Lech Lecha 5786

Lech Lecha Go forth from your land, from your place of birth, and from your father’s house.

After Dor Haflaga, where Nimrod, the first person to assert himself as Ruler over others by killing dissenters, becomes the first tyrant in charge. How did he get all the people to get in line with him? The same way its done until today. Create a unified message that offers people what they are convinced they need, usually strength , protection and “building a progressively new world” that first has to kill a few dissenters, which will bring you to utopia. This never materializes except for the few enforcers and murderers at the top. The people so enslaved initially consent to this, thinking they will be given what they were hoping for, usually a (false) sense of respect, strength and capable when feeling weak or broken, not realizing that this ideology, is given forth as an excuse to take advantage of your weakness, more fully enslaving you. they will cause you to be complicit in the destruction of the individual, by informing on or hurting or killing and that leaves you no way out. You have to stay with this ideology or face your conscience, also known as G-d within.

Avraham Avinu fights this, how can sacrificing humans appease the G-d that doesn’t talk. He realizes something created all nature, and pattern So he sets about finding HIM. He wants to have an adult relationship with HIM.

There are 3 levels of relationship. A slave to a master, a child to a parent and a husband and wife. A slave only acts with the master as demanded, there is no love. He doesnt get to have any personal want or ownership even of himself. We see this in very young children, until about 2 they go along with the parent, unless decision making based on whims have been offered too young. When asking a very young child if they would like to do something, the very young child does not have reasoning abilities. Based on the whim of the moment, this child learns to be fearful, and demanding, at the whimsical and illogical nature of their world, Unfortunately, today this is often seen in adults where they have not learned reasoning, and the value of everything is reduced to what they feel like in the immediate ,without thought, care or meaning to what will come and whom it will hurt. They are willing to lose everything, job, home, child and spouse, due to the loss or lack of meaning or value other than their immediate want. This is today’s slavery.

The second level, a child to a parent is love based on higher to lower. Including guiding and showing all that the child needs. When used at the right time, it gives a child the foundation from which to build themselves and their world, minimizing the need for external validation. Correctly done, chinuch is establishing a person on their own feet.

The highest level of love is that of equals, a husband and wife. She believes in him, giving him the strength to be her strength and an ever-stronger dynamic of larger and larger responsibility.

What does it mean Tenu Oz Layloikim. We open for HIM a presence and awareness in this world, this strengthens the worlds awareness of HIM in our every day life. He returns to us this love and meaning. The more strength we give to Him, the more he is able to love us and fill us with His Godliness.

Most people are happy to make it into the arena, pretending they are just watching.. Some people work hard to be in the VIP section. Then there are the very few, they will work without end to play the game and win..

Its up to you, this is your journey.

Based on Tora heard from Harav Ephraim Goldstein