In this week's parsha, Hashem tells Avraham Avinu to set out on a journey, without specifying the destination. There is a well-known Medrash which asks: "why did Hashem not tell Avraham his destination? So that Avraham would be rewarded for each and every step he took." Why was it necessary for the destination to remain a mystery? Couldn't Avraham have received the same reward even if he knew where he was going? What was it about the ambiguity of the destination that maximized his schar?
R' Boruch Ber Leibowitz answers as follows: if Hashem had told Avraham Avinu that his destination was Eretz Yisroel, then no matter how long the journey would have been, it still would have been just one mitzvah - that of fulfilling Hashem's command to travel to Eretz Yisroel. However, if the command is simply left as "go wherever I command you", then each and every step becomes its own mitzvah - and not only arrival at the destination - since each step is technically a fulfillment of Hashem's command. And that is why it was so important for Hashem to leave the destination shrouded in mystery.
The same concept can be applied to our times as well. When we live in a time of great turmoil, a time of uncertainty - whether financial, political or otherwise - we must keep in mind that it is for our own good that the future is unknown to us. The Ribono Shel Olam does not tell us what the end will be; rather, we follow him with blind faith down the path that He sets for us, so that we may receive schar for each and every individual step of the way. It is actually the greatest chesed that Hashem can do for us, since it enables us to earn the maximum amount of reward possible, and to achieve the highest levels of greatness.
(This week's dvar torah is in honor of Amram Zvi ben Avraham Moshe.)
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