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Parsha Lech Licha - Getting Out Of Our Comfort Zone

By BJLife/Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMC

Posted on 10/23/15

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

The famous command to Avraham of, “Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you,” (Bereishis 12:1) encapsulates an essential element necessary for personal growth.


Get out of your comfort zone!”


Avraham was asked to uproot himself from his geographic surroundings, his family ties and daily routine – from everything he knew and to which he was accustomed.


Or was he?


Avraham was chosen to be the founding father of the Jewish nation because he had chosen G-d. He extricated himself from his own comfort zone.  He had the courage to stand alone (Ivri).   Avraham had the clarity to realize that this world was not about chasing after temporary pleasures and finding the easier, softer way toward success.


Avraham’s relationship with HaShem was not like that of the idol worshippers around him, who treated their gods like a vending machine – attempting to come up with the right combination of offerings to produce their own desired outcome – akin to putting in the correct amount of coins to get the candy bar of choice.


Avraham knew that since there is an Infinite Creator, there is a design and plan for the universe and an Omnipotent Being that is running the show. HaShem is the constant and we are the variable, having to adjust our perceptions, feelings and desires to conform to His will for us – not to rationalize our yearnings into relative truth.


Avraham was the embodiment of chesed (kindness), not because he gave everyone what they wanted, but because he gave people the opportunity to elevate themselves beyond their daily existence. 


He simply helped them enjoy the fruits of this world in the context of a greater purpose, not merely to satisfy an immediate desire. “Don’t thank me,” he would tell his guests after feeding them a nourishing meal. “Thank the al-Mighty who is the Real Provider. Have a relationship with Him.” 


Eating to live, not living to eat.


Kindness starts at home. We have to show true chesed to ourselves by being willing to challenge ourselves, to break out of our comfort zones of complacency and habit – even if others around us are not. It’s not easy to end life-long behaviors. It’s hard to adopt new ways of thinking and acting. But the degree of difficulty doesn’t determine the validity of something. If it’s the right thing to do, we need to do it whether it’s easy or not.


As with Avraham, HaShem doesn’t give us any test we can’t pass. We already have all the requisite capabilities we need to succeed. We just need the courage to utilize them, and the willingness to break out of our own comfort zones.  Then we can experience the true joys and pleasures HaShem puts in this world, and not settle for the “here and now”, which quickly turns into nothing more than the, “been there, done that.”


Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMC is a Certified Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Management Consultant and Director of SOVEYA (Changing the Jewish World - One Pound at a Time). To contact Soveya: 443-501-3082, info@soveya.com or www.soveya.com