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Dear Yeshiva Family,
Lech Lecha — Going "for Yourself"
In this week's parashah, Hashem commands Avram: "Lech lecha mei'artzecha" — "Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's home." Avram is told to leave everything familiar — his land, his family, his comfort zone — and begin an entirely new life. This moment marks one of the great tests that Avraham Avinu faced on his path to becoming the father of our nation.
Rashi implicitly asks: what does lech lecha mean — "go for yourself"? Why add the word lecha at all? Rashi explains: lehanascha u'letovascha — "for your pleasure and for your benefit." Hashem was telling Avram that this journey would ultimately be good for him — he would become a great nation, earn fame, and find blessing.
But this raises an obvious question: if Hashem told Avram that it was for his benefit, then why is it considered a test at all? Where's the challenge if the reward is already promised? The classic answer, brought by many meforshim, is that the test lay in Avram's inner intention. Even though he knew there would be benefit, he had to make sure he was doing it for Hashem's sake, not for his own. That was the true test — to serve Hashem purely, without self-interest.
But I believe there's a much simpler answer.
A Simpler Answer
A much simpler answer[1] might be that human nature itself makes Lech Lecha a real test. Just because a person knows that something is good for them doesn't mean they will actually do it.
How many people smoke even though they know perfectly well that it's bad for them? How many parents have to beg their children to eat their vegetables — promising, explaining, even bribing — all for something that's "good for you"?
We All Have a 'It's-Good-For-You' Moment
Lest one think that this is relevant only for addicts or children, the truth is, we all have moments like that. We know tefillah helps us. We know that putting away our phones when talking to our spouse or children can only strengthen our relationships. We know shmiras einayim (guarding our eyes) will help our marital happiness. We know that learning more Torah, or keeping work out of the home, would make our lives calmer and happier. And yet — we struggle to follow through.
Knowing what's good for you and doing what's good for you are two entirely different battles. That gap between knowledge and action — that's the test.
So when Hashem told Avram "Lech lecha — go for yourself, for your benefit," it didn't make the test easier; it was the test. Could Avram push himself to act on what he knew was right, to take the step that was "for his good," even when it meant giving up comfort, familiarity, and security? That's the challenge every human faces, and Avram showed that greatness lies in closing that gap.
The Entire Torah is 'Good-For-You'!
We know that, in truth, the entire Torah was given for our good. Every single mitzvah was designed for our benefit. The pasuk says explicitly in Devarim (10:12–13): "What does Hashem your G-d ask of you… only to keep the commandments of Hashem and His statutes, which I command you today — l'tov lach — for your good."
Hashem doesn't really gain anything from our mitzvos; they're for us — to refine us, to guide us, to make our lives deeper, richer, and more meaningful. The Torah repeats this idea again in Devarim (6:24): "And Hashem commanded us… l'tov lanu kol hayamim — for our good, all the days."
And yet, even knowing that, we still struggle. Just like Avraham Avinu, we, too, are tested to follow what we know is good for us. The challenge isn't only to believe that Torah is for our good — it's to live that belief, to act upon it even when it's difficult, inconvenient, or uncomfortable.
That's what Lech Lecha really means: to take the step that's for your good, even when it feels hard. Hashem was showing Avraham — and through him, all of us — that greatness begins when a person moves from knowing what's right to doing what's right, from recognizing what's good to living it.
Perhaps that is the simple explanation.
Have an amazing Shabbos!
Rabbi Moshe Revah Rosh HaYeshiva Mrevah2@touro.edu
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[1] I saw this answer in a sefer Otzar Haparshah by R' Michoel Peretz.
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