3. Lech Lecha 5781: When Abraham Danced The Moonwalk

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/697863256/videos/10158514176343257/ SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/hachaim/3-lech-lecha-5781-when-abraham-danced-the-moonwalk Written: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k062ztm8yoow1hl/3.%20lech%20lecha%20--when%20abraham%20did%20the%20moonwalk.pdf?dl=0 YouTube: https://youtu.be/nsKGRlr4K8s --- The moonwalk is a dance move in which the dancer glides backwards, but his/her body actions suggest forward motion. Formerly known as the "backslide", the moonwalk is a popping move. It became popular around the world following Michael Jackson's moonwalk during his performance, which was broadcast on May 16, 1983. However, there are many earlier recorded instances of the moonwalk. Similar steps are reported as far back as 1932, used by Cab Calloway. Nevertheless, the moonwalk, as we know it today, was created by dancer and singer Jeffrey Daniel, a member of the R&B group Shalamar, which, after he taught it to Michael Jackson, became known as the moonwalk. Well, that’s enough about its history. What I would like to focus on is the opening description of the moonwalk: A dance move in which the dancer glides backwards but his/her body actions suggest forward motion. In essence, so much of life’s traveling seems to be just like that, in which we simultaneously need to be moving in two opposite directions, spiritual and physical, ascent and descent, practical and meaningful, and I can go on with the antithetical motions we must simultaneously be moving in. In this lecture, we are going to explore the spiritual source to the moonwalk of life, and the moves it takes to dance it well. This lecture is based primarily on a maamor the Rebbe delivered, on this Shabbat in 1977, exploring G-d’s commandment to Abraham, “Lech Lecha - Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.”