From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004
11:21 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas
Lech Lecha, 5765
Signing
Off
By
Rabbi Joshua (signatorily known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In the
beginning of our parsha, God appears to Avrohom and tells him to leave his home,
and go to the land that He will show him. He then tells him, " And I will make
of you a great nation, I will bless you, and And I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing" (Bereishis 12:2). Rashi, citing the Talmud (Pesochim
117b) writes that the first three phrases in this verse are allusions to the
first blessing of the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, in which we say, " God of Avrohom,
God of Yitzchok, and God of Ya'akov." The final phrase, " and you will be a
blessing," is an allusion to the fact that the first blessing of Shemoneh Esreh
ends with an exclusive mention of Avrohom - " blessed are you, God, shield of
Avrohom." God was thus telling Avrohom that while all three patriarchs would, in
the future, be mentioned by the Jewish nation in the beginning of the first
blessing of Shemoneh Esreh, the blessing would end by mentioning only Avrohom.
Many commentators discuss the reason for this special status of Avrohom. I would
like to present three explanations offered by them, in an effort to understand
the unique contribution that Avrohom made to the development of the Jewish
people.
Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Ribicoff of Tel Aviv (1873-
1966), a little- known Torah scholar who made his living by mending shoes, who
was therefore known as " The Sandler," explains Rashi's comment on the basis of
the Zohar. According to the Zohar, the three patriarchs personified three
character traits, which reflected different ways in which God relates to the
world. Avrohom represented ahavah, or love, which, as explained by Rabbi Ya'akov
Moshe, really means chesed, or acts of kindness, since love motivates one to
perform such acts. Yitzchok personified gevuroh, or power, which restrains
chesed, and, in terms of God's management of the universe, can translate into
judgment. Ya'akov represented tiferes, or beauty, which is a combination of
ahavah and gevuroh. When Rashi says that the signature of the blessing refers
only to Avrohom, explains R. Ya'akov Moshe, he is saying that the end purpose of
all three traits is ahavah, or chesed. Gevuroh and tiferes serve as checks on
chesed, which, when applied in great abundance, can lead to disaster. However,
chesed is the basic trait that is focused on. Although R. Ya'akov Moshe
does not say this, his approach accords with the verse in Tehillim (89:2),
which declares that " the world is built on chesed."
Rabbi
Reuven Katz, in his Dudaei Reuven, takes a different approach. He says that
while each of the patriarchs did, indeed, personify a different character trait,
Avrohom displayed an additional feature, which was of paramount importance.
Avrohom, the rabbis tell us, was the first person in the world to call God
'adon,' or master. Avrohom recognized God's mastery of the universe, and led
many thousands of others to believe in God and recognize His sovereignty, as
well. In terms of the Jewish nation, this factor was of crucial importance,
because one cannot begin to speak of observance of the mitzvos of the Torah
woithout an acceptance of God's sovereignty. For this reason, Avrohom has a
special status, and is singled out at the end of the first blessing of Shemoneh
Esreh. Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch, in his Ta'am VeDa'as, writers that Avrohom's
special status was due to the chesed he performed, but adds that the greatest
chesed he performed was to lead people to believe in God and accept His
sovereignty. Rabbi Shternbuch's explanation, in effect, combines the two
explanations we have seen thus far.
Rabbi Avrohom Binyomin
Sofer, known as the Kesav Sofer, offers yet a third explanation. He says that
ones's service of God should be done out of a recognition that the purpose of
life is not to satiate one's desires, but to connect to God spiritually through
serving Him and carrying out His will. It is not sufficient, the Kesav Sofer
says, to serve God merely out of rote. One must come to his own recognition of
God, and carve out his own unique relationship with Him. Although each of the
patriarchs succeeded in creating his own unique relationship with God, as
demonstrated by the different traits they personified, Avrohom had a unique
status, because he was the first of them to do so, and beginnings are especially
difficult. For this reason, Avrohom merits special mention in the signature of
the first blessing of Shemoneh Esreh. Perhaps we can add that Avrohom's
achievment of creating his own approach to serving God, and the example he
thereby plays in serving as an impetus to others in carving out their own unique
relationship with God, is also an act of chesed. Too often, educators make the
mistake of trying to fit all students into the same mold, in an attempt to
create what they believe is the ideal religious personality. The truth is,
however, that, as the Kesav Sofer says, we all need to create our own path in
serving God, in conformity with the teachings of the Torah. Avrohom, by serving
as a guide to all future generations in this endeavor, performed a great act of
chesed, demonstrating that each person should work on forging his own unique
relationship with God, just as he did.
Please address all correspondence to the
author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
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