Avraham's aliya began in the same way as did Herzl's Zionist movement. His starting point is not the attraction and the vision of the land of Israel, but rather escape from Ur-Kasdim. But while Avraham is in Haran, he is commanded "to do what he had intended to do, to go to the land of Canaan."
The command of "Lekh Lekha" turns the framework of fate into a framework of destiny; it turns the place that was meant to serve as a place of refuge into God's inheritance.
Yom HaAtzma’ut restores for us with full force and depth the consciousness that here, in God's inheritance, we can fulfill visions, but also exist; we can realize dreams but also live.
Adapted by Yair Yaniv and translated by David Strauss
