Go forth and don't be lonely

I’m thinking about how lonely Avraham and Sarah must have been. It’s always hard to come to a new place where you know nobody and nobody knows you, all the more so at an advanced age. This is true today, when we are able to keep in touch with our friends and family, and we can do research in advance about the place we are going to and the people there.

Let’s imagine what things were like for Avraham and Sarah. Avraham was 75 and Sarah was 65. They had a large following where they lived in Charan. Hashem tells them to leave their home and go to “a place that I will show you,” not even telling them where they would end up. Now it’s true that initially they did have many of their students come along with them, but then when they got to Canaan there was a famine and they were forced to move once again to Egypt. (This was one of the ten tests of faith that Hashem gave Avraham and Sarah. As soon as they came to the place where Hashem led them, they were forced to leave.). Now they go to another unknown place that was so far from their lifestyle that Sarah had to hide the fact that she was married, out of fear of her husband being murdered. One would think that they would be lonely and dejected. How could a couple advancing in age start all over again and again, and find a way to make it in foreign lands and strange cultures.

But when we read the narrative in the Torah along with the Talmud, Midrashic and classical Torah commentators’ explanations, they seem to be far from lonely and definitely not dejected. Wherever they go they bring transformation. In the desert they create a hotel where thousands of travelers find food and spiritual sustenance. They bring belief in Hashem to an idolatrous world and set the foundations for a Jewish nation and a Jewish land.

How could they do this?  The wonder is even greater because they had no role models. Our Sages tell us that Avraham was called “Ivri” - the source of the word Hebrew - because the word Ivri means on the other side. The entire world was on one side and Avraham, along with Sarah, were on the other side. Yet rather than being intimidated by the entire world, they transformed it.

I think it’s safe to say that this is the power of a Divine mission. Avraham and Sarah set out to bring knowledge of Hashem and goodness, kindness and holiness to the world. Hashem gave them the mission to go to the land of Canaan and prepare it as a holy land for the future Jewish nation. They did not hesitate for a moment.  They had great faith in Hashem’s blessings and carried out their mission with strength and conviction, and were blessed with great success.

We are their descendants. We do have role models and we can learn from them. We share their mission, and if we follow in their footsteps and resolve to bring light to the world, as long as it is following Torah and faithful to the mission, there is nothing that can stand in our way. Our challenges pale compared to Avraham and Sarah’s, and we have great support and an abundance of teachings from them and the later great leaders.

Every one of us is a child of Avraham and Sarah, and we have this strength and ability by inheritance. (Converts are welcomed into the family and adopt the inheritance.)  Inheritance comes automatically without any work on the part of the heir. The only thing the heir has to do is recognize that the inheritance is there and take it. Even if someone does not do so initially, that does not change the fact that the inheritance is theirs, they can take it any time.

This means that you, dear reader, can transform the world today for the better. This is not hyperbole. It starts with an act of kindness, with an attitude change perhaps, and with faith that you can.

When we read, in the Parsha this week, the words “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace… to the land I will show you,” we hear the words of Hashem speaking to each of us. Let go of your old habits and fears. Step forward and change the world. And as the next verse says, Hashem says: “I will bless you.”