Sunday, October 17, 2010

Israel's Strange Priorities


10.02.2010]
Israel's Strange Priorities
Once again, Prime Minister Netanyahu has publicly pleaded with the Palestinians not to leave the "peace talks." And his Defense Minister (who did his best to give Arafat the Old City of Jerusalem) joined in by promising that a compromise can reached that will allow the talks to go on.

While Israel's leaders are chasing after Abbas ( a man who believes that Jerusalem was never Israel's capital) the Iranians continue to charm the West and proceed toward attaining nuclear weapons. Last week, a Yale University professor arranged for her students to meet and listen to Iran's tyrannical President. Did you hear or read anything about this meeting -- this brainwashing of American college students? Well unless you read the 
Yale Daily News orMichael Ledeen the chances are this is the first time you even heard of this outrage. 

Where are the critics of this odious man and the deadly regime he represents? Where are the human rights groups who denounce Israel for phony human rights abuses? Why aren't they protesting? Where are Israel's defenders? Where is the State of Israel?

We received a note from a popular Christian writer who asked why Israel's Prime Minister was not in New York focusing the world's attention on the barbarity and the dangers of the Iranian regime.  We responded, "Ask him."

As Iran moves closer to attaining nuclear power, we need to demand that the United States and Israel make stopping Iran a top priority.

Concedieron el Premio Nobel de la Paz a un famoso disidente

Liu Xiaobo cumple una larga condena de cárcel
Concedieron el Premio Nobel de la Paz a un famoso disidente
El escritor chino Liu Xiaobo, galardonado con el Premio Nobel de la Paz y en prisión desde el año 2008 por pedir reformas democráticas en su país, es un molesto disidente para el Gobierno comunista de Beijing, que ha tratado, sin éxito, de intimidar a la Academía sueca, para que no incluya al implicado entre los galaronados este año.
En los últimos días ha sido la propia “dictablanda” china, como el mismo Liu denomina al sistema de su país, la que más fama le ha dado al amenazar formalmente a la Academia de Oslo y al Gobierno noruego con graves consecuencias en sus relaciones bilaterales si deciden otorgar el próximo viernes el galardón más importante del mundo a este polémico crítico literario y político. Nacido en Changchun (Jilin) el 28 de diciembre de 1955, Liu es uno de los autores del manifiesto conocido como “Carta 08”, rubricado por otros 303 conocidos intelectuales y artistas de su país en 2008, y que un año después le supuso una condena de 11 años entre rejas.
En el documento, los todavía hoy acosados firmantes pedían al Gobierno de la segunda potencia económica del mundo que aplicara derechos recogidos expresamente en la Constitución china, como la libertad de prensa y de expresión, el multipartidismo o la protección del medio ambiente.
El manifiesto, que hoy acumula 20.000 firmas, estaba inspirado en la “Carta 77” que la oposición de la extinta Checoslovaquia redactó en 1977 y contribuyó a la caída del régimen comunista en 1989.
Fue ese mismo año cuando Liu abandonó su estadía como profesor visitante en la Universidad de Columbia, en Nueva York, para encabezar la huelga de hambre en las protestas estudiantiles de la Plaza de Tiananmen, en Beijing, que ese verano acabaron en masacre.
Aquella madrugada del 4 de junio de 1989, él y otros tres veteranos activistas salvaron cientos de vidas al negociar una salida pacífica de la famosa Plaza antes de que los carros blindados mataran a los centenares que se negaban a abandonar su protesta en las inmediaciones del lugar.
Quienes lo conocen de entonces aseguran que su carácter se suavizó y su lucha tomó un cariz francamente pacifista y dialogante.
Tiananmen le valió una primera condena, de dos años, y en 1996 llegó la segunda, de tres, en un “campo de reeducación laboral” (“laogai”) donde celebró su matrimonio con su segunda y actual esposa, la poetisa Liu Xia, cinco años más joven que él y que gracias a un certificado especial podía visitar a su marido a menudo.
Ella cuenta que “les une una amistad de décadas y su amor por la literatura, en concreto por el ruso Dostoievski y checo Kafka”; y él definía así su relación en un mensaje escrito tras la sentencia de 2009: “Tu amor es la luz que atraviesa los muros y las rejas de la prisión, acaricia cada pulgada de mi piel, calienta cada una de mis células y me permite mantener mi calma interior”.
La misma calma interior que mostraba en 2007, cuando abandonó la Presidencia del “Centro Chino PEN para la libertad de expresión” y en una entrevista anticipaba un futuro carcelario que se veía resignado a afrontar para proseguir con su lucha pacífica por el futuro de sus compatriotas.
Una actitud similar a la del pacifista alemán Carl von Ossietzky, el otro presidiario galardonado con el Premio de Oslo en 1935, cuando cumplía condena por alta traición y espionaje.
Geir Lundestad, el director del Instituto Noruego Nobel y quien denunció esta semana las presiones de la vicecanciller china Fu Ying para que la distinción no vaya a parar a ninguno de los disidentes chinos nominados, sugirió en 2001 que tarde o temprano la pesadilla de Beijing se hará realidad.
Otros ganadores del galardón como el Dalai Lama, líder espiritual tibetano en el exilio, o el escritor Vaclav Havel, ex presidente de la República Checa e impulsor de la “Carta 77” contra el rígido régimen comunista, han expresado públicamente su apoyo al escritor chino premiado, que cumple una larga condena de cárcel. (EFE).

