Lech Lecha may be the most relatable torah portion for high school seniors. In the first pasuk of the parsha, Hashem asks Abraham to leave his land, his parent’s house and his relatives, to go into the unknown. High school seniors are asked to leave their city, their house and their family to go to college; filled with unknown adventures and experiences. The idea of change and transitions especially to the unknown, can be a challenge. In my experience change is hard and difficult, but filled with immense pay off.
God asks Abraham to leave his comfort zone and start a new life. I think we all can agree that this is a big request. When Abraham follows through and agrees to create a new life for himself in the land of Canan, it shows the dedication and love he has for God.
Abraham, the father of the Jewish people trusted God with his life. He was God’s first follower and without him none of us would be here. As we know from the rest of the Torah, everything worked out for Abraham, he was given children, grandchildren and a nation. We even see in the rest of Lech Lecha that Abraham has a great life: Pharaoh gave him and his wife gifts and riches, he requested a sign from God and God responded and made him a covenant.
Everything worked out for Abraham, the first follower of God, because he listened and devoted himself to God. We all have the choice to be a follower of God. We can unsubscribe at any moment. But because we have the choice whether or not we want to follow God, it presents us all with a responsibility. We all have our own responsibilities whether that be: walking your dog, doing your homework or keeping kosher. Responsibilities aren’t always something we want to do, but they are tasks we have to do.
The responsibility we have to God, to follow His commandments, may not be something we want to do, but is something we must strive to do. Being a mitzvah observant Jew, is not easy, as we see throughout the Torah and history. Just because it isn’t easy, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do it.
Being a religious Jew is hard, which is why it is important to be one. Becoming a religious Jew, may be entering the unknown which is scary, but the payoff that one will get from becoming a mitzvah observant Jew is worth the hardship one might encounter in the process. The reward one receives for keeping mitzvot, is the feeling of accomplishment. Knowing that you have accomplished something difficult gives you the encouragement to continue to do more. Adding one mitzvah to your routine like saying brachas over food and drinks or daveing are all ways that make you stand out. Standing out and being different can be hard because people will notice and may comment, but by being different and setting an example of what we all should be doing, will keep you motivated and push you to accomplish what you think is impossible.
Going off to college will be hard, being a mitzvah observant jew will be difficult, but the reward is worth all the hard work. The ideas in Lech Lecha and the Torah, can be taken and made applicable to everything. Knowing that the feeling of accomplishment is right there, will push you to reach your full potential. Thank you for taking a little time out of your day to learn some Torah and help bring the Moshiach!
Good Shabbos!
Mikayla Kimel