Kick the Habit

For us Jews the Torah is not merely one of many Creation Myths - perhaps a little more sophisticated, but nevertheless on a par with the Aboriginal or ancient Babylonian or Greek Creation Myths.

Nor is it the Authorized History of the birth and development of our illustrious nation, similar to those commissioned by great leaders the world over.

It isn't even a Book of Morals and Eternal Truths, demonstrating the great wisdom of our People which was similar, or perhaps even surpassed, that of Confucius, Aristotle or Plato.

True, the Torah deals with the origins of the Universe, with the history of Mankind and the Jewish People, and is a certainly a great book of morals.

But what makes it unique is that it is nothing less than a Revelation of G-d's Wisdom to human-kind.

So when the Torah tells us a bit of history, it's aim is not merely to inform us of an event that occurred thousands of years ago, but to guide us significantly in our own lives.

More specifically, when the Torah tells us about the journeys of Abraham, the first Jew, it is to guide us in our own life's journey.

With this we can understand, what appears on the surface to be, an anomaly.

When a person leaves one country for another, he will first leave his home, then his region, and finally his land (country) - in that order.

Yet, when it came to Abraham, it is written "go you forth, from your land, from your birthplace (region) and from your father's house".

This is the reverse of what we would expect. How is this possible?

It is however explained in Chassidic Philosophy that the Torah is here referring not so much to Abraham's physical journey, but to his spiritual journey - and hence to the journey of each of us.

The word Land (Eretz in Hebrew) refers to a persons' Desires (Ratzon) - indeed Land and Desire share the same root. (There is a deeper association between the two words, but this is not the place for elaborating).

Birthplace refers to a person's Habits.

Father's house refers to the Nature a person is born with.

And here the Torah is telling Abraham - and through him each and everyone of us - that we have the power:

a) to break out of our own Desires and Infatuations

b) to kick Habits formed over many years

and c) to even change the Nature with which we are born.

Unlike what often passes for post-modern intellectual discourse, the Torah does not believe that we are nothing more than a conglomerate of pre-programmed genes, hormones and DNA, that define our personalities and our essence.

The Torah believes that we are first and foremost a soul, which has within it a part of G-d. This is what defines us. This is what we are. We just happen to inhabit a body of genes, hormones and DNA which may influence us - but which, should we choose, ultimately have no power over us.

May we each discover within our selves the will, the wisdom and the strength to succeed in our life's journey.