Navigating The Crossroads of Life - Lech Lecha

 Life isfilled with crossroads. When we come to these crossroads, do we imagine thatwhen choosing left or right, even if the two paths veer only slightlydifferently from one another, do we realize that as we continue in a direction,our choices eventually bring us to totally different places.   Think aboutthe crossroads of your own life ?   Do I go tothis School or that   Do I marryhim or him   Do I go intothis business or that   Do we livehere or there   Each ofthose decisions sets us into a direction which brings us to other crossroadsand other directions.      Think of twolines on a piece of paper which start out together, then one veers one way andthe other, the opposite way. Can they meet again? Maybe? Or they go off thepaper never to see each other again.   One mayrepresent what we could have been had we taken certain crossroads and anotherthe road we actually take.   We canrarely be aware of the absolute consequences of each of those decisions at thetime we face them. Sometimes we think nothing of it, but that decision changedeverything.   In thetelevision series Star Trek there was something called the prime directivewarning not to interfere in the development of a planet. We see this also inscience fiction with time travel often called a temporal prime directive. Theidea is that one small amount of interference, one seemingly inconsequentialmeddling and redirection can potentially shift an entire society or world intoa different path.   In ourworld, Maamad Har Sinai – the revelation at Mount Sinai was Hashem shifting theworld and its reverberations are still being felt.   Moses tellsus   אֶֽת־הַדְּבָרִ֣יםהָאֵ֡לֶּה דִּבֶּר֩ הֹ’ אֶל־כׇּל־קְהַלְכֶ֜םבָּהָ֗ר מִתּ֤וֹךְ הָאֵשׁ֙ הֶֽעָנָ֣ן וְהָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל ק֥וֹל גָּד֖וֹל וְלֹ֣א יָסָ֑ף  Rashi: Werender this in the Targum by ולא פסק “and He did not cease”, — as the Gemarahwrites in Sanhedrin: for His voice is strong and goes on continuously   In thisperasha which features the first words from Hashem to Abraham, advice was givenrelating to the path we take in life   Lech Lecha   On Saturdayevening when some went out for seuda shelishi, a few of us began discussing twostatements brought by the Zohar which some can suggest might be among the keyinstructions on living life and dealing with the crossroads we face.  I saw abeautiful statement from Rav Yakov Nagen  He writes:My teachers taught me that the first four parshiot of the book of Bereshit,“Bereshit,” “Noach,” “Lech Lecha” and “Vayera,” are a summarized guide tospiritual enlightenment. From one’s initial phase, “Bereshit,” one must come toa place of “Noach,” a place of calm and tranquility.   From therehe can continue to “Lech Lecha,” the phase of journey. The double language of“Lech Lecha,” “go unto yourself,” teaches that the journey is a journey inward,and through this process a person comes to “Vayera elav Hashem,” the revelationof G-d, enlightenment.   This week,parshat Lech Lecha, we will study the aspect of the journey itself.  The ZoharHaKadosh in one place explains that the double language of “lech lecha” callson a person to embark on a journey into himself: “lech lecha unto yourself…toknow and to fix yourself” (Lech Lecha 67b-68a).   In anawesome teaching in Orot HaKodesh, Rav Kook explains that when a person arrivesat an understanding of himself, he discovers Hashem  Rav Kookexplained that The sin of Adam HaRishon was that he became disconnected fromhis true self. He conceded to thesnake’s advice, lost his self-ness, and was thus unable to give a clear answerto [Hashem’s] question “Ayeka?” “Where are you?” for he did not know his ownsoul, for his true self was lost from him…   Rav Kookmakes a bold and awesome statement – when we seek and find the “I” ofourselves, recalling that we are all made BeSelem Elokim, in the image of G-dand I can add that Hashem blew into man and each of us our soul which is a partof Hashem, then we will discover that within me there is a Ani Hashem, “I am G-d;”. Part of the goal in life is todiscover that G-d is present within each of us.   But beforewe can get there, we need to get ourselves on the correct path? How can we helpourselves make the correct decisions in life?   