“Go West young man go West and grow up with the country ” newspaper publisher Horace Greeley famously wrote in 1865.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu by contrast did not explicitly tell Avraham Avinu where to go — only where to leave. True Avraham knew that his destiny lay in Eretz Yisrael. According to the Ramban Avraham was 75 when he heard the command “Lech lecha ” and the bris bein habesarim had already taken place five years earlier in Eretz Yisrael.
Nevertheless the command does not refer to a specific geographical location. Rather Avraham is told “Go to yourself.” And Rashi explains “lecha – for yourself”: For your pleasure and your benefit. Avraham is commanded to embark on a journey above all of self-discovery of finding his specific mission in life and realizing his unique potential.
The goal is never fully achieved; it cannot be. It always lies ahead closer but not fully grasped. Every time we imagine that are on the verge of attaining our goal with just one more step it recedes yet again. It is forever “the Land that I will show you” — a goal held in front of us towards which we direct our striving.
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