This coming Saturday, Nov. 5, Jews around the world will gather in synagogues for the Torah reading of Chapter 12 of Genesis, which ought to have a special resonance this year in view of the UNESCO vote to recognize and welcome "Palestine" as a full-fledged member -- a nation like any other nation. Chapter 12 begins the saga of the patriarch Abraham, the first Jew and the first Zionist - "Now the Lord said unto Abram: 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee.  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing." As the story unfolds, Abraham "takes Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance they had gathered...and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came...And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said:  'Unto thy seed will I give this land.'" This was indeed a momentous historical...(Read Full Post)