Parashat Lekh-Lekha received its name from God’s command to Avraham in the parasha’s opening verse, “Lekh lekha” – “Go.” God commands Avraham to resettle in a land he will be shown, which was, of course, the Land of Canaan. Rashi, apparently troubled by the seemingly unnecessary word lekha (literally, “for you”) in this verse, comments, “Le-hana’atekha u-le-tovatekha” – which literally means, “for your benefit [or ‘enjoyment’] and your well-being.” God emphasized to Avraham that his relocation will ultimately prove beneficial for him, and this is the meaning of the instruction, “Lekh lekha”- “Go for yourself.”
Rav Menachem Benzion Zaks (son-in-law of Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank), in his Menachem Tziyon, observes that Rashi speaks of two different concepts – hana’a, which is generally used to mean either benefit, pleasure or enjoyment; and tova, which literally means “goodness,” or “well being.” Gods tells Avraham that his resettlement will bring him not only hana’a – benefit – but also tova – goodness. How are we to explain these two different terms?
Rav Zaks explains, quite simply, that not everything from which a person derives “benefit” is “good” for him. That which provides enjoyment and gratification does not always serve one’s long-term interests; very often, it in fact works to one’s detriment. Rav Zaks brings as an example the halakha established in the Mishna in Masekhet Bekhorot (37a), concerning a butcher who sold meat that was subsequently determined to come from a tereifa (animal with a fatal illness, which may not be eaten). The Mishna states that even though the customer already ate the meat, and thus derived benefit from his purchase, the butcher must nevertheless return the money. Although the customer received physical enjoyment, the meat was not “good” for him in the spiritual sense, and the transaction is therefore void. (We should note that Rashi, in his commentary to that Mishna, indicates that the butcher must return the money only as a kenas – as a penalty imposed on him by the Sages. This implies that from a strict, legal point of view, the transaction is binding, since the customer indeed derived the desired benefit from the purchase.)
The Almighty therefore emphasized to Avraham that his new residence will prove beneficial in both senses: in terms of the immediate experience of benefit, as well as in terms of long-term benefit.