“Go for yourself,” HaShem tells Avram, “from the land of your birth, your father’s home, to the land that I will show you.”
Dwelling on the mitzvot (especially the “four cubits of halakha“), it can be easy for one to get caught up in what is perceived to be “most important.” Asking someone, you may get answers such as Shabbat, kashrut, t’fillin, or any of the other “mainstream” observations by the children of Israel globally.
One that is often overlooked, however, is aliya.
Right before HaShem’s words to Avram, we read something interesting.
We are told that, “Teraḥ took his son Avram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Avram, and they set out together from Ur Kasdim for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Ḥaran, they settled there.”
This is puzzling for two reasons.
First because up until this point we are not really sure who Teraḥ is besides a descendant of Noaḥ and the father of Avram, Naḥor, and Haran.
Through many of our Midrashim, we know that Teraḥ was a merchant. But this doesn’t explain why he would want to uproot his family from Ur Kasdim to the land of Canaan. For all we know, this land could be dangerous and unfit for living. So why go?
By the fact that Teraḥ begot our father Avraham we know that at some level, whether internally or externally, he had merit.
This explains why he felt so strongly the need to bring his family to the land. But this brings us to a second question: If Teraḥ knew that he should go up to the land, why did he stop short? What is in Ḥaran?
Ḥaran was at the time a very wealthy city. Teraḥ seemingly obtained riches and decided to settle there until his death, spurning the opportunity to return to the land of Canaan and potentially become the progenitor of the Hebrew nation instead of his son.
Now, Avram heeded HaShem’s call and uproots himself, his wife, his nephew Lot, and all the souls with him, and brought them to the land of the Canaanites. Despite the potential difficulties (such as the famine that came not too long after his arrival), Avram had faith that traveling to this land was the right move – not only because HaShem said to go, but also because it was in the best interest of Avram from both a material and spiritual perspective.
It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day lives. Successful “observant” Jews in exile enjoy relative comfort. They might maintain a large Synagogue, live in a nice home, or run a successful company. But what is missing is the adventure and the relationship – the prophetic call from HaShem that Avram heeded. To go home. Not for HaShem but for yourself. To realize and actualize your being. To live free and not be ashamed to live according to the ways of our ancestors without inhibitions. This is only possible in the land of Israel. Like every commandment in the Torah, our observance in our own country has impact and reaps reward greater than we can often perceive with our current senses. Only by tapping into the spring of the Torah can we bear its fruit.
Today we live in auspicious times. For the first time in roughly 2,000 years, it is not only possible to make aliya. It’s easy.
The State of Israel even offers great incentives to return home. In doing so, in bringing home Jewish exiles from around the world, we are continuing in the active process of redemption that will ultimately lead to a great awakening of the world to HaShem’s Divine Ideal and the incredible light His people Israel will spread from Zion.
Go!