Netanyahu: o Líbano está se tornando uma extensão do regime iraniano

Netanyahu: o Líbano está se tornando uma extensão do regime iraniano
O primeiro-ministro Benjamin Netanyahu (foto) respondeu à previsão do "desaparecimento dos sionistas" feito no Líbano, o presidente iraniano, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, com um convite a olhar para a força que tem o país.

Netanyahu advertiu que o Líbano está se tornando uma extensão do regime dos aiatolás do Irã ".

"Hoje ouvimos insultos e abominações da fronteira libanesa A melhor resposta para tal blasfêmia foi dada 62 anos atrás:. Estado e tudo o que temos construído e desenvolvido desde então", disse ele, no Museu da Independência, em Tel Aviv.

"E desde então, olhar para as pessoas do estado, eo exército é o povo de Israel. Vamos continuar a construir e criar o nosso país e estar preparado para protegê-lo", continuou ele.

Netanyahu evitou responder a pergunta de se seu governo tivesse considerado assassinar o líder iraniano durante sua visita ao país vizinho dos cedros.

"Nós vemos o que precisa ser feito para proteger o Estado", ele disse simplesmente.

O deputado do Partido União Nacional Aryeh Eldad, disse que Israel deve aproveitar a visita de Ahmadinejad ao Líbano para assassiná-lo, o que "seria como matar Hitler em 1939, pouco antes do Holocausto.

Por sua parte, porta-voz do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros, Yigal Palmor, disse que o discurso do presidente iraniano no sul da cidade de Bint Jbeil, perto da fronteira com o Estado judaico, corresponde a "um incendiário obsessão descontrolada."

"Nós não serviremos a revista," ele disse Ahmadinejad, que na sua visita oficial ao Líbano, elogiou o grupo xiita Hezbollah (Partido de Deus), chamado por seus partidários a "Resistência".

O líder iraniano elogiou o Hezbollah por "provocar a derrota amarga dos sionistas e introduzir medo e desespero nos corações dos sionistas." EFE, Aurora

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Parshas Lech Lecha

Parshas Lech Lecha

Rabino Pinchas Winston
Divine Intervention in Our Wars Against Our Enemies
And the angel of God said to her, "You are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You will call him 'Yishmael,' because God has heard your affliction. (Bereishis 16:11) 

It is the butterfly effect in action. There was Hagar, in the middle of nowhere, pregnant and dying. Sarah, her mistress, had been hard on her and she had fled to the desert, and left up to her own devices, she and her future son Yishmael would have died then and there, and what a different world it would be today!

In next week's parshah, history will get a second chance. This time Yishmael will already be a young man when Avraham sends him away with his mother, this time on command from God, and they will come close to dying. And, even though the angels will protest against any kind of Divine survival effort, because of how he will later treat the descendants of Yitzchak in the future, God reminded them that He judges a person based upon his current spiritual status only, not his future one.

Amazing, is it not, how such a seemingly insignificant event, comparable to the simple fluttering of a butterfly's wings, could have such a dramatic result thousands of years later, like a raging storm caused by the same butterfly half a world away? Most people do not almost die as he once did twice, and yet, look at what he has become and what he has done over the millennia, because he did not!

And he is only just warming up.

