Rabbi Brad Levenberg
This week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, begins with a call that has echoed through every generation: “Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.” With those words, Abraham becomes the first Jew to set out on a journey without knowing the destination. His courage was not in packing his bags, but in trusting that holiness can be found along the way.
Halloween, which arrives tomorrow night as we read this portion, invites its own kind of exploration. Beneath the costumes and candy is a simple idea: that stepping into another identity, if only for a night, can be an act of imagination and empathy. Children try on bravery when they dress as superheroes. Adults rediscover play when they decorate their porches or walk the neighborhood together. At its best, the evening reminds us that transformation begins when we allow ourselves to see differently.
For us, Lech Lecha is not just Abraham’s story. It’s a yearly invitation to notice where we are being asked to “go forth” in our own lives, to leave comfort behind and enter something unknown. Sometimes that means re-examining long-held beliefs; sometimes it means making peace with the masks we’ve worn for too long.
Both Torah and Halloween suggest that identity is not static. We are shaped by what we choose to put on and what we choose to leave behind. As we enter this Shabbat, may we have the curiosity of a child on Halloween night and the faith of Abraham setting out into the desert…each step an act of becoming.
Wishing you a Shabbat of courage, sweetness, and discovery,
Rabbi Brad Levenberg
