Shemot: How Often Do You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone?

How often do you step outside your comfort zone? Why are we so hesitant to do so? Is it still possible to maintain a comfort zone in a world where distruption is the new trend? Human beings can get used to almost anything. However, we don’t like change. Our physical and mental composition encourages set norms in all areas of our lives with minimal disruption. This however represents only part of the story. As we dig deeper we discover that at the core of our being there exists a powerful drive which seeks to challenge the status quo. In truth it is both of these forces that exist side by side creating a dynamic tension which results in life as we know it. This phenomenon is played out in dramatic fashion in this week’s Torah portion, where we read about the birth of Moses and his emergence as the greatest Jewish leader in history. There is a key phrase at the beginning of the narrative which bears the hallmark of a great leader. The verse reads, “And Moses grew up and went out to his brethren”. The keyword “Vayeitzei” “and he went out” represents the moment that Moses leaves his “comfort zone” and seeks to identify and empathize with his now found people. Moses has been brought up in the palace of Pharaoh. The environment in which he lives is protected and secure. Yet once he discovers that he is Jewish he leaves the confines of his comfort zone and ventures into an unknown world. He is on a mission to find out about the plight of his brethren and is totally committed to help them in any way he could, irrespective of the consequences. He is able to do so only because he has completely stepped out of his comfort zone. He is now wholly dedicated to a cause greater than himself. His personal comfort and security is no longer part of the equation. The mystics say there is a spark of Moses embedded inside each and every one of us. Yes, it is not easy to leave our comfort zones. Yet it is certainly possible. We have it in our spiritual nature to do so. Life begins where the comfort zone ends. As Jews it is indeed our hallmark. It is our way of life. Each and every day