The Father, The Son and the Holy Gold Mine

The story is told about a man in the American West, in the early days of the California Gold Rush. Like thousands of others, he left his old life behind for the gold-dusted dreams of fabulous wealth. Like thousands of others, his reality was one of sweltering days of back-breaking labor to produce a harvest of dry, lifeless rocks. Day after day he worked his claim; digging, blasting, sifting through debris, but the yellow gleam eluded him.

As the months wore on, his funds depleted. Costly mining equipment could no longer be purchased; if a tool broke, he found a way to use another tool as a substitute. For food, he learned to subsist on the surrounding vegetation. “Just one more day,” he thought. “Another try, I’m almost there. If I can just strike a vein, it will all be worth it.”

But that day was nowhere in sight, and he was out of options. His credit was all used up, he had no more valuables to sell, and there was nothing left to try. The poor miner approached the owner of the neighboring claim, and sold his stake to the man for a single stick of dynamite. The new owner allowed his neighbor to descend into the mining tunnel to retrieve his belongings- or what was left of them.

The blast that shook the ground a few minutes later made suddenly and painfully clear what the old man had wanted the stick of dynamite for. The new owner cautiously made his way into the blast zone to survey the damage. The sight that greeted him made his heart nearly stop dead. Through the smoke and the dust, past the fallen rocks and the old man’s lifeless body, he could see the glittering shine. The blast has opened a window into the famous Mother Lode.

The Torah twice describes the outset of Avraham Avinu’s journey to the Land of Canaan (the Holy Land). In the first instance (Genesis 11:31), it states, “Terach took his son Avram… to travel to the Land of Canaan, and they came to Charan and they settled there.” Just a few pesukim (verses) later (12:5), it says, “Avram took his wife Sarai… and they set out to travel to the Land of Canaan, and they arrived at the Land of Canaan.” (This was after he had been commanded by Hashem to leave his homeland and family, to travel to an unspecified destination.)

The area around Jerusalem, even then, was well-known as a place where those who were faithful to Hashem lived, and one could become very great by studying there and taking advantage of the unique spirituality that was available at the future site of the Bais Hamikdash (Holy Temple). The commentators point out that even Terach- although originally an ardent adherent of pagan idolatry- set out with his son to reach this center of G-dliness. But he never made it. “They came to Charan and they settled there.” Terach would die in Charan, never reaching his goal. Abraham, by contrast, set out to reach Jerusalem, and indeed persevered and got to the Holy Land.

The contrast is stark, the implications far-reaching. In any area of life- and especially with regards to spiritual growth- the one who finds success is the one who perseveres, who doesn’t lose sight of his original goal. It is too easy to be distracted by all sorts of “Charans” that we encounter along the way, but we must remember: he set out for Canaan, and he arrived at Canaan!

Have a good Shabbos.

Rabbi Yehuda Beyda, Former Director of Oorah’s Rebbetzins program

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