Audio of Beraishis Ch. 16 – Biblical Origins of the Arab Israeli Conflict

Biblical Origins of the Arab Israeli Conflict – Based on RSRH’s commentary to Beraishis Chapter 16

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Beraishis Ch. 16, 1-16
pages 368-378

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Audio Shiur on Para Aduma

Symbolism of the Para Aduma – Based on RSRH’s commentary to Parshas Chukas

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Audio Shiur on The Manna and its Shabbos Lesson

The First Shabbos Experience – The Lesson of the Mon – RSRH’s commentary on the verses relating to the Manna from Parshas BeShalach

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Bemidbar 19A – Intro to the Symbolic Meaning of פרה אדומה and all the Laws of טומאה וטהרה

The Torah describes the whole concept of פרה אדומה which entails all the parts of the mitzvah as חטאת. חטאת, a clearing away of sin, is a concept that belongs to the sphere of morality. This mitzvah is חוקת התורה – it is the fundamental institution of the whole teaching of טומאה. When looking for a message in the laws of טומאה וטהרה we must look for a message regarding morality, especially when studying the mitzvah of פרה אדומה, the place in the Torah where this is taught to offer insight to all the other mitzvos regarding טומאה וטהרה.

Moral freedom is the first and indispensable condition for the whole sanctification of life which the Torah obligates us to strive for.

When man comes into contact with death this truth is threatened. The corpse shows the power of death. Someone who comes into contact with death may mistakenly come to think that death and all forces of nature dominate everything, including man. If that was true there could be no room for free will or the Torah’s demand that we dedicate out lives to the fulfilling the will of God. Man wouldn’t have the ability to overcome the forces of nature ie. his own animal nature. The laws of טומאה וטהרה throughout the book of Vayikra come to negate this mistaken idea.

The preparation of the Parah Aduma is done publicly, through the nation’s Kohen representative, in view of the Bais Hamikdah, to proclaim as the moral basis of the whole life of the people, that man can be free of sin, can clear himself of sin, and can remain free of sin. Man is endowed with moral willpower.

However, the Torah recognizes the duality of man’s existence. Man lives in a physical world and is subject to physical forces. The Torah doesn’t teach man to ignore his physical side or make believe it doesn’t exist. Rather, it shows man the contrast of his nature. Both elements exist and both in view of the Bais Hamikdash (which houses the Torah and whose service represents elevating life to the Torah). This חטאת elevates man with his whole nature, both physical and eternal moral powers, and directs him into the free eternal sphere of the One God (Who has absolute free Will).

The Torah teaches us here not to be misled by contact with death. Become free and immortal, not despite, but along with all those aspects of your existence that are physical. Choose to become the immortal master of your mortal body. In the midst of טומאה, preserve your טהרה!

See next post for a detailed explanation of the symbolism of the פרה אדומה.

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Bemidbar 19B – Detailed Symbolism of the פרה אדומה – Red Cow

See intro here

The פרה אדומה – Removal from the camp and שחיטה

פָרָה אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָה אֲשֶׁר אֵין בָּהּ מוּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל
A completely red cow, unblemished, that never wore a yoke

אֲדֻמָּה תְּמִימָה – completely red. Full vitality
אֵין בָּהּ מוּם – unblemished.
It must be at least 3 years old. It is mature.

A פרה is meant to help man in his work. But this פרה never used its strength in the service of man. It never even showed signs of its function to service man (לֹא עָלָה עָלֶיהָ עֹל).

The פרה אדומה represents the physical nature not mastered by man. As such it is taken from the national treasury (from the half shekels collected yearly donated by the nation) and given to the kohen who serves in the Temple.

The kohen (“כהן” means one who gives direction and prepares people for life) will show the people what is the position of physical nature uncontrolled by man. He will show what meaning this nature is to have in the sphere of a society that seeks to shape its life under the influence of the Torah.

וּנְתַתֶּם אֹתָהּ אֶל אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְהוֹצִיא אֹתָהּ אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְשָׁחַט אֹתָהּ לְפָנָיו
You (the nation) give it to Elazar the Kohen, and he should remove it, outside the camp, and slaughter it in his countenance.

Lesson #1: וְהוֹצִיא אֹתָהּ אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה – Remove the Parah from the camp. This nature is meant to serve man. Not when it is withered or broken, but in its full strength. If it is not controlled by man, it no longer has a place within the framework of the Jewish national life of the people.

Lesson #2: וְשָׁחַט אֹתָהּ – He slaughters it: This “animal” which which stands here in “the fullness of vitality and completeness” and on which no “yoke” has ever been placed, has only one remedy: שחיטה. It requires total subordination through a sharp and decisive act of human free will. Only then can and should the animal/physical be elevated to a holy relationship to God’s Temple. If not, it has no place in the human realm.

Receiving of its Blood and Sprinkling Toward the Temple’s Entrance

וְלָקַח אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן מִדָּמָהּ בְּאֶצְבָּעוֹ וְהִזָּה אֶל נֹכַח פְּנֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד מִדָּמָהּ שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים
Elazar should take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the Tent of Appointed Meeting (The Temple), seven times.

וְלָקַח אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן מִדָּמָהּ בְּאֶצְבָּעוֹ – The Kohen receives the blood into his hand (not into a vessel). The meaning here is: Man receives the animal nefesh and introduces it into his free sphere of influence.

וְהִזָּה אֶל נֹכַח פְּנֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד מִדָּמָהּ שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים – This teaches: That animal aspect that comes under his influence should be directed to the Divine ideal of the Torah. Seven times ie. until it attains completion. (שחיטה והזיה represent mastery over physical-sensual drives and their direction to the path of God’s moral law.)

שריפה – Burning of the Cow

וְשָׂרַף אֶת הַפָּרָה לְעֵינָיו אֶת עֹרָהּ וְאֶת בְּשָׂרָהּ וְאֶת דָּמָהּ עַל פִּרְשָׁהּ יִשְׂרֹף
The cow shall be burned before his eyes, its skin, its flesh, its blood, along with its dung, shall be burned.

Any part of the animal that was not elevated to serve God by coming into the sphere of man who used it for a higher purpose, will disintegrate and become ash, for its basis is dust.

But this ash too is placed before God. There was a specific location nearby (גתה) where the ash was to be placed. (If it was burned outside this location, the Parah is disqualified.) It too was facing the entrance of Temple. Teaching us: One God created both elements within man and both parts exist together for one purpose – so that the Divine power of moral and free man’s nature should manifest itself in the very struggle against physical compulsion. The struggle and the exercise of free will is the premise of God’s whole Torah.

וְלָקַח הַכֹּהֵן עֵץ אֶרֶז וְאֵזוֹב וּשְׁנִי תוֹלָעַת וְהִשְׁלִיךְ אֶל תּוֹךְ שְׂרֵפַת הַפָּרָה
And the Kohen should take a piece of cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet wool, and he shall throw it into the burning of the cow.

Cedar is the highest and strongest of plants. Hyssop is the lowest and weakest of plants. Wool dyed with the blood of a worm. Worm and mammal. The lowest and the highest of animal life. Together these represent all of organic life. All of this is thrown into the fire as the cow is burned.

The symbolism of burning these items with the ashes of the cow teaches: The part of the human that decays is the same as the rest of the organic world that ultimately decays. This was joined to him (his higher/spiritual/moral part) only temporarily. Just as all organic matter decays, so too man’s temporary housing decays. It is merely the means to serve God but it is not the person himself.

  • With the burning of the Parah the function of the Kohen is completed. In the name of the Temple, facing its entrance, he expresses the duality of man. Man’s free power subordinates the animal element within himself, elevating it towards God to the realm of the Divine freedom of His Torah. This is represented by the שחיטה, הזיה ושריפת הפרה.
אסיפה – The Ashes are Collected

וְאָסַף אִישׁ טָהוֹר אֵת אֵפֶר הַפָּרָה וְהִנִּיחַ מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה בְּמָקוֹם טָהוֹר וְהָיְתָה לַעֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת לְמֵי נִדָּה חַטָּאת הִוא
A man who is pure shall then gather up the ashes of the cow and lay them down outside the camp in a pure place. Its shall remain for the Children of Israel to be kept as a water of separation; it is an offering that clears sin.

Collecting the ashes may be done by an ordinary man. The community is to take the ashes and keep them as משמרת. The ashes are to remind the people of their dual nature; that man is a combination of the heavenly and earthly, and the community should use them whenever it is needed to teach against this טומאה-illusion on man’s nonfreedom.

He must be pure when collecting the ashes, conveying the teaching of purity and put them outside the shechina-sphere of the Temple in a place that is pure.

The emphasis on the purity of the ashes teaches: The physical aspect of man does not bring about טומאה. Rather it is the error in thinking that all parts of man, the physical and the spiritual are all going to decay, that is טומאה. But these ashes are not blended with the spirit. The blood, representing the spirit controlled by man’s free will to follow the Torah, was removed and correctly dedicated to God through שחיטה והזיה. – Even though these ashes are pure, they are not kept in the מחנה שכינה shechina-sphere. Because while it is not at all טמא it is also not subject to being elevated without its attachment to the godly element. The pure physical’s place is outside the Temple. The Temple is the place for “אדם” (As explained in Beraishis, “Adam” means the human who elevates this physical world in service to God – GS).

The Ashes are combined with “Living Water”
מיים חיים אל כלי

וְלָקְחוּ לַטָּמֵא מֵעֲפַר שְׂרֵפַת הַחַטָּאת וְנָתַן עָלָיו מַיִם חַיִּים אֶל כֶּלִי
The “eternally living water” is put upon the “dust”.

This evokes the idea of the eternally living, temporarily combined with the material that is subject to decay. This combination is to uproot the טומאה-error that there is not eternal element of man and upon death, or any overwhelming force of nature, man has no ability to choose good. This water is called מי נדה water of separation. Its purpose is to banish this wrong idea from our minds.

The water is upon the dust. Meaning the eternal aspect of man should be the master over the physical. Man is not something earthly that contains life, but it is life containing something earthly. That is what man is.

הוּא יִתְחַטָּא בוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יִטְהָר
To prepare for purity, the טמא מת is sprinkled with the Ashes and Living Water Mixture on the Third and Seventh Days of His Counting

Once mixed, the water is called מי חטאת. It represents the combination of man’s two aspects and defines what man is. The sprinkling’s function is to restore clarity to man about who he is. All parts of man must be subjugated to fulfilling God’s will. How we eat, engage in pleasure, etc. just the same as how we think and speak, etc.. Before טבילה can restore him to his previous state, he must have clarity about all aspects of who he is.

Symbolism of sprinkling on the the third and seventh days of counting towards purity.

The third day of creation was the day organic life was created and God fixed it in place with the command of “למינו “which dictated that all species should stay within their sphere. On the third day all organic life submitted to Divine Law. On the seventh day of creation man placed his godlike abilities under God’s rule.

And so we see that sprinkling on the third and the seventh days teaches that both aspects of man should be under God’s rule and direction.

מטהר טמאים ומטמא טהורים
Those who were unpure become pure
Those who were pure become unpure

How can we resolve the paradox that those involved in the work of creating the ashes and the water combination become unpure and yet the same wate ash mixture is what makes an unpure man pure?

The person who came into contact with a corpse is the one who may be at risk of being confused. He has the טומאה-error that all of man decays. He is the one whose clarity is restored when shown the duality of man and what his job is in this world, while he has a body and a physical surrounding.

However, that which is a remedy for the sick can be a deadly poison for a healthy person. Normally, one does not live thinking of this antithesis. This is how it should be. One should not normally be pondering thoughts of death alongside thoughts of life. Because the normal, pure beat of the pulse is entirely that of life. The spirit of God in man masters the material and elevates it to the realm of morality and eternity, allowing it to participate in the eternity that lies in every moment of a pure person’s life. A pure person is not divided into two and the very consciousness of the antithetical elements in his being blunts his thought. Contact with the מי חטאת – this water-ash mixture is a disturbance to his focus on life and brings about the טומאה-error/illusion.

טבילה והערב שמש
Immersion in the Mikva and Waiting Until Sunset
to Attain Purity

The sprinkling does not affect the טהרה directly. The הזיה-idea is only a preparation for טהרה. It put the seemingly contradictory elements of a person into the right relationship with one another. It tells man, “Although you are  עפר and will become אפר, your real essence is מיים חיים.”

טהרה only comes about when a person immerses himself – the whole of his being – completely. Then when the sun sets, all thoughts of the corpse will recede and he will begin a fresh new day, free of all inner conflict and not overcome and confused by morbid thoughts.

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Beraishis 10A Noach’s Descendants Start to Disperse and Form Nations

מֵאֵלֶּה נִפְרְדוּ אִיֵּי הַגּוֹיִם בְּאַרְצֹתָם אִישׁ לִלְשֹׁנוֹ לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם בְּגוֹיֵהֶם (פסוק ה)

From these groups of nations branched out in their lands, each to its dialects, their families and their nations.

אֵלֶּה בְנֵי שֵׁם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לִלְשֹׁנֹתָם בְּאַרְצֹתָם לְגוֹיֵהֶם. אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי נֹחַ לְתוֹלְדֹתָם בְּגוֹיֵהֶם וּמֵאֵלֶּה נִפְרְדוּ הַגּוֹיִם בָּאָרֶץ אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל (פסוקים ל”א-ל”ב)

These are the families of the sons of Shem, according to their families and dialects, in their lands, according to their nations.

These are the families of the sons of Noach, according to their generations in their nations; and from these the nations branched out over the earth after the Mabul.

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As opposed to what follows in Chapter 11, when a special Divine intervention disperses the nations, this chapter talks about a natural development due to the new conditions of man after the Mabul.

The word נִפְרְדוּ  is used to describe the separation here. Later the word הפיץ is used which denotes a forced separation (brought about by Divine intervention).

The word for language here is לשון. The word used for language in Chapter 11 is שפה.
לשון is best translated as dialect and שפה as language.

