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Lech Lecha: the first word of our story is not “stay,” it is “go”
God’s first word to the first Jew is not a law, it is an order to leave: “Go from your land, to the land I will show you.” Abraham is 75, and he goes. At Shechem, the first promise of the land, which the parasha repeats four more times. Shechem, Beth-El, Hebron: three names written in the Torah 3,700 years before anyone called them “occupied territories.” “Abram the Hebrew”: the whole world on one side, he on the other. Shalem, Jerusalem, entering the Torah with a blessing. And the stars: “So shall your offspring be.” We are the answer. Lekh lekha, go, for yourself. Shabbat shalom.
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