The world is on fire - but it is also full of light 

This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge.

(JTA) — Abraham saw a world that was burning. A vivid midrash on last week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1 – 17:27) recounts the story of how the Jewish patriarch first encountered God. Abraham saw the world as a bira doleket, a flaming tower, and demanded indignantly, “Is there no one in charge?!” At this, God shows his face and admits, “I am the one in charge.” Thus begins Abraham’s relationship with the divine.

Like Abraham before us, we too gaze out at a burning world. Our eyes have taken in so m...