בס"ד
The first of Avraham Avinu's ten tests is the iconic "לך לך".
He is instructed by G-d to leave all that is familiar and venture out into the
unknown, with only Hashem's word for a guide and provider.
While we may consider this trial to be a culmination of Avraham's ( and
G-d's ) utter and total rejection of the immoral society in which he lived, we
may glimpse a deeper facet and gain immeasurably for doing so. There is a very
important distinction made by Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch regarding Avraham's
trial. Avraham is never told to leave, he is told to go.
There is a subtle difference between going ("הליכה") and leaving
("יציאה").
The operative function of 'leaving' is to escape, to run or to bail out.
One who is leaving ("יוצא") is barely concerned with his
destination – just that it is better that his current situation. 'Going',
on the other hand, is primarily concerned with a goal. One who is going
("הולך")
is travelling to a particular place because there is a value and reason to
arrive in that location.
Avraham Avinu must leave his current surroundings to continue his upward
trek towards the spiritual achievements that he will leave as a legacy.
Nonetheless, his move is primarily one of 'going'.
Rav Hirsch also quotes the medrash (Bamidbar Rabba 18:21) that the
phrase of "לך לך" is one of the harbingers of the final redemption. Because
from the moment that Avraham, our forefather, accepted upon himself this
mission, he set the stage for us to continue travelling down the path of the
righteous, until we reach the final destination, the redemption.
And so, wherever we find ourselves, we should always notice – are we
leaving or going ? And what is our destination ?
Hatzlacha !!
1 comment:
Yes, this did evoke the current US election. :)
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