OUR DESTINY

   The Jewish people, in creating their own destiny, have always recognized the need to be part of one's society and to always, be apart from the ills of our society. 

   Avraham is our best example to follow when we find ourselves being influenced by society.

   The first directive made to Avraham by Hashem 

was לך לך, "Leave your fathers home, remove yourself from the bad influences that have overpowered your society, that are detrimental to your spiritual growth. You have a divine mission to pursue and you cannot fulfill this mission in your present environment. לך לך separate yourself from such associations that obstructs your path to know and to live by a G-Dly ordained world."

  However, merely leaving a world of ill repute will not fully accomplish the needs of our spiritual achievement. One needs the second לך לך of Avraham - the לך לך אל הר המוריה, of traveling to a place where one can grow spiritually and find his true self, a self that will perpetuate the G-Dly goals and to build a family that will perpetuate  his goals into the future. This can only happen after climbing that great mountain of G-D and this can only be done with וילכו שניהם יחדיו, "Of walking together with his son, with his progenitors to assure the trip will be a success."

   I have learned, well, that a Judaic way of life is made more meaningful if we take others along with us on this road of life, a life of meaning, a life of Blessing, a life of purpose. 

  The word that must become a strong part of our lexicon is "Direction Oriented." Where are we going? Why are we going there? What is our purpose in life? These are all questions that must be answered if we are to find true and everlasting meaning to our lives.  

   I recall, in a comical way, a story of a Girl Scout leader telling the young scouts, before they were to take a hike in the woods, "Now girls if you are lost in the wilderness at night, just look up and get your bearings from the sky and remember always walk toward the light, the glow will tell you where the nearest shopping mall is."

   As funny as it may sound, we are in dire need of reaffirming our beliefs as we see so many of our Jewish Brethren lost in the quagmire of societal norms and are searching for a beam of light that will set them forth on the right and meaningful path of life. 

   How often do we travel in a life that often appears to be a mirage, a life that is so transitory, so illusionary, that we feel like we are living in a maze and we just can't extricate ourselves from it. It is at that point that we must take hold of Avraham's two לך לך , to leave the first לך לך behind us and then set forth on a new path of  לך לך,  a path that will lead us to Moriah, a life dedicated more to G-d and family. 

   With these thoughts in mind Avraham  leaves Moriah and begins his travel home which leads us to this week's Parshat חיי שרה. At this juncture, Avraham's life changes with the death of his beloved wife Sarah and we can only imagine how painful it must have been as he searches for a proper burial place for her. He approaches Ephron requesting land  for a burial plot for Sarah.  In doing so he expresses an idea that bespeaks his true essence in all of his travelogues that brought him to this time of his life. 

   גר ותושב אנכי עמכם  "I am a stranger and a citizen in your midst, an inhabitant and a stranger."

  A strange combination of words. A stranger and a citizen. I sense that Avraham was saying, "Yes, I want to live among you, and share in all the responsibilities and obligations that are set forth to being part of your society and at the same time due to my allegiance and loyalty to the ways of our Religion and to the will of G-D , I will always remain a stranger."

   This idea of maintaining our way of life as Religious Jews,  following the ways of Torah and never to be influenced by the mores and behavior of the society that we live in, is the directive set forth for us by Avraham. 

   As I wrote in the beginning of my blog, it all started from the first לך לך ,and continued with the next לך לך of going to Moriah, which influenced him greatly to be able to say to the outside world,

גר ותושב אנכי. We can live in two worlds, but we exist primarily in one world, the world of Torah and 

יראת שמים, where our Judaic way of life always takes precedence. 

   America is a glorious country to live in, and a haven for our Jewish People to live a spiritual life. A life inspired by Avraham, and for the world to know and for us to fully accept that we are, גר ותושב אנכי, dutiful citizens but always devoted and loyal Yidden. 

   This must become our personal and collective 

לך לך in life's achievement in continuing our Mesorah to assure the dynamics of future generations of Torah life. 

   Our future is in our hands, let us make sure to preserve it in a way that will bring about our true ישועה, assuring the continuity of Jewish life for everlasting time.  

   Avraham's story can become our challenge to greater and finer living raising the standards that govern our spiritual lives for ourselves and for future generations.