Parasha Lech Lecha
By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
SAN DIEGO — Every step we take in life carries with it magnificent opportunities, but when we are promised that we will be made into a great nation, that we will be blessed, that we will become a blessing, what would make us hesitate to take that step? Abraham, following his Divine calling more than 3700 years ago, took a step that changed the world.
What about you? Ever stop to think – really examine – your Divine calling? Do you even believe, recognize, that 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 Abraham’s blessings were fulfilled following his Divine step, so will yours. Hashem instructs us through the patriarchal family just how to focus in and recognize our inner values and calling. M’Artzecha – from your land of origin, absorbing the positive values that exist in our current society (there ARE positive values), to Me’moladetecha – from your birthplace, recognizing the values in our Jewish place of birth, to U’Mibeit Avicha – from your father’s home, to be informed from the heritage of your family, this circle can help transform us much as Avram and Sarai became Avraham and Sarah, better, more refined versions of themselves…and of our own truer selves.
Hashem tells the spiritual journeyman Avram, “you go.” Avram and Sarai do nothing, but simply go. They embark on a journey, our journey, a defining path of self-discovery and national identity. They moved forward to elevate themselves to beautiful goodness and showed us the path for us to transcend material influences and find our own purity and holy essence. We can go to goodness, wisdom and light…or focus on the next shiny object.
Abraham, it can be said, transcended his lot in life, regardless of how daunting his journey. He chose to move beyond where he was, spiritually, Lech Lecha, to go on a journey for Hashem. Hashem called to him and said “Lech Lecha,” “Go to you, away from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” 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 לֶךְ-לְךָ to go beyond your inner comfortable frame of reference, or are you choosing mediocrity?
Like Abraham, when you allow yourself to be guided by Hashem, there are no restrictions on your growth. Avraham was told “And you will be a blessing…” This Voice that Avraham heard, we can all hear. It is our conscience. No, we don’t need to be on a mountaintop. We simply need to stop and listen. That’s what Shabbat provides…a time to sit quietly in shul and listen for this voice. It is there to challenge us to wonder who we are meant to be. It is there to dare us to live the life we are truly called to live. It is there to confront us with the purpose for which we were created. Rashi tells us that Avraham mastered what it means to constantly perform acts of loving-kindness, to feel sincere love for his fellow human being, and as a result became the source to bless all others. It is this tenderness, care and gladness within us, authentic feelings of appreciating the good in others, that rouses within us true blessings.
Reading the parasha carefully, we see that Avram’s “age” was 75 when he left the house of his father. Later, we are told that Avraham was 175 when he died. We can decode this to suggest that Avraham’s relative age in Lech Lecha may have been in his late teens or early 20s, a conventional time for self-discovery.
Perhaps it is because I’ve devoted my life to being a psychological and educational catalyst, supporting people’s transformation from the inside out, that I find this parasha continually appealing and thought-provoking. We are each Avram called to go deeply into ourselves and are each Sarai, simply trying to the best we can, even struggling at times with jealousy. The journey that Avraham went on, and our own mission to come to know and understand ourselves, are one. This is not simply the voyage restricted to our early years or mid-life, but rather a journey we are on repeatedly…including right now. We are daily called to a grander target to live a life of significance and magnitude.
Fortunately, we have a guide. Our Torah is our road map leading to a deeper life of purpose, meaning and positivity. This guide can help us find greater understanding, compassion, care, kindness, and empathy in life. As I write this d’var Torah, the powerful prayer Eilu Devarim אֵלּוּ דְבָרִים, comes to mind, what some consider to be a prayer for happiness. As we “go to ourselves,” what better place to go to generate genuine happiness than to follow the starkly simple words of this special prayer?
“These are the things that have no limits.
A person enjoys their fruit in this world,
and lives upon their principal in the world to come:
• honoring father and mother;
• performing acts of love and kindness;
• arriving at the house of study punctually
mornings as well as evenings;
• showing hospitality to guests;
• visiting the sick;
• providing for a couple about to marry;
• seeing to the needs of the deceased;
• praying with devotion;
• and being a peacemaker.
• Studying Torah leads to all the others.”
May we use our Torah and prayers as guides daily in our lives and may these lengthen our days.
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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