As Noach’s descendants grew in number they naturally spread out. People were influenced and changed by external conditions. The one language initially spoken by all of mankind developed into various dialects. The separation in space and in language led to external separation, one nation from the other, becoming various גוים, and also led to internal bonds within each nation. Each nation linked within itself as משפחות בגויהם.

Beraishis 10: the entire chapter
commentary is on pages 252-253

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Beraishis 10B Nimrod – Tyranny in the Name of God

וְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת נִמְרֹד הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ. הוּא הָיָה גִבֹּר צַיִד לִפְנֵי השם עַל כֵּן יֵאָמַר כְּנִמְרֹד גִּבּוֹר צַיִד לִפְנֵי השם

Kush begot Nimrod; he began to be a hero upon the earth. He was a crafty hero before God; hence the saying: Like Nimrod, a crafty hero before God.

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Being a גבור, a mighty hero, wasn’t something the world hadn’t seen before. There were the נפילים mentioned above in chapter 6. But Nimrod’s signature and calling, the essence of his life was לִהְיוֹת גִּבֹּר בָּאָרֶץ. What Nimrod began continues to this day.

This is the beginning of Noach’s prophecy taking shape. Moral bondage leads to social bondage. Here we have a grandson of Cham beginning to overpower others.

גבורה is a gift from God. Its proper use is to enforce justice. But Nimrod did exactly the opposite with his might and cleverness.

He was a גִבֹּר צַיִד. The word צַיִד means to entrap through plotting and scheming. (This word is related to זוד as in the word מזיד, plotting, and סוד, secret).

According to the Jewish perception, secret politics are bad politics. The glory of kings is when their deeds are clear and transparent. As the verse in Proverbs (25:2) says, כְבֹד מְלָכִים חֲקֹר דָּבָר.

Nimrod used force and cunning to catch men for his plans. Power put to use for the purpose of justice has no reason to hide. But Nimrod had selfish aims for his use of power.

Nimrod sensed his material and perhaps intellectual superiority over others. He put those to use to subjugate those who were inferior to him, exploiting them for his needs.

The source of tyranny is force and cunning from the leadership, not the submission from the followers.

Nimrod was the first to misuse the name of God. He did all of this לִפְנֵי השם,  before God. He masked his tyranny with the halo of Divine approval, demanding approval of his authority in the name of God.

Some generations later tyrants, also descendants of Cham, took this even further, declaring themselves as gods. The pharaohs bowed before images of themselves.

Nimrod is the prototype of all future tyrants who crown themselves with the halo of holiness. Their power and political policies all in the name of God described here by the words: כְּנִמְרֹד גִּבּוֹר צַיִד לִפְנֵי השם.

Beraishis 10:8-9
pages 255-257

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Beraishis 11A The sin of the Tower of Bavel – Community above God and above the Individual

Nearly 400 years had elapsed since the Mabul. People naturally branched out to different locations. The changes in location and the effect the elements in those locations had on the inhabitants created differences, including the dialects that people spoke (לשון). Even so, the basic language that was spoken was still one language (שפה אחת ודברים אחדים).

The older generation remained in the east. (a place of spirituality, even today. Also, note that the sun rises from the east.) Shem and perhaps Noach remained in the east.  The younger generation removed themselves from God. (ויסעו מקדם – מקדמונו של עולם). They found a plain in the land of Shinar. This is where Nimrod, the first “cunning hero”, created a following by exerting his intelligence and force over others and began his reign.

They wanted to settle in this plain but it didn’t have the ready-to-use building material that nature provided. And so they invented the brick. They said, “Let us see if we can manufacture something ourselves. Let us produce artificial stones. (הבה נלבנה לבנים)” There wasn’t enough fuel to produce a large quantity of bricks and so they said, “Let us burn whatever we find. (ונשרפה לשרפה)” Lastly, they used mortar – until then, used as a bonding agent – as cement, replacing clay which they couldn’t find  (וְהַחֵמָר הָיָה לָהֶם לַחֹמֶר).  The raw materials were of course provided by nature but the product was man-made.

They said, “Let us build for ourselves a city and a tower whose top shall reach the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered all over the face of the earth.”

This “name for themselves” was directed at God (Who is over them) and directed at the individual (who is below them). Mankind as a whole has no equal. They came to recognize the power of a community. Working together, man can overcome and master nature. The purpose of the tower they set out to build was to be an ongoing project for all future generations. It was to be an everlasting monument to the power of the community and its preeminence over the individual.

In the Torah’s view, the community should serve to complement the individual. This is only so when the community’s aim is to serve God, which is the same goal of the individual. When that is the case, all the individual forces combine to serve God more completely. The primary goal remains the individual’s goal.

The danger in community is if it regards its collective power as an end in itself – if it declares that the individual only has value through the community. Then, instead of the community complementing the individual, the community nullifies the individual.

This was the danger here. Their aim was to make a name for themselves; to declare the power of community as the goal, leaving no room for God and no room for the individual to serve God. This community declared that they as a group had progressed and invented whatever they need. The community had no need for God.

With the community as the goal, they left no room for morality. While individuals weep when a loved one passes away, here everything is to be destroyed for the betterment of the whole. “Let us burn whatever there is, never mind what we destroy, as long as it will contribute to the needs of the community.”

In light of the above we can easily understand the following Midrash (פדר”א פרק כד): If a man fell at the construction site and died, they paid no heed to him, but if a brick fell, they sat down and wept, as said, “When will be able to get another to replace it?”

(The pyramids of Egypt – descendant of Cham as well – that each pharaoh built, were projects whose purpose was along the lines of this tower.)

(see Hirsch’s stirring words on page 268)

Beraishis 11:1-4
pages 262-269

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Beraishis 11B God Prevents the Building of the Tower of Bavel

God (using the name of Divine Providence that ensures the future of mankind) came down, examining the motives of the collective effort to build the city and tower. God chose to intervene to ensure that ultimately the Divine presence will be able to dwell with man on earth – עיקר שכינה בתחתונים). If the community as a whole continues as it set out, there would be no room for God to enter man’s world.

God introduces a new element which will pull apart this unity.

Language can be formed from an objective view of the world and how it should be defined. The language man spoke until this time was based on this and was rooted in a tradition that transmitted this. All people spoke one language and uniform words because they had the same basic opinions and attitudes. The differences in dialect were subtle, the result of living apart and under different physical conditions.

Language can also be formed from a subjective view of the world. When language is formed that way, even if the words would be the same from one country to the next, they would mean different things. (see pages 274-277 where Hirsch cites many examples of this distinction)

At the early stages of history, God taught man to speak one language; שפה אחת. This language reflected the unchanging nature of things. Through this language He taught man the nature of things and their purpose. It was God’s Will that man’s wisdom should be based on this view. To call out in the name of God, לקרא בשם השם, means to teach man the nature of things and their purpose, not according to man’s subjective, arbitrary view, but according to God’s view and His Will for mankind. We can only have a clear, objective view of the world if we call things by their right names.

Now a new element penetrated this uniform language, cutting language off from its source. That new element was the self-consciousness of the individual.

God awakened within each individual, his inherent value. Individuals resisted the attempt to be nullified by the power of the community. Individuals’ self respect moved them to break from the “group think” and form their own opinions. Now, individuals would be obstinate, subjective and egotistic. Now, individuals would not accept or submit to any view other than their own, not even to a Divine tradition.

This change in man might seem at first glance to undo God’s plan for mankind but the alternative was much worse. Man as a community had decided to use its power to leave no room for God. Now, the individual would break away from the community. True, people would now leave the good along with the bad, cutting themselves off from the roots of language, the root of how they were to understand the world, but this was now necessary. This path will ultimately bring about man’s redemption.

As individuals form their personal attitudes the uniform language of man withers away (נבלה שפתם). Although on the one hand this is a movement away from the pure and unifying source, this becomes the new path of man bringing God back into the circle of Man. Mindfulness awakens individuals to see beyond a Nimrod, to a Power above. This is now the path to bring back the שכינה.

Perhaps at first people still spoke the same language (שפה אחת) but their opinions were different (no longer דברים אחדים). Ultimately this developed into different languages being spoken.

  • This concludes the Torah’s introduction. From this point forward the Torah focuses on the Jewish mission, living according to the Torah, which will facilitate God’s coming into the human sphere. Understanding how the world got to this place, serves to teach Israel its mission.
  • (And we see this immediately in the next chapter: Avraham Avinu begins his task by calling out in the Name of God (12:8) as opposed to his contemporaries who wanted to make a name for themselves, as Hirsch points out there. GS)

Ultimately, mankind will come back to God’s objective view of the world and perceive the world in a united way.

כִּי אָז אֶהְפֹּךְ אֶל עַמִּים שָׂפָה בְרוּרָה לִקְרֹא כֻלָּם בְּשֵׁם השם לְעָבְדוֹ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד (צפניה ג,ט)

“For then I will restore to the people a purified language so that they will all call in the Name of God to serve Him with one shoulder (with united strength).

 

 

Beraishis 11:5-9
pages 269-280

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Beraishis 11C The Jewish Mission: לקרא בשם השם

Avraham’s contemporaries were the first ones to give expression to the idea of נעשה לנו שם – disregarding the individual’s unique relationship to God, caring only about the advancement and achievements of the community. (Nimrod, a cunning dictator, convinced the masses that this was the way of progress and better for them. He, however, put himself at the head of this new enterprise.)

Aver descended from Shem (v.14). His descendant is referred to as  אברם העברי. According to Rav Yehuda’s explanation (ב”ר מ”ד,ח) this means כל העולם כולו מעבר אחד והוא מעבר אחר. The whole world stood on one side and he stood on the other side. Avram completely disapproved of the direction the entire generation had gone.

It is אברם העברי who exercises his free will and begins the world’s path back to its relationship with God. As he sets out to begin his mission, the very first thing he does in the land of Canaan is to build an altar and call out in the name of God.

As explained in the previous two posts this doesn’t simply mean declaring God’s existence. It means utilizing all energies available, from the community and the individual, in every phase of private and public life, to glorify God’s Name. To live a completely godly life, engaged in this world and society – elevating it.

(This is what living by the Torah achieves. The Jewish people are to model this for the whole world. When they achieve this, it will ultimately bring about עיקר שכינה בתחתונים in the fullest way. GS)

Beraishis 11: 10-16
pages 280-282

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Beraishis 12A – לך לך – Avraham is Commanded to Seek Isolation

Avraham is told to go; to remove himself from his homeland, his birthplace and family.

Judaism places great value on Family, Community and Nationhood.

Family, the home, is the private sphere in which a person thrives.

A homeland grants a person civic status and independence.

The community should represent exalted values. On this premise Judaism attaches importance to the community and forbids the individual from detaching himself from the community.

However if it becomes necessary, if the principle adopted by the majority is untrue – then go it alone and serve God!

This was the attitude demanded of Avraham as the starting point from his own mission and that of the nation that was to descend from him. True, strong ties bind a person to his homeland and to his family. Nevertheless, the bond that attaches us to God must be stronger than the bond that attaches us to homeland and family.

(Note the order that Avraham was commanded. First the homeland, then the community and lastly the home. This was in the order of difficulty.)

Yaakov’s Isolation: See Beraishis 28:10, page 598:
… We see Yaakov, like Avraham, carrying out his own “Lech Lecha”; we see him too – our last patriarch… going forth into isolation. But his departure differs from that of Avraham. True Avraham left his homeland to go into isolation, but he did so as head of his household, with relatives and with wealth. Yaakov, however, took nothing with him at all. Yaakov goes forth in order to establish a Jewish home. To achieve this he needs only the resources inherent in his personality. (see more there)

 

Beraishis 12:1
pages 286-290

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Beraishis 12B – Stage 1 – The Supernatural Creation of the Nation

STAGE ONE

“I will make of you a great nation, …”

The fulfillment of these words cover the period of time from the days of Yitzchak until the Exodus from Egypt.

Avraham was commanded to leave his place of security. Where all other nations develop out of their place of birth and are attached to their homeland, Avraham is to begin building his nation without a birthplace or land.

All the external conditions and natural circumstances will be against the formation of this nation, so it will be plain for all to see that God Himself is the Creator of Israel. (among the many indicators will be that Avraham and Sara were old and childless and Sara conceived miraculously.)

All other nations have their shared lands to form their common bond. In the case of Avraham it is his spirit that will be the uniting element that forms the nation.  That is the meaning of the expression referring to God as The God of Avraham – אלקי אברהם. The spirit of Avraham’s relationship with God and faith in God will be the base of the formation of this nation.

(Of course, God is the God of the whole universe as Malki Tzedek later says that God is the Master of all Heaven and Earth – קונה שמים וארץ (14:19). However the emphasis here on Avraham is about how Avraham perceived God and began to set the world straight on the correct understanding of God.)

Beraishis 12:2
pages 290-291

 

 

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Beraishis 12C – Stage 2 – ואברכך – And I will Bless You (With the Land of Israel)

STAGE TWO

ואברכך – And I will Bless You

The nation will be planted in a land flowing with milk & honey.

This second stage of Jewish history, the creation of a nation out of Avraham, was to have become a reality in Eretz Yisrael. There, Israel would live apart from the nations. Not only would Israel be blessed, but blessing would spring from Israel. Israel would become a source of blessing.

Had we been worthy, all the promises to us that are to be fulfilled at the End of Days would have been fulfilled thousands of years ago, and the whole course of human history would have been radically different.

 

Beraishis 12:2
pages 291-292

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Beraishis 12D – Stage 2’s Condition: Choose to be a Blessing

ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה
Choose to be a blessing to others and I will make your name great

The more correct translation of the phrase ואגדלה שמך is “And I wish to make your name great” (not “And I will make your name great”).

Also the next phrase “והיה ברכה” is correctly translated as “become a blessing” (not “and you will be a blessing).

