Rav Meir Yechiel of Ostrovtza points out that this is the very first mitzvah ever given to a Jew.
The Ribbono Shel Olam commanded Avraham, "Leave your land, your birthplace, and your father's house" and go to His chosen land.
Remarkably, this command came before Hashem instructed Avraham to circumcise himself. In other words, before Avraham entered the covenant through bris milah, he was already commanded to make Aliyah.
Why?
Would it not have made more sense for Avraham to first enter the covenant through a bris and only then be told to move to Eretz Yisrael?
I believe the Ribbono Shel Olam is conveying a powerful message.
Hashem is teaching us that Eretz Yisrael is the foundation upon which all of Yiddishkeit rests.
Every Jew, even one who, like Avraham at that moment, has not yet performed a single mitzvah, possesses within his very essence, his spiritual DNA, the ability and the calling to leave his homeland and his father's house and journey to the land that Hashem has shown us.
No matter how distant a Jew may be from Torah and mitzvos, a spark remains within him that connects him to Eretz Yisrael. The very first command given to the first Jew teaches us that Hashem wants every Jew in His land.
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