Go Forth (Lech Lecha) to the Land: For What Purpose?
Words of Wisdom with Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar
This Dvar Torah was edited from one written by Rabbi Dr. David Harbater, a published author, Jewish educator and public speaker and published in the Times of Israel. His book "In the Beginnings: Discovering the Two Worldviews Hidden within Genesis 1-11" was described by the Jerusalem Post as "a work to be treasured" and by the Jewish Link as "ground-breaking, stimulating and one-of-a-kind".
Photo by shraga kopstein on Unsplash
When asked about the foundations of a Torah-observant life, most of us would likely point to Shabbat, the laws of kashrut (Jewish dietary practice), regular prayer, and Torah study.
These, indeed, have stood at the heart of Jewish life for centuries.
Yet, they do not fully capture the broader vision that the Torah first sets forth in this week’s parasha, Lech Lecha.
“Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
Here, God calls upon Abram (later Abraham) to leave the comfort and familiarity of his home—to uproot himself from his country, his birthplace, and his family—and embark upon a journey to an unknown land.
Why would God demand such a radical act of faith?
Because through Abram, God intended to bring forth a “great nation,” one that would serve as a blessing to all the families of the earth.
What does it mean to become a “nation,” and how would the creation of such a nation bring blessing to all humanity?
The distinction between peoplehood and nationhood is essential here.
Peoplehood refers to a shared cultural, spiritual, and historical identity — a collective bound by faith, memory, and destiny.
Nationhood, however, is something more: a political and territorial identity, defined by sovereignty, governance, and land.
Thus, to make Abram “a great nation” required two elements:
- Descendants — a family that would grow into a people.
- A land — a home in which that people would live as a sovereign nation…
The centrality of the Land is evident not just from the Torah’s narrative but from the mitzvot themselves.
Many mitzvot are inseparable from life in the Land: the Sabbatical year, agricultural tithes, the laws of gleanings, and others.
Even the festivals are rooted in the Land’s agricultural cycle (Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 16), and tzedakah (charity) is framed in its social context in the Land (Deuteronomy 15:4–11).
The Torah’s teachings on warfare, kingship, and justice (Deuteronomy 7, 16–17, 20) likewise assume a sovereign people living in their homeland.
Furthermore, the Torah explicitly connects the observance of all the mitzvot to dwelling in the Land: “These are the laws and rules that you must carefully observe in the land that the Lord, God of your fathers, is giving you to possess.” (Deuteronomy 12:1)
How does this national destiny serve to fulfill God’s promise that Abraham’s descendants would be “a blessing to all the families of the earth”? The Torah itself provides an answer.
“Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who, on hearing of these laws, will say: ‘Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.’” (Deuteronomy 4:6)
When other nations witness the justice, compassion, and moral wisdom of a society living in the Land and guided by Torah, they will recognize its truth and aspire to follow its example. In this way, the Jewish nation becomes a source of blessing and moral light to all humanity.
A Torah-observant life, then, is not limited to the private sphere of the home or to the life of the community in the Diaspora.
It is also — and perhaps primarily — about how we live as a sovereign nation within the Land.
While we have not yet fully realized the Torah’s vision in the modern State of Israel, that does not absolve each and every one of us from striving toward it.
