“Leaving or Going?”--
Parshat Lech Lecha
By Rav Avraham Fischer
I recently read a wonderful
book, “Turbulent Souls,” a memoir of spiritual journeys, by Stephen
J. Dubner. Mainly, it tells how
the author, the youngest of eight
children in a Catholic family, having discovered that both of his
parents had been born Jewish, sets out to create an identity for himself.
He begins in one place, spiritually, and ends up in quite another.
Avraham Avinu’s spiritual
transformation is the main topic of the Torah readings during the
month of Cheshvan. This is a
transformation that occurs
in ten stages: “With ten trials
was Avraham tested” (Avot 5:4).
According to the Rambam’s calculation (there are others), the first
of these trials was to leave his birthplace and the last was the Akeidah, the binding
and near-sacrifice of Yitzchak. These ten trials trace Avraham’s spiritual development, enabling
him to become the founder of the
Jewish people, the first of the Avot, and a role model for the entire Jewish
people.
The first and the last trials
can be said to “frame” this process. They show us the starting-point
and the goal of Avraham’s journey. Rav
Levi in the midrash (Bereshit Rabbah
39:11; 55:8) notes that both of
these “framing” trials are associated
with the same command- statement: Lech Lecha, “go forth”: “Go forth from your land and from your
birthplace and from your father’s home to
the land that I will show you” (Bereshit 12:1); and “Take, please, your son, your only one, whom you love, Yitzchak
and go forth to the land of Moriah
and bring him up there as a wholly-burnt offering on one of the mountains
that I will tell you” (Ibid. 22:2).
Furthermore, Rav Levi states
: “We do not know which is the
more beloved, the first or the
second. But, from that which is
written ‘to the land of Moriah,’ the second
is more beloved than the first.” Clearly,
the similarity of the commands
suggests that these two trials --- in addition to merely “framing” Avraham’s
spiritual journey --- contain a certain similarity; yet the Akedah is the greater of the two.
But, why do we need to know which is greater?
And, why do we know which is greater only after the Akeidah?
Rav Aharon Lewin, who was
murdered during the Holocaust, writes in HaDrash Vehaiyun that the
first test was intended for Avraham’s own improvement, while the Akeidah
demonstrated that Avraham was able to pass his love and devotion
to Hashem on to the next generation, to Yitzchak. It was the Lech Lechaof the Akeidah
that completed the spiritual development initiated
by the Lech Lecha of leaving the corrupt environment of Avraham’s
origins.
I would like to add an observation
based (not surprisingly, if you know me) on grammar. The first trial is introduced with Lech
Lecha mei . . . , “go forth from.” Avraham is
commanded to sever his ties with his past, his homeland and
his family. Although he is given
a direction, it is at this stage very
vague: “to the land that I will show you.” This is essentially a Lech
Lecha mei, a departure motivated more by the impetus to leave than the inducement
to arrive.
The Akeidah, on the other
hand, is a command of Lech Lecha el . . ., “go forth to.” Here Avraham is told to move towards a
higher objective, that of demonstrating
his utter loyalty to Hashem. Although the precise destination is not disclosed ---
“to one of the mountains” --- still, this
is, first and foremost, a journey towards his goal.
Perhaps this is the basis
of the explanation of HaDrash V’Haiyun.
When embarking on his first
mission, leaving his homeland, Avraham’s actions had the
greatest impact on himself because he was leaving, Lech Lecha mei. But, since the Akeidah was a Lech Lecha el, a going towards, he was
focused on the effect his actions would have on the next generation,
teaching Yitzchak how one must be devoted to Hashem.
In our journey of deepening
our commitment to Torah, each of us begins, as Avraham did, with
a Lech Lecha mei, a leaving behind, and progresses to a Lech
Lecha el, a moving towards. Lech
Lecha Mei can happen once, and then
it is over; but Lech Lecha
El is a life-long mission. Of course, we must be cognizant of what
values we are putting behind
us. But, even so, a life of Torah
is not solely a life of rejection.
That would be too easy; it
would amount to nothing more than the indiscriminate
rebelliousness of adolescence. To be complete, a life of Torah
must be a life of aspirations, ever aiming for greater achievements in Torah
learning, in midot development, and in mitzvah observance.
Avraham’s journey began with
a Lech Lecha Mei, and reached its peak with a Lech Lecha
el. We, too, should remember, not only where we began, but where
we are headed.
from
Classic Divrei Torah on Parshat Shavua
Print Version of http://www.darchenoam.org/articles/web/parsha/ar_lech_raf.htm
Copyright 2003 Darche
Noam Institutions