Even God, according to the Talmud, had second thoughts, so-to-speak:

There are three things that God regretted creating: Kasdim, Yishmael, and the yetzer hara. (Yerushalmi, Ta'anis 15a)

A little later on, the Talmud brings the story about how when the Jewish people were on their way into exile to Bavel and dying from thirst, they turned to the people of Yishmael for relief. Feigning sympathy, the Yishmaelim instead fed the Jews salty fish to intensify their thirst, and then gave them empty water pouches from which to quench themselves, causing them to die immediately. With relatives like that ...

But, how does God regret anything? Regret is something you feel when you did something you thought would turn out well, but happened to turn out bad. For God, such surprises are not possible, since He is omniscient, and always knows the outcome of an event before it even begins. Indeed, God wouldn't cause something to happen unless He intended for the end result from the start.

Rashi, answering a similar question, says the following:

God repented-vayinachem-that He had made man on earth, and it pained His heart. (Bereishis 6:6)

Vayinachem: It was a consolation-nechamah-for Him that He created man on earth, for had he been one of the Heavenly beings he would have incited them also to rebel against God.

It pained Him: In the mind of God man became an object to be bothered (i.e., punished).

In other words, it wasn't that God was surprised by the outcome of history; He knew what would eventually occur long before man was even created. However, once history fulfilled its destiny, necessitating a Flood, God turned from Divine mercy to Divine judgment, in order to decide what to do with mankind who had become so corrupt (Rashi). The verses are noting the historical change of Divine thinking, which had always been planned. This has to be the case, because with respect to the yetzer hara, the Midrash says:

Rebi Nachman the son of Shmuel said: "... And behold, it was very good" (Bereishis 1:31); "And behold," this refers to the yetzer tov; "very good" refers to the yetzer hara, for the yetzer hara is very good. Were it not for the yetzer hara, a man would not build a house, marry a woman, do business ... (Bereishis Rabbah 9:7)

After all, as the Talmud states, "God created the yetzer hara, and He created Torah as its spice" (Kiddushin 30b). Hence, without the yetzer hara, what would there be for Torah to spice?

But then again, why would God 'regret' having created it, if its purpose is so central to everything the Jewish people strive to accomplish? The answer to this question is also in the Talmud:

Rav Shimon, the son of Levi said: Every day the yetzer of a man strengthens itself seeking to kill him, and it would succeed if Heaven did not help him. (Kiddushin 30b)

Confused? No need. The Midrash is talking about the yetzer hara prior to Adam HaRishon's sin, when man was perfectly balanced between good and evil (Derech Hashem 1:3:1). The Talmud is talking about the yetzer hara after man sinned and spiritually 'absorbed' the yetzer hara into his very being. Long gone is man's perfect balance between good and evil; he is like meat for the vultures now.

The situation is the same with respect to the descendants of Yishmael. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today, going far beyond the effects that Christianity once had. And, the strange thing about it is that when Christianity spread, it brought a more advanced message about God than the paganistic world at that time had ever known. Islam seems to be a large step backwards for the Western world, and one that many would not take if the Arab world wasn't so incredibly intimidating.

The Yerushalmi made its statement in fifth century. We are living some 15 centuries later, and during the time since Bnei Yishmael have had time to grow, build, and conquer. And conquer. And conquer some more. And today, what they do not take through war they take through diplomacy and diplomatic intimidation. The have greatly upset the equilibrium of Creation, and for that reason, God changed his heart, so-to-speak, with respect to his creation.

But that is just a Divine warning to man to be aware of Bnei Yishmael just as he should be aware of his yetzer hara. And, in each case, he must turn to God for help, for clearly the power that each wields is more than anyone can counter on his own. Indeed, that is the very reason why both exist in the first place: to turn man back to God.

Hence his name: Yishmael: God will hear, as in:

Eventually the king of Egypt died. By that time, the Children of Israel were broken because of the servitude, and they cried. Their cry for help came to God, who heard their groaning. God remembered his covenant with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov, and saw the Children of Israel. God was aware of their suffering. (Shemos 2:23-25)

That is the job of Yishmael. Like the yetzer hara, they exist to make the Jewish people turn to God for help, Who is only too willing to give it. The problem is that we are not too willing to ask for it, instead turning to politicians or technology to solve our problems. Or, we simply adapt to the situation and say things like, "Nu, it could always be worse." Hence, the Talmud says:

Rebi Alexandri said: Rebi Yehoshua ben Levi raised the following contradiction: It says, "Behold like the clouds of Heaven came one like the son of man" (Daniel 7:13). It is also written, "Lowly and riding upon a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). If they merit it, he will come with the clouds of Heaven, but if they do not merit it, he will come upon a donkey. (Sanhedrin 98a)

It is certainly no coincidence that the Arab world is compared to the chamor-donkey-for a number of reasons. Hence, when the Talmud says that if we are not worthy of Moshiach arriving like clouds of Heaven, that he will arrive lowly and riding upon a donkey, it is safe to assume that this means on the back of Yishmael. Yishmael, the Talmud indicates, and all the trouble he will cause us, God forbid, will trigger Moshiach's arrival.

