Parashat Lekh Lekha opens with God’s command to Abraham to leave his country, his birthplace, and the home of his mother and father. The rabbis immediately notice that the order seems odd. When a person sets out on a journey, he first leaves his parents’ home, then his community, and only afterward does he cross the border of his country. The Torah seems to reverse these steps!
They explain that God is not describing a physical itinerary at all. This is not geography — it is psychology. The Torah is outlining the inner journey Abraham must undertake, step by step.
It is easiest for Abraham to separate himself from the ways and customs of the broader culture in which he lived. The norms of the country exerted the weakest influence on him, and so they are the first to be shed. His local community — his friends, his extended family, his neighborhood — shaped him more deeply, and distancing himself from their influence is the next, harder step. Only after strengthening himself through these earlier stages will Abraham be ready to confront the most powerful influence of all: the home of his mother and father, the people who raised him and whose imprint on his character runs deepest.
Shabbat Shalom
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