By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
SAN DIEGO — The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your native land and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1)
There is a general consensus among rabbinic sources that God’s command to Abraham to leave his family and all that he knew in order to journey to an unknown land was a test of Abraham’s faith.
This, nevertheless, did not stop at least one sage from asking in Midrash Rabbah, “Why didn’t God tell Abraham where he was going at the beginning of his travels?” Naturally, this sage had an answer prepared even before he asked the question! “It was so God could reward him for each step of his.”
The Maggid of Dubno (Jacob ben Wolf Krantz, c. 1740 – 1804) explained the midrash. He wrote that when a person travels from one place to another it can be perceived in one of two ways: either as a journey away from something or a journey toward something.
The journey away from a place is often more difficult and challenging than a journey toward somewhere new. When a traveler dwells on where they came from, it can burden their journey. They continue to think about what they are giving up and what they will be missing by leaving familiar friends, social circles, and physical environment. Each step becomes a trial as they dwell on the past and what they will miss.
The journey toward a place is more exciting. People are filled with anticipation at the new things they will see and experience, and their enthusiasm grows with each step they take. They may be impatient as they travel, but only because they want to get there faster.
This is why, says the Maggid, God did not tell Abraham that he was journeying toward the Promised Land. If he did, Abraham would have flown there with a full heart and unbridled enthusiasm and the journey would not have been a test. Instead, God hid his destination from Abraham so that he would experience the hardships of leaving his home and family. God wanted to make it hard for him so that each step would confirm Abraham’s faith in the Almighty and so God could reward him for it.
Each of us is also on a journey through life and can identify with Abraham’s experience. Whether our journey is a trial or a celebration often depends upon whether or not we are traveling toward something new and exciting or fleeing from where we detest. If we recognize our goals and what we want to accomplish, we look forward to each day with excitement and enthusiasm. If we are only running away from what we know doesn’t work, each step becomes a trial and tribulation.
Giving up the familiar is never easy. Knowing where we want to go is the best way to ameliorate the pain of leaving the past behind.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego