Parasha Thoughts |
By: Rabbi Eliezer Rafailmehr Hashem said to Avram, “Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Due to the redundancy of the phrase “Lech lechaâ€, the commentators explain that the Torah is hinting to us a very important message. The Torah is hinting to us: “Lech Lecha†to go……to go to our true selves. Meaning, to turn to our emotions; to tune in to our feelings. The Torah is hinting to us that we must express and try to understand why we feel the way we feel. Emotions that are not expressed remain trapped within our body and can take a toll both on our physical as well as our spiritual well being. Take depression, for example. When we make an effort to understand where our sad feelings are stemming from, then we have a better chance of managing and even overcoming those feelings. However, if we suppress and ignore our sad feelings, not only will they not go away, they will build up and intensify. If we truly want to live in peace with ourselves, if we truly want to serve Hashem with joy and happiness, then it behooves us to incorporate the lesson of Lech Lecha: the lesson of expressing and understanding our emotions. Shabbat Shalom |
