Go Find Yourself

I saw something this morning that really blew my mind. Rav Yitzchok Isaac of Komarna explains that when Hashem told Avraham לך לך, what He was telling him is, "Go find yourself."

I want to elaborate on this idea based on what Hashem then continues to say to Avraham.

Hashem tells him to go מארצך, from your land. Land is the place of infinite possibilities. We can plant in land and let anything grow there. But oftentimes we limit ourselves in terms of the growth we believe is possible for ourselves. Instead of seeing the infinite possibilities, we limit our dreams and efforts to a finite set that sells ourselves short. Leave your land, Hashem is telling Avraham, leave the self imposed limitations on what you can be, on how you can grow, on your life's possibilities.

We can understand the next two statements in the same vein. וממולדתך ומבית אביך, and from your birth-place and from your father's home. At times the limitations that we place on ourselves come from the communities in which we live. Other times they may come from our families. Perhaps we have been told since we are children what it is that we should become, or what we can't possibly become. Avraham was now being told by Hashem that he had to leave all of this in order to find himself.

אל הארץ אשר אראך To the land that I will show you.

Go with no preconceived notions. Leave yourself open to whatever possibilities Hashem places before you. Only by leaving yourself open to the infinite possibilities that Hashem can open up for you will you truly find yourself.

See also: The Value of Self-Revelation in which I discuss the value of bringing forth one's inner self.