Don’t Get Too Comfortable!

With the upcoming Mayoral elections in New York, many Jews are wondering how their relationship to the city may change and whether it is time to relocate. It is certainly not the first time in history that Jews have considered a place home and have later been forced to uproot themselves. Germany, Poland, Russia, Iran, Yemen, Syria, etc. – centers of thriving Jewish life eventually became unwelcoming, dangerous, or even unlivable. It seems that history has always delivered the message to Jews that we should not become too comfortable, for we are not from here and this is not your true home.

In the third portion of the Torah that we read this week, we journey with Abraham, the initial forefather of the Hebrew nation. The very first communication that the Torah records between God and Abraham is a commandment to leave his home. “And the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Like his first forebears, Adam and Eve, who were exiled from the Garden of Eden, Abraham’s journey begins by being sent away. The primary condition of a relationship with God seems to be displacement. Why?

Exile is the natural state of this world that we inhabit. We have been exiled from paradise, alienated from the truth of who and what we are. We are never “home” in this world because this is not where we are from, it is not our origin or our destination. Wherever we may find ourselves, we are simply passing through, dwelling temporarily. We are looking for something, and as long as we do not find it, we are not settled or at ease. We cannot rest as long as we remain lost, and we are always lost because that is the very nature of this world, as we can see from the very world “olam/world,” which is derived from the word “helam,” which means hidden.

The exiled “Jew” is aware constantly that s/he is in the world, but not of the world. This is not our true home. This exile appears to be a curse, but in fact it is a blessing. It keeps us from being comfortable here, from mistaking this for our proper habitat or environment. It reminds us that we have something to do, that we need to expose the truth behind the ruse. Those who are comfortable and “well-adjusted” in this false reality are not healthier or better off – they have actually bought into the lie. They have accepted, and adapted to, life in prison. The hiddenness is hidden from them. This is far worse than if one feels the discomfort of being lost and therefore strives always to be found.

— Excerpted in part from Pnei Hashem, an introduction to the deepest depths of the human experience based on the esoteric teachings of Torah. www.pneihashem.com