God gives the Jewish people the free will to live up to the task He has set before them. He can only wish that they live up to the task. When the nation lives up to the task of 1) staying separate and then 2) being a blessing to others, then the fulfillment of Stage Two will occur. The nation will dwell prosperously and securely in their land.

The nation of Israel is to have no national politics and no national economics. The One who guaranteed its national welfare does not need to allocate funds, form coalitions, or conclude treaties. At His command are rain and sunshine, strength and life, power and victory.

While the rest of the world is concerned about “Let us make for ourselves a name”, with ambition to exert power and extend its domain – no matter what the cost (see above regarding Nimrod and his tower – GS) the nation of Avraham is to be devoted to the Divine aims of bringing harmony to mankind and to the world and restoring man to his former glory.

 

Beraishis 12:2
pages 292-293

 

 

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Beraishis 12E – Stage 3 Option – Exile and Israel’s Relationship to the Nations

ואברכה מברכיך ומקללך אאר ונברכו בך כל משפחת האדמה
I wish to bless those who bless you, and whoever brings a curse upon you, I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed through you.

This verse appears to allude to a third stage in which Avraham’s people are dependant on man. This is a stage in which man has the power to bless or to curse them.

This stage refers to Exile which would be decreed to befall this people if they would forget their mission and seek, like all other nations, to receive blessing, not to be a source of blessing.

(The nation will still retain the same mission, but exile will serve as an education to learn that their goal is to be blessed and not to place receiving blessing as their goal. – GS – culled from other places and implicit between the lines here.)

While living among the nations, those who value your principles and submit to the service of your God – those I will bless. (In other words God is wishing that we learn the lessons of exile and thus conduct ourselves in such a manner that furthering the Jewish nation will be a furthering of the well being of the nations).

God tells Avraham: I will go with you into exile. No nation will be able to deprive your descendants of their inner vitality, but the nations will be able to oppress your descendants and restrict the conditions of their existence and deprive them of the means for their development. Those nations – I will deprive them of the inner vitality necessary for their own development.

(See the original text for how all the above is lying in the wording of the text- GS)

 

Beraishis 12:3
pages 293-295

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Beraishis 12F – Avraham’s Reasons for Traveling to Canaan

“.. They set out for the land of Canaan, and came to the land of Canaan.”

In 12:1 God never said He would direct Avraham where to go. God said “Go to the land I will show you”. Meaning, Avraham would only know that he went to the right place once God appeared to him at that place.

This begs the question, how did Avraham know in which direction to head out? Why did he choose to head to the land of Canaan?

Even though the land was inhabited by the descendants of Canaan, the most corrupt of Noach’s sons, there was still much potential for good in this land. Malki Tzedek (according to our tradition the same person as Shem, the son of Noach) was still alive and lived in this land. There were some others who learned from Shem there as well, and so this was a place where one could still find some inhabitants who had an awareness of God.

In addition, our tradition teaches that on Mount Moriah, Hevel the son of Adam brought his offering, as did Noach when he left the ark. Later it was on this same mountain that Avraham’s greatest test would take place, the Akeida. And later the Temple stood there, the place where man is constantly reborn spiritually and morally – at the same place where God gathered the dust to form Adam.

 

Beraishis 12:5
pages 295-298

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Beraishis 12G – Hashem Appears to Avraham at Shechem – Elon Moreh

Avram passed through the land until the place of Shchem, until the grove of Moreh, and the Canaanite was already there in the land. God appeared there to Avram and said: To your seed I will give this land. Avram then built an altar there to God Who had appeared to him.

Avraham entered the land and kept on traveling until God appeared to him, indicating that he had come to the right land.

PROPHECY: RSRH points out that while we don’t know the nature of the vision, we do see from the wording that God appeared “to” Avraham. This was not some sort of human imagination or inspiration. God directed his message by means of this vision to Avraham.

While God spoke to Avraham before, He only appeared to Avraham in this land. This is the beginning of the process of the Shechina (Divine Presence) returning to the lower realms – that being the goal and purpose of all human history. As we have noted before – עיקר שכינה בתחתונים.

The specific location where God chose to appear is called:
Shechem – A place later known to produce hot-blooded men who are prone to murder. Even parallel Shechem across the Jordan in Gilaad, the same was true.
– Elon Moreh – This is where two mountains stood. One is green and flourishing and the other is barren.
– In this land the Canaanites had sunk to a low, degenerate level.

What was God telling Avraham by choosing this place to appear to him?

God linked the return of his Divine Presence to a place, the land of Canaan, which could corrupt man to teach that despite this, the Divine quality in man, the ability to attain closeness to God, are within the reach of every nation. In Avraham’s place, murderers can dwell next to a prophet. The Jewish people are known to be a stiff-necked people (see Exodus 32:9). Even so, the אשדת, the Divine fire of the Torah, would succeed in refining this people in this land! This would show that there is no nation, no matter where it dwells, that cannot be won over by the אשדת. (This is also why the Torah was given in the desert, a place where nothing thrives.)

On one side a mountain flourished. On the other side it is barren. These teaches us that blessing in not the condition but rather the result of building one’s life according to God’s will. The altar of God can be built on desolate ground just as it can be built where the conditions are already flourishing.

Perhaps this grove is called Elon “Moreh” because it is a grove (flourishing) that teaches this lesson.

(GS – Just as the Torah begins with the lesson of free will, so too the reentry of the Shechina into the realm of man beginning with Avraham and the creation of the Jewish people, begins with the lesson of free will. God asks of us to choose to submit to His Torah which can purify and uplift us. The conditions don’t have to lend to this. We choose, and the conditions will flourish in response.)

 

Beraishis 12: 6-7
pages 298-301

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Beraishis 12H – Avraham Seeks Further Isolation

Avraham gave order to move on from there toward the mountain … Beis El to the west and Ai to the east…

Avraham had to urge the people traveling with him to move on. They would be happy settling where they were. Avraham sought more isolation by traveling toward the mountains.

Even there, he pitched tent between the places that were inhabited. Beis El to the west and Ai to the east.

Beraishis 12:8
pages 301-302

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Beraishis 12I – אברהם קראו הר, יצחק שדה, יעקב בית

אברהם קראו הר, יצחק שדה, יעקב בית –   פסחים דף פ”ח עמוד ב

For Avraham the mountainside was where God revealed Himself. Avraham was a lone and solitary figure, singular among men; he could not find God in the sphere of human society. To seek God and uncover the traces of His deeds, he went out to the wilds of nature in the mountains, where the traces of men’s doing had not yet reached.

As the story of the patriarchs unfolded, they increasingly saw the “finger of God” revealed in the course of their lives. Yitzchak called his place of Divine revelation “field”; that is no longer the wild open mountainside, but nature that is harnessed by man for his nourishment. This sphere already pertains to man’s existence, though still only in a material manner (see below 26:12).

Ya’akov did not have to leave his home in order to find God; he found Him in the place where God always wants us to find Him: he was the father of children. Not in the hills and mountain, not in the fields and forests, but in his own home he found God; his own family life was where God revealed Himself to him. The stone on which a man lays down his weary head became to him “the house of God” (see below 28:22).

(GS- RSRH wrote above about the central importance of family as the sphere where morals and godliness develop, ultimately influencing society. See above 1:28.)

Beraishis 12:8
pages 302-303

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Beraishis 12K – Avraham Travels Southward

The south of the land of Canaan is dry and desolate. The entire region of the south is called “Arava” “wilderness”.

Just as the Torah was given in the wilderness, so too Avraham sought the wilderness. Just as the Torah was given to a stiff necked people, not easily inclined to change. This highlights the fact that the creation and birth of the nation and the power of the Torah to influence the world is not dependent on physical conditions.

Later, when the Jewish nation entered Israel, the altar was built of Mount Eival, the mountain that was barren, to bring out the same point.

The command of Lech Lecha is what drew Avraham to the inhospitable south.

Beraishis 12:9
page 304

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Beraishis 12L – The Torah Deifies No Man. Biblical Heroes are Fallible

Avraham leaves the land of Canaan due to a famine. He seemingly places his wife Sarah in great moral peril by lying and having her say that she is his sister. Avraham seemingly asked Sarah to do this for his own gain when he said “so that they will deal well with me to get you through me…”. Could his fear of dying have led him to such sins?

Indeed the Ramban writes on these verses אברהם אבינו חטא חטא גדול בשגגה “Avraham inadvertently committed a grave sin by placing his virtuous wife before a stumbling block of iniquity because of his fear of being killed. …. His leaving the Land, about which he was commanded, because of the famine was another sin he committed – עון אשר חטא.”

RSRH offers an explanation for Avraham’s behavior. (See the following post – Beraishis 12M.)

Even so, RSRH writes an important preface stating that the notion that one of the forefathers could have sinned or made a grave error wouldn’t be perplexing.

The following words are an exact quote from RSRH:
The Torah does not seek to portray our great men as perfectly ideal figures; it deifies no man. It says of no one: “Here you have the ideal: in this man the Divine assumes human form!” It does not set before us the life of any one person as the model from which we might learn what is good and right, what we must do and what we must refrain from doing. When the Torah wishes to put before us a model to emulate, it does not present a man, who is born of dust. Rather, God presents Himself as the model, saying” “Look upon Me! Emulate Me! Walk in My ways! We are never to say: “This must be good and right, because so and so did it.” The Torah is not an “anthology of good deeds.” It relates events not because they are necessarily worthy of emulation, but because they took place.

The Torah does not hide from us the faults, errors, and weaknesses of our great men, and this is precisely what gives its stories credibility. The knowledge given us of their faults and weaknesses does not detract from the stature of our great men; on the contrary, it adds to their stature and makes their life stories even more instructive. Had they been portrayed to us as shining models of perfection, flawless and unblemished, we would have assumed that they had been endowed with a higher nature, not given to us to attain. Had they been portrayed free of passions and inner conflicts, their virtues would have seemed to us as merely the consequences of their loftier nature, not acquired by personal merit, and certainly no model we could ever hope to emulate.

Take, for example, the humility of Moshe. Had we not known that he was capable also of flying into a rage, we would have assumed that his humility was an inborn trait not within our capacity to emulate. It is precisely his outburst שמעו נא המורים (Bemidbar 20:10) that lends his humility its true greatness: We thus infer that he acquired humility through hard work, self control and self refinement, and that we are obligated to emulate him since it is within our capacity to do so.

Let us learn from our great Teachers of Torah, among whom the Ramban is one of the most outstanding, that we must never attempt to whitewash the spiritual and moral heroes of our past. They do not need our apologetics, nor would they tolerate such attempts on our part. Truth is the seal of our Torah, and truthfulness is the guiding principle of the Torah’s great teachers and commentators.

Beraishis 12:10-13
pages 304-306

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Beraishis 12M – Avraham Goes Down to Egypt

See post 12L where the question was raised as to Avraham’s reasons for leaving the Land of Canaan, in which God appeared to Avraham, indicating this was the Land he would be given. Why didn’t Avraham remain, putting his trust in God? Also, how could Avraham put his wife in peril, having her say that she was his sister? Wouldn’t that endanger her?

(Later, 14:22, we see that Avraham refuses payment for saving the people of Sedom. Surely this teaches us that he wasn’t concerned about personal gain.)

RSRH suggest the following explanation:

We of later generations have the fortune of hindsight. We can look back at Jewish survival and say God will help. But Avraham Avinu didn’t have someone who preceded him to see how Hashem takes care and ensures Jewish survival.

In addition, he adds, Avraham did not want to rely on miracles. We have a principal of אין סומכין על הנס. The first action when in danger of starvation is to find a way to get food.

As for his conduct in Egypt (and he repeats this again in chapter 20 as does Yitzchak in chapter 26), RSRH offers the following explanation:

If a woman was married, they might be quicker to take her than a single woman. They would just kill the husband. But in the case of a single woman, they might delay the process, offering the brother gifts, convincing him to agree to the marriage. While all of this takes place, there is a delay of time, and in the meantime, perhaps help will come from Heaven.

Avraham was concerned for Sarah. He states, they will keep you alive – meaning that will be a situation you would never want; living a life of shame.

Avraham then adds, to convince Sarah, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me!

At first the plan worked. But Avraham didn’t consider the king. A regular citizen would first go to her brother but the king could do otherwise and she was taken immediately. And still the king wanted to do things respectably and first presented Avraham with gifts.

Beraishis 12:10-20
pages 304-312

 

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Beraishis 12N – מעשה אבות סימן לבנים – The Events of the Forefathers were Analogous to What Would Occur to the Descendants

מעשה אבות סימן לבנים

  • Avraham arrived in the land of Canaan and continues Elon Moreh (12:6).  As Hirsch explained (page 300), this is the same place where Mt. Grizim and Mt. Eval are located.At this same location, the children of Israel later first arrive to the land of Israel.Hirsch cites the Ramban (page 303) who teaches מעשה אבות סימן לבנים, Avraham’s first journey as well as his subsequent journeys, are analogous of the later history of Israel.
  • At the end of this chapter (verses 12-20) Avraham goes down to Egypt (GS-unwillingly) and leaves by being told he must leave (see commentary on verse 20) and leaves with much wealth. This is analogous to what occurred later in history. (GS-The sale of Yosef, Yaakov was hesitant about going, Pharaoh  told them to leave, they left with much wealth)

Culled from:
Beraishis 12: pages 300 and 312

 

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Beraishis 13A – Avraham Returns from Egypt

Because of famine, Avraham had to temporarily give up his isolation. Upon his return to the land of Canaan he wanted to return to the place where God had first appeared to him – the place where the significance of that land for the future, and the need for his isolation in the present, had been revealed to him. See 12A and 12G.

He now resumed his work of summoning people in the name of God.

 

Beraishis 13:1
page 312

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Beraishis 13B – Lot Didn’t Learn the Lessons that Avraham Modeled

Look closely at the cantillation of the verse and notice where there is a pause. The verse reads:

וְגַ֨ם־לְל֔וֹט הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ אֶת־אַבְרָ֑ם הָיָ֥ה צֹאן־וּבָקָ֖ר וְאֹהָלִֽים׃
And also Lot, who went with Avraham, (PAUSE), had sheep and cattle and tents.

