אור החיים — לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך

Q — Why does the command 'לך לך' specify three layers of departure — from your land, your birthplace, and your father's house?

A — In one of his readings, Or HaChaim offers a startling possibility: the command demanded total separation, that Avram go entirely alone, leaving even his extended family behind — unlike his earlier departure from Ur Kasdim where he traveled with kin. On this reading Avram did not fully fulfill the command at this stage: either he misunderstood it and took Lot along, or he understood it correctly but Lot clung to him ('וילך אתו לוט' — דבק בו), against Avram's intent.