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As I sit here writing this D’var torah in our newly built Beit Midrash, I ponder what the true meaning of faith in God is. It comes as no surprise that the past couple of weeks in Israel have been filled with immense tension and tragedy. It has been a time where one may often question God’s judgment and decision making .

Like with Avraham, moments such as these are when the fundamentals of our faith in God are put to the test. These are the instances where life challenges us with the most difficult of tasks, yet expects the very most of mankind .

As it is written in Perek Aleph Passuk Aleph

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם, לֶךְ-לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ
And the Lord said unto Abram, go from your land, your birthplace, and from your father’s house, [and go] to the land that I will show you. Here, we see God asking Avraham to uproot his entire life, family, and belongings and venture off to a land unknown to him simply because God said so. Like you and me, Avraham surly would have preferred a permanent and stable home, yet he was able to set aside his own fears and questions and obey Hashem’s commandment without hesitation. For most of us,”emunah” is just a lack of doubt; but TRUE faith requires a willingness to put aside thought and act despite doubt.

Here , Avraham is distinguished from the rest, as his deep rooted faith enabled him to act in spite of his own thoughts, doubts, or difficulties it created. I too (along with 46 girls from around the world) have left my parent’s home, and ventured on my own to a land somewhat unfamiliar to me. At this moment in time, the simplest solution would be to board an EL AL flight back home, back to a place where my surroundings are familiar, comfortable, and safe. Avraham’s faith provides a valuable lesson though. His willingness to unconditionally accept and trust is what God requires of us each day. Emunah requires more than just keeping kosher, being Shomer Shabbat, or davening each day. Faith requires us to accept Gods words, and to take action in spite of that which may be difficult. For me, my “action” is simply staying in Israel. While seemingly meaningless, its underlying meaning to me is what demonstrates my true faith in God. While I along with the rest of Medinat Yisrael pray for the safety of Israel, I know that my enumah will keep me strong and focused on my journey.