The verse is asking us to pause and reflect. Lot went with Avraham. Avraham had dedicated his life to kindness and teaching about God to the world. Lot saw Avraham’s tent open and welcoming to all. Did he absorb these lessons? What did Lot get from his time with Avraham?

Lot, who went with Avraham, had sheep and cattle and tents. He acquired nothing of Avraham’s spirituality. He went with Avraham because it brought him material profit.

He had his own wealth. He had his own tents. He stopped being a member of Avraham’s household.

Avraham dedicated his life to spirituality and calling out in the name of God. The management of his home, he entrusted to Sarah. It was Sarah’s tent. (See commentary on 12:8, page 303, derived from the letter ה in the word אהלה. His tent was really her tent.) But Lot, who should have know better and learned from Avraham, was concerned about his materialism. He had his own possessions and tents.

 

Beraishis 13:5
pages 313-314

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Beraishis 13C – Lot Separates from Avraham

Avraham tells Lot (v.9) to choose any direction he wishes to settle. He explains that he has limited options, as he must seek isolation. But, he tells Lot, “since you have dissociated from my view of life (see 13B), you have no need to be so particular in your choice of where to live”.

And so we see (v.12) that while Lot chose a place of prosperity, where his herds and tents stretched all the way to Sodom, Avraham continued to dwell apart, avoiding all contact with the Canaanite cities. He only drew near to society to fulfill his mission of proclaiming the name of Hashem.

Avraham had just undergone a painful experience of failing to win over to his way of life his closest relative.

Only after God encouraged him to look beyond his isolation and to become involved, without fear, with the inhabitants of the land, for his own sake and for the sake of his principles, did Avraham enter the well-inhabited are and settle in Chevron (later in this chapter, verses 17-18).

Beraishis 13:8-12
pages 315-318

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Beraishis 13D – The Evil of Sedom

וְאַנְשֵׁ֣י סְדֹ֔ם רָעִ֖ים וְחַטָּאִ֑ים לַיהֹוָ֖ה מְאֹֽד׃
The people of Sedom were wicked and licentious; against God exceedingly.

RSRH comments that the verse makes a distinction between two categories of sin.

Regarding communal life (בין אדם לחברו) the evil is kept within limits. People are afraid of one another; hence, due to degenerate self interest, they kept the evil withing limits. Even among thieves, there is a certain amount of honesty to one another.

Not so matters of morality of the spirit (מצוות בין אדם למקום). People think these have no bearing on society. Everyone deludes himself into believing that harms only himself and his own welfare, for which he is responsible only to Heaven – were he to have any fear of Heaven. Thus, in מצוות בין אדם למקום, unbridled licentiousness exceeds all bounds.

 

Beraishis 13:13
pages 318-319

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Beraishis 13E – חטא – קרבן חטאת / Sin and Sin Offering

The meaning of the word חטא is an act where the moral will has retreated, and the deed is done without thought, without moral or spiritual guidance; it is an act performed under the control of the senses.

חטא is an act that is removed from the fire of holiness, and חטאת (the sin-offering) is the symbolic rectification. The קרבן חטאת restores the חלב וכליות to the fire of the sacred, and thus rectifies the חטא.

Beraishis 13:13
pages 319-320

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Beraishis 13F – God Promises the Land to Avraham and his Descendants

After the bitter experience of Lot separating from Avraham, not just in location but spiritually and personally, God now speaks to Avraham.

God tells him, “To you, not to Lot, will I give this land. Your foremost concern is not material gain; hence, you will earn the right to the good land. I will give it to you and your descendants. .. The people that will be called by your name must descend from you; you must beget them and rear them in your own pure spirit.” Hirsch adds: A Jew should be born as a Jew, not just educated as a Jew. (GS- RSRH is saying that Lot merely took his experience and time with Avraham as an education. But to truly hope that the values live on much more than an education is required. It must be part of the formation of the next generation.)

God did not promise Avraham that  they will always possess the land. However, it will belong to them always; Israel and the land are destined for each other forever. The land was given here to Avraham, even though he never took possession of it.

 

Beraishis 13:14-17
Page 320

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Beraishis 13G – Israel is Analogous to the Dust of the Earth

וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֖ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אִם־יוּכַ֣ל אִ֗ישׁ לִמְנוֹת֙ אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ גַּֽם־זַרְעֲךָ֖ יִמָּנֶֽה׃

I will make your seed like the dust of the earth; so that if anyone can count the dust of the earth, then your seed will also be counted.

RSRH suggests that the analogy of Avraham’s descendants to the dust of the earth is not about Israel’s numbers. (see commentary for an explanation) Rather he suggests the following:

The word used here for “counting” is מונה. It’s true meaning is apportioning, restricting, limiting (see commentary for the word’s etymology). The Torah is saying: The dust is the basic material of the whole physical world. No human being can reckon how much of this material should be allotted to the earth in a general or particular manner. Only God, Creator and Master of the world knows this. Similarly, no worldly power will be able to master the descendants of Avraham or to limit their quantitative existence. Just as in all of dust’s transformations, not a single atom of its power and not a single grain of its material are lost, so too is true of the seed of Avraham!

 

Beraishis 13:16
pages 321-322

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Beraishis 13H – Isolation is a Necessity to Prepare for Engagement

While Lot lived together with Avraham his camp’s mission was not pure. Therefore at that time, Avraham’s entry into the midst of the nations was dangerous. But the pure house of Avraham, like the future House of Israel, can and should live amidst other people and still remain “Jews” among them. Avraham’s isolation in not a goal, it is a stepping stone to reach his broader goal of living among the people.

(GS- This is a key point. The mission of the Jewish people is to be a light unto the nations. In order to do that, Israel must first develop clarity and strong conviction to live up to that mission. At times this requires isolation. That is reason for God commanding Avraham’s initial isolation. But this is not the goal. This is the preparation for what is to come. Eventually, and with the purity of the household once Lot has departed, Avraham is told to begin to go out.)

Beraishis 13:17
page 323

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Beraishis 14A – The Ancient Kings and Their Kingdom’s Mindset

In chapter 14 we have the Torah’s first historical account of kings and their wars.

See above (chapter 10) where the Torah talks of Nimrod’s kingship. Nimrod exploited the collective energies of his nation for his own selfish needs. The individuals were prepared to sacrifice their personal happiness on the altar of national honor.

This concept has taken root and now we find 5 kings in a small area. Later in history, at the time of the conquest of the Land of Canaan, we find a concentration of 31 kings!

How did this ideas spread? Why would people give up their individuality?

RSRH posits that there are nations that avoid thinking for themselves and unload their concerns onto the head of the king. This occurs particularly in nations where the citizens are busily preoccupied with themselves. People who pursue comfort and wealth and ignore the idealistic interests of their community are ready to sacrifice rights and assets – so long as they are “excused from thinking.”

The kings we learn about in this chapter were in the lush and wealthy area of the Jordan Valley. The people were concerned with their personal pleasure and were prepared to give up their autonomy for the sake of their pleasure.

We also learn about 4 other kings who were ruled over large regions. For a period of time, the kings of the Jordan Valley were vassals of the powerful rulers of another land. These local kings were themselves servants. The people were all servants of servants. Just as Noach prophecy told, the descendants of Cham would be just that, עבדי עבדים!

In observing this, a universal truth was revealed to Avraham. Affluence enslaves nations, from within and from without.

Man can be truly free, inwardly and outwardly, only if he submits to the rule of the moral law. (Hirsch cites Eruvin 54a here and above [9:27] that derives this message from the word חרות על הלוחות which can be read to mean “the words of God’s law frees a person.”)

(GS- RSRH discusses this again regarding the Egyptians, also descendants of Cham, who had slaves enslaving slaves.)

Beraishis 14:1-4
pages 323-325

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Beraishis 14B – מעשה אבות סימן לבנים – The Events of the Forefathers were Analogous to What Would Occur to the Descendants

מעשה אבות סימן לבנים

Our Sages commented on the verses of this chapter (Beraishis Rabbah 42:2) that what took place in this chapter foretells what will take place later in history.

Four kings, all regional kings with their intent to dominate the land of Canaan and its inhabitants, succeed for a period of time. In the end, Avraham in victorious.

So too, much later on in history, four world powers will do the same. Ultimately they are destined to fall into the hands of מלך המשיח. (RSRH notes that two of the kings are clearly recognized as world powers who did so in our history; Bavel (Shin’ar) and Madai (Eilam).

Beraishis 14:1 etc.
page 325

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Beraishis 14C – Avraham is Taught that Thriving in The Land of Israel is Dependent on Submitting to God’s Torah

Upon arrival in the land, Avraham encounters famine.

When he returns he encounters war.

God teaches Avraham that unlike Egypt which had it’s own natural resources of the Nile River, providing irrigation for its agriculture and economy, and could thereby feel independent, this land required God’s unique Providence providing rain in order for its agriculture and economy to thrive.

This land, situated at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa, would be the place that many armies would travel through. The protection from invaders would be unnatural and only by the Hand of God. This is a promise by God (וחרב לא תעבר בארצכם Vayikra 26:6) that is dependent on Israel faithfully submitting to God’s Torah.

 

Beraishis 14:1
pages 325-326

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Beraishis 14D – Lot was captured with Sodom because he was a fully integrated citizen of Sodom

Had Lot remained an outsider, a stranger in the land, he might not have been taken along with the people of Sodom. But he had become a citizen and full resident there and so he had to suffer along with the others.

This stands as a warning to the members of Avraham’s family. One who remains true to his calling and destiny will have to make sacrifices. On the other hand, he will be spared much trouble, for he will be carried on the wings of the Shechina.

The ghettos that isolated us worked not only to our disadvantage, but also to our advantage. Those who lived within the ghetto walls were shielded from many evils to which those outside fell victim during the Middle Ages. Jews were not considered good enough to become judges or law enforcement officials, or to become knights. They weren’t included in tournaments or world affairs. But neither did they have a part in inflicting cruel injury to their fellow man that was so prevalent at that time. And when fate caught up with the emperors and their armies, the Jews remained safe in their ghettos.

RSRH adds: They should be happy that they were called to the arena of world affairs only now (in the 19th century – GS) when the nations of the world are at least trying to act justly and humanely. (RSRH passed away in 1888. He had high hopes for humanity at that time. Would he have written these same words post holocaust? The remnants of his community debate this point to this day. – GS)

 

Beraishis 14:12
pages 331-332

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Beraishis 14E – Avraham as a Neighbor Who Maintained his Unique Character

In 14:13 Avraham is called Avraham “the Ivri” – “the one who came from the other side” “the one who stands aside,” in opposition to the rest of the world. (Based on Beraishis Rabbah 42:8)

He is also called a שכן – a neighbor. Just as was explained above (9:27) the inner meaning of the word shachen is one who lives peacefully and in close proximity to others but does not get absorbed by the other.

Avraham was now living alongside his Amorite neighbors. He was friendly with them but separate. It was their territory and Avraham was invited to be an ally, because he was a respected personality and an asset for them to have him as an ally. They took the initiative and invited him, the stranger, to their covenant with him.

Avraham’s conduct should serve as a model for his descendants throughout the generations, as long as they live in a land not theirs:

A Jew should conduct himself as a Jew, loving peace, and should not interfere with affairs, and attend to Israel’s needs. The result will be that the other peoples will seek to enlist him as an ally – not vice versa. Every person of purity will recognize that true, complete Judaism is the most perfect conception of humanity – not vice versa. For the concept “Jew” is broader than the concept “man.”* A Jew need only be a Jew, in the full and complete sense of the word. If he behaves in that manner, then, although he will only be a shachen, “neighbor”, he will win the esteem of the other peoples, and they will enlist him in the covenant.

Avraham did not purchase this alliance relationship at the cost of abandoning his own calling.

*RSRH discusses this concept in many places, coining the term “Mensch-Yisroel.” This is the Title of Volume 8 of the Collected Writings. (See link in the “Concepts” tab for more. GS)

Beraishis 14:13
pages 333-334

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Beraishis 14F – Education Must Start at Birth, in the Isolation of the Home

… “he led forth all those who had been born in his household and educated by him…”

This verse reveals to us why, until this point, Avraham had avoided all contact with others.

Avraham and Sarah had no reason to fear that they themselves might be corrupted. But Avraham had in his charge 318 human souls whom he had educated in the midst of corruption, who he now had to protect, to preserve them for their calling in which he had trained them. It was for their sake that he sought isolation.

They were “born in his household” and only because they were such could they become educated by him. He had been unable to achieve this objective in the case of Lot because Lot had come to him only as a mature man. Education must begin at birth, particularly if that education is to train the individual for the calling of עברי, one who stands in opposition to the rest of the world.

Until now Avraham had avoided all contact with the outside world, out of concern for the welfare of those he was educating. Until now they were held within the confines of his household. But now, when human life was in peril (his nephew Lot), he “poured them out” of his house.

Beraishis 14:14
pages 334-336

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Beraishis 14G – Education and Training – חינוך

An educator (מחנך) trains the person to limit the powers within him that are awakening to life. This limitation is essential to their whole purpose. The student (חניך) learns to develop his powers within the framework of these limits. Chinuch in not meant to be inhibiting, like a straightjacket; it is meant to be a spiritual garment in which a person can move and grow.

True chinuch חנך is analogous to oneg ענג (pleasure). (this analogy is derived from the commonality in the root letters of both words, according to Hirsch’s system of interpreting the Hebrew language – GS). Certainly chinuch entails a limitation of powers, but it leaves them a wide area that is fitting and satisfying.

The idea is also expressed into the dedication of a house of prayer – חנוכת הבית. The house in dedicated for its exclusive purpose and thus consecrated.  It does not take place by means of a dedication ceremony. the first time the community uses it for prayer it becomes dedicated. The same is true of education. Our youth are not consecrated through preaching and moralizing, or through bar or bat mitzva celebrations, but, rather, through chinuch in the literal sense of the word. The young person is trained to carry out mitzvos in practice.

