Lech Lecha in 2020: Go Forth and Vote for the Future which Hashem will Show Us
By Rabbi Shimon Raichik
This week parsha is Lech Lecha. The first pasuk says: And Hashem said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. The words Lech Lecha, go forth, are from the first words of the parsha and relate a timeless message. They are the very first words given to the very first Jew, Avraham Avinu. One might think that the first commandment would be a specific directive on how best to serve Hashem. Instead it sounds more like map directions to go to an undisclosed location. The specific instructions seem extra. Why didn't Hashem just tell Avraham Avinu to go to the land which I will show you? If it was necessary to say from where to leave it would suffice just to say “from your land”. Why does Hashem add “from your birth place and the house of your father”?
Chazal teaches that it was with these words that Hashem told to Abraham that the historical 2,000 year period of the Torah began. It was here that the Jewish people began to become a nation, chosen from amongst all of the nations. The message of Lech Lecha provides the outline and the context of how best to accomplish our entire purpose. It is not just a message to Abraham but to each and everyone of us as well. What is that message?
We all find ourselves in the physical world, a place devoid of a revealed and felt presence of G-dliness. It is a place confined and beneath the rules of nature. Within that context we are born with specific individual characteristics. We all grow up in a particular neighborhood, community, state and country. Our particular environment shapes us, our tendencies and choices. Add to this the education we received. All of this limits our potential and our choices. How can we become authentic servants of Hashem?
The answer is that while it is true that we have limitations, nevertheless by commanding us to ‘go forth’ Hashem gives us the strength, the energy and the ability to transcend all the limitations of our character, our environment and our education to serve Hashem properly and completely by learning the Torah and observing the mitzvos.
The parsha of Lech Lecha teaches that the greatness and success of being Jewish in the world does not come from our own will, ideas and judgments. The greatness of being Jewish starts to emerge from a realization that we cannot overcome our challenges without the help of Hashem. The key is to listen and follow Hashem’s guidance.
Chassidus explains the first pasuk of parsha’s Lech Lecha. “Your land” refers to your will and desires. “Your birthplace” refers to your characteristics and emotions. “Your father’s house” refers to your intellect (and your education). The Rebbe teaches that this refers not just to negative traits but also to good attributes as well. This is because it is based on our limited will, emotions and intellect. Hashem tells us to ‘go forth’, out of your limitation “To the land which I will show you” which refers to Hashem’s will. Then we become united as one with Hashem.
We need to leave behind our limited will, behaviours, emotions and intellect and instead turn our sights to the land, meaning Hashem’s will, which has not been seen, the land will be shown to us. By fully trusting in Hashem and dedicating ourselves with our entire being to Hashem’s plan is when we reveal Hashem in this world and elevate the world with our actions.
The Rebbe explains that the message of Lech Lecha, leaving our land, birthplace and father's home doesn't mean to run away from the physical world. It means to leave behind our concept of what the physical means and to go to a new perception of what Hashem created the physical for. Our behaviours, emotions and intellect are there to be utilized for the sake of learning the Torah and performing the mitzvos and thereby making a dwelling place for Hashem in this world. By being fully and completely dedicated to fulfilling our purpose in life according to Hashem's will with simcha and emunah Hashem will bring all us to the land which we will all see with the Geula ha’Amitis v’haShleimah.
A Good Shabbos
(Based on a Sicha for parsha’s Lech Lecha 5750-1989)