Two Minute Torah Podcast

Lech Lecha 5772 by David Kaplinsky

Shalom, my name is David Kaplinsky and I am a Junior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Welcome to KOACH's Two-Minute Torah; a project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Leaving your home is not easy—whether voluntary or forced, it is a frightening, painful, and debilitating prospect. And yet the first action that created the Jewish people is an act of leaving home. Why? Judaism so often seems to emphasize the beauty and benefits of the domestic experience, and the essentiality of values and actions being taught and performed in a domestic setting. Yet Avram (not yet Avraham), at the age of 75, is told by God to leave his birthplace and travel to a new, strange land. Did I mention he was 75 years old! By that time he had surely established significant roots, connections, friendships, and habits. How can any human-being be asked—by God no less—to leave all they know at the age of 75? My immediate response is that it seems a cruel and unusual request.

But at the same time, my reaction to God's instruction is influenced by my own personal experience. In 2005, I was forced to leave my hometown of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina flooded my home under eight feet of water. Settling in new places, knowing we could not return home, was a very difficult experience for all of us—but in the six years since we moved it is ultimately the most difficult for my parents. Before the storm, both believed that they would work, retire, and end their lives in the city they lived in and loved for thirty years. For me, it continues to impact my life, but I have yet to put down roots in any place—I'm still making friends, exploring the world, and figuring out what exactly I want to do in life. My parents, however, had deeper roots and connections, making their exile an experience of greater long-term difficulty.

At the same time, my family's story is not wholly traumatic—my parents and I have been strengthened in certain ways by our experience of this catastrophe. We take less for granted, and have learned the difference between things of value—our lives, relationships, passions—and the ephemeral "small-stuff" like material things. Our experience of life was also broadened by our journey— we understand what it feels to wander from place to place and try to put down roots. We also have had the chance to live in different towns and cities that we otherwise would never have fully experienced. All in all, we have a more full understanding of the inevitability of life's twists and turns.

Jewish tradition also points to some similar positive benefits of moving to a new place. We learn in tractate Rosh Hashanah in the Talmud that "four actions have the power to change a heavenly decree: Teshuvah (repentence), Tefillah (prayer), Tzedakah (charity), shinuy shem (a name change), and some add: shinuy hamakom (a change in residence)." In connection with this, the Mishnah tells us that only when Avraham changed his residence did he merit becoming the father of "a great nation". The Maharsha, 16th century commentator on the Talmud, further elaborates on this idea saying that "Moving to a strange place helps annul a heavenly decree, since a man's heart is humbled when he is exiled from his home." As someone who has experienced such an exile, I can tell you that it is most certainly humbling.

From these experiential and traditional ideas, we can see that the Jewish people began out of a humbling and difficult act. And perhaps the reason for this is because only after Avraham experienced this ultimate life shift— expanding his horizons, breaking his previously set ideals and habits, and humbling his heart—could he be a mature enough human being to merit becoming the father of great nation. I think God wants these traits out of us as well: to break old habits, to see from other perspectives, to understand the feeling of the "iver", the outsider, and be compassionate with their plight. So I hope in our daily lives that we all take on this instruction from God: "Lech Lecha"— leave your set habits, your close-mindedness and go to a land of openness, learning, patience, and compassion. May we all learn to embody these traits of our father Avraham, and appreciate perspectives beyond our own.

Shabbat Shalom