 

Beraishis 14:14
pages 335-336

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Beraishis 14H – Malki Tzedek, King of Shalem, Declares God as קונה שמים וארץ

Malki Tzedek was recognized as a priest of God. But the land of Canaan was polytheistic. The God Malki Tzedek worshiped was only recognized as the God above all the other gods. קל עליון

His city was called Shalem, peace. This peace was based on Tzedek, the teachings of God that man is to live a just and charitable life. Tzedek brings about peace.

Malki Tzedek’s notion of God was not widespread. He was relegated to teach this way of life only to those whose nature inclined them so and chose this way. Others worshiped other gods such as the god of revenge or the god of war or the god of licentiousness. (Malki Tzedek greeted Avraham, tired from battle, with food to rejuvenate him. The king of Sodom offered nothing and only had requests and no gratitude. He didn’t feel ashamed not offering anything. He simply worshiped a selfish god and was comfortable being selfish.)

Malki Tzedek blesses Avraham with the words, “Blessed be Avram to God the Most High, Owner of heaven and earth קונה שמים וארץ.”

As the priest of Shalem he had been known only as a priest of God the Most High. The polytheistic world that he lived in would only accept his belief in God as being removed from this world – A God above the gods who strolls above the heavens. Malki Tzedek (none other than Shem, the son of Noach, who experienced the Mabul and witnessed God in this world -GS) certainly understood that God was owner of this world but he hadn’t translated that understanding into a plan of action for the world. But then came Avraham’s victory! Malki Tzedek could now openly declare that God is owner of heaven AND EARTH. Just as the hosts in heaven pay homage to God and obey His will, so must all man exercise his free will to obey God. This new declaration of Malkie Tzedek emerged from what he observed in Avraham and how God came to his aid. Avraham’s victory clarified God’s involvement in this world and God’s expectations of man in this world.

In Shalem, Malki Tzedek taught that God, the Most High, who owns Heaven and Earth, requires man to live a life of Tzedek. But that was theoretical. Avraham, who was commanded by God to “be a blessing” (Beraishis 12:2) devoted all his spiritual and physical powers to this in actual practice. He risked his life in battle to live up to the command of living a life of Tzedek and God came to his aid. The world can now learn from this that more is expected from everyone!

Malki Tzedek told Avraham, “You are and will be blessed for the God of heaven and earth. The blessing given to you establishes the kingdom of God, owner of heaven and earth. The Most High gave you victory and thus demonstrated His power and His closeness to His servants. As a result, His kingdom will be blessed, in that people will be inspired to undertake His service.

See 14I, where Avraham teaches the king of Sodom and Malki Tzedek a higher level of belief in God.

Beraishis 14:17-20
pages 340-342

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Beraishis 14I – Avraham Teaches the King of Sodom and Malki Tzedek about God

When describing God, Avraham added one more name that Malki Tzedek did not say.

Malki Tzedek had just declared that God is the Most High, Owner of heaven and earth. He understood that God intervenes sometimes also in human endeavors and enterprises.

Avraham now declares that he lifts up his hand (away from all other gods) to Hashem (the four letter name י-ה-ו-ה) the Most High, Owner of heaven and earth.

This is a higher level of belief in God. God’s relationship with man is far more than His relationship with the cosmos. God is far more than the God of Nature. He is the God of Human History. He is the God of the future. He interacts with man and guides man. All of creation, including man, stands in His service, consciously or unconsciously.

(Avraham was once again calling out in the name of Hashem, consistent with his mission. -GS)

 

Beraishis 14:22
page 344-345

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Beraishis 15A – Three Phases of Avraham’s Life

In the Torah’s narrative of Avraham, there are only two times when the expression אחר הדברים האלה “after what has been related thus far” appears. The first time is at the start of chapter 15, immediately following Avraham’s victory over the four kings. The second time is preceding עקידת יצחק, the binding of Yitzchak.

The word אחר means “after” and it also means “other”. What follows is the other side of what preceded. The “other side of the coin”. The words “front and back” are פנים ואחור.

The idea here is that each part of Avraham’s life was a stepping stone to the next. Each was a preparation for the next phase.

During phase one Avraham’s task was to trust God, living a life of isolation while calling out in God’s name demonstrated by the way he lived. During this phase Avraham would find continued success. He would win over and conquer the world’s heart by demonstrating his faith in God and the success it brings.

God now prepared him for the next phase of his life. This will be the decree of exile necessary for the formation of the nation. He is promised he will have children of his own, but they will have to endure exile in various stages.

The third and final phase, the binding of Yitzchak, will be the zenith of Avraham’s growth in faith.

 

Beraishis 15:1
pages 346-347

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Beraishis 15B – “Fear Not, Avram…”

God told Avraham not to fear. What was the reason behind Avraham’s fear?

RSRH cites some opinions. 1) He was afraid that perhaps among those he killed in the battles of the previous chapter, there were some innocent men. 2) Perhaps the great victory of the war he won had used up his merit and he would no longer merit to save mankind through his children.

RSRH then says that a more plausible explanation can be found clearly in the text, as follows:

The manner in which God presented Himself to Avraham is what caused the fear. God spoke in a vision. The seer of a vision sees from afar. The words used for God’s communication is דבר השם. The word means a decree from God. Something absolute. (When used together with לאמר as in וידבר השם אל משה לאמר its meaning is that God communicated something absolute and wants it to be explained in a way that is understood. Here too the word is added, meaning something of great importance is about to be said whose significance must be conveyed to the following generations.) The manner of revelation shook Avraham and prepared him for a harsh prophecy.

Additionally, telling Avraham to not be afraid was itself cause for fear. This is similar to when God later tells Yaakov, on his way to finally reunite with his son after a long separation, not to be afraid. The declaration itself was the sign that what is to come will be fearful, but that Yaakov should have faith that it is necessary and will bring to the outcome that God is directing as part of His plan for mankind.

In both cases, this is the expression God uses before the announcement or the next phase of גלות exile. What follows in this chapter is the covenant between the pieces wherein God declared the need for exile.

God continues… He assures Avraham that while a sacrifice will be demanded of him (instilling fear in him), he will be compensated for it. “I will shield you. Your reward is very great.”

Beraishis 15:1
pages 347-349

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Beraishis 15C – Avraham calls God by the name אֲ-דֹ-נָ-י יֱ-ה-וִ-ה

וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה מַה תִּתֶּן לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי וּבֶן מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי הוּא דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר

This is the first time in Scripture that this designation of God is used. It only appears 3 other times. (See commentary)

Avraham was the first person to call God “אדון”. This is a name that is always mentioned by an עבד השם, a prophet. A person who serves God and who is like an instrument in God’s hand calls God “אדון”. He uses the plural from (not Adoni) to proclaim that there are no other masters. God is not a master among other masters. God is “all the masters”; the Only Master.

יֱהוִה is a combination of two Names. It is written in the form of the attribute of mercy and is pronounced in the form of the attribute of strict justice. This signifies that even when God acts through His attribute of strict justice, mercy in inherent in the justice. Even when God conducts Himself in His attribute of justice, He lays the foundation for a blessed future. It is the same God of mercy, only it is prounounced (GS-perceived) as the God of strict justice.

 

Beraishis 15:2
pages 350-351

 

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Beraishis 15D – Inherited Character Traits

לֹא יִירָשְׁךָ זֶה כִּי אִם אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִמֵּעֶיךָ הוּא יִירָשֶׁךָ

This one (the descendants of Eliezer) will not be your heir; rather, he who will come forth from your inner parts will be your heir.

The מעים are the seat of the emotions, particularly of pity and compassion, which are characteristically Jewish traits and the heritage of all זרע אברהם. (See Yevamos 79a שלשה סימנים יש באומה זו הרחמנים והביישנין וגומלי חסדים –  רחמנים דכתיב (דברים יג, יח) ונתן לך רחמים ורחמך והרבך ביישנין דכתיב (שמות כ, כ) בעבור תהיה יראתו על פניכם גומלי חסדים דכתיב (בראשית יח, יט) למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו וגו’ כל שיש בו שלשה סימנים הללו ראוי להדבק באומה זו)

Explains RSRH: It is possible to teach Torah to others and to convey to them  spiritual values, but it is difficult to change and refine character; for character traits spring primarily from מעי אבות. … God built His nation on the basis of its innate inclination to joyfully undertake all good and moral action.

Beraishis 15:4
pages 352-353

 

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Beraishis 15E – The Jewish Nation; Created and Guided Directly by God, Like the Heaven and Stars

Avraham had lost hope of having a child. In the natural course of events, he could no longer expect the joys of fatherhood.

From the vantage point of earth, where every effect comes from its given cause, Avraham’s loss of hope was logical.

Therefore God told him to look up toward heaven. In heaven, we behold the work of Creation; There everything was created directly by God.

God asks Avraham if he can count the stars. God is telling Avraham that these creations, created directly by God, are more numerous than the limited creations of indirect origin on earth. Therefore, desist from your natural, earthbound speculations and open your mind instead to the concept of the starry world. (As the Talmud Shabbos 156a explains this verse, צא מאיצטגנינות שלך)

“So shall be your seed.” Thus shall your people be, like the work of God’s hands; not the result of natural conditions. Against all calculations, like a second Creation, created יש מאין ex nihilo.

(Hirsch cites Psalms chapter 146 and explains that even if the dispersed exiles of the Jews are demeaned and humbled, they are are compared to the stars. Each one of them depends directly on the utterance of God’s mouth. Through all the trouble and distress he remains a a Jew, under השגחה פרטית  Divine Providence, which, as the stars, “calls him by name.” For he has attained freedom (to rise above the cause and effect of the natural world -GS) by exercising his free will to follow God’s direct guidance. (חרות על הלוחות)

Beraishis 15:5
pages 353-355

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Beraishis 15F – Avraham’s Faith in God – Definition of אמונה

Avraham’s whole life had been lived by his faith. Through the name of God which he expressed above, declaring God as merciful even when acting with strict justice, he showed his complete faith in God.

אמונה is the essence of Judaism and it is not aptly translated as “faith.” Belief is an act of the mind and sometimes only an opinion. Every believer thinks his beliefs are true. (see more in the commentary) … Religion has thus become divorced from life and converted into a catechism of doctrines, a system of faith-slogans, required for admission to the hereafter.

More correctly, אמונה בשם means to rely upon God, in theory and in practice. To take strength from Him and to follow Him. (see commentary for proofs of this.)

One who declares Amen after a bracha not only declares the truth of the statement of the bracha but also dedicates himself to this truth as a guide for his conduct.

(See Collected Writings Vol. 1, pages 183-209 for a detailed essay on Judaism’s attitude toward belief, religion, theology and ritual.)

Avraham had just been shown the heaven and the stars as the vantage point to view God’s guidance of the Jewish people. God told Avraham, “so shall be your seed.” Israel’s creation and existence will depend directly on God, against all natural calculations. And Avraham had long been living with faith in God, translated into the way he lived his life. Just as his descendants will depend on God alone, so did Avraham precede them with this אמונה and illuminate the way for them.

 

Beraishis 15:6
pages 355-357

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Beraishis 15G – The meaning of the words צדקה Tzedaka and משפט Mishpat

צדקה apparently has two basically different meanings:

Sometimes it describes the strict observance of the law. When Yaakov told Lavan that the work he performed was according to what the law required he told him וענתה בי צדקתי. (see commentary for another reference)

However, we often see the word משפט alongside the word צדקה. Since משפט means the strict observance of the law, צדקה must mean something else.

משפט means putting things in their proper place. When משפט  is served, a person may be told to pay for damages or pay back money he owes. This is strict justice.

צדקה goes beyond משפט. Its root, צדק, means to soothe, satisfy, sustain; in other words, to give the other person what he needs, to be good to him, to seek his welfare and well-being.

צדק is the ideal. Through this attribute, every creature will have the benefit of the conditions intended for it by Divine design. צדק is the goal of God’s direction of the world.

When God acts with צדקה toward His creatures, He acts benevolently towards them. When man acts with צדקה toward his fellow man, he acts benevolently toward his but fulfills an obligation to God. For every person is obligated to promote צדק with all his spiritual and material resources. The whole reason he is given these resources is to establish צדק in the world.

צדקה, then, is a whole life of faithfulness to duty. (GS- that duty being promoting the צדק ideal.) משפט is only the negative side, “shunning evil,” whereas צדקה is the positive realization of the good.

 

Beraishis 15:6
pages 357-359

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Beraishis 15H – Avraham’s Emunah was considered Tzedaka by God

See post 15G on the meaning of the word צדקה Tzedakah.
See post 15F on the meaning of the word אמונה Emunah.

Through Avraham’s Emunah he fulfilled his life’s mission in complete faithfulness to his duty. Avraham reached the zenith of his life’s mission through his Emunah. He entrusted himself to God completely and unconditionally; he sacrificed himself for a promised future,  although he didn’t see its first blossom, and all human calculations ruled out this promised future every coming true. Through his faith he made his greatest contribution toward building this future.

Avraham’s would be commanded to observed 613 mitzvos but he was not. He task was Emunah – to base his life on God, to entrust himself totally to God’s guidance and education. This was a difficult task. Avraham had no previous experience of God’d miraculous providence to give him the confidence to go on. And yet he accomplished his task completely. By this he laid the foundation for the future that would now be revealed to him in the ברית בין הבתרים Covenant Between the Pieces.

 

Beraishis 15:6
pages 358-359

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Beraishis 15I – מעשה אבות סימן לבנים – The Events of the Forefathers were Analogous to What Would Occur to the Descendants

God took Avraham out of Ur Kasdim. According to tradition God saved Avraham from the fiery furnace that he was put into by Nimrod. (Ur means fire).

In advance of telling Avraham that his descendants will go to Egypt, an exile referred to in verse 17 of this chapter as “a smoking furnace and a flaming torch,” God mentions Avraham’s own rescue.

