By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D.
EL CAJON, California — Every step 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, took a step that changed the world…and reveals insight into our own steps toward psychological growth and health. Hashem did not tell Abraham where to go, but to just go, armed with the assurance that Hashem will make the childless Abraham and his barren wife Sarai, into a great nation, that Abraham will we be a great blessing.
Quite a test of faith, wouldn’t you say? Abraham doesn’t question, but rather he simply packs his family and goes forward. This is an example for us of true righteousness. The Sefat Emes teaches us that Abraham’s untethering from his place in the world demonstrates his becoming an authentic connection to Hashem and how he became a blessing. He discovered his Divine calling, his own true life energy.
The Torah’s guidance here is profound and transformative. It urges each of us to embark on a spiritual journey back to the essence of our soul. The Torah instructs us to reconnect with the essence of our souls by leaving behind “your land,” which represents our attachment to materialism. Even if we feel trapped in a state of depression or worldly concerns, the path to liberation lies within those very circumstances, the Torah offers us a path forward. We would be wise to rise above our earthly struggles and rediscover our true self, ultimately returning to the root of our soul. This interpretation presents the Torah’s wisdom as a guide for personal growth and spiritual awakening, encouraging us to find transcendence within our everyday lives.
Ever stop to think – really consider – 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.
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. Contemporary psychology describes moving from our comfort zone, through steps to arrive at our growth zone.
When we step beyond our familiar comfort zone, we’re answering a deeper calling of our soul. That first step into the waters of uncertainty – what we might call the “fear zone” – requires profound courage. It’s a sacred moment of trust, even when our ego-mind craves the certainty of a well-marked path.
This space of not-knowing can stir anxiety within us. We may feel untethered from our familiar reference points, our trusted ways of being. Yet this very untethering is part of the soul’s journey toward growth.
If we can stay present with these feelings, honoring them while not being ruled by them, something remarkable happens – we enter the “learning zone” – a space of authentic expansion where wisdom flows through us in new ways. Here, we discover resources we never knew we had. Each challenge becomes not just an obstacle, but our Teacher, offers us precisely the lessons our spirit needs for its evolution.
Remember, the butterfly must struggle through its chrysalis to strengthen its wings. Similarly, this journey through fear towards learning and eventually our “growth zone” is part of our soul’s natural unfolding.
The week’s Torah reading serves as a lens through which we witness a profound archetypal journey of the soul’s awakening. Abram’s call represents the universal invitation that each of our souls receives to transcend our current level of consciousness and step into our higher purpose. This divine summons, “Lech Lecha,” speaks to the deepest core of our being, asking us to leave the familiar constructs of our ego-based identity and venture into the transformative unknown.
The Sfat Emet’s teaching illuminates a fundamental truth of spiritual psychology: each soul incarnates with a unique divine purpose, a sacred mission that only it can fulfill. This understanding brings both profound meaning and existential challenge. Like Abram, we yearn for the promised abundance, yet we must navigate the uncertainty of our path with trust and courage.
The practice of deep listening – attending to “the quiet behind the quiet” – is essentially what we might call “contemplative mindfulness.” This requires creating sacred space between our reactive thoughts and our deeper wisdom. Fear, self-doubt, and conditioned negative beliefs often create psycho-spiritual static that drowns out our soul’s knowing.
Just as Abram journeyed “by stages,” our own psychological and spiritual development follows a natural progression. Each stage presents opportunities for integration, healing, and expansion of consciousness. The path may not be linear or clear, but this very uncertainty invites us to develop deeper trust and discernment.
“Lech Lecha,” thus becomes a call to radical authenticity and spiritual courage – to continually choose growth over comfort, truth over familiarity, and purpose over security. Through this lens, discernment becomes a spiritual practice of aligning our choices, relationships, and way of being with our soul’s highest calling.
This journey asks us to hold both the grandeur of our divine purpose and the humility of always being a work in progress. It invites us to embrace both the magnificent beauty of who we truly are, and the courageous vulnerability of becoming.
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.