Why? The answer is obvious. All hypocrisy aside (which is not an easy task), the Arab world, for the most part, shuns the modern world. Turning a blind eye to the Arab aristocracy, which most seem to do, Muslims, in general, see modern technology as a device of the devil, and deplore and fear it. They'll use it to carry out terrorist attacks on innocent civilians, but they won't use it that much in everyday life.

It is just the opposite by the Jews. They'd rather not use technology for military purposes, but instead just enjoy its multiple and often addictive opportunities in everyday life. Jews, for the most part, love the good life, and they'll use the modern world any way they can to get more of it, sometimes at the cost of important spiritual values, like God, for example.

Indeed, explains the Shem M'Shmuel (Parashas Vayishlach), the number one obstacle in the path of the Final Redemption will be materialism. It already is. In fact, find me a deviation from the long term goals of the Jewish people, and I will show some form of materialism that is causing it. And, as a result, for the umpteenth time in our three-millennia history, it is endangering us all over again, leaving us, once again, in harm's way.

Fascinating, is it not, how the more technology speeds up and tries to dominate people's lives, the faster Islam and Sharia Law tries to dominate the world? It is a such a counter-culture, with some aspects being reminiscent of certain Torah values. But, like all the religions that have used Judaism as their base, the Muslim adaptation has become extreme in its interpretation and application of the original Word of God, until it has become anything but that.

One thing is for sure. Like the yetzer hara, which is all over us and trying to kill us every chance it gets, Yishmael is all over the world, and capable of doing very much the same, one way or another. In each case, we aint going to win this war on our own, not without a formidable amount of Divine intervention. There are just too many of them, they have too much chutzpah, and the West tends to be intimidated by them to no end.

And to think, all we have to do is ask for God's help.

And to fear, we won't, at least not until, as was in the case of Egypt, we are forced to scream out for Divine assistance.

And, we didn't even get a chance to deal with Persia-Iran-yet.

Rav said: "All the keitzin-end dates-have passed, and the matter depends only on repentance and good deeds." But Shmuel maintained: "It is sufficient for a mourner to keep his mourning." This matter is disputed by Tannaim: Rebi Eliezer said: "If Israel repents, they will be redeemed; if not, they will not be redeemed." Rebi Yehoshua said to him, "If they do not repent, will they not be redeemed! Rather, The Holy One, Blessed is He, will set up a king over them, whose decrees will be as difficult as Haman's, whereby the Jewish people will repent, and He will thus bring them back to the right path." (Sanhedrin 97b) 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Parshas Lech Lecha

Parshas Lech Lecha
Avraham's Legacy to his Descendants
Why is Avraham so special? The Torah does not grant him the complimentary adjectives that it lavished upon Noach at the beginning of last week’s parsha. His willingness to die on behalf of his belief in one God at the test of the furnace of Ur Casdim is not even mentioned in the Torah text. It was only inferred by the rabbis from tradition and a reference to one word – Ur – in the text itself.

So why is Avraham the father of many nations and generations and the spiritual ancestor and guide to so many millions in the world, even thirty five centuries after his death? The rabbis of Mishna Avot have long ago provided the answer to these questions. They stated that our father Avraham was sorely tested by life and the Creator ten times and he rose greater each time from the experience.

I have often thought that the most remarkable quality of the Jewish people is not necessarily or even mainly its scholarship and its contributions to the betterment of humanity, as much as it is its resilience. This resilience is personified in the life and vicissitudes of our father Avraham. To a great extent we all pray that we not be tested too often or too severely in our lives. Yet simply being a Jew and not deserting the cause of the Jewish people at the time of its need is a significant test.

Many are the critics and enemies of Avraham. Yet he never loses his faith. His hopes for humanity and his loyalty to the values that have guided his way in life survive all of his experiences in life. That is the Jewish definition of the quality of resilience that has become the hallmark of Jewish life throughout the ages.

I have also often thought that the most difficult tests in Avraham’s life concerned members of his immediate family. Throwing one’s self into a fire for an ideal or a closely held belief is not unique to the Jewish people. Even though we may be the leader in continuous world martyrdom we are not the only ones with such a history and value.

