In Parshas Lech Lecha, the life and times of Avraham Avinu are narrated in great and rich detail. The parsha begins with Hashem’s command to Avraham to leave his past and journey to “the land that I will show you” (Bereishis 12:1). At the age of seventy-five, he begins his journey, along with Sarah, and Lot, his nephew. They encounter famine in the Promised Land and descend to Egypt to save themselves, whereupon Sarah is described to the Egyptian officials as his “sister,” and is promptly taken to the Pharaoh’s palace. After she is released through Divine intervention, Avraham and Lot part ways (Chapters 12-13).

We then learn of the first “World War” between the Four Kings and the Five Kings. Lot is taken captive and Avraham goes to battle to rescue his nephew (Ch.14). In the Covenant Between the Pieces, Hashem informs Avraham of four hundred years of exile, and then redemption, and Divine Judgement of the nation that will enslave the children of Avraham (Ch.15). After ten years of living in the land without children, Avraham marries Hagar - as per Sarah’s advice - and she conceives. She belittles Sarah, who becomes angry at Avraham, and Hagar runs away. Meeting numerous angels at a well of water, she is promised a child who will become a ‘wild ass of a man, whose hand will be in all, and the hand of all against him’ (may Hashem protect and save us) (Ch.16).

And in the final perek of the parsha, when Avraham is ninety-nine years old, Hashem appears to him and commands him to do bris milah. Hashem promises him a child with Sarah, who will be called Yitzchak, and Avram and Sarai now become Avraham and Sarah (Ch.17).

There is so much to learn from the ways of Avraham, who birthed our nation on the powerful foundations of emunah (faith) and chessed (loving-kindness). He never wavered in either realm, always maintaining his belief in the goodness of Hashem, come what may, and his kindness to - and hope for - mankind. And it is these two pillars - faith in G-d and in doing for fellow man - which have become the bedrocks of our nation, Am Yisrael, throughout our long history, and continue today.

The first Divine command to Avraham are words that echo throughout the generations, and that shaped our nation: “Lech Lecha,” journey to yourself, or journey for yourself (12:1).

In his opening words on the parsha, Rashi explains that Lech Lecha means: לַהֲנָאָתְךָ וּלְטוֹבָתְךָ, that the journey from your land (Haran - Bereishis 11:31), from your place of birth (Ur Kasdim), and from your father’s (Terach) home (of idol worship), will be “for your benefit and for your good.” In the new land, Hashem promised to make him into a great nation, to bless him and to make his name great (12:2).

Additionally, there are many Midrashic interpretations into the two words that launched a nation. And each interpretation sheds further light into the personality of Avraham, the tafkid of his and Sarah, and the nation that they founded.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z’l teaches that, “לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ - Go - In Hebrew the suggestive phrase is Lekh lekha - literally, ‘Go for yourself,’ or possibly ‘Go to yourself.’ A more midrashic interpretation takes the phrase to mean ‘Go with yourself’ - meaning, by traveling from place to place you will extend your influence not over one land but many.”

Rabbi Sacks quotes the following Medrash: “When the Holy One said to Avraham, ‘Go - from your land, your birthplace, and your father’s house’ what did Avraham resemble? A jar of scent with a tight-fitting lid put away in a corner so that its fragrance could not go forth. As soon as it was moved from that place and opened, its fragrance began to spread. So the Holy One said to Avraham, ‘Avraham, many good deeds are in you. Travel about from place to place, so that the greatness of your name will go forth in My word’ (Bereshit Rabba 39:2).

“Avraham is commanded to leave his place in order to testify to the existence of a G-d not bounded by place - Creator and sovereign of the entire universe. Avraham and Sara are to be like perfume, leaving a trace of their presence wherever they go. Implicit in this midrash is the idea that the fate of the first Jews already prefigured that of their descendants, who would be scattered throughout the world in order to spread knowledge of G-d throughout the world. Unusually, exile is seen here not as a punishment but as a necessary corollary of a faith that sees G-d everywhere. Lekh lekha means ‘Go with yourself’ - your beliefs, your way of life, your faith” (The Koren Shalem Humash with Rashi and Onkelos, and Commentary of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zt’l, 2025, p.78).

