Breaking Patterns, Building Paths: Lech Lecha on the Eve of an American Election

Look up at the sky. Just pause, take a breath, and let the vastness settle into your bones. Our world, so full and complex, is always filtered through our own histories, our habits, and our struggles. But sometimes, we need to remember to pause, to breathe, and maybe even recognize patterns we’ve settled into — patterns we have the power to break.

Lech Lecha speaks to this moment, to this power. This parashah is about listening for a new path, hearing an inner calling that feels undeniably real, even if no one else understands it yet. Avram and Sarai’s journey began before God’s call; their family was already wandering. But to truly follow a divine call and set out on a wholly different path — this is where the Jewish story began.

Today, on the eve of an American election, we are still walking in their footsteps. It’s a path walked by so many who have dared to turn toward a more sacred purpose. Today, we also remember Yitzhak Rabin z”l, a man who changed course after leading Israel’s army for decades, choosing to pursue a peace that cost him his life 29 years ago this day. His journey was different but shared in spirit with Avram and Sarai — he dared to chart a course toward greater holiness in the world, to peace after decades of war.

And so, I bless us on this big day: Take a breath. Look up at the sky. Hear the birdsong, see the bicycles, the joggers, the world outside this tangled moment we’re in. We fight, yes, but we also strive for something beyond that fight. Yesterday, hundreds of Israelis ran the New York City marathon, carrying the faces of those still missing, some wearing shirts that said “Hersh Forever.”

This race began thousands of years ago with Avram and Sarai. God called to them: Lech Lecha. Go. Leave behind what is familiar, and pursue something better.

Look up again. That sky above us — that was the same sky Avram and Sarai gazed upon, the one they looked to for the countless descendants yet to come. Under that sky, prophets prayed, children laughed, even ancient High Priests, stepping out from the Holy of Holies, saw a light that echoed that same sky. The very first thing created was the light itself.

May we be blessed right now to see ourselves as worthy inheritors of those pioneers, those dreamers who walked a path of blessing.

May we, too, have the courage to begin our story anew.