Am I avoiding goals because of obstacles that no longer exist?

Rabbi Landau teaches that “some of the walls stopping you right now don't exist anymore, so get moving.” Before you plan around an obstacle, he says, make sure the obstacle is still there.

We do this constantly. We shelve an idea, avoid a conversation, or skip an attempt “because of a wall that was real five years ago.” Then we build our whole life around the detour and never go back to check. “You're obeying a rule that no longer rules anything.” The wall came down, but the plan never updated.

Things change. He points to technology: a programming job that once came with a timeframe of nine months can now get done overnight with AI. The no you heard years ago may not be the answer today. So go back and check. Go kick the tire.

He brings the lesson from the Torah. Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu, “Lech shuv Mitzrayim ki meisu kol ha'anashim hamevakshim es nafshecha,” go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought your life have died. Moshe was told to return because the old threat had passed. “The reason you left no longer needs you to keep away.”

Also answered in this teaching

What should I do about a goal I gave up on years ago?

Rabbi Landau's advice is to go back and check before you keep planning around the obstacle. Half the walls people duck behind don't exist anymore, so stop playing dead behind a wall that was torn down years ago.

Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level

Surface claim

Some of the walls blocking you no longer exist, so check before you keep planning around them.

Fear, vulnerability, or tension

A no from years ago, because the technology wasn't ready or the timing was wrong, can keep a person ducking long after the reason is gone. Rabbi Landau calls it obeying a rule that no longer rules anything.

What may be behind it

The detour became a whole life. Once the plan is built around the obstacle, nobody goes back to see whether the obstacle is still standing.

Deepest human truth

Moshe was told to go back once the men who sought his life had died. The reason you left does not have to keep you away forever.

More questions from this teaching

• Why did Hashem tell Moshe to go back to Egypt?