Parshas Lech Lecha

This week’s Parshah opens with the first of our forefather Avraham’s famous 10 tests from G-d. The tenth and most famous is perhaps one of the most dramatic moments in the Torah–the commandment to bring Avraham’s son, Yitzchak, up to the top of the mountain to be slaughtered. The first test, in contrast, is more mild yet not undeserving of its well-earned spot as the first of the 10 major tests. To quote the Torah itself: “And G-d said to Abram (Avraham), ‘Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.'” A commandment to give up everything he knew and replace it all with a drive to move forward and faith in G-d that He would guide his footsteps to this unknown location.

But wait. Hold on. Let’s back up for a second. Who were these people, really, that Avraham is leaving behind? King Nimrod who leads a group of idol worshipers and literally threw Avraham into a fire to be burned for believing in the One True G-d. His father, Terach, was the person who gave Avraham to king Nimrod to be burned! What truly is he leaving behind? A bunch of idol worshippers at best and people that would rather him be a heap of ash at worst. So, why is this, then, a part of the ten big tests of Avraham?

It seems the answer is the key to unlocking a fundamental principle in the human psyche: leaving behind the familiar is difficult not because of what we are leaving, but because of who we are when we leave it.

Even though Avraham’s environment was corrupt and spiritually bankrupt, it was still his environment. It was what he knew. His home, his language, his culture, his routines — they all formed the fabric of his identity. To walk away from that, even when it’s toxic, means to abandon the comfort of the known and to step into the frightening uncertainty of the unknown. And it is this crucial first step of disconnecting from the toxicity and falsehood in our identity that allows not only Avraham, but each and every one of us, to strive for the stars and reach unimaginable heights in our connection to the ultimate truth– our ever-loving Creator and Father in Heaven.