Sponsored by https://IsraelPropertyHub.com/ View real estate opportunities throughout Israel. Follow our Facebook page to view our latest listings: https://www.facebook.com/groups/128940493789774
Parshat Lech Lecha begins with the words (Breisheet 12:1):
God said to Avram, “Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.”
Breisheet Rabba 39:1 teaches:
Rabbi Yitzchak commenced his discourse with (Tehillim 45:11) “Hear me, daughter; look around and listen; forget your own people and your father’s house, and let the king crave your beauty.”
Both verses show leaving home in a way that is the opposite of how one would normally leave- first you would leave your house, then your birthplace and then your country.
Etz Yosef (Chanokh Zundel ben Yosef) comments:
The verse says “Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house” but it really should have said the opposite- leave your house, then your birthplace and then your country! However, we are not talking about physically leaving, rather we are talking about spiritually leaving- first you will forget the customs of the land, then the customs of your family and then the customs of your father’s house. We see this as well from the words “Hear me, daughter; look around and listen; forget your own people and your father’s house.”
Rabbi Yitzchak explains that the leaving that is described is spiritual- leaving the easier place before leaving the more difficult place. First we forget the land, then we forget our birthplace and only afterwards we forget our father’s house.
Each oleh (immigrant to Israel) experiences what Avraham went through. You have to leave your country, your birthplace and your family.
Many people who made aliya left their country of origin because they were not happy there, even if it was their birthplace. They may have made aliya to get away from persecution, anti-Semitism or third world countries. Others saw more value in living in Israel and were happy to give up their country and birthplace. However, uprooting yourself and moving far away from your parents and family can be much more difficult.
Today, one can say that it is easier to make aliya since we have airplanes and you can just hop on a flight and visit whenever you want to. However, since Covid we have seen that it is not so easy to travel and now with the war, a lot of airlines have stopped flying and the flights that are available are either very expensive or entail stopovers. As people get older, it may become more difficult for them to make the trip.
It is important to remember that just as Avraham made a sacrifice and left his family behind, so too many olim come on their own and start a new life in Israel without any family.
A nice phenomenon that I have seen, especially when teaching in senior residences, is that many parents end up moving to Israel after their children have made aliya, so ultimately the families become reunited in Israel.
May all those who want to move to Israel have the courage to follow Avraham’s path.
