When I was in 3rd grade, I learned the parsha Lech Lecha. The Rabbi looked at my classmate and shouted, “Go, Avraham, get out of here!” My friend, named Avraham, got out of his seat, and quickly exited the classroom, not realizing the Rabbi was quoting the parsha verbatim.
During these interesting times, we have very few places to go. Travel is limited, we work from home, we connect over a screen. And yet, there are so many places that we can go. As Abraham journeys towards the promised land, the Torah tells us: haloch vnaso hanegbah, He travelled toward the Negev in the south. For those familiar with Israeli geography, the Negev is bare, yet we know in the Torah, that Jerusalem, in particular the Temple Mount, was the epicenter of Southern Israel. Whichever route Abraham took, he ultimately knew it would be on the path toward Jerusalem.
Our route has shifted dramatically. We continue to reinvent ritual, find new ways of connecting, and paths forward to which we never thought we could be capable of. We know that the way forward will not come magically. Rather, it is each of us who can play a part, knowing step by step, we will reach our destination.
