Parshat Lech Lecha

In an apparent redundancy, the Torah tells us in two consecutive verses in this week's parsha that Avraham took his nephew Lot with him on his move to Eretz Yisrael:

"So Avram went as the L-rd had spoken to him, and Lot went with him; and Avram was 75 years old when he left Harran."
(Breishit 12:4)

"And Avram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew, and all the property that they had acquired, and the souls that they had gotten in Harran, and they went to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan."
(Breishit 12:5)

Rav Mordechai Breuer explains that this is not in reality a redundancy because the two verses actually reflect the "two aliyot" of Avraham, the two motivating aspects of his migration to Eretz Yisrael. On the one hand, Avraham's move to Canaan was the completion of a move that was initiated by his father, Terach:

"And Terach took his son Avram, and Lot the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter- in-law, and they went from Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to Harran and dwelt there."
(Breishit 11:31)

Terach's aliyah was not completed. He stopped in Harran where he settled and remained. Terach was not motivated by spiritual goals, not by a divine command. While the Torah does not tell us specifically why Terach decided to migrate to Canaan, we can assume that he was motivated by economic factors as are most migrations. In any case, his motivation was not strong enough to overcome the attractiveness of Harran.

The fact that Avraham's aliyah was to some degree a completion of the move that was started by Terach is reflected in verse 12:5 which is parallel to verse 11:31 describing Terach's move. In both cases, they took the members of their family, they left their previous home, and they set out for Canaan. Only, in the case of Terach, he arrived at Harran ("vayetzeu ...lalechet artza canaan vayavo'u ad harran"), while Avraham reached his destination ("vayetzeu lalechet artza canaan vayovo'u artza canaan).

Verse 12:4, on the other hand, reflects the other aspect of Avraham's aliyah, the fulfillment of G-d's command ("as the L-rd had spoken to him"). Lot accompanied Avraham as well on this journey. As we will see, however, he separates from Avraham and does not complete this odyssey.

Avraham and Lot went to Egypt as a result of the famine in Canaan, and both returned with considerable material wealth. At this point they had to separate as the land could not support both of them. Avraham gave Lot the choice of land, suggesting according to Sforno that he go north or south, thus remaining in the heart of Canaan. According to the Midrash, Avraham intended to remain in close proximity to Lot. Lot, however, chose to go eastward ("mikedem") to the area of Sodom in the Jordan Valley which at that time was very fertile. He chose to distance himself from Avraham. According to the Midrash, he distanced himself both physically and spiritually:

"Mikedem (eastward) - Mikadmono Shel Olam (From the one who preceded the world): Lot said, 'I do not want Avraham and I do not want his
G-d).'"

And so it was that "Avraham settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the plains." (Breishit 13:12) It seems from this verse that Avraham settled in Canaan and that Lot settled outside of Canaan. Both Sforno and the Ramban, however, point out that the "cities of the plain" are in fact within the borders of Canaan. The Torah tells us specifically that Lot chose the Jordan Valley because it was "like the garden of the L-rd, like the land of Egypt as you approach Tzoar" (Breishit 13:10). So taken was Lot with the materialism of Egypt, that he failed to recognize the special nature of Eretz Yisrael which the Torah defines as the anti-thesis of Egypt:

"For the land that you go to possess is not as the land of Egypt from whence you came, where you sowed your seeds and watered them with your feet as an herb garden. The land that you go to possess is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks its water from the rain of the heavens. It is a land that the L-rd your G-d cares for; the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are always upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year."
(Devarim 11:10-12)

Lot lived physically in Eretz Yisrael, but his head was in Egypt. He mistook the "the garden of the L-rd" for the land of Egypt.

The comparison of Avraham's aliyah to Eretz Yisrael with those of Terach and Lot gives a clear message. It is all to easy to get trapped in the Diaspora or to be in Israel, but to be emotionally elsewhere. With the comfort of the Diaspora and the Americanization of Israel today, this problem is acute. The mitzvah of lech lecha required Avraham to move both physically, emotionally, and spiritually to his destiny in Eretz Yisrael. This directive has special relevance in our time.

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