Making Sense of the Sedra: Lech lecha

As a nation have just appointed our third Prime Minister and third chancellor in three months, and we have a new King. On top of this we face great uncertainty with rising interest rates, high inflation and a war that is affecting the whole world.

It is normal that uncertainty will create an element of anxiety, and therefore the levels of worry we will all feel about the unknown are normal. But how best to deal with that? What does the Torah have to say about this?

When Abraham is asked by God in this week’s parsha, Lech Lecha,  to take a journey from all that he knew, he was not told where he was going – just “to the place that I show you”. Why did Hashem have to add this level of uncertainty to what was already a huge upheaval for Abraham and his family? You can imagine the convo on the donkey: “Daddy, how long till we get there?” “I don’t know, kids – we might never get there!”

In many ways the wondering that began with Abraham never reached an end point and for thousands of years we remained the wondering Jews. However, maybe this was the point of it all, as coming out from Rosh Hashana our tradition tells us that there is a plan for each and every one of us. Its not that we always know it or can see it. But the knowledge that we must be brave and fearless even in the unknown has perhaps been the greatest source of our strength and resilience as Jews and also as a nation.

Being human is an art and living bravely is one of the best ways to master it. Living bold, brave and fearless doesn’t always end as predicted, but what is predictable is that the potential for full flight is so much more likely when courage leads behaviour, than when fear does. There may be the occasional two steps back, but even with two steps back, those who live bravely will still be ahead of where they would have been otherwise.

Living bravely allows for full expansion and full engagement. The beautiful thing about living bravely is that it’s in all of us. Within every person is the means to reach his or her full potential. Sometimes it gets lost, other times it gets trapped under the rubble of life, but it’s always there.

So just like Abraham, what’s being asked of us throughout our lives is to live with bravery, keep calm and carry on with full faith that there is a plan. In fact it’s the journey itself which is the purpose of it all – this is what builds us and makes us who we are.  We are here to tell the tale and that is a story we can tell the world.