Once again we see מעשה אבות סימן לבנים The events of the forefathers would play out in the lives of their descendants. Avraham was thrown into a fiery furnace and his descendants, too, would be tested in the crucible of exile, the “burning furnace” that was Egypt.

Being taken out of the fire of Kasdim was a prototype of the Exodus from Egypt.

Beraishis 15:7
page 359

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Beraishis 15J – Avraham is Prepared to Conquer the Land of Canaan

Following Avraham’s victory in the battle against the 4 kings, when he rescued his nephew Lot, God told him that he will have biological children who will in inherit him. Avraham had complete faith in God’s promise. The next verse God tells Avraham, “I took you out of Ur Kasdim to give you this land, to take possession of it.” To that promise, Avraham asks, “how will I know that I will take possession of it”?

RSRH says this cannot be taken to mean a lack of faith (as some interpret the verse). It also doesn’t mean “in what merit will I inherit the land (as others explain.)

RSRH explains that the word לרשתה was never used before in previous or later promises (see commentary for sources) . The verb ירש has such a strong connotation of independent action that it sometimes means “to conquer”; in fact it is used in this sense in connection with the conquest of the Land (see Devarim 1:21, also Devarim 1:8, 2:24, 2:31 and 9:23).

What Avraham was being told was that he (actually, his descendants, as he will soon understand) will be given the land, so that he should take possession of it as a conquer.

Avraham believed this fully. (With God’s intervention he had indeed just won a major war.) What he now asked was, “How will I know that the time has come for me to conquer and possess the land? (GS- במה אדע would then be translated as “by what indicator will I know?”)

Hence, the question doesn’t show a lack of faith on Avraham’s part, rather it shows his deep belief in God’s promise and his willingness to do whatever is asked of him by God.

[God’s response follows in the next verses (9-21) in the Covenant Between the Pieces. Avraham himself will not inherit the land. The phase of increased prosperity for Avraham will move to another phase. It will only be the 4th generation who will take possession of the Land by conquest. Before that the nation will need to become formed and molded by God, enduring the difficulties that lie ahead. At the end of that period, they will be ready to become God’s people and take possession of the Land.]

Beraishis 15:8
pages 360-361

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Beraishis 15K – The Covenant Between the Pieces ברית בין הבתרים

The text and translation of Covenant Between the Pieces is available for printing by clicking on this link.

Avraham had asked God how would he know when the time had come for him to conquer the land. God’s response, that he would not do that, his descendants will (See post 15J), follows; first by symbolically showing him, and then by explaining the symbolism.

For three generations Avraham’s descendants will be strangers and slaves, oppressed and without homeland, freedom or power of resistance. The fourth generation will return to this land. The people who currently live in the land have not yet becoming fully degenerate, warranting them to be driven out and conquered.

You will receive the covenant. You will go to your fathers in peace and the covenant will be fulfilled with your children.

Explanation of the symbolism:

  • Three generations are represented by: three times a female calf, three times a goat, three times a ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.
  • They were cut in the middle (by God) and birds of prey came to attack them. This symbolizes the terror of death, which was decreed upon the coming generations. The turtledove and young pigeon were not cut.
  • God is saying: “Your descendants will have to bring an offering three times. Three generations will have to surrender themselves to God, offering to him the qualities represented by a female calf, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon. For three generations I will decree annihilation on the qualities represented by a female calf, a goat and a ram. Only the qualities represented by the turtledove and the young pigeon will I permit to survive.”
  • Avraham chases away the birds of prey. This symbolizes that it is only in Avraham’s merit that the descendants will not be consumed.  They will suffer but they will not be consumed.

Symbolism of the Animals:

Each animal represents specific aspects of the human personality. (This applies to all animals the Torah designates for various sacrifices. The gender and species are in accordance with the personality of the offerer, his circumstances and his relation to this environment.)

  • A young calf – עגלה: Represents energy and activity. (As these are working animals)
  • צאן, sheep and goats, the flock, are pasture animals, led by the shepherd. They represent the relationship of people and nations to God. The עז: As it clear from its name (which means goat but also bold and firm) the goat is strong, resolute and firm. The goat symbolizes the power of resistance – and at the same time, using its nature to be led by its master. The goat represents the quality of heeding the command of one’s master while resisting all temptation.
  • The איל, ram: The ram leads the flock. It represents the “man of property” – wealthy individuals endowed with possessions and power.
  • צפור the kosher bird (as opposed to non-kosher birds of prey) has neither strength nor powers of resistance. Its main feature is its ability to escape man’s dominion by flying away. The birds here represent the older generation (תור) and the younger generation (גוזל).

God told Avraham to take all the animals in front of him. God cut them in two. He broke all their strength, all the resistance, and all the authority in three generations of Avraham’s descendants. But he did not break the birds, ie. the inner strength to take wing and soar above any hardships (The older generation will keep the younger generation under its protective wings. -GS)

God then explains the symbolism in words, as follows:

  • גרות - Your descendants will be strangers (without rights) in a land that is not theirs. (This is the meaning of the ram that was cut in half.)
  • עבדות - They will become slaves, without freedom of action. (This is the meaning of the young calf that was cut in half.)
  • עינוי - They will be oppressed and will have to bear everything without the ability to offer resistance. (This is the meaning of the goat that was cut in half.)
  • Nevertheless, they will be ready for redemption. (The birds were not cut.) The pieces were cut in half, lying opposite each other, waiting to be reunited. The ability to take wing was not broken and it would be the basis for the future restoration of the broken powers.

(In his commentary to Exodus, RSRH further develops this theme. He shows in the wording of the Torah that these three powers of Avraham's descendants were broken in Egypt. He then explains how the plagues correspond to the three powers (as punishment for overdoing it.) Later, when the Torah gives the command of the Korban Pesach, the Pascal Lamb, RSRH again shows the correlation to these powers emerging again and being the focal point as the nation is preparing to leave Egypt. Once the people have been educated in the crucible of Egypt it must now make use of these powers and characteristics in God's service.)

(See The Hirsch Hagaddah pages 90-95 for RSRH's explanation of the Covenant Between the Pieces, pages 8-19 for the Korban Pesach and 115-118 for the 10 plagues.)

Beraishis 15:9-21
pages 361-367

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Beraishis 16A Avram Marries Hagar

We can well understand Sarah’s sadness in not bearing children. She had a maidservant, Hagar, who was her maidservant. Hagar is referred to later in the chapter as שפחת שרי.

Sarah said to Avraham, “Until now we haven’t had children. Although you deny it, I know that the fault lies with me. (Sarah’s words indicated this when she said God עצרני has held me back from giving birth.)

She asked that Avraham marry Hagar fully as his wife. At the same time, she wanted her relationship with Hagar to remain the same. Hagar would remain dependent on Sarah.

Sarah had intended to raise the child from that marriage as her own.  “Perhaps I will be built up through her.” (As RSRH explains: There is a concept of a house in the dimension of time. All of history is ongoing work on one great building. Each generation is a building block in that great edifice. This is the meaning of the blessing that is said at a wedding: והתקין לו ממנו בנין עדי עד – God created man in His Own image. From man He has established Himself a building reaching into eternity.)

Avraham agreed to this, not for his own sake. He believed he would yet have children from Sarah. He did this to fulfill her personal wish. (And Sarah requested this not for her own sake but for Avraham’s sake. She had told him, If you won’t do it for your sake, then do it for my sake!” – to convince him to agree.

Beraishis 16: 1-3
pages 368-370

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Beraishis 16B – Strife After Hagar Becomes Pregnant. Hagar Flees

Hagar becomes pregnant and no longer considers herself dependent on Sarah. This creates difficulties, as now, Sarah cannot be that surrogate mother to Hagar’s child.

Sarah blames Hagar’s behavior on Avraham. He must have made her feel too elevated.

Avraham tells Sarah that if so, she should do what is necessary to reestablish that relationship with Hagar. Sarah humbled Hagar and Hagar fled.

– According to RSRH’s commentary on verse 11, the humbling of Hagar was not physical, rather it was verbal. She reminded Hagar that she was still in the previous relationship and that Hagar was still dependent on Sarah. Hagar had already tasted the elevated feeling of being married to Avraham. She now craved freedom and being dependent on Sarah was too much to bear. She needed to flee.

Beraishis 16: 4-6
pages 371-372

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Beraishis 16C – Hagar Meets an Angel

An angel of God meets Hagar by a well of water in the desert. The angel addresses her as “Hagar, maidservant of Sarah.” When he asks her where she is running to, the only answer Hagar gives is that she is running away from “Sarah my mistress.” – This is what she can no longer bear. She needs her freedom.

First the angel responds with the condition that she should return “to your mistress and recognize Sarah’s supremacy of your own free will.” This recognition will leave its impression on your child, and he will grow up under Sarah’s educational influence.      Hagar does not return.

Next the angel promises that in return for her sacrifice, her offspring will be too many to count.     Hagar does not return.

Finally Hagar is told that her descendants will be the freest of all mankind.    This is finally enough to convince Hagar to return. She has tasted freedom, and if this difficult phase will result in a nation that is free, it is worth the struggle.

Beraishis 16: 7-12
pages 372-374

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Beraishis 16D – The Angel Tells Hagar about her Son-to-be, Yishmael

The angel informs Hagar that she will have a son to be named Yishmael (translation is: God will hear) because God has heard your suffering.

RSRH points out that this is rare. Typically in scripture  suffering is “seen” as opposed to “heard.” He explains that in this case , there was no physical suffering ; nothing to be seen. The pain was the feeling in her heart after being reminded by Sarah of her dependence on her and the need to continue her and her son’s education under Sarah’s tutelage. It was heard (sensed and understood) by God.

(On verse 13 Hirsch adds that the name Yishmael in the future, God will hear, was a lesson to Hagar and added to her education about God. God hear and will always hear, even seeing into the unknown future. Hagar called God “the God who sees me. She was not yet free. She couldn’t yet understand that God is far beyond that.)

Beraishis 16: 11-14
page 374-376

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Beraishis 16E – Yishmael’s Treasury of Ideas

The well where Hagar saw the angel of God became a monument for the Arab people, and their whole connection to humanity is connected to this well. Here their matriarch, Hagar, perceived that God is absolute in space. (She had learned that even if she fled, God was everywhere.) Avraham added a grammar change to one of the words she used to indicate that not only does God see, but He sees “me.” – There is Divine Providence over everything and everyone. An additional lesson in a word added by Avraham is that God is the Living God. He is All Powerful and gives life to all.

The gifts given to the Arabian people were these ideas, that God is the absolute Master of space and time, and that He watches over and guides all. All the Arabian thinkers and philosophers worked at developing these ideas for mankind. This work constitutes the essence of the Arabian people’s treasury of ideas.

[The Arabian character developed from Cham’s sensuality, Hagar’s thirst for freedom, and Avraham’s spirit. – as Hirsch developed in Chapter 16 – GS]

 

We, the Jewish people, have been assigned by God a dual mission.
A) Faith, intellectual truths, to be absorbed in our heart and which our minds are to develop
B) Mitzvos. Concrete actions which shape all of life according to the dictates of God’s Will, in harmony with those truths.

Jewish philosophical writings discussing the unity of God are largely based on the work of Arab thinkers. They attained Emunah but they did not attain Mitzvos.

It is not sufficient to have ideas about God’s unity. To the mitzvah of “שמע” should be added the Mitzvah of “ואהבת” , the practical subordination to Him of all faculties and aspirations –  בכל לב נפש ומאד.

Our mission is “to guard the way of Hashem to do Tzeddaka and Mishpat” (Beraishis 18:19. See the Nineteen Letters). That requires the subordination of all our faculties, especially physical energies and drives. ie. sanctification of the body. Only one who sanctifies the body is entitled to be called a Jew. (See more on page 387)

Beraishis 16: 13-14
pages 376-378

 

 

 

 

Beraishis 16: 13-14
pages 376-378

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Beraishis 1A Free Will and the Greatness of Man

1. God created Heaven and Earth. Nothing preceded God’s creation, hence God has free will and is not bound to any limitations. God breathed from His spirit into Man, hence Man has free will.

(If it were not so, God would not be master over the material that preceded Him. Man could be no better. There would be no free will.)

2. Being a creation of God, created of God’s spirit, Man must understand his greatness and strive for greatness.

Beraishis 1:1, Pages 1-2

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Beraishis 1B God’s Plan for the World

1. Ultimately, Man will come to achieve the highest level of goodness, and through Man, so will the world. Man and the world were created for this very purpose.

Man achieves this by acknowledging and returning the gifts of the world to its Giver (making proper use of the world in service to Hashem and thereby uplifting and sanctifying Man and the world. GS)

2. The Torah, Israel, and various Tithes are referred to as ראשית- Beginning, for each of these represent a beginning of this process of recognition and dedication.

3. When the world lost awareness of God’s presence and involvement, miracles became necessary to reawaken that awareness. (The Hebrew word for miracle is נס which means “banner” – that which brings awareness)

Beraishis 1:1, Pages 2-3

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Beraishis 1C The name of God אלקים

1. The root of the word אלקים comes from the word אלה which means “these”. It defines plurality of things joined together to form one unit. When we see a group of things we define them as “these” – אלה  .

This word defines God as the One Whose might and will encompasses the plurality of the world in unity.

2. As such, the word means the One who is ruler, director, law giver, and judge of the world. מדת הדין

3. At the time the Torah was given, heathens observed the world and saw many conflicting phenomena and spheres. They did not see the unifying force of the world. Instead they understood the world to have always been forces that conflicted with one another.  This world of many forces was understood to come from many gods. Such gods were powerless in spheres they were in conflict with. And if the gods were powerless and had no free will, the same would be true of Man. (Don’t blame me! The devil made me do it!)

Enter the Torah. The world is taught that God created all these forces. God is אלקים. God has free will and so does Man! Man is responsible for his actions.

