I Shall Be

The simple meaning of Lech Lecha was G-d’s commandment to Abraham to “go out from the land of his birth, and from his father’s house (of idol worship) to a land that G-d will show him.” But Lech Lecha can also be translated as go to you (to yourself). In this deeper meaning of the verse G-d is commanding Abraham and all of us to become introspective in order to learn more about ourselves. Lech Lecha means learning to love ourselves so that we will be able to love others in the way Abraham did. Abraham was the first person to discover the truth about his eternal soul and true mission in life and since we descended from Abraham so did our souls. As it says, “they are all from the seed of Truth.”

Only my soul can be called “me.” And each of our souls is as unique as our fingerprints. We must realize how special this makes each one of us.  From amongst the billions of people who lived in the past, or who are alive today or will be born in the future – there will never be another one like you who can make the specific contribution to the world that you can make.  Finding what you are best equipped to accomplish in life is your Lech Lecha.

Before we “landed” in this world, our true spiritual identity and purpose for being sent here was  perfectly clear to us.  But the world that we came from and to which we will return after 120 years is nothing like this one. There, everything is revealed and known. But here we were made to “forget” what we once knew. After spending 9 months in the womb and being taught the whole Torah by an angel who told us about our mission and even gave us a map about how to get there, the angel said:

 “Now it’s time for you to go out. Gird yourself for the “world” you are about to enter is not like the world that you came from. You will see and hear many confusing messages about yourself out there. You will also see seemingly “good” things happening to “bad” people and “bad” things happening to “good” people. Promise me one thing – that you will keep your faith and remain a righteous person.” Then the angel caused you “forget” everything that he taught you. You emerged from paradise into this world, but not before you were given the means of recovering your true identity (your soul) and the critically important purpose that you were sent here to accomplish.

Your holy soul which is a tiny but perfect eternal particle of G-d possesses all this information and according to the mystical writings of the Torah, your soul is located in the right hemisphere of your brain. Isn’t it fascinating that the right side of the brain is also associated with the unconscious mind of a person? This is why when we use visual imagery conditioning and guided imagery techniques that access unconscious processes we can help to arouse and awaken a person to remember who he is, where he came from and to where he needs to be going. The unconscious is the interface and springboard between the physical self and the spiritual self or soul.

All of your identity is your spiritual self. You are not simply a person or a personality. Never allow yourself to be categorized this way.  It doesn’t matter whether Hashem created you to be an extrovert or an introvert – this is only the “clothing” around your soul and to focus on changing your personality while ignoring your soul will only lead you off course and to false conclusions about yourself and your life. However when you take the route of spiritual coaching ( not secular psychology) you are led to the “land that Hashem will show you” that is – to your soul and therefore to that which you can do which is superior to any person that ever existed or will ever exist. When you have found your spiritual identity you will be like Abraham who stopped listening to the false comments and messages that he received from his family. Likewise you will be free from the bondage of anything that your secular education or psychotherapies told you about yourself that is not true. You will know the truth about yourself and never apologize for your opinions, your decisions, your lifestyle, or your religious devotions. Your sense of purpose will be clear and unwavering. This will relieve you of worry, sadness, anger, and disappointment. Even when you temporarily lose sight of who you are and where you are meant to go you will have many methods with which to quickly realign yourself with your truth.

It is very painful for us when we are even temporarily disconnected from our true selves because we are also very far from Hashem at that moment. In a sense we cease to “be” at such times because we have “lost” track of who we are. That’s why the name of G-d that is associated with returning to Him through repentance is translated as “I Shall Be.” When we return to our souls we are returning to G-d and we are going from a state of “non-being” to “being” once again.