Parshas Lech Lecha: Individuality vs. Conformity:

“And G-d said unto Abraham “Go [to yourself] from your land, from your birthplace, and from your fathers house, to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)

This verse is fraught with difficulty.
1) Why does the verse state "go to yourself," if G-d's point is for Abraham to journey to Canaan. It need only state "go"?
2) In the cantillation notes (trop), there is a comma after "your father’s house." If the command is to travel to Canaan, the thread should continue?
3) Abraham is told to take leave of his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house. Generally, one first takes leave of their home, then their city, and finally their country. Why is the order reversed?
4) Finally, it need only state to leave one’s land, as one’s city and home are subsumed in that statement.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) advances the following understanding: Let us closely examine the terminology used. "Lech Lecha." "Lech" means to go. "Lecha" means to you. The juxtaposition is a new command. "Go to yourself." Perform a self-introspection, and find your own unique path. That was the first command mentioned in the verse.

Now let us analyze the second part of the verse: "Meiartzicha, mimoladitcha, umibeis avicha," from your land, from your birthplace, and from your fathers house. What is eretz? It is our national pride and patriotism. Our country imbibes us with our culture, spiritual mazal, our morals, and ethics. We are branded with our country as our identity. We take a certain pride in our national Olympics team, rejoice at our countries successes, and mourn in its sorrows.

What is Moledes? It is our birthplace, our hometown. We feel a direct connection to its very earth and stones, the buildings and the colorful landscaping. One’s nostalgia is always placed in the entrenched memories of the (seemingly) quaint little town of ones birthplace.

What is bayis? One’s home reflects one’s true individuality and personal mark. A cursory glance into one’s home reveals a microcosm of that person’s life. The books they read, the art they collect, and the curtains which they drape speak volumes about their life. This is the most intimate portrait of the inner workings and makeup of an individual.

G-d was not commanding Abraham to physically leave. He had already left Ur Kasdim physically. (Ironically named so in memoriam of Haran, Abraham's brother, who decided to blindly follow whoever emerged victorious, instead of searching out for the truth for himself.) This was a command to deracinate himself mentally of all his accumulated baggage. He was commanded to become an Avraham Haivri- meieiver hanahar- Abraham who proverbially crossed over the ocean of intellect to be G-d’s sole stalwart, taking on the world! For Abraham, this purging process was seemingly antipathetic to his life mission and natural proclivity of spreading the divine light. However before catapulting to the slot of the top outreach professional in history, he first had to be transparent with himself, and develop a true self-identity. He first had to mentally leave his country, then his city, and finally his father’s home, and go on to build his own future anew.

The first commandment was “lech”-leave your polluted surroundings. The second commandment was “lecha”- determine your strengths and weaknesses, and formulate your relationship with G-d.

Contrast that with his generation. They had just built the Tower of Babel. "Na'ase lanu shem, let us create a name for ourselves”, they declared. Let us strip away our personal identities and unite as one, into a conglomeration glued together by a common name. That was the spirit of communism. That is the antithesis of Abraham's odyssey. The quest for a personal mission and task was overrun by the neglect of the individual, in the pursuit for the utopian epoch. Abraham on the other hand was out to take on the world, and succeed!

This was the first of Abraham’s ten trials. According to the commentators Ramban (Nachmanides 1195-1270) and Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki 1040-1105 C.E.),
all of Abraham’s trials and tribulations until the commandment of circumcision were dealing with his past. Finally, twenty-four years after the directive of lech lecha, G-d tells him that his severance with his past has been solidified. Now your new mission is hi’shaleich lifanay vehyei samim. Walk before me and be perfect. (Genesis 17:1) March with me into your sunset. G-d changed Abraham’s name in order to recharge him for his new mission. Ones name reflects their essence, so now with a new name, and with Abraham’s circumcision which gave him spiritual completeness, he was ready to confront his future.

Now Abraham could truly fulfill the second command of the verse of Lech lecha: El haaretz asher areka, go to the land that I will show you. March forward towards your life mission. After Abraham was commanded to develop himself, he was then commanded not to be a tzaddik in peltz, a righteous individual warming only himself in a fur coat, if he can ignite a fire and warm up the whole world.

The last trial, the binding of Isaac, was issued with the same directive. Lech lecha-go on to your new mission, to your true essence, and gallop forward living in the shadow of
G-d.