וַיֹּ֤אמֶר   ה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃   Hashem saidto Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to theland that I will show you.  Our Rabbisteach us – see Maor Eynayim and Degel Machaneh - the Torah is eternal and isrelevant and applicable to every individual in every period of time.   Rav PinchasFriedman – The Shvilei Pinchas and our teacher who much of the learning isbased on tells us  It is,therefore, incumbent upon us to examine how this heavenly directive to Avram: “Gofor yourself from your land,” applies to all individuals in allgenerations. Additionally, what vital lesson must we learn from this divinedirective?  The ZoharChodosh (Midrash HaNe’elam, Lech Lecho 30b) that these pesukim apply to every neshamahthat descends from the heavenly realm of the world of the neshamot to thisworld — to clothe itself in a physical body: — this neshamah that is to act asa father figure to educate the physical body. Hashem instructs the neshamah toleave its heavenly abode and to enter a particular body. When the Torah statesthat Avram went, this refers to the journey of the neshamah from its place onhigh to its designated body. The neshamah follows Hashem’s instructions just asAvram did — entering the body that it was commanded to guide and teach.  Let usaddress HKB”H’s statement to Avram and to all of the neshomos that come intothis world: אל הארץ אשר אראך” “ -- to the land that I will show you.  Moreover,what was HKB”H’s reason for not revealing the ultimate destination from theonset? Rashi provides an answer to this question: , “אשר אראך לא גלה לו הארץמיד כדי לחבבה בעיניו, ולתת לו שכר על כל דיבור ודיבור” — to endear it tohim, and to reward him for each and every statement about the land. Rashi’ssource is the Midrash (B.R. 39, 9) which adds: “אל הארץ אשר אראך, ולמה לא גלהלו כדי — לחבבה בעיניו, וליתן לו שכר על כל פסיעה ופסיעה” to rewardhim for each and every step he takes toward the land.  We canask: Even had HKB”H revealed the land to Avram, hestill would have deserved to be rewarded for each and every step of his journeyto an unfamiliar land. After all, he only undertook this journey, because hepossessed incredible faith in Hashem and because Hashem commanded him to do so.So, what additional reward or benefit accrued to Avraham by HKB”H not revealingthe destination from the get go?  ” אל הארץאשר אראך “ — to theland that I will show you — contains a valuable message concerning the wayto properly serve Hashem.   It isworthwhile for every Jew to review this message over and over again throughouthis life. If we examine man’s lifelong journey in this world, from the momentof his birth and his very first breath, until his neshamah departs from hisbody and returns to HKB”H, we find that the entire journey is shrouded inmystery.  No humanbeing has a clue what is in store for him in this world. Will his journey besmooth and straightforward or will it be complicated and full of obstacles?Will the course be steady and even-keel or full of ups and downs? A human beingis incapable of solving this great mystery from the very onset.    Where willhe be required to spend his life? What ordeals and experiences will he have toendure? What mission has HKB”H given him to fulfill in this lifetime?  Yet, it isessential for all Torah-observant Jews to remember that the key to unravelingthese mysteries and uncertainties was already revealed by HKB”H to AvrahamAvinu, the first Jew in the world. Avraham was confronted by a world full ofidol-worship, he shattered all of the idols in his father Terach’s house andmerited to reveal the presence, oneness and ways of HKB”H in this world.  Behold! WithHKB”H’s very first revelation to Avram, He confronts Avram with the following provocativedirective: “לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך אל הארץ אשר אראך' --Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’shouse to the land that I will show you. With these words, HKB”H provided Avramwith the secret code to unravel and solve all of life’s mysteries anduncertainties.   What is thatcode?   What are themagic words?   These fourwords -- “אל הארץ אשר אראך” -- to the land that I will show you — arethe key! In other words, do not imagine that I will reveal to you from the verybeginning where you are destined to go and what challenges you will have toovercome.