HOME  

                                              Lech Lecha : Get Up and Go!

Once Abraham had come to the realization, by himself, that G-d alone is all-Powerful and in total control of the Universe, G-d did not allow him to rest on his laurels. Abraham is told, "Lech Lecha" -  "Go for yourself, from your land, from your birthplace, from your father's home..."

This is somewhat of a tall order. G-d is telling Abraham to uproot himself entirely from all that is familiar to him - his land, his birthplace, his family home. Nonetheless, this is precisely what he does.  For Abraham it is another "first" - throughout all these episodes he is always the first one - having no precedent to "follow" - he leads the way, marking out the path for future generations.

More often than not, retaining the "status quo" is a far more attractive prospect than having to make a radical change. Although we may even admit that the change will benefit in the long-term, we are reluctant to leave our own "comfort zone", our "birthplace", our "home" As a result, we may find ourselves standing still. Even this is not really standing still - just like somebody standing on a downward elevator, unless consciously making the effort to ascend, we are inevitably descending.

We need look no further than this week's parsha to know how to ascend. By being prepared to leave our "comfort zones" - that which is familiar and convenient - we remove the limitations on our spiritual growth. As they say, familiarity breeds contempt. By breaking down the status quo, we re-motivate ourselves to fulfil our true potential. This is especially true of spiritual development. Once we allow ourselves to be receptive to that which is unfamiliar and maybe even a little daunting, we open ourselves up to true growth.

A person might fall into the trap of claiming "listen, I do what I do... I had such-and-such a Jewish education... if G-d wanted me to develop spiritually he would have given me more opportunities..." Abraham also had to figure it out for himself yet he managed just fine, despite his having no Jewish background whatsoever!

The parsha says "Lech Lecha", meaning 'go for yourself'. Reb Zushe of Annipoli, a famous Chassid, used to say "when I get up to the next world, I'm not afraid they'll ask me 'why weren't you like Moses' or 'why weren't you like Abraham' but I am afraid that they'll ask me 'why weren't you like Zushe'. Whatever development process we undertake should be geared towards uncovering the real, essential individual and through this, being able to realize our full potential and to be able to be not just 'like ourselves' but our actual selves, to the fullest degree.
 

Shabbat Shalom