Parashat Lech L'cha 5768

In this week's Torah Portion, Lech L'cha, God tells Avram "go forth from your land, from your kindred, from your father's house, to the land that I will show you." This week, God reveals what will become an enduring covenant between God and the Jewish People: We will be a people as numerous as the stars in the sky and the land of Israel will be our inheritance.

What is remarkable about Avram's journey is that in order for him to go up to Canaan, he must first travel down to Egypt. And, God tells Avram that before his descendents can settle in the land of Canaan, they must endure strife.

Through this, our Torah teaches us that life includes peaks and valleys and that our journeys often include wandering. This Shabbat let us not only focus on where we are going, but celebrate the journey it takes to get there.