always fulfilled—quite the contrary. Israel is honest about this in all the biblical stories; even when that honesty is used against them.

The other side of the story that also becomes clear in the Genesis narratives: the brothers and sisters, the nations surrounding Israel, do not understand this election; either they are jealous of it and want to be the chosen ones themselves, or they simply want to be rid of Israel—and thus of God’s hand—in this world; Let go!
People generally do not realize that the creation of Israel does not exclude them but, on the contrary, includes them. After all, God’s bridgehead on earth exists precisely for the salvation of everyone. "Enjoy it," you might say, "and be glad that, as a German, Aztec, Roman, or whoever, you don't have to bear the responsibility that comes with this election."

We also learn from the Genesis stories just how inclusive—for the benefit of all peoples—the life of the firstborn is intended to be. Is Ismael really being permanently excluded or written off? No, Ishmael, Abraham’s other son, is also blessed by God and becomes the patriarch of twelve tribes. That inclusiveness—that “being present for the good” of Abraham and his descendants—is also evident in the other stories. Jacob's arrival in Paddan-Aram in Mesopotamia brings blessings. Joseph's presence in Egypt saved the entire world of that time. And all of this happens despite the many faults that can be found in Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
And this happens even though, in the end, they almost always receive no reward from those who benefited from their “positive presence.”

Step 4

The fact that the Book of Bereishit was written in Israel as a retrospective account—and that it is still read today as a contemporary account of the relationship between Israel and the nations—is evident, for example, in the rabbinic interpretation of the relationship between Jacob and Esau.
Jacob and Esau were already clashing while still in the womb. "No wonder," say the rabbis: when their mother Rebekah walked past a synagogue, Jacob wanted to go in; when she walked past a pagan festival, Esau wanted to go in. A humorous yet serious illustration of the contrast between Jewish and Gentile life.
But a subsequent Jewish interpretation really highlights this contrast and brings it onto the global political stage. Genesis states that when Esau was born, he was completely covered in hair: that is to say—according to rabbinic interpretation—he was wearing a Roman cloak; in fact, he was already a representative of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Jacob, on the other hand, represents Israel; in fact, he already represented King Solomon. It is hard to imagine a greater contrast: the Roman Empire, stretching from India to “Hadrian’s Wall” in England, versus the greatest king of Israel, Solomon, the Prince of Peace.

In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the Jewish state, and from then on, Jews would wander as outlaws across the globe until as late as 1948. How do you survive something like that?
It’s important to realize: when the Book of Bereishit is read in the Study Houses of Israel, the stories of the patriarchs aren’t experienced there as a distant past; they’re relevant today—they’re what you essentially see all the time. This is how Israel has been viewed by other nations throughout history: always “the target of scorn,” the “scapegoat.” God’s contested foothold in the world.
And four thousand years after Abraham, it still finds no peace.