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Parshas Lech Lecha
1. On the fact that our parshah begins with G‑d's statement to Avram[1], "Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace… and I will make you into a great nation…"[2], the Ramban raises a question and says that the parshah "did not explain the whole matter. For what reason is there that the Holy One, blessed be He, should say to him: Leave your land and I will do you good such as there has never been in the world — without first stating that Avraham was a servant of G‑d or a perfectly righteous man, etc.? The way of Scripture is to say: Walk before Me[3] and hearken to My voice, and I will do good to you — as with David[4] and Shlomo[5], and as throughout the entire Torah: 'If you will walk in My statutes'[6], 'If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the L‑rd your G‑d'[7]; and with Yitzchak it says, 'for the sake of Avraham My servant'[8]. But to promise him [reward] for the sake of leaving the land — there is no reason in it."
And he explains the reason: the people of Ur Kasdim had done him "much harm on account of his faith in the Holy One, blessed be He," and he had fled from them "to go to the land of Canaan, and he delayed in Charan. He told him to leave these too, and to do as he had originally planned — that his service to Him and his calling people to the Name of G‑d should be in the chosen land, and there His Name would be magnified and those nations would be blessed through him" — not as it had been "in Ur Kasdim, where they would disgrace and curse him and put him in a pit or in the fiery furnace"[9]. And he concludes: "But the Torah does not wish to elaborate on the opinions of idol worshippers and to explain the matter between him and the Chaldeans regarding faith, just as it was brief regarding the generation of Enosh and their views on idolatry which they innovated."
However, this does not settle the matter smoothly[10]: Why does the Torah not mention, at least briefly, "that Avraham was a servant of G‑d or a perfectly righteous man" as a preface to "And G‑d said to Avram, Go for yourself…"[11]? — just as we find with Noach, that before G‑d's statement to Noach (at the beginning of Parshas Noach[12]) the verse first states (at the head of the sidrah[13]), "Noach was a righteous man…"; and even earlier (at the end of Parshas Bereishis[14]) — "And Noach found favor in the eyes of G‑d"[15].
All the more so with regard to Avraham, concerning whom the Midrashim of our Sages relate at length his great virtue and righteousness and his service of G‑d with self-sacrifice while still in Ur Kasdim and Charan — which was the preface and cause[16] for G‑d's saying "Go for yourself…"[17] — and with all this, the Written Torah does not mention it at all[18], not even that Avraham was distinguished from all the other members of his family! At the end of Parshas Noach, Avraham is mentioned merely as one of the family of Terach[19].
2. The explanation of this is as follows:
The beginning of the Jewish people is from Avraham our father, who was the first Jew — "Avraham was one"[20]; and in Avraham himself, his distinction from the other people of his land and birthplace, and even from his father's house, began with "And G‑d said to Avram, Go for yourself" — away from all of them — which is stated at the beginning of our parshah.
And by beginning the narrative of the uniqueness of Avraham our father with "And G‑d said to Avram…" (even though a long time earlier[21] "Avraham had already recognized his Creator" and had drawn close to G‑d, and had publicized "to the whole world that there is one G‑d for the whole world, and it is fitting to serve Him"[22], to the point of giving himself over to self-sacrifice while still in Ur Kasdim[23]) — the Torah emphasizes the essence of Avraham (of a Jew, of every Jew):
For all other nations, their closeness and connection to the Creator of the world is bound up with their knowledge and recognition of the Creator, through which they connect themselves with G‑d and fulfill His commandments. For the Jewish people, however, their essential closeness to G‑dliness and their very existence as Jews consists (not in their raising themselves, on their own, to a recognition of the Creator of the world and to connecting themselves with Him, but) in the fact that G‑d set them apart; in the words of our Sages[24]: "And now the Omnipresent has brought us close to His service"[25]; "the Omnipresent brought us close to Him, separated us from the nations, and brought us close to His Oneness"[26].
And since this came from the Creator's side, it is understood that the Jewish people are not merely one more category within creation (though comparable to other created beings) that has become closer to G‑d than other human beings — but an entirely different essence.
For all created beings are, and remain, created entities, whereas Jews in their very essence are a matter of G‑dliness within creation [for not only is the soul of a Jew "truly a part of G‑d above"[27] even as it is below, but even concerning the body of a Jew it is said[28], "And You have chosen us from among every nation and tongue" — that G‑d chose the Jews, their bodies[29]].
