לך לשלום

The Gemara in מסכת ברכות makes a distinction between the words, לך לשלום, “Go to peace,” said by יתרו to Moshe, and לך בשלום, “Go in peace,” said by King David to his son, Avshalom. After Yitro’s good wishes, there was a positive result. Moshe was ultimately successful in his mission of delivering Israel from bondage. Avshalom suffered his demise after parting from his father, when his hair was stuck in the thicket and he was killed by Yoav. The Gemara says to be careful to always use the לך לשלום formula when saying good-by to someone. Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik spoke of his deep bond of love between himself and his father. His father never told him that he loved him because it would have been almost an insult to express it. He said that he could feel this intense love when he and his father would part, and his father would simply say, לך לשלום.