Beraishis1:1, Pages 3-4

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Beraishis 1D All aspects of existence should inspire us to serve Hashem

The reason the Torah did not begin with the Book of Shemos, the laws to live by, is to teach us an important lesson. Serving God and our relationship with God are not only to be found in meditating about God and keeping his laws. If that is all God asks of us, the first verse in the Torah would suffice, and the entire book of Beraishis could be skipped.

The book of Beraishis teaches us to observe and ponder the origin of the world, world history and Jewish history. These observations and thoughts should move us to see God in all aspects of life. Each object, plant, animal, individual, society, country, at its own state of development, serves Hashem at its own level, in its own way. See how all of existence serves Hashem! Allowing these observations to penetrate our thoughts and emotions should inspire us to obey His Law with dedication and appreciate that this is the very purpose of our time on Earth. This is the message of  Psalm 104 ברכי נפשי.

Bereishis1:1, Page 6

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Beraishis 1E Respect the Order of Creation למינו

The Torah details stages of creation, from simple life to the most complex forms of life. As expounded on by our sages, that God created the world with ten “sayings”. Each aspect of creation is bound to the regulations and laws dictated by God.

The lowest elements of creation observe God’s law no less than the most complex ones. Every creature, insect and plant is part of God’s world and His order.

Disturbing any part of God’s world, tampering with the laws dictated to them by God, is as forbidden and punishable as disturbing the whole of creation. (mating animals of different species, grafting plants, destroying plant life for no purpose, are just a few examples GS)

Beraishis 1:1, Page 6-7

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Beraishis 1F Creation’s Dependance on God

The creation’s continued existence is only possible with God’s willing it. He is not removed from matters of the universe, rather He is its life force. The creation continues to exist because God finds its continuance to be good. He observes his work after creation and as long as he is satisfied with it He wills it to continue.

Contrast that to Man. Sometimes Man can set things in motion but then finds himself over his head and losing control of what he created.

Beraishis 1:4, Pages 8-9

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Beraishis 1G Mysticism

The purpose of writing the story of creation is not intended to reveal hidden matters which are beyond our grasp to understand. The purpose is rather to make it clear that everything that lies before us no matter how diverse; Heaven and Earth, light and darkness, plant life, animal life, land and water,  etc. – was formed, separated, ordered and governed by the Creator.

Beraishis 1:6-7, Page 12

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Beraishis 1H למינו – למיניהם (expanded)

1. Organic life is highly diversified into many species. God’s Law of Limino/Limineihu causes each species to develop within its narrow sphere.

As plant life develops and diversifies, it appears to be operating with a large degree of freedom, developing from grass to plants to complex organisms. However this is a freedom without option, each species develops within very specific boundaries and limitations.

2. There are a series of Mitzvos that tell us to  respect this order such as the prohibitions against interbreeding animals, planting various plants too close together, wearing Shaatnez, grafting fruit trees and the mixing milk and meat.

These mitzvos serve as constant reminders that we must honor God as the Lawgiver. Just as He tells creation to hold back its urges at the specific boundaries that He demands, so too does He demand this of humans. God has given Man free will, but His Law tells us to exercise that free will to live within the boundaries set by God in what we do and what we refrain from doing.

3. Just as the Law of Limino exists with lower organic life, so does it exist with people. All of Mankind is expected to live within boundaries set forth by God. The Torah demands a higher level of expectations of the Jewish people.

Of all the laws that regulate the forces and urges of Man, the laws regulating sexual behavior are at the top. To quote RSRH, “Sexual excesses bring about the death of individuals and nations and the observations of the limits of sexual life drawn by God in these prohibitions is the fundamental condition for the spiritual and moral ennoblement of the races of men and Jews.”

Among the universal laws, no Man may marry another man’s wife, etc. The Jewish people are told to abide by additional laws in this area, such as the laws of Nidah and the prohibition of marrying one’s brother’s wife. Within the Jewish people, Kohanim may not marry a divorcee and the Kohain Gadol is yet further limited in that he may only marry a virgin.

Beraishis 1:11-13, Pages 16-20

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Beraishis 1I Luminaries as Signs and Festival Times

As אותות, the luminaries make us aware of God’s power and his management of the world.

As מופתים, the luminaries not only inspire belief but convince and influence Man’s power of self-will.

By means of the luminaries, מועדים  are determined. (A מועד is a fixed place and time to meet)

In general, the luminaries serve for all Mankind as אותות. The stars, the regulated cycles of the sun and the moon, declare “There is a God!”

At certain moments in history the luminaries (or the sky), have served as signs of God’s promises:

After the flood, God showed Noah the rainbow in the sky and called it an אות of the covenant God was making between Himself and all of Mankind.

When God told Avraham that he was going to be the father of a nation, He showed him the stars and said “so will be your children”.

When Israel was to leave Egypt, Moshe was shown the moon and God told him that the moon is a symbol of the Jewish people’s ability to struggle through the darkness and emerge to the light. (see some very inspiring words about קידוש החדש on page 24)

God appointed מועדים, times for Israel to come before Him and in union with His Torah, to refresh Israel’s memory of its redemption and being made holy. These holidays are connected to the cycles of the luminaries so that Israel bears in mind that the same way God rules over nature so does He rule over history.

Beraishis 1:14-19 Pages 23-24

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Beraishis 1J Structure of Days of Creation

The first three days of creation correspond to the second three days. What was created in the first three days is given its completion  and position relative to the development of life on earth in the second three days, as follows:

Day 1 Light – Day 4 Light Bearers

Day 2 Water and Air Space – Day 5 A World of Life

Day 3 Dry Land with its Vegetation – Day 6 Living Inhabitants

With the seventh day, a new world started; the world of the education of Man to God. This seventh day is another first day but on higher, spiritual level. Light is again created, but this time it is the light of recognition of God. Who was given the mission to promote this recognition? This is the mission of Israel. Israel is God’s eight work of creation. The seventh day at first had no בן זוג until God told it ישראל יהיה בן זוגך.

Beraishis 1:20, Page 25

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Beraishis 1K Creation of Man – נעשה אדם

God speaks to all of Creation in the “royal we” and says “Let Us make Adam.” Just as a benevolent king directs his subjects for their betterment, so too God’s announcement in advance of creating Man tells Creation that the creation of Man is for its benefit, will bring it to a higher level.

The word for Man is אדם. The word for the earth,אדמה, is derived from the word אדם.

The color red is אדום. When one shines light on a prism, the least refracted ray of light through the prism is red. This is paralleled in Man’s existence on earth. The prism represents the physical realm we live in. The light shining on the prism represents God’s light. Man is red. Man is the being inhabiting this world nearest to revelation of the divine.  Man’s task is to sense God and bring God into this world by living in accordance with His will, thereby infusing this world with Godliness. The world will happily respond and flourish when Man does so. Therefore the name for the earth is אדמה, the feminine form of אדם. (The feminine form being that which nurtures and develops that which it receives. GS) When Man brings God into the world, the world responds in kind.

There are a number of related Hebrew words that further develop this concept:

Man is God’s footstool – הדום- on earth.
Man is God’s seal – חתם- on creation.
Man’s mission can be understood in being created as a likeness – (דמ(ה- to God.

Based on the above, RSRH translates the word אדם to mean representative (of God in this world).

Beraishis 1:26, Pages 29-30

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Beraishis 1L בצלמנו Man Created in God’s Image

צלם means an covering or a bodily form. If God wished to appear cased in exterior visible form, representing His compassion, love and justice, He would appear in the figure he gave Man.

No man can be like God, but as אדם he must strive to be similar to God. Man should not allow anything within himself or about himself that is contradictory to God.

Man’s mission is to become holy – to work oneself up toward God’s holiness.

Beraishis 1:26, Pages 30-31

The Torah emphasizes the godlike dignity of the human body. This is a central theme of the Torah.
Man is capable of his godly mission on earth, even with his physicality and all his urges. In fact, Man was specifically designed to grow upward and become holy with his body.

It is a grave error to only see godliness in Man’s mind and spirit, thereby giving the body free reign to be involved in all sorts of depravity.

A holy body is the foundation for all growth of the spirit. The higher the spiritual and mental greatness, the more demands on keeping the body holy. As such, the first commandment the Jewish people are given is ברית מילה. Israel’s missin is to rebuild a purer Mankind, therefore their very first commandment is to dedicate the body to God.

Many of the mitzvos have this theme, such as laws of sexual relations, eating, ritual purity and cleansing oneself of ritual impurity.

Beraishis 1:27, Pages 32-33

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Beraishis 1M Man’s Relationship to the Earth and its Creatures

While the earth and its creatures may serve other purposes of which we are unaware of, Man is given permission for the fulfillment of his human calling, to make use of (only) those creatures he may need. If Man does this truly as אדם, a representative of God, the world will gladly allow this. When used in this way Man is not enslaving the creatures but rather elevating them into the sphere of serving God out of free will (a sphere that they alone, as animals, do not live in GS).

Originally (the first 1526 years) Man is not allowed to kill living creatures.

God gives Man more complete control over the raw materials of the earth to use all of it and puts his stamp on it, molding and making use of it as he sees fit.

Beraishis 1 27-28, Pages 31-32

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Beraishis 1N Gender Equality with Separate Roles

Equal

Although all living beings were created male and female, only by Man does the Torah point this fact out. The underlying message in this is that both sexes were created equally by God in His likeness and both are equally given their tasks by God.

This is also evident in the verse changing its wording. At first it states בָּרָא אֹתוֹ but then immediately after the Torah states זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם, indicating that man and woman’s role are of equal importance.

Partners with individuals roles

The Hebrew word for male, זכר, is related to זכר – remember,  סגר – close and סכר shut.
The males are the spiritual keepers and links in the chain of the tradition.

The Hebrew word for female is נקבה, meaning to determine, decide, fix.
The woman joins man in his efforts (and concretizes and gives practical meaning to the Torah the man brings into the home. GS)

Beraishis 1:27, Page 33

———

God blessed Man and Woman and to both of them did He give the command to fulfill the mission on Mankind on earth.

Beraishis 1:28, Page 33

 

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Beraishis 1O Man’s Mission: Form Godly Families and Society

God blessed Man and Woman and commanded them (they must chose of their own free will to obey) Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it.

1. Be fruitful – Marriage. The most noble traits of godliness and humaneness, innate in all parents, unite to produce children.

2. Multiply – The Home. Found a home where you will nurture and educate your children, thereby creating an environment where your ideals and values become theirs.

3. Fill the earth – Society. This is not merely a mission for individual families. Create a society where these higher values are fostered and encouraged.Every individual must concern himself with the whole.

4. Conquer the earth. Only when the first three conditions are met, is Man granted permission to make use of God’s world. All his possessions are to serve the higher goal of creating the generation and society of godly people.

There is no division in life between holy and mundane. Building a family and being part of society are not separate and distinct from divine matters. They are one and the same. God asks for the whole of life to be dedicated to His service. The is the calling of אדם.

Beraishis 1:28, Pages 33-36

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Beraishis 1P The Whole World is the Arena for Man’s Mission

By  telling Man to fill the entire world, God says that the entire world (אדמה) is material ready to be infused with godliness by אדם, God’s representative on earth. There is no climate, location or variety of life where Man cannot carry out his mission as אדם.

Beraishis 1:28, Page 36

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Beraishis 1Q Food’s Moral Influence on Man

The root of the word for food is אכל. Bearing other related words in mind, this word implies that food is integrated into the personality of the one who consumes it. We may only eat food that is in line with our personality and does not cause a negative influence.

Only God truly understands our makeup and can determine which foods are allowed to be eaten. Originally, Man was only allowed to eat the seeds of agricultural plants (such as grain) and fruit. Animals were to eat leaves and herbs.

After the flood Man was permitted to eat animals. This may have been an accommodation to the climate changes which limited the availability of grain and fruit.

Beraishis 1:29, Page 37

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Beraishis 1R Suffering and the Bigger Picture

After all the parts of creation were in place, God looked at it all – כל- and said it was very good.

The word כל in its deeper sense means the purpose behind a totality of (seemingly disconnected and even contradictory)  parts.

From a superficial perspective, the world seems imperfect. There is much suffering and hardship. True good, however, “very good”, is that which fosters spiritual and moral growth. Sometimes this may not be immediately apparent in this world. Everything in this world is for a higher purpose. We are in this world moving towards the next world. Looking at it “all”, it is very good.

This is the meaning behind the Midrash Rabbah on this verse which states that the words “very good” were referring to suffering, death and the evil inclination! All of these, despite the hardship and difficulties they create, enable Man to climb higher and grow closer to God. They must exist.

The totality of God’s creation is very good.

Beraishis 1:31, Pages 38-39

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Beraishis 1S “The” Sixth Day – יום השישי

All of creation waited in anticipation for Man to arrive. When Man makes proper use of the world, all of the world has meaning.

When in the course of time Man misused the world and didn’t live up to his calling, the unfulfilled earth waited in anticipation for Israel to receive the Torah and begin the process of bringing all of Mankind back to its mission and calling as אדם.

Therefore, the Midrash teaches us, God made a condition with the earth that if Israel accepts the Torah, all is good, but if not, the earth should revert to confusion. It is through Israel that the world receives the Torah. It is through the Torah’s message that Mankind and the earth find their true purpose. (The sixth refers to the 6th day of Sivan when the Torah was given)

The sixth also teaches us to extend part of the sixth day of the week into Shabbos. The sixth day of creation, the day that concludes all of creation, with Man’s mission, gives meaning to the previous days. Shabbos is a continuation and constant reminder of  this sixth day message.

Beraishis 1:31, Pages 39-40

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Beraishis 2A ויכלו- Creation is Complete

The word ויכלו connotes coming to a planned end. The world came to be as it is because God planned it so. The world did not continue to evolve because God had planned the world to develop precisely in the manner and degree that it did and not beyond that. Each aspect of the universe was brought to its position to serve its purpose. Like soldiers (צבא) at the ready, each serves its unique role in God’s grand scheme. No individual part is insignificant.

The fact that the universe halted its development at this point is testimony to a Creator who designed it to arrive at this point. This is the meaning of the name of God ש-די.