Similarly with the difference between the Noahide commandments and the commandments the Jews were given — this is not merely a difference in quantity (seven or six hundred and thirteen), but a difference in quality and essence[30]:
The content of the Noahide commandments is (primarily) the settlement of the world[31] and the refinement of man — that the human species should be as it ought to be, and the world as it ought to be; and the stability and perfection of the world (and of the human species) come about through the Noahides fulfilling their commandments (and therefore the Noahide commandments are matters that can be fulfilled even on the basis of "rational conclusion"[32]).
The commandments of the Jews, however, are (not only the refinement of man[33] and the world, but also and primarily) "a bond and connection"[34] with the Creator, and this is the essence of a mitzvah. And since this is a matter of bonding and connecting with the Creator — and creation and Creator are utterly beyond comparison — it is understood that just as the existence of the created being is of no account relative to the Creator, so too his service is of no account relative to Him; and the way the bond is effected is (not through the refinement and elevation of man, through his knowledge and recognition of G‑dliness, or through any lofty feeling and service of a human being, but) through G‑d having chosen and commanded, i.e., through G‑d's command and its fulfillment[35].
And this the Torah emphasizes right at the first Jew, Avraham our father: his distinction (as a Jew) and his virtue begin (in the Torah — the deeds of the Patriarchs) not with his tremendous virtues — his closeness to G‑dliness through his own service and by his own power (which he had possessed earlier as well) — but rather[36] with "And G‑d said to Avram, Go for yourself…"[37], with G‑d setting him[38] apart. His connection and cleaving to G‑d (as recorded in the Torah) was effected through his being commanded by G‑d[39] and his fulfilling[40] the command[41].
3. "Torah" is from the word hora'ah, instruction[42]. This applies to all matters of Torah: every matter in the Torah is relevant not only as instruction for a person's study and knowledge, but they are an instruction for all Jews, and for every Jew in all generations, in actual conduct.
Especially regarding the Patriarchs — since "the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children"[43]; and as the Ramban[44] explains at length, the reason the Torah elaborates on "the narrative of the journeys, etc., and the other events" of the Patriarchs is in order to learn from them and know what the conduct of the children must be.
Accordingly, it is understood in our case: by relating that the (essential) bond and connection of Avraham with G‑d begins with G‑d's command "Go for yourself…," the Torah is not merely imparting knowledge about the essence of a Jew and the nature of mitzvos for Jews; rather, it is a practical instruction regarding the foundation and beginning of a Jew's closeness to G‑d.
4. One might think that for a Jew to begin fulfilling mitzvos and drawing close to G‑d, he must first of all learn about Yiddishkeit, about the laws and commandments of the Torah, and especially learn about G‑d and His relationship to the world in general and to Jews in particular; to know the content of mitzvos in general, and of each individual mitzvah, etc. That is, one might think that before fulfilling mitzvos one must have the proper preparation and qualification in knowing these matters clearly, etc. Only afterward can one begin to fulfill G‑d's commandments as it should be, as is fitting and proper for the fulfillment of G‑d's commandments.
Consequently, when one meets a Jew who until now has had no connection with Yiddishkeit — not only with the actual fulfillment of mitzvos, but even with any knowledge of Yiddishkeit; the only thing he knows is that he is a Jew — one might think that first of all one must begin to prepare him for Yiddishkeit and study with him matters that will eventually, in time, give him knowledge of G‑d and of Torah and mitzvos, until he acquires a feeling for Torah and mitzvos — and then he will fulfill Torah and mitzvos as a Jew should fulfill them.
True, even before one understands, one may not hold back from fulfilling the command in practice — "we will do" must precede "we will understand"[45], and so he will see to it that this is the conduct with the other Jew as well — yet he feels that this is still not the true manner of fulfilling mitzvos; it is only that since the other is not yet capable of understanding and comprehension, one may not wait until he reaches it, but the main fulfillment of mitzvos will come after knowledge and recognition, as mentioned.
On this comes the instruction in our parshah, from Avraham — "And G‑d said to Avram, Go for yourself…": nothing is yet known of Avraham's virtues — and the foundation and beginning of his closeness is "And G‑d said to Avram, Go for yourself…" — to do, to carry out G‑d's command in practice[46].
And not only is this the first thing in time; it is also the essence of the service of G‑d in general. For through what does a Jew become joined and united with G‑d? — through doing and obeying the Creator's command.
That is, the foundation of a Jew's service is simple faith and acceptance of the yoke — doing and obeying G‑d's command in practice.
