Rabbi Menachem Mendel Blachman | Lech-Lecha 5787

0:00 Okay. ערב שבת קודש, it's right before פרשת לך לך, I'd like to discuss something we can learn from פרשת לך לך, which is important and we can implement it in in each of our own lives. Now, the, you know, the פסוק starts with לך לך מארצך... לך לך מארצך וממולדתך בית אביך, מבית אביך אל הארץ אשר אראך. And we know that the מלבי״ם already points out, לך לך, means translating as a, "Go to yourself.

0:44 Find out who you really are," because many times we live, we live projected images that have been painted on us by society, by our experience, and sometimes it's it it's really hiding an inner personality. Sometimes we lose our confidence of who we really are, because we've been painted on with so many smileys by what we're expected to do, or how we're expected to think, or how we're expected to feel, and somehow we we're walking around like zombies.

1:20 So the מלבי״ם points out the לך לך, "Go to yourself." Before we went This is the first encounter with God with me with with with אברהם אבינו. He says, "Well, I want to talk to you, I want a relationship, but first thing, you've got to figure out who you are. Who are you?" You know, I say this constantly to so many young people that they they don't believe in themselves, because they've been labeled by whatever it only be.

1:45 Sometimes it's teachers, sometimes it's parents, sometimes it's society, I don't know what, and they stop thinking, "Hey, you know, I'm a I'm a I'm a בן מלך. I'm a נשמה, חלק אלוקה ממעל, and I can really do so many great things." Now, I remember I had a boy which, which really had no confidence in himself, and I remember telling him, "Listen, I know you're a great guy.

2:12 Do yourself a favor: take a piece of cardboard and write down those things about you which are so special. And you know that no one knows, or maybe they don't understand how deep and special it is, therefore they don't appreciate, and somehow you've learned to believe them and not yourself. And write it down, and put it in your wallet.

2:34 Don't even show it to me." This was years, years, years ago, but let me tell you, every so often he calls me, he says, "I'm still looking at that bit of card." Now, he's a big businessman today, actually, 'cause he suddenly decided to see who he is in his potential, and thus believe in himself, and that that that that he catapulted, became a very special person making effect on the community, etc.

3:02 So the פסוק is understood as לך לך, "Go to yourself. Look at your own self." מארצך, first shed the, the facade which the the the the the the country, or you know, the area has, the broader society has put me, what boxes they put me in. What have they How have they colored my How am I supposed to think and feel?

3:29 Well, if I don't live up to their expectations, maybe I'm not there. And that's ארצך. Then you go deeper into yourself, not just ארצך, but ממולדתך. Hey, my birthplace, my home, my city, you know what I mean? That's even closer, that's even more. And then it goes deeper: what about my family? What would my great-uncle think about me and all that?

3:54 Shall we go on and on? And finally, where do you go? אל הארץ אשר אראך. Then I can take you to ארץ ישראל, can show you who where you can really be. See, and then coming to ארץ ישראל is a place of discovery. And we say a boy comes to כרם ביבנה, the first thing he has to do is learn to believe in himself, and to shed all those different projected images that were put in him by society, and says, "Well, am I for real?" It's a great place, you know, it's been around, what is my 48th year now in כרם ביבנה, I've seen a lot of great boys grow, first simply because they decide to look into themselves and who who they are, and thus who they can be.

4:37 Now, sometimes I can be very demanding as a teacher. You know why? Because I actually believe in you. Now, you have to understand God demands tremendously from us. You know why? Because He believes in us. רמב״ם points out in in מורה נבוכים, describing the נסיונות, נסיונות that God puts, challenges in front of us.

4:59 Yeah. Challenges of this generation are so big, goodness sakes. Sometimes I think of it, I see you're all צדיקים גמורים. When I was growing up, the challenges were, oh, a thirst for knowledge even if it wasn't exactly פרום or Jewish. The יצר הרע pushed me to go listening to lectures in Hebrew University.

5:22 This was my יצר הרע, to read voraciously anything that's printed which made sense. That was the יצר הרע, that was my time when we were running around. Yeah, so there were people that fell and the people that grew tremendously. Today the יצר הרע is totally different. It's more sensuous and pleasure-seeking, totally different challenge.

5:47 I wonder if I would succeed in this generation's challenges. And yet God takes these young נשמות and now they're going through all these challenges with the internet revolution, etc., etc., etc. When I see young boys asking to bring lectures about how to filter their phones and on שמירת עיניים, etc., it says, "Wow, these kids are so holy." So, every generation has its challenges, and it's it's unbelievable, it's very special.

6:26 And the way you succeed in those challenges is when you believe in yourself, when you know that you're a בן מלך, when you look in the mirror and I say that's a נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא. So, the רמב״ם says, you know, when God sends these challenges to people, what's it for? It's to teach people and yourself and the people around you what you can really attain and what your potential really is.

6:58 And God only sends challenges to those He's confident that have the capability of withstanding them and doing well in them. Brings the example, brings a מדרש that a potter wanted to sell his pots, so he had to advertise them. Well, in those days, how does a potter advertise his pots? Well, he's sitting on the road there with, you know, with his pottery, and he takes and he knocks on pots and sees, "Look, they're solid.

7:25 They withstand pressure." And people look around and say, "Wow, these pots are good." Now, which pots do you think he's going to knock on? Those he's totally convinced that will stand the pressure. So, to the רמב״ם, if God sends us a נסיון, it means to say that this you have the capability of withstanding that pressure.

7:44 You're a בעל בחירה, but you have it. So, I always say, yeah, might as well believe in yourself 'cause God believes in you. The way to do it is לך לך, go to yourself, מארצך, shed the external facade and expectations and etc., the artificial feelings, the artificial reactions. Don't do things just because that's the way it's done.

8:14 Don't just learn תורה 'cause that's the way it's done. Don't just put on תפילין 'cause that's the way it's done. But do it 'cause you want to do it, and then you have to ask yourself why do you want to do it. And you will find an unbelievable you there. So again, לך לך מארצך מולדתך ובית אביך, and then you can finally come to that land which God will show us.

8:39 Have a great שבת, and I really hope you take this to heart 'cause we have to bring משיח. It's up to us. And God has put us in this generation with such holy souls of withstanding so much pressure. Unbelievable pots. Just everyone has to start looking in the mirror and saying, "God wants me. God believes in me, so I guess I should believe in myself." Have a great שבת.