And on this occasion, instead of our normal Rosh Chodesh Zoom learning, I wanted to share a few words about the First Aliyah, taken from an article by Rabbi David Milston at Midreshet HaRova.
In parashat Lech Lecha, it says:
(1) And Hashem said to Avram, “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you."
אשר אראך. לֹא גִּלָּה לוֹ הָאָרֶץ מִיָּד כְּדֵּי לְחַבְּבָהּ בְּעֵינָיו, וְלָתֵת לוֹ שָׂכָר עַל כָּל דִּבּוּר וְדִבּוּר;
When initially commanding Avraham to begin his journey, Hashem did not reveal the final destination of that journey in order to make it dear to him and in order to reward him for each and every word.
אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ, וְלָמָּה לֹא גִּלָּה לוֹ, כְּדֵי לְחַבְּבָהּ בְּעֵינָיו וְלִתֵּן לוֹ שָׂכָר עַל כָּל פְּסִיעָה וּפְסִיעָה
Rabbi Yochanan said... "To the land that I will show you," why was it not revealed to him? In order to endear it to him and reward him for every step he took.
So why did Rashi device to alter the original text? What does Rashi mean when he talks of 'reward for each and every word'?
Perhaps we can suggest an explanation of Rashi by referring to the words of the Radak on the same verse:
"From your land" - For it is difficult for a person to leave his country, a country that he has lived in for many years.
"From your birthplace" - It is all the more difficult if it is also the place in which one was born.
"From your father's house" - And it is even harder if you are forced to leave your family home.
"To the land that I will show you" - If Hashem had told him where he was going and told him that it was a good place, it would have been less painful.
And as the Ramban says famously on parashat Lech Lecha:
כל מה שאירע לאבות סימן לבנים...כאשר יבוא המקרה לנביא משלשת האבות יתבונן ממנו הדבר הנגזר לבא לזרעו ודעשמיה ממרא:
The actions of the patriarchs should be understood as a sign for their descendants because everything that happened to our fathers happened to their children.
Of course, it's not always easy. We also face similar difficulties to Avraham:
"From your land" - Leaving behind the country where we understand the culture, language, and bureaucracy.
"From your birthplace" - Leaving behind the childhood memories of our formative years
"From your father's house" - Leaving behind our families, our parents, grandparents, and siblings
But the parallel ends here.
"To the land that I will show you"
There is one awesome difference between our aliya and the first aliyot of our forefathers. We know exactly where we are going. Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov arrived in the idolatrous land of Canaan, and we return to the historic homeland of our people.