05 Nov LECH LECHA: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE AWAY FROM HOME…

There’s No Place Like
Away From Home to
Learn How to be a Good
Host
The very first Rashi in our
parsha [Bereishis 12:1]
interprets the words “Go

for yourself” (Lech-
Lecha) to mean “for your

own benefit and welfare”. The Imrei Shammai
cites an incident involving Reb Nachum of
Chernobyl (1730-1787) which elucidates this
Rashi.
Reb Nachum was once imprisoned. It did not take
much in the Ukraine for a Jew — a Rabbi
especially — to wind up in jail. An old Jew came
to visit Reb Nachum and told him that he could
explain a particular reason why Reb Nachum was
sitting in jail.
Reb Nachum used to devote much effort to the
mitzvah of redeeming Jews from captivity (pidyon
shevuyim). At a time when Jews were arbitrarily
and capriciously thrown into jail, he felt obligated
to do whatever he could to work for their release.
The old Jew told him that G-d put Reb Nachum
himself in jail so that he would be able to
appreciate what a great mitzvah he was doing
when working for the release of Jewish prisoners.
Now that he was sitting in jail, he would be better
at empathizing with the prisoners who he helped.
The next time he would go out to raise money for
pidyon shevuyim, it would be a different
experience. He would have more appreciation for
the wonderful mitzvah that he was doing.
Here too, Avraham was destined to be the
prototype of kindness toward his fellow man. He
was destined to be the prototype of welcoming in
wayfarers. G-d wanted to show him what a great
mitzvah it is to be a host to guests who need a
place to stay. The best way to learn how to be a
host is to first be a traveler.
Anyone who needs to go away for a Shabbos
experiences what it is like to be away from his
family, away from his own bed, and away from his
surroundings. Especially when a person is a
wandering traveler for an extended period of time
— he really learns to appreciate the great kindness
provided by those who warmly extend hospitality.
This experience is the best training course for
becoming a better host.
Therefore, Avraham was directed “Lech Lecha”.
Be a traveler. It will be for your own benefit and
welfare because knowing what it means to be a
traveler will help you so much more when you
want to become a host.
I know someone who is an excellent teacher. He
had been an excellent student all his life and had
always found learning easy. He was always
stimulated by his classes and enjoyed learning.
When he went to college, Physical Education was
a required course. Physical Education for this
person was like calculus for people who aren’t
good in mathematics. It was a disaster. He got a C
in the course — the lowest grade of his entire
college career.

But he confided to me that this experience taught
him how to be a better teacher. Had he coasted
through his entire educational career without
experiencing difficulty and frustration in a class,
he would not have known the meaning of a student
struggling and having difficulties with his studies.
P.E. gave him the experience of being behind his

classmates and feeling frustrated that it was so
much easier for them and that they were so much
better than he. That made him into a better teacher.
G-d was doing the same thing for Avraham. Go
out — for your own benefit. You will see how hard
it is to be a traveler and you will be a much better
host as a result.