5. Just as this is so with Jews in general, so it is with every Jew in his individual service:
When a Jew who observes Torah and mitzvos has knowledge of the revealed part of the Torah and of the inner dimension of the Torah, and has a recognition of the Creator of the world, up to love and fear — when he is about to fulfill a mitzvah of G‑d, he must know that the beginning of service, its essence and its root[47], is to sense that he is about to fulfill G‑d's command — as in the wording of the blessing over all mitzvos, "Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us"[48] — in such a way that "had he been commanded to chop wood"[49], he would have done it with the same self-sacrifice;
sensing that his connection with G‑d now consists in doing a mitzvah in practice;
that other elevations, and his own service, are all only within the bounds of a created being[50];
and that it is precisely through performing G‑d's mitzvos that a Jew[51] becomes "included in the light of G‑d and His will, and united with Him in a perfect union"[52].
6. Accordingly, it is all the more understandable why this matter (that the true connection of a Jew with G‑d is effected by G‑d's command and through the Jew's fulfilling the command) was stated in G‑d's directive, "Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house":
This is the content of "Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house," as explained in many places[53]: "Go for yourself from your land" — "go away" from your desires (eretz, land, is related to ratzon, will); "and from your birthplace" — from your habits (and character traits); "and from your father's house" — from your intellect (av, father, signifying Chochmah) — for even though, in a Jew who is as he should be, all these desires and faculties are immersed in holiness and G‑dliness (similar to, and a reflection of, how it was with Avraham our father even before the going), nevertheless the way to unite with G‑d is precisely by going out of one's own existence (desires, traits, intellect), even out of one's existence as it is in holiness —
And where must the purpose of "Go for yourself" lie? — "to the land that I will show you": to carry out the (eretz) will that G‑d indicates.
Accordingly, the question of the Ramban (cited in section 1) can also be answered: what place is there to promise such a reward merely for fulfilling G‑d's command — leaving his land?
Because through this fulfillment there comes about the true essence of mitzvos: the very fulfillment of G‑d's command is the purpose, and it brings the perfection of reward.
And since the main perfection of a mitzvah (a term related to tzavta, bond and connection) consists in fulfilling a mitzvah because of G‑d's command (not because of human feelings, as mentioned) — therefore G‑d also gives good and reward "such as there has never been in the world," a reward that is beyond the bounds of the world.
7. It may be said that this matter is also alluded to in the content of the reward-blessings —
not only in that the blessings emphasize how everything comes from G‑d: "And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great" (not in the passive form, "and you will become a great nation, etc."[54]), but also in that the content of the blessings is the matter of greatness — "a great nation," "and I will make great":
True greatness exists only with G‑d[55] — created beings, in themselves, have no true greatness[56], and the greatness that does exist in creation ("And I will make you into a great nation… and I will make your name great") comes through cleaving to the Creator.
The same applies to the other expressions of the blessing, which bring out that Avraham becomes one with G‑d. This is why "and you shall be a blessing," which Rashi explains: "The blessings are given into your hand; until now they were in My hand, and from now on you shall bless whomever you wish"; and even more: "And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse" — a blessing to Avraham automatically brings a blessing (from G‑d) to the one who blesses; and similarly the reverse.
And through service in the manner described — "Go for yourself from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house" — by each person in his individual service, "to the land that I will show you" is fulfilled in its plain sense: G‑d brings the Jews into the Land of Israel, and there one finds greatness and "the completeness of the land," up to "the L‑rd your G‑d will expand your borders"[57] — including the land of "the Kenite, the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite"[58].
It may be said that these too G‑d gave[59] to Avraham at the Covenant between the Parts, since that same covenant was made over all ten lands —
with the true and complete Redemption through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days, literally.
(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Lech Lecha and Acharon shel Pesach 5741, and Shabbos Parshas Noach 5743)
Key Lesson
The Torah tells us nothing of Avraham's greatness before G‑d commanded him "Go for yourself," because a Jew's bond with G‑d does not rest on his own understanding or spiritual attainments but on G‑d choosing him and commanding him. That is why the foundation of all service is simple acceptance of the yoke: doing the mitzvah because G‑d commanded it. When reaching out to a Jew who knows nothing of Yiddishkeit, we need not wait until he understands; the first step, and the essential one, is to bring him to fulfill a mitzvah in practice. And even a learned and refined Jew should feel, as he performs each mitzvah, that he is carrying out the command of the King.