Parshat Lech Lecha: Rachel's Tears, Jewish Unity, and the Journey Home

What is happening in France right now is deeply disturbing, and the timing feels particularly symbolic, during the very week in which we commemorate the yahrzeit of Rachel, our matriarch.

The relentless riots, the brutality, and the sheer scale of the unrest are alarming. But have you noticed that, amid all this violence, there have been reports of Jewish businesses being attacked and a synagogue in Paris being desecrated, while no mosques appear to have been targeted?

A French journalist also claimed that Jewish-owned businesses in Marseille had been attacked while Muslim-owned businesses were left unharmed. These reports are deeply troubling. Do they not evoke painful memories of what the Jewish people endured in Europe some 80 years ago?

And all of this is happening during the week of Parshat Lech Lecha.

Lech Lecha: The Courage to Leave and the Responsibility to Choose

"Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house" (Genesis 12:1).

Abraham is called upon to leave behind everything familiar: the land of his birth, the place he called home, and everything that had defined his life until that point. He is commanded to journey toward the land that Hashem will show him.

Lech Lecha is more than a command to leave a physical location. It is a call to choose a path, to embrace faith, and to pursue a greater purpose. It challenges us to ask ourselves fundamental questions: What am I leaving behind? And where am I going? These are profound questions about identity, purpose, and the direction of our lives.

At a time when we are facing momentous decisions, Abraham's journey carries a message for all of us. I am not here to tell anyone whom to vote for, but I do believe that we must choose how we speak to one another, how we disagree, and how we preserve our unity even when our opinions differ. We must make our choices with responsibility and respect, rather than allowing disagreement to turn into hostility.

Rachel Our Matriarch: A Mother Who Remains With Her Children

During this week, as we remember Rachel, our matriarch, our thoughts naturally turn to her tomb along the roadside. Unlike the other patriarchs and matriarchs, who were buried in the Cave of Machpelah, Rachel was laid to rest along the road. According to Jewish tradition, she remained there so that when her children would one day be led into exile, she would be waiting for them along their journey, weeping with them, praying on their behalf, and accompanying them until they returned to their homeland.

Rachel was not buried in a grand, sheltered resting place. She remained beside the road, where her children would pass. Perhaps this is why she has become a mother to us all. She is not a mother who watches from afar, but one who accompanies her children throughout their journey, even when the road is painful and uncertain. Her presence reminds us that even in exile, even in moments of fear and displacement, the Jewish people are never forgotten.

The Longing for Home

What is happening to Jewish communities around the world reminds us just how deeply the longing for home is embedded within the Jewish soul. Not because anyone can promise that life in Israel will be free of suffering or danger, but because this is our land, the place to which we are bound and to which we continue to return.

As the Torah declares: "A land which Hashem your God cares for; the eyes of Hashem your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year until the end of the year" (Deuteronomy 11:12).

Our connection to the Land of Israel is not merely geographical. It is rooted in our history, our faith, and our shared destiny as a people.

Our Greatest Strength Is Our Unity

Perhaps this is the message I am taking with me this week: Lech Lecha. Go forward on your journey, toward your purpose and toward your land. But along the way, let us not forget to turn to Rachel, our mother, in prayer, especially for unity among the Jewish people. Because our unity is the strength that enables us to overcome even the greatest challenges.

Rachel's prayers are not in vain. Hashem Himself reassured her: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your efforts... and your children shall return to their own borders" (Jeremiah 31:15–16).

May we merit to choose unity over division, responsibility over hostility, and faith over fear. And may all our children return safely to their homeland.