(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה' אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃
(1) And God said to Avram, “Go forth from your land, your birth place, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Notice the threefold mention of: land, birth place, father's house. Why do you think the text needs to add each of these? What may each one be adding?
(א) מארצך, כי קשה לאדם לצאת מארצו אשר גר שם ימים רבים כל שכן אם נולד שם,
(1) מארצך, From your land. [God had to add this as] it is difficult for a person to leave a homeland in which he had dwelled for many years, all the more so if that land was at the same time the place where he had been born.
What could be the difficulties the Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi, 1160-1235, France) is thinking about, related to leaving a homeland?
Are they more or less difficult (or different) than leaving your parent's house?
(א) לך לך לַהֲנָאָתְךָ וּלְטוֹבָתְךָ, שָׁם אֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָדוֹל, כָּאן אִי אַתָּה זוֹכֶה לְבָנִים וְעוֹד שֶׁאוֹדִיעַ טִבְעֲךָ בָּעוֹלָם:
(1) לך לך Go forth (literally, go for thyself) — for your own benefit, for your own good: there I will make of you a great nation whilst here you will not merit the privilege of having children. Furthermore, I shall make known your character throughout the world.
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105, France) says Abraham's journey was for his own good. Could this apply to all lech lecha journeys?
To what extent is it possible to know beforehand if a lech lecha journey will be beneficial and good for you?
(42) You shall live in booths (sukkot) seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, (43) in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I am the LORD your God.
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (p. 101)
The move into the sukkah is a movement from the certainty of fixed position toward the liberating insecurity of freedom
What do you think we learn (collectively and individually) when we recall that we lived in booths (sukkot) when we left Egypt?
How do you understand the relationship between insecurity and freedom? Do they always belong together?
Rachel Naomi Remen, My Grandfathers Blessing (pp. 371-4)
The slavery that keeps us from following our goodness is an inner slavery. We are trapped by ideas of worthlessness and lack of self-esteem, by desire or greed or ignorance. Enslaved by notions of victimhood and entitlement. It is a story about the fear of change, about clinging to places and behaviors that are small and hurtful because letting go of them will mean facing something unknown. I heard again my grandfather’s words: “The choice is never between slavery and freedom; we must always choose between slavery and the unknown.” Freedom is as frightening now as it was thousands of years ago. It will always require a willingness to sacrifice what is most familiar for what is most true. ...
...The promised land may be many things to many people. For some it is perfect health and for others freedom from hunger or fear, or discrimination, or injustice. But perhaps on the deepest level the promised land is the same for us all, the capacity to know and live by the innate goodness in us, to serve and belong to one another and to life.
How do you feel about the above quote in bold, from Rachel's Jewish grandfather?
According to Rachel Remen why is the 'unknown' frightening?
How might we strengthen ourselves to embrace the 'unknown' in our work?
Sources co-contributed by Yesod, David Maxa, Rabbinical Student at the Abraham Geiger College, and Hillel International Jewish Sensibilities Curriculum