Parasha Lech Lecha
SAN DIEGO — In this, the third parasha of this year, Hashem speaks to Avraham for the very first time, “Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” What a way to greet someone for the first time. Go! So, what’s this teaching us? Let’s learn…
The word, “lecha” is seemingly redundant. Commentators suggest various meanings of this word, from “Go to yourself,” “Go for yourself,” and “Go by yourself.”
It would appear that “by” suggests a fresh, personal, beginning was needed for Avraham and his family.
“For” may hint at Avraham going forward to develop his personal calling.
And “to” seems to indicate that Avraham was going to identify his mission and potential in life, and he was to mindfully go on a journey in life to become the person that Hashem created.
The Sfas Emes teaches that Hashem instructs each one of us, “Lech Lecha.” We need to take an inward stance to create a better circumstance. Before we go anywhere in life, we think about ourselves and where we are going.
For Avraham, this was the second of ten “tests” that Hashem provided for him. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says the Hebrew word for test, nisayon, is related to the word nassa, to elevate, as well as the word nisiya, to travel forward. Every test, every challenge in life, is an opportunity FOR us to help us move ourselves forward, to personally grow, and to elevate ourselves. The Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, in Mesilat Yeshurim and Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, the Ramban, also teach us that everything in our life, good and bad circumstances, challenges and adversities, are truly opportunities, tests, for us from which to grow.
Think about what you might be doing at 75 years old like Avraham. Are you reinventing yourself with a new challenge in life, far from your home? Avraham didn’t think, “Why not? Seems like a good idea to me. I think I’ll do it.” No, Avraham followed this command, “Go,” because G-d commanded it and as a result, this fortified his relationship with Hashem. We learn in Kiddushin (31a), “A person who observes a mitzvah because he is commanded to do so is greater than one who observes it without having been so commanded.” His tests of, and for, us provide us with opportunities to reveal our emotional resources, and to ignite our possibilities into genuine spiritual achievements beyond our vision. By adhering to Hashem’s voice, we are rewarded with deeper self-insight and greater, more meaningful self-actualization, the highest form of emotional strength.
Ever stop to think, to really consider, what your Divine calling is? Do you even believe you have one, or have you convinced yourself that Hashem’s promise is for the “other guy”? Lech Lecha inspires us to rise to the occasion, to T.RU.S.T. (“Totally Rely Upon Spiritual Truth”) that just as Avraham’s blessings were fulfilled following His Divine step, so will ours.
Are you inspired to “go away from–but into–yourself,” to grow beyond where you sit today in life, to take risks, renew and achieve the greatness you were promised, to search for spiritual Y’rushalyim shel ma’alah? Do you hear the urgency of this week’s parasha to go beyond your inner comfortable frame of reference and understand your circumstances as tests of your convictions, determination and resilience? Or are you feeling stuck choosing and living in mediocrity? Like Avraham, when you allow yourself to be guided by Hashem, there are no restrictions on your faith, growth or fortitude.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D., prepares a weekly D’var Torah for Young Israel of San Diego, where he and his family are members. They are also active members of Congregation Adat Yeshurun.
He may be contacted via michael.mantell@sdjewishworld.com