Interestingly enough, the Malbim, Rabbi Meir Leibush (1809-1879) points out that in regards to Abraham’s nephew Lot, the Torah tells us: "vayeilech ito Lot", “and Lot went with him.” (Gen. 12:4) Lot merely tagged along with Abraham. Lot never purged himself of his past; he merely was building on his disillusioned past. Therefore, he moved to evil Sodom and was ultimately debauched.

Similarly we're told that Abraham departed on his peregrination with " hanefesh asher asa bicharan", “the souls he inspired in Charan.” (Gen.12:5) We never hear from them again. What happened to them all? I believe that they all vanished because they never heeded the words of G-d telling them lech lecha-shred your past and only then develop your future.

So what is our mission in life?

The great Hassidic Master, Rabbi Meshulam Zusha of Anipoli (1718-1800), was lying on his deathbed surrounded by his closest disciples. Suddenly the great Rebbe began to weep. They asked him, "why are you crying?" He replied “I'm on the doorsteps of the Pearly Gates. When I arrive, G-d won't ask me why I didn't lead my life like Moses or David. He won't even ask me why I wasn't like all the great rabbis of today. He'll simply ask me why I wasn’t Zusha? Why didn't I fulfill my potential? Why didn't I follow the path that could have been mine? And for that I have no answer.”

Rabbi Leib Bakst (1915-2004), the Rosh Yeshivah, Dean of Yeshivah Gedolah of Greater Detroit, had the privilege of seeing the great Torah giant Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, (1838-1933) known as the Chafetz Chaim for the first time at age eleven. The Chafetz Chaim invited him to observe a meeting with the lay leaders of the community. The Chafetz Chaim opened up the meeting by asking each person to say who they were. Each one proceeded to introduce themselves by name and professional occupation. The Chafetz Chaim proceeded to chastise them saying: “that's what you do, but who are you? What’s your true essence?”

The Torah tells us,"Vayivra Elokim es ha'adam bitzalmo,bitzelem Elokim barah oso." “G-d created man in his image; in the image of G-d he created him.”(Gen. 1:27) This seems redundant. Why does it first say bitzalmo, in his image & then reiterate bitzelem Elokim, in G-d's image? Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik OB”M explains that G-d created man in man's own singular image and that's what “in his image” means. Each one of us was created in our very own unique image. The Talmud Berachos tells us, Ksheim shepirtzoseiuem ainum shavim, kach ain daiyoteihem shavim. Just as each person has unique facial features, so they each possess distinctive opinions and personalities.

Let us all carry this idea and Talmudic dictum with us at all times. We are each endowed with a "sui generis" or exclusive sense of self, and let no one divest us of that unalienable right.

The Grand Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk once quipped: "If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. However, if I am I because you are you, and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you!"

Michaelangelo was asked how he managed to carve the monolithic "David” in Florence, Italy, out of a mere piece of alabaster. He replied, "Simple, David was already there. All I had to do was to chip away at the excess alabaster and allow David to escape."

Perhaps this concept is best illustrated with the following tale. There was once a fellow from Chelm who was going to the bathhouse to immerse himself in the city’s ritual bath. As he was getting undressed and about to descend into the water he was gripped by fear. He realized that once he disrobes, he won’t recognize himself being that he identifies himself by his clothing. So how will he recognize himself when he comes out of the water?
He conceives of an ingenious plan. He ties a little red thread to his toe, and he says, “When I come out of the water I’ll look at all of the toes on the floor. I’ll see which toe has a red thread tied to it, and I’ll know who I am.”
So he goes into the water, but as luck would have it, the thread unties itself and attaches itself to someone else’s toe. He comes out of the water and starts looking around for the red thread. He finally finds it on someone else’s toe and says to the fellow, “Ah! I know who you are, but who am I?!”

In psychology, we are told that there are four expressions of self: 1) Who you think you are 2) What others think of you 3) What you want others to think of you 4) Who you really are.

Abraham set the path for us. He engaged in the mission of finding his true self. Only after accomplishing that mission was he prepared to become the Father of us all. That quest is our spiritual inheritance. May we all learn from Abraham to seek out our opportunity, to re-examine our past, and to plan accordingly for our future; lest we be condemned to perpetuate our circumstance!