One of my favorite musicians, John Hiatt, conjures the
spirit of this week’s Torah portion in his song, “You Must Go”:
When that howling wind
Comes to carry you
again
Just like your next of
kin
You must go
To a far away place
Where you don’t
recognize one face
Don’t unpack your old
suitcase
Cause you must go
You must go and you
must ramble
Through every briar
and bramble
Till your life is in a
shambles
Maybe then you will
know
You were born to
blunder
Born to wander, born
to wonder
Even when you’re six
feet under
There’s a place
You must go
“You must go. . .”
This is a good translation of the opening line of this week’s portion, Lech L’chah.
The Eternal calls Abraham
and tells him, “You must go. . . from your homeland, your birthplace, your kin.
. . and head out into the unknown, to the place that I will show you.”
Abraham heeds the command and goes forth, as does his wife
Sarah. This demonstrates remarkable
courage. Abraham leaves behind so much
that he knows and loves: family and friends, familiar language and culture,
plans and expectations for his future.
His ability to muster the faith to leave on the basis of a mysterious
divine call is extraordinary. And I find
Sarah’s faith greater still, for she makes all of the same sacrifices as her husband—without
having heard the call directly herself.
Yet Abraham and Sarah do not set out without any
resources. As the text tells us, they
brought with them “ the souls that they had acquired in Haran.” As Rabbi Yael Levy interprets this: Torah here reminds us that we don’t have to
let go of everything in order to become more of ourselves. We can lift up where we have been, we can
call forth love, we can hold the resources we have gathered. These practices can help us step forward into
the paths of uncertainty.
We all have our “Abraham/Sarah moments.” With almost every major challenge that we
confront, whether planned (new job or school, relationship, move, having a
child) or unplanned (illness, relationship, having a child), we essentially
journey into the unknown. We make our
choices, but when we do, we are largely in the dark, without a clear
understanding of what we are really getting ourselves into. This is frightening for us, as it was for
Abraham and Sarah.
But we do not journey alone.
As Rabbi Levy concludes: The Mystery of the Universe is by our side,
has our back and will be with us through the challenges and into the
blessings. The Mystery of the Universe
will help us find our way again and again.
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