Perhaps that is why the Torah did not choose to stress the test of Ur Casdim in its text. But, it does tell us, in painful detail, of the betrayal of Avraham and his values and life style by his ungrateful nephew, Lot. How does one deal with such a disappointment? Yet Avraham goes to war to save Lot and his wealth and it is because of Avraham alone that Lot apparently undeservedly survives the destruction of Sdom.

Avraham’s son Yishmael behaves like a wild beast in human guise. Parents may be helpless and even blameless regarding the behavior of their adult children, but the hurt that those adult children can inflict upon their parents with wrongful behavior is immeasurable. Yet Avraham does not waver, and at the end of his life he lived to see that Yishmael repented and returned.

It is the unwavering courage and tenacity of Avraham, in the face of all defeats, hurts, hostile enemies and false friends, that most impresses us about our father. This strength of constantly renewing resilience is the legacy that he has bestowed upon us, his generations and descendants.

Shabat shalom. 

Monday, October 11, 2010

Weekly Review: October 10, 2010

Weekly Review: October 10, 2010
Dear Friend of Jerusalem,

Here are the latest headlines from the One Jerusalem Blog:
● Jerusalem is voted one of the world's top travel destinations:  We always knew this was the case but its good to see the rest of the world catching on. Our friends at the City of David have received special mention. Bravo. Check out the winner's list here.... (read more)
● Americans Distrust Obama ON Israel, Iran, Security:  The Emergency Committee for Israel recently polled 1,000 likely Americans and the results show a growing divide between Americans and the policies of the Obama Administration:Some highlights from the poll:47% believe that Obama's outreach to Muslim world has decreased American... (read more)
● Israelis Growing Impatient With Government:  Haaretz political reporter Yossi Verter in the weekend magazine (published in Hebrew) reports new polls from Kamil Fuchs which he says should be headlined :"Government in Free Fall". Netanyahu lost 12 per cent support since June 2010. Foreign Minister Lieberman... (read more)
Sincerely, The One Jerusalem Team

Friday, October 08, 2010

Lech Lechá

Lech Lechá 


O particular e o universal no judaísmo

Muitas vezes o judaísmo é criticado por ser fechado. Segundo essa observação, os judeus ocupam-se apenas deles, não querem contato com não judeus e acreditam que são o povo escolhido por serem naturalmente melhores do que os demais.

A parashá que inicia o caminho de Avraham, o primeiro hebreu, nos mostra uma realidade bem diferente. O primeiro mandamento que recebe o patriarca - e através do qual se torna patriarca desse povo acusado de ser particularista - é: “Vai-te da tua terra, da tua pátria, da casa de teu pai, à terra que te mostrarei... e seja benção... para que em ti sejam abençoadas todas as famílias da terra”. Ou seja, ele deve justamente abandonar a pátria particular, a casa particular e se entregar a uma causa geral cujo objetivo é a benção da humanidade inteira.

É verdade, para isso irá a uma terra determinada e fará uma viagem para si mesmo (Vai-TE − a ti mesmo), mas o objetivo final são todos. O judaísmo é particular porque não se impõe, porque não persegue, porque não tenta converter, porque não acredita ser o único caminho. Mesmo assim, quer trazer a benção a todos, a sua benção particular, sem impor, sem converter. Todos são igualmente dignos e destinatários dessa benção.

Normalmente é assim: o que temos a dar para fora de nós é aquilo que é especial em nós. Para podermos contribuir precisamos desenvolver a nossa unicidade, aquilo que nos faz únicos. S.R.Hirsch, que viveu na época da Emancipação no centro da Europa, dizia que é justamente a abertura cultural da Europa que convida os judeus a contribuírem com sua particularidade, a realizarem a sua missão universal de aportarem a sua particularidade judaica. Na era moderna o judeu não é chamado a se assimilar e sim a se aproximar da sua identidade, ser mais ele mesmo, pois é em virtude disso que será valorizado.

