Parashat Lech Lecha (Engl.)

B"H

So far, the Torah told us about Adam, Noach and their generations. Neither Adam nor Noach were Jewish. The history of the Jewish People only begins with Avraham.

After G-d destroyed the Generation of the Flood in order to punish them for their sins, the later generations had learned nothing from history. There were ten generations from Noach to Avrahan and again people had started to worship idols. The Midrash and Aggadah teach us that even Avraham's father family worshipped idols. His father Terach was one of Nimrod's ministers but also ran a souvenir shop selling idols.
However, his son Avraham realized that there can only be one G-d. How did he come to this conclusion ? One day he was searching for the right G-d and looking at the sun. Avraham thought that the mighty sun must be G-d. In the evening the sun disappeared and the moon was shining. Then he thought that this must be G-d. In the morning also the moon disappeared and Avraham figured that there must be only one G-d who is running the whole world. He started praying to the Creator of everything and G-d started revealing Himself to Avraham.

His father Terach was furious seeing his son praying only to one G-d and reported him to Nimrod the King. As a punishment, Avraham was thrown into the furnace but survived with the help of G-d. Later on he and his family fled to Haran (today Syria).

It happened in Haran that G-d said to him: "Go out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will shew thee...."
And what did Avraham do ? He did not ask questions but went right away. Rashi says that "Lech Lecha - Go for thyself" means "for your own benefit".
Here I would like to mention a chassidic teaching of the Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib of Ger). He said that Avraham went because G-d had commanded him to do so. There was no thought about his own benefit, as we learn from Rashi.
The Sefat Emet also sees the biblical story as a metaphor: Avraham left Haran physically but additionally it was a spiritual transformation as well. Each of us should try to reach more perfection and this way we are able to come to higher and higher levels. The whole life is a journey from level to level and, as Avraham, we should just do the right thing. Perfection by fulfilling the commandments.

The Midrash Rabbah asks why G-d at least did not tell him where he was traveling to. In order to reward Avraham for every step he took.

For us it is very hard to leave one' s home without thinking. Leaving family and environment in order to start all over again in a foreign country is very difficult. Especially people who made Aliyah know that.
Nevertheless, Avraham had a complete trust in G-d. Hopefully we will succeed in reaching the same or a similar level.

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The Sefat Emet - Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib of Ger. He was the second Gerrer Rebbe. Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1847, died in Ger, in Poland 1905.