Shabbat Parashat Lech Lecha 5785

Parashat Hashavua: The Challenge of Moving

One of the tests that Avraham had to pass was to be willing to sojourn from place to place. Rashi (Bereishit 12:2) points out that it usually detracts from one’s fame, his accumulation of wealth, and his ability to successfully procreate.

It is not only the fact that Avraham agreed to uproot himself and move. Of significance is that Avraham also worked on his “equilibrium” while he was on the journey. When one is in his own place, he has a certain standing in his society, and he also has a way in which he goes about preserving his standing. There are usually several things that a person would contemplate doing, yet he refrains from them out of concern that they do not correspond favorably to his reputation.

In Avraham’s original setting, he was well known. His status was set, and he was greatly respected. This was especially true after he prevailed miraculously in the test of the kivshan ha’esh (fiery furnace). It was in the direct aftermath of that wonderful event that Hashem approached Avraham with the command of “lech lecha.” The logic is that there arose a danger that some of Avraham’s actions would no longer be done with a feeling of purity, as now it was liable to be connected to a sense of rote and as an extension of what existed in the past. From that point, it became possible that he might want to rest on his laurels and enjoy the fruits of his previous successes. That indeed is a dangerous situation.

This, then, is the background for Hashem’s charge of lech lecha. “Go to a place where they do not know you, where the test at which you will need to succeed could not possibly be completed with help of the stature you had already attained. Wander through the land and go to a place where they do not know you, where they do not understand what you have accomplished, to a place where you do not have people whom you have helped mold over the years. In that place, start from scratch.”

The Torah elsewhere (Devarim 6:7, in the parasha of Kri’at Shema) discusses what one needs to do when he is in a situation of “while you walk on the path” – you shall speak about [these words of connection to Hashem]. You must not take your mind off the matters of substance even when you are involved in the difficulties of a journey. Even when it is ostensibly necessary to get up early and begin to travel before the sun heats the day up, when there is a need to take care of things you need, and it would seem justified to not pray at this time, what did Avraham do?! Avraham instituted the prayer of Shacharit (Berachot 26b)!

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