This beautiful Medrash, along with the insight of Rabbi Sacks, is not only a narrative of the life, and works, of Avraham, but should be the beacon of light that guides us all. Every Jew has a responsibility to himself, to Am Yisrael, Toras Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, to go “with himself,” and to carry his beliefs and way of life along with him always, wherever he may be. Just like perfume leaves a sweet scent in its wake and touches its surroundings, so too, we must ensure that the perfume of Torah, and its beautiful way of life, leaves its mark upon those around us. 

This medrash, and Rabbi Sacks’ profound words, evoke the life and works of Rabbi Moshe Hauer zt’l. Like perfume, as he went from place to place - from his Shul in Baltimore to his position as EVP of the OU, traveling weekly from his home to the OU offices in NY, from America to Israel, from offices of politicians to meeting with dignitaries, from seeking the advice and counsel of gedolim, to being the one giving advice and counsel, Rabbi Hauer’s life mission was to ensure that he would spread the knowledge of G-d - and His Torah of pleasantness - throughout the world. 

In connecting positively with everyone he met, in his sage counsel and measured words, with his Torah brilliance understood through the lens of modern times in which we live, yet never wavering from the emes of the mesorah he received from his rabbeim and parents (may his mother, shetichyeh, live and be well), Rabbi Hauer’s life was like an open bottle of beautiful perfume that moved from place to place, so that the greatness of his name - always dedicated to the greatness of His Name - became known around the world.

The number of lives that Rabbi Hauer impacted is immeasurable, and we are all indebted to him for his accomplishments at the OU and his work with the klal and the prat, the nigleh and the nistar. 

I received the following email from a woman in Baltimore. I share it with you with gracious permission from the sender, who - when I asked permission to share - replied with: “I would be honored, for anything to honor Rabbi Hauer's memory is fine with me.” 

“Rabbi Hauer was my Rav when I moved to Baltimore a few months before he became EVP of the OU. Someone told me at that time - almost six years ago - it’s k’dai to move to Baltimore to have Rabbi Hauer as your Rav. How true that was. I have heard many ba’alei tefila in my eight decades of life. His davening was exceptional and helped me make the connection to HKB”H that is possible through tefila. He davened many times since he [continued to] live here [after his appointment to the OU]. When I heard his voice starting the tefilla, my heart would skip a beat… He davened many tefilos this past Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; he sounded so strong. I can’t believe that I will not ever hear his davening, his sermons or his "good Shabbos” again. We lost an adam gadol. Hashem nosien v'Hashem lokach. In his extremely busy schedule, he would come to see me on Purim and give me shalach manot. He knew I was alone and wanted to make me feel special, and he did… He was there for the klal and the prat. I still cannot stop the tears. Yehi Zichro Baruch.”

As children of Avraham Avinu, we are responsible to continue his mission, וַיִּקְרָא שָׁם בְּשֵׁם ה’ אֵ-ל עוֹלָם, and he called there in the Name of Hashem the G-d of the world (Bereishis 21:33). Wherever life may take us, and wherever we may find ourselves, we are the seed that Hashem promised Avraham would become a “goy gadol,” a great nation.

In a world utterly devoid of the beautiful scents of “perfume”, we must strive to emulate - each of us on our own level - the great life of Rabbi Hauer zt’l, and bring the ne’imus of Torah to our fellow Jews, to our beloved Land, and to our world.

The path blazed by Avraham was heard by Rabbi Hauer every day of his life: דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל-נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם - her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace (Mishlei 3:17). We must each ask ourselves: do we hear this call every day of our lives?

May our ears be attentive, may our eyes be perceptive, may our hearts be open and may our souls long, to continue the great mission began by Avraham and bequeathed to us, his children - the great nation of Am Yisrael.

May the memory of Rabbi Hauer zt’l be for an everlasting blessing, and may his great life inspire us all. As he lived, so must we strive to do the same.

הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים, נְאֻם ה’ אלקים, וְהִשְׁלַחְתִּי רָעָב, בָּאָרֶץ: לֹא רָעָב לַלֶּחֶם, וְלֹא צָמָא לַמַּיִם כִּי אִם לִשְׁמֹעַ אֵת דִּבְרֵי ה - Behold, days are coming, says Hashem Elokim, and I will send famine into the land, not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the word of Hashem (Amos 8:11).

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום