The Constant Journey
Family Edition

Lech Lecha begins with God speaking to Avram, telling him that he should go from his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house to the land that God will show him. God continues by assuring Avram that he will become the father of a great nation, and that all who bless Avram will be blessed, and all who curse him will be cursed. Avram then ups and leaves, together with Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew.

• Why do you think God told Avram to leave ‘his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house,’ instead of simply telling him to leave?
• Do you think Avram would be scared to leave behind everything he knew?

אֶל–הָאָרֶץ‭ ‬אֲשֶׁר‭ ‬אַרְאֶךָּ

“To the land that I will show you.”

(BEREISHIT 12:1)

Rabbi Sacks teaches us:

‘Each year we tell the story of Avraham’s call from God to leave his home and travel to “the land that I will show you”. I call that the journey into insecurity. Life has been insecure for Jews for four thousand years. We are still on that journey. A lot of people are struck by the history of Jewish suffering. I am always struck by the history of Jewish recovery from suffering. What gives people the strength to keep going? It is that feeling that you can face the future without fear if you know you are not alone.’

Source: Lech Lecha 15:1 - Commentary on the Koren Sacks Chumash.

Let’s discuss:

• Rabbi Sacks says the Jewish journey of insecurity is still continuing. What do you think this means, and why do you think Jewish people sometimes still face unfair treatment?
• If you hear someone saying something antisemitic, what could you do? 
• What might happen if you choose to speak up, and conversely, what might happen if you choose to stay silent?
• Rabbi Sacks talks about the history of Jewish recovery from suffering. How does knowing that God is with us help us to hold onto resilience in tough times?