Go for Yourself
There are two brands of reward. The first is given s motivation. The second is a consequence of one’s actions. Reward demonstrates that good, naturally, begets good. LECHA LECHA
Passed with Flying Colors
Abraham the first Jew distinguished himself in many ways. In addition to his incredible faith and kindness, Abraham is credited as having scored 100% on the “Ten Tests” administered to him by G-d.
The first test recorded in the Torah in this week’s parsha was:
Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.
Abraham passes this test with flying colors. Despite the hardship in leaving familiar surroundings, separating from family and friends, to go to an unknown land, Abraham did not hesitate to follow G-d’s instructions to him.
Why a Reward?
LECHA
Abraham was a paragon of virtue. He was the ultimate Jew; altruistic and selfless. Abraham was known for his love and passion for G-d. And when true love is concerned, there is neither desire nor need for any reward.
If this premise is correct, then the question arises, why did G-d have to promise Abraham that he was sending him for his own sake; that he would be blessed with wealth, children and fame? The last person who would have to be promised rewards in this world would have been Abraham.
Two Forms of Reward
The answer to this question is that there are two forms of reward: One is the reward that G-d gives us as His expression of satisfaction with our behavior. This form of reward is intended to motivate the person to do good just as a threat of punishment is meant to dissuade someone from committing a crime.
There is, however, a second, totally different form of reward. A physical reward is the physical manifestation of the spiritual energy that we generate through our positive actions. When a positive experience remains LECHA in the spiritual realm, it is a sign that the experience is restricted to one domain; the spiritual domain. When a spiritual experience reverberates in the physical world, it is a sign that the spiritual achievement has reached a high point. It is an indication that the dichotomy between the spiritual and physical has been removed; the barrier between these two worlds has been penetrated.
This then is what G-d was telling Abraham. When you will meet the challenge and reach the greatest spiritual heights, it will change the world. Everyone will see how your devotion to G-d has found expression in all facets of your life. The blessings you will generate will be so powerful that they will affect your physical life as well.
The prospect of material benefits he would receive was not intended to entice Abraham to uproot himself and travel to an unknown destination. Rather, it was intended to tell Abraham that his mission to change the world by spreading the teaching of monotheism and righteousness will bear fruit. Indeed, it will become clear to all, even in his own lifetime, that G-d is good and that living G-dly is good on every level. There will be no LECHA need to see the realization of G-d’s promise in another generation.
Going Down to Egypt
We can now gain some further insight into the next story recorded in this week’s parsha. After Abraham follows G-d’s instructions to him to go to a new land and he finally arrives at his destination, he is compelled to leave because of a famine. Abraham is thus forced to “go down” to Egypt and goes through much anxiety over the abduction of his wife Sarah.
Abraham, the commentator Rashi explains, could have said to G-d: “You promised me material blessings upon fulfillment of my mission to travel to the Promised Land, and yet, no sooner do I arrive in Canaan that I was forced to go to Egypt and subject myself and my wife to such indignity and danger!” Yet Abraham does not question G-d.
In light of our earlier analysis of the nature of reward promised to Abraham, this test assumes even greater significance.
If G-d had simply stated to Abraham, “Go!” without any promise of how his compliance LECHA with G-d’s directive will yield positive physical consequences, the test would have been a relatively easy one for Abraham to withstand. After all, the Midrash tell us, Abraham was prepared to die for his faith; was thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod because he refused to bow to idols. It was no big deal for Abraham to endure hardship in the pursuit of the mission given to him by G- d.
In truth, this test was a formidable one. G-d did not only tell him that he would be rewarded, G-d made it clear to Abraham that in his case his spiritual journey will yield physical results as a sign of the exalted nature of his spiritual attainments. And now, Abraham is forced to “descend” to Egypt; the word “descend” is meant in all senses of the world. He was forced to go to a morally depraved country, where both his physical and spiritual life would be in jeopardy. It would even take him away from the place in which G-d had intended for him to live and fulfill his life’s purpose.
How did it resolve in the end?
Sarah was not touched by Pharaoh. Abraham was compensated with great wealth. And, LECHA according to the Midrash, Pharaoh’s daughter Hagar was given to Sarah as a handmaiden. Hagar eventually was given by Sarah to Abraham as a wife, so she could bear him a child. Sarah even felt that this would help her conceive. Of course, she did eventually bear a child, Isaac. (Of course, the connection between Abraham taking Hagar and Sarah bearing a child deserves further treatment, and will be discussed, G-d willing, at another occasion).
In other words, all of G-d’s blessings to Abraham that he would be materially rewarded and that he would be a father of a nation and be able to influence the world grew out of his negative experience in Egypt. Abraham would eventually realize how G-d’s promise to him that the spiritual would yield material blessings would come to fruition, and that his period in exile was the actual catalyst for that to come true.
Viewing our Experience in Exile
Abraham’s experience is supposed to serve as a lesson and inspiration for us. One of the lessons that can be derived from this LECHA narrative relates to the way we should view our own experiences in exile.
Jewish history is divided into two distinct periods. One is called Galus-exile and the other Geulah-Redemption. Exile is usually a term used to describe the physical alienation from our land. Redemption thus is when we will ultimately be returned to our land. But there is deeper way of understanding what exile really represents and how it will be remedied in the age of Redemption.
Exile is a time and a state of being in which there is a dichotomy between the spiritual and physical; they do not necessarily work in tandem. Good actions could yield negative physical results in exile and vice versa. The promise to Abraham that his spiritual achievements will lead to all of the great material blessings is often not seen to be the case in exile. Exile is characterized by alienation and separation in many different phases and locations. It involves separation from our land, from our G-d, the spiritual from the physical and even our hearts from our minds, to name but a few examples.
When we pray for and anticipate the imminent Redemption by Moshiach, we are LECHA asking for a time of reunification in all of these areas.
G-d’s promise to Abraham and to us will certainly take place soon. And then we will see, as Abraham did, that the exile experience, was actually a catalyst for the good that will occasion the age of Redemption.
LECHA
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Lech Lecha by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