As contas morais, políticas e existenciais

Nesta parashá, Avraham acumula muito sucesso, conquista bens econômicos significativos, salva-se de ameaças e salva reis em meio a guerras injustas. Ao voltar vitorioso da guerra, Deus diz a ele: “Não tema, Eu cuidarei da sua recompensa”. Os comentários tradicionais se perguntam: do que poderia temer Avraham uma vez que obteve tanto sucesso, uma vez que a recompensa justamente estava na sua mão? Destacarei quatro das múltiplas respostas que foram sugeridas ao longo da história de leituras empáticas: a) Avraham temeu ter atropelado e matado na guerra inocentes que estavam misturados entre criminosos; b) Avraham temeu pela integridade moral dele mesmo pelo fato de ter matado mesmo justificadamente. A guerra machuca e estraga a humanidade em todos os casos; c) Avraham temeu a possível represália dos descendentes daqueles que perderam a guerra, mesmo sabendo que foram culpados, levando a uma escalada interminável de violência; d) Avraham temeu pelos efeitos de seu sucesso. Assim como tememos o fracasso, existe o temor do sucesso, que pode gerar inveja nos demais, arrogância própria e falta de autocrítica, necessidade (interna - psicológica; ou externa - teológica, mística) de compensar o bem com algum mal neste mundo ou em outro, nesta dimensão ou em outra. Como se o mundo e a vida tivessem equilíbrios rígidos que precisam se manter a fim de manter a saúde das pessoas e de sua educação. Ter e não ter, conquistar e perder. Talvez essa seja uma possível explicação para a expressão da famosa benção dos sacerdotes que começa dizendo “ievarechechá Ad-nai veishmerecha”, ou seja, Deus te abençoe e te cuide. Te cuide de ter recebido a benção, te cuide da própria benção, de como esta será administrada por você, de como você será visto pelos demais por ter recebido a benção e  de como será visto por você mesmo depois de ter consciência de ter recebido a benção.

Recebamos bênçãos, sejamos bênçãos, cuidemos das bênçãos e cuidemos de tudo que nos cerca através delas e por elas.

Shabat Shalom,
Rabino Ruben Sternschein

Rabbi Yissocher Frand





These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 698, Did the Avos Keep the Torah? Good Shabbos
Lech-Lecha #1 or Lech-Lecha #2 – Which is the harder test?

The Medrash Rabbah on this week's Parsha states in the name of Rav Levi: There are two times that "Lech Lecha" is written in the Torah and we do not know which is G-d's favorite – the first or the second. The first "Lech Lecha" is obviously the first pasuk of our parsha [Bereshis 12:1]: "Go out from your land, from your birth place, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you." The second "Lech Lecha" is in connection with Akeidas Yitzchok [the Binding of Yitzchak], where Avraham is told "Go out to the Land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you." [Bereshis 22:2] Rav Levi concludes that Akeidas Yitzchok was a greater test than the test of Avram leaving his homeland and thus the second instance of "Lech Lecha" is "more precious to G-d".

It is actually strange that Rav Levi was even puzzled by this question. Why would anyone think that the test of leaving one's homeland (particularly in the conte xt of the great reward that HaShem promised to Avram if he complied with this commandment) might be comparable to the test of the Akeida? The Akeida would be most difficult for any parent – particularly such a person as Avraham, who was the paradigm of Chessed [kindness] and who had preached monotheism and the virtues of a Merciful G-d all these years to his many disciples.

A Nesivos Shalom (by the Slonimer Rebbe) at the beginning of the parsha addresses this issue. Certainly, the Akeida was a very difficult nisayon [test], but it was a "one shot affair". Avraham was called upon to ascend the mountain, sacrifice Yitzchak, and then the nisayon would be over. However, the nisayon of Lech Lecha in our parsha is a test of beginning a journey that will affect him and will last the rest of his life.

Everyone has his own personal odyssey in life. We are all charged with the task of bringing completeness (shleimus) to our souls. We have to achieve correction (tikun) of our neshma [soul] in our own personal fashion. That is the charge of Lech LECHA (go in YOUR OWN way). This charge involves a lifetime of work. Many times, this charge requires getting out of the box that is one's environment, one's society, and one's family. We never enter life with a clean slate. We all enter life with baggage – emotional baggage, financial baggage, genetic baggage, family baggage. Sometimes the "baggage" is very good and extremely helpful. Other times the baggage can be a real handicap. The type of people that we are and the characteristics (middos) that we have are primarily not our own choosing.

When a person is given a mission in life and a goal to accomplish, it may involve the need to rid himself of so much of the baggage that he came with (one's land, one's birthplace, one's family). Such a challenge is not a one shot deal. Rather, it accompanies us day in and day out. Such a constant – lifelong – challenge may indeed be cumulatively a greate r test than a test requiring only a momentary rise to the occasion, as difficult as that challenge may be.