The Journey Home – Sarit Grunwald

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And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your
land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s
house, to the land that I will show you.”
(Genesis 12:1)
This is the command that God gave to Avraham, and without asking questions, Avraham gathers his wife, his family, and all his belongings, and goes to the Land of Israel.
“And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the souls that they had made in Haran; and they set out to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan.”
(Genesis 12:5)

I love combining the explanations of Rabbi Steinsaltz and Rashi. Rabbi Steinsaltz explains: “Go forth from your land”—the geographical place where you were born; “from your birthplace”—the place to which you feel a sense of closeness and belonging; “from your father’s house”—your extended family; “to the land that I will show you”—a land unknown to you. You are only given a direction, one you must walk in, and when you arrive—you will receive confirmation that you have reached it.

Rashi interprets “Lech Lecha” as: “for your benefit and for your good; there I will make you into a great nation. Here you will not merit children, and there I will make your nature known in the world.”

While Rabbi Steinsaltz emphasizes the physical and emotional detachment Avraham is commanded to make from his surroundings, Rashi seeks to tell Avraham: this move will be worth it; there you will become a great man, the founder of a great nation.

This past week was called “Aliyah Week” in Israel because it connects to the theme of the weekly Torah portion. As a child and teenager in school, I remember learning about the early waves of Aliyah, the immigration of European Jews, and also about the immigration of Moshe and Shlomo—but sadly, people spoke less about the Aliyah of American Jews.

As a shlicha in Memphis, USA, for the past four years, I read this verse and always think about Rabbi Steinsaltz’s interpretation and how relevant it is to every Jew in America. For the past four years, people in Israel have been sending me messages like: “Tell your communities they need to make Aliyah to Israel now; it’s their home, it’s a divine commandment! There’s antisemitism; they’re disconnected; what’s the problem with making Aliyah? In Israel, there’s everything!”

And honestly—it pains me, because I realize how disconnected we in Israel sometimes are. We’re not truly connected ourselves. From experience, even moving apartments within Israel is not simple—especially when you already have a family and need to leave relatives or a community, to change jobs and daily routines. All the more so, moving from a country like the United States to Israel. Families here have lived for generations; their livelihood is here; they’ve built large, meaningful Jewish communities. Choosing to make Aliyah is an enormous act of self-sacrifice. Moving to another country, another culture, sometimes without extended family, without knowing how your livelihood will change or how you’ll manage with the language—it’s an immense challenge.

Unfortunately, some families end up returning to the U.S. because they weren’t able to put down roots. And then I ask myself—have I done enough to help them integrate properly into our good land, which itself holds many complexities? Do I have the right to tell families in my community in Memphis, “There’s a divine command in Parashat Lech Lecha—you need to make Aliyah to Israel,” knowing they’ll have to manage on their own once they get there?

A student once told me, “Maybe stop talking about Israel all the time.” I told her—it’s like holding a scorpion and saying, “Don’t sting me.” The Land of Israel is truly in the soul, and anyone who returns from visiting Israel wonders why they’re still in America. But when it comes to real life, the difficulties surface.

So, to all those in America who come to talk to me about making Aliyah, I say: Be like Avraham Avinu—just believe, with simple and pure faith, that you must follow God’s command. And there you will merit what our forefathers Avraham and Sarah merited:
“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.”
(Genesis 12:2)
Listen to Rashi: “for your benefit and for your good”—it will be good for you in the Land of Israel.

And to us, the residents of the Land of Israel, I bring the words of the Piaseczno Rebbe, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, in his book Chovat HaTalmidim (Part I):
“Know, my dear student, that the greatest thing in the world is—to do good for another person.”

Thank God, the people of Israel living in Israel perform countless acts of kindness, as we’ve especially seen over the past two years. So anyone who can do one more good deed—to help the new immigrants arriving each month integrate well, to make them feel they’ve truly merited God’s promise, and to connect with them for years until they put down roots—upon them shall come blessing and joy.

For comments: sarit200@gmail.com