This coming Monday is the 9th Yahrzeit of the passing of my Father. The year after his passing on Passover, I was sitting in synagogue,  waiting for the Yizkor service to begin. The Rabbi was giving a sermon. I must admit I wasn’t paying attention. I was feeling melancholy and missing my Dad. And then I sat up in shock as the Rabbi’s words began to penetrate. 

He was telling a story. 

It was my Dad’s favorite. My father was a wonderful raconteur and this one was a treasured pick. 

I couldn’t believe the “coincidence”. 

It felt like a kiss sent with love from afar. 

This is the story:

Shortly before Passover, a wealthy person of note went to his rabbi with a request. He understood that sometimes very righteous people merit a special opportunity to meet Elijah the Prophet. Elijah is perhaps the most beloved prophet in the Bible. He was a source of inspiration and will be the harbinger of the redemption, the light at the end of a long, dark journey.  The Prophet of consolation. 

This merchant desired the chance to meet this holy Prophet. Despite the Rabbi’s efforts to change his mind the man would not be deterred. Finally the Rabbi instructed him how to achieve this rare interaction. He told the gentleman to purchase a great deal of food and provisions. On the day before Passover was to begin he was to appear at the home of a destitute family, ask to be invited for  the Seder and when they would reply that they would love to invite him but they can’t even provide for their own, he should bring in all the foodstuffs and spend the holiday with them. Then he would merit seeing Elijah. 

The man followed the instructions to the letter. All went as planned. But no revelation of Elijah. After the holiday he returned to his mentor, greatly disappointed. The rabbi once again instructed the wealthy patron to load up his wagon and right before Shabbat go through the same routine. Then he would merit his heart’s desire. Once again all was done and the wealthy merchant approached the home of the needy family. He could hear the children crying to their Mother for food. She soothed them and  said to them: do not worry children, right before Passover we had nothing and Elijah the Prophet came, I am sure he will come again. 

The merchant knocked on the door and provided the family with the needed food. 

When he returned to the Rabbi and said once again he had not merited to see the holy Elijah.  The Rabbi responded: don’t you realize, for those people YOU were Elijah the Prophet. 

This week’s Torah Portion Is Lech Lecha. We are introduced to Abraham our forefather and the Torah will now begin to focus on this man and his family, the birthing of the Jewish people. 

Gd gives Abraham a directive, an imperative command 

“go for yourself, from your land, from your relatives, and from your fathers home to the land I will show you.”

If you were being told to go on a journey what would be your first question? Like the New York cabbie:

Where to? 

Abraham begins a trek without a destination. 

Why doesn’t Gd tell him where he is going?

Rashi, the super commentator answers that Gd wanted to reward Abraham for every step of the journey. Because reaching the final destination is not the goal. It’s the attempt you make to get there and what you do along the way. 

Abraham had to put his faith in Gd and began the journey. 

Life is like that journey. 

We begin and we don’t know where it will take us. But the message to us is Lech Lecha - the first ingredient is movement forward. If the way is fraught with uncertainty we still forge on. The journey of Abraham and Sarah is rife with challenges and crises. But these challenges were the birthing place for the people they were to become. The Hebrew word for crisis “mashber” is also the Hebrew word for birthing stone. The challenges will be the birthing place of the person one can become. 

And there are no short cuts on the journey. Each step is perfectly calculated to allow us to access inner strengths and dormant gifts. 

A butterfly grows in a chrysalis. Once it is ready to emerge it beats its wings and literally struggles as it makes an escape hole larger and larger with every movement. If one would break the chrysalis for the butterfly, the creature would not be able to fly. It is the repeated struggle to emerge that gives the wings their strength to take flight and soar. 

We must each find our own path to holiness and meaning. And while we know not the destination, each step is meaningful and instructive, worthy of reward for effort expended. 

Each and every one of us needs to be on a Lech Lecha journey of our own to find our meaning and our mission. 

Why you might even choose to make it your mantra!

It’s an imperative! It is a command! 

We may not know where we go but along the way we will find ourselves. 

And the voyage will help us access not only our gifts but also the unique contribution we will bring to the world. We will find out how we can change the world and lighten the burdens of those we meet along the way. 

Just like Elijah the Prophet, the Prophet of consolation. 

Because sometimes you may be that source of kindness and comfort for someone on their journey, that little bit of Elijah that we may merit to meet in ourselves. 

In the memory of Aron Ben Tzvi haLevi Landau z”l zya 

Shabbat Shalom and so much love!