In this week’s Parsha, Parshat Vayetze, Jacob departs from Be’er Sheva for Haran. It begins, “Jacob left Beersheba, and set out for Haran” (Bereshit 28:10). Rashi questions why it needed to write both “left”(Vayetze) and “went” (Vayelech). Why didn’t it just say he went on his way to Haran? Rashi explains that when a righteous person leaves a city, the city's glory diminishes because it was his presence that filled it. That’s a beautiful explanation, but I prefer to understand this on a more personal level. A real journey begins with leaving. Not only by leaving a place but by taking yourself out of your comfort zone and by leaving behind the version of yourself you are used to. In order to grow, you need to let go of something.

​Jacob does just that. He leaves his home and begins a very difficult journey. Traveling back then was a lot harder and more dangerous than it is now. There were thieves and wild animals, and no one to help you. He ends up alone on the road at night with nothing to his name. Sleeping with a stone as a pillow. The stone is the embodiment of everything difficult and painful about the journey, the loneliness, the fear, the times when you question yourself and wonder why you ever started. But in that very moment, when things feel the heaviest and darkest, he has a great dream. He sees a ladder leading up to heaven, with angels ascending and descending it. That is the big lesson: only when you leave your comfort zone, when you’re in the low moments, in the tough and scary parts of the journey, are the doors finally opened for big dreams and inspiration.

​For us teenagers, who go on this daily “journey” of trying to discover who we are, this hits so close to home. Sometimes you have to leave your own “Be’er Sheva” to get to where you really need to go. And maybe even along the way, even when it’s at its roughest, “angels” will appear, opportunities, kind people, new ideas, and new skills you never even knew you had.

For me, Jacob’s story resonates a little more. I am going away to boarding school abroad next semester, and it’s going to be quite a journey. Just like Jacob, I am stepping away from my comfort zone and leaving my home and family. Although it’s exciting, leaving my home, my friends, and my whole routine is going to be scary. But still, just like Jacob, I am going to leave my “Be’er Sheva” to fulfill an amazing journey and take in more than I leave behind.

​Jacob teaches us that a journey that starts in fear can turn into something powerful. The struggle can become your strength. And the path can shape the person you’re going to become.

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Shabbat Shalom,

Daniel Razon