The first question in the Torah that God asks Adam is ayeka, where are you?
This question is never answered for twenty generations until Abraham appears before God.
His answer is hineni, I am here. Rabbi Brad Hirschfield makes a distinction between the original question and the way in which Avraham answers.
The significance is not who we are, but where we are.
Hirschfield explains that “who we are” changes throughout our lives. We are not the same people we were last week, last month, or last year.
When Abraham answers hineni, he emphasizes that where you are depends on the people, places, and things around you.
There has never been a more important moment than now to say hineni, I am here.
Whether you are physically in the land of Israel or a world away in Los Angeles, we have witnessed over this last month many moments of being present. Most human beings know who they are at their core, but not many of us know exactly where we are.
Abraham appeared to be alone–he left his house and was told to go to a new place that God would show him.
We each take those leaps of faith at one point in our lives, that moment where a decision is made that changes the trajectory of our journey we could not otherwise expect.
And when we arrive to that new place, it is our responsibility to say that word, hineni, “I am here.”