שאמר לעולמו די – God told His world “Enough!”

Beraishis, 2:1, Pages 40-43

 

 

 

 

 

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Beraishis 2B Shabbos – שבת בראשית

The word מלאכה is the feminine form of the word מלאך. Melacha is the tangible result of using and forming material for a specific purpose. With the universe’s formation complete, it receives the title of God’s מלאכה.

The word שבת means  more than rest. It is a halt in activity because the activity has come to its desired end and purpose. With all of creation in place and free willed-Man given the world with the conditions that God had set forth, all new creation halted because there was nothing more to add.

Shabbos Beraishis itself was the last thing put in place for the education of Mankind. It was blessed, endowing it with the ability to continuously foster an awareness of God in the world. It was made holy, given a unique place, to endure forever.

God blessed this day and made it holy because  this is a day for Man’s education. It is a time for Man to dwell on God the Creator and the purpose of all of Man and creation. All of creation was designed to lead up to this Shabbos education.  This education of Man will gradually, in the course of human history, win over Mankind to become the messenger of God in this world he was intended to become – making use of and uplifting all the universe in service to God.

Beraishis 2:2-3, Pages 43-47

 

 

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Beraishis 2C The Name of God י-ה-ו-ה and the Name(s) ה’ אלקים

י-ה-ו-ה

The Name of God י-ה-ו-ה is often translated as Eternal. (While this is of course absolutely true,) this understanding of  God’s Name teaches us nothing about our relationship with God and our lives. We must seek a meaning of the Name of God which provides a message for our lives.

Our rabbis teach that this name (also) describes God’s מדת הרחמים attribute of mercy. Grammatically, this word, derived from its root היה “exist” means the One Who grants existence and is always prepared to grant new existence to meet the needs of Man’s education. Even if Man’s past actions may warrant his end, this attribute grants Man a new chance.

אלקים

Our rabbis also teach that the Name אלקים describes God’s attribute of Justice – מדת הדין. The Name אלקים indicates that God put all the rules of nature in place. There is a specific set order which should not be tampered with. Every created being must comply and fulfill its role.

The world without Man operates with the attribute of מדת הדין – Justice alone. But with the creation of Man, who often fails at his mission due to his free will, there is the constant adjustment to the set rules of natural development.

Because Avraham exerted himself to see God in nature, אלקים, God responded to him by teaching him about His name י-ה-ו-ה, the God who has brought about all of nature for the opportunity to educate Man to come closer to God. As י-ה-ו-ה, God will move history along the path to its higher purpose, the education of Man, even if it requires the suspension of the rules of nature.

The world only came to fully witness and understand this relationship with God at the time the Jewish nation was formed in Egypt. Then, the Jewish nation had no ability to fend for itself physically and survive and despite that God interceded and redeemed it. (This was clearly the divine hand operating against the rules of nature.) Jewish history begins with this lesson. All of Jewish history is one big lesson of God’s involvement in the world and His constant education of Man, which is the meaning behind the name י-ה-ו-ה.

The Name י-ה-ו-ה describes God as the God who is involved in the moral development of Man; the God of History, the God of Man’s Education. Man’s response to this should be submission to God in His expectations of our morality. This is why we pronounce the name as we do, whose meaning is “my Master”.

ה’ אלקים

The combined Name ה’ אלקים indicates both concepts in one expression; The God who has set rules in the universe and operates silently in the background, maintaining the constancy of nature. At the same time, God is constantly interceding, regulating and adjusting these rules as He sees fit, for the needs of the education of Man. (At times these changes are blatant and dramatic, but often these are very subtle, [appearing as part of nature such as weather conditions], catered to the needs of individuals.) ה’ אלקים is the God of Divine Providence.

Beraishis 2:4, Pages 47-51

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Beraishis 2D The World’s Dependance on the Creation of Man

Vegetation was created on the third day but did not grow because God had not made it rain. Rain is granted to Man from God as ה’ אלקים (see Concepts, Names of God). God’s development of the earth is directly linked to Man’s moral growth.

This is why this verse states that ה’ אלקים had not brought rain. The fact that rain exists is a law of nature. There is rain because of God operating as אלקים. When, where and how it rains, is governed by God as ‘ה as part of His moral education of Man. There are many aspects of the running of the world that God handed over to His angels. The “key of rain” however, God kept for Himself to be directly involved in the development of the world based on Man’s moral standing.

The verse tells us that there was no rain because Man was not there to work the soil (to service the earth). Although Man is master over the earth, by his using the earth correctly as אדם, as directed by God,  he is doing a service to the earth. The earth is purely physical. Man is a free willed, moral being. Man’s use of the earth correctly, furthers its higher purpose, now becoming a participant in a free willed service to God.

Beraishis 2:5, Pages 51-53

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Beraishis 2E Differences Between Man and Animals

1. The Torah uses the same expression, נפש חיה, to describe the life force of both Man and animals. However at the creation of animals the physical earth produced the life force as is stated תוצא הארץ נפש חיה. Contrast this to the creation of Man where the life force of Man comes directly from God as is stated in this verse וַיִּיצֶר ה’ אלקים אֶת-הָאָדָם, עָפָר מִן-הָאֲדָמָה, וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו, נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים; וַיְהִי הָאָדָם, לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה

With animals the life force itself is physical by nature. With Man, the body is physical but the life force as well as the soul is spiritual. When a person’s body dies he continues to live because his life force is drawn after his spirit.

2. Just as Man/אדם is to master the earth for the use of service to God, so is Man to master his body, derived from the earth for the service of God.

3. Man’s body is also different to animals’. By the creation of animals, they were formed as a natural extension of the physical earth – תוצא הארץ נפש חיה. By the creation of Man, the earth was the matter from which Man was formed but God Himself formed Man – וַיִּיצֶר ה’ אלקים אֶת-הָאָדָם, עָפָר מִן-הָאֲדָמָה. This underscores the special dignity and high stature of even the human body.

Beraishis 2:7, Pages 54-55

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Beraishis 2F וייצר- ב יצירות – The Dual Nature of Man

The word the Torah uses to say that God formed Man is וייצר, the letter “yud” appearing twice. As the word יצר can mean inclination or formation, our sages teach us that this verse contains a number of related lessons.

– Man is both mortal and immortal
– Man is both earthly and heavenly
– Man has a good inclination and a bad inclination

When this word is pronounced only one “yud” is heard. Man always appears to have both sides of him but one side is always the more dominant. Which one is up to him. The most holy person is still a person. In the background is his body and his inclinations. He had to fight to be as holy as he is. And even a person who seems to be at the lowest rung of his humanity still contains a spark of holiness within him.

Both inclinations and aspects of Man were created from the very beginning. The God who created Man’s inclination toward the spirit, created Man’s earthly inclinations. There is nothing unholy or wrong with either of Man’s inclinations as long as they are put to use according to God’s instructions. Man was not created to be a מלאך. Man is not pure white. That is God’s realm. That is the realm of angels. Man was created to be אדם. Man is put on earth. whose spiritual side is broken up by his encounter with the physical. Man is “red”. (See this very fundamental concept that RSRH refers to often.)

In this world, the world of the senses and with his sensuous nature, Man is to live his life and uplift it all in the service of God. The Christian concept that the sensuous nature of Man comes from Satan is a twisted concept that has been the curse of Man throughout history. (I believe RSRH is saying that by rejecting the body as a part of the service to God, Christianity has missed the main intention of Man’s mission; to uplift his body and this world. By striving to relegate the body as something evil, the body remains unholy or worse. The world does not become transformed and elevated, the opposite occurs. This misguided concept allows for moments of religious ecstasy and yet the whole of life is left out of the religious experience. This invites the most decadent elements of human nature to develop. GS)

Beraishis 2:7, Pages 56-57

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Beraishis 2G Garden of Eden – Paradise on Earth

גן means guarded place. A place enclosed for the needs of humans. עדן means pleasure, usually meaning fulfilling all one’s material needs.

The Garden of Eden is a real location of earth. (It’s exact location is described in verses 10-14.) It was a designated place, prepared to provide Man with all of his material needs met in response to his work.

Man was created outside The Garden of Eden and was placed into the garden. The garden is prepared for him, awaiting his arrival, ready to meet his every need. But there is no guarantee that he will remain in this garden. The condition for remaining in the garden is to live by God’s laws, making use of the garden as God sees fit.

Man’s is destined to live in the Garden of Eden – life on earth where all of his needs are met. The world around him will flourish and his efforts will succeed when he lives by God’s rules. This is the ultimate destiny for all of mankind. Man grows towards that end in the course of history.

Later in history, the Land of Israel was to be another Garden of Eden on a smaller scale, given to the Jewish people, on condition that they live by God’s laws. In response, the land and all their lives would flourish. This would serve as an example for all of mankind of what they should strive for.

Beraishis 2:8, Page 57

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Beraishis 2H Beauty and Harmony in Nature, Aesthetics

The Garden of Eden was designed as an arena for Man’s education. First, the Torah tells us about the beautiful trees that filled the Garden of Eden and only after that, tells of its food. The Torah is showing us the value of the aesthetic and appreciation for beauty.

It seems that Man is the only creature who has the ability to enjoy beauty and the order in nature.

Beauty, joy in harmony, can sensitize Man and serve as a stepping stone to find joy in the harmony of living a moral life. Man left to his own devices can grow to be wild. The animal side of Man can pull him to become brutal. Harmony and aesthetics can offset this.

Beraishis 2:9, Pages 57-58

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Beraishis 2I The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – עץ הדעת טוב ורע

To Man’s senses and understanding, the עץ הדעת appeared beautiful, nourishing and the most correct tree to partake of. Despite that, God told Man not to partake of it.

This is the meaning behind the tree’s name: By man’s choice it will become clear what Man considers good and evil. Does he make his determination based on his own senses and understanding or based on the will of God?

The tree stood to remind Man of that which must remain front and center in his mind. Man’s doesn’t understand why he can’t partake of this tree. Everything inside him tells him that he should partake of it, and yet God’s will is that he not partake.

For Man to fulfill his mission on earth and be worthy for the world to be a Paradise for him, he must learn to put God’s will, whenever it is revealed, before his own.

Beraishis 2:9, Pages 58-59

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Beraishis 2J Working and Guarding the Garden

Man is to work the land even in Gan Eden. The difference between the Gan Eden experience and a non-Gan Eden experience is only that in Gan Eden the earth flourishes in response to Man’s work. (RSRH seems to be alluding to the opinion of the Rambam that after Mashiach comes and we will live in a Paradise, the only thing that will change from the current way the world operates is the Jewish people will no longer be oppressed by the nations of the world. According to the Rambam we will not be living a supernatural existence and will continue to work.

Along these lines RSRH considers that the work and the guarding might be referring to the state of happiness (Eden) by Man dong his job according to God’s dictates. The sages understand the work and guarding to be a reference to observing Torah and Mitvos, which is a similar idea.

Beraishis 2:15, Pages 60-61

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Beraishis 2K The Challenges of the Test in גן עדן

The commandment to not eat from the tree had a number of difficulties associated with it:

1) It was a negative commandment which often meets with impulses wanting to resist it.
2) It was a commandment in the area of forbidden foods, a particularly difficult area where the יצר הרע tempts a person to sin.
3) It was a commandment that was a חוק. Common sense see no reason for thibehavior.
4) It was a commandment based on oral tradition. God told Adam, but Adam told Eve about it. There is room for doubt when it is rooted in an oral tradition.

As explained earlier in verse 9, the challenge of this test was see if Man would choose God’s will to determine what is good and evil, or his own senses and thought process.

To this day, each of us stands before God, as did Adam, before this very same tree of knowledge. Will we listen to God’s instructions or our own? Will we be drawn after our physical sense, or cast doubt on our obligations if their source is an oral tradition?

Beraishis 2:16-17, Pages 61-62

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Beraishis 2L The Seven Noahide Laws Taught to אדם

Our sages (Sanhedrin 56b) teach us that this verse has all seven Noahide Laws contained within it.

וַיְצַו – דינין
Just as a commandment means assigning someone to his post, so too society must live by their duties and not step beyond their bounds. For this purpose they must set up courts to establish and uphold these boundaries.

ה’ – ברכת השם
This name of God emphasizes the relationship God has with mankind. It is self understood that blasphemy is a breach in this relationship.

אלקים – ע”ז
This name of God emphasizes God being the sole Creator and unifying force of all the forces of the universe. This implies serving no other perceived God alongside the sole God.

עַל-הָאָדָם – שפיחת דמים
If even with one’s own body one must use it it only in the manner God permits, all the more is there no right over another man’s body.

לֵאמֹר – גילוי עריות
The word לאמר is a reference to handing the law down via oral tradition. Our sages teach us that God chose the Jewish people to pass on His Torah to the next generation because that had the quality of sexual moral purity, as is repeated often about the Jewish people למשפחתם לבית אבותם. Therefore this verse, telling Adam to be a part of the oral tradition of God’s law (and all of mankind is to be that) must be sexually moral.

מִכֹּל עֵץ-הַגָּן – ולק מן הגזל
Man may only eat from within the area of the garden, the area designated for his use. Theft is forbidden.

אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל – ולא אבר מם החי
We may only eat that which can be אכילה – absorbed into the human body without negatively influencing it. אבר מם החי is forbidden because the body would not just absorb the flesh of the animal but even the life force of the animal. Eating a limb of an animal when the animal is still alive is forbidden.

Beraishis 2:16, Pages 62-64

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Beraishis 2M The Creation of Woman as עזר כנגדו, Marriage

Until Woman was created the “good” that was to be proclaimed about the world was not complete. The perfection of the world could never come about without Woman.
Our sages taught us that a without a wife a man cannot become a Man. Husband and wife in marriage can become אדם. See Commentary on נעשה אדם.

Man’s task is too great to accomplish alone. To accomplish this Woman was created for Man. The wording of the Torah expressing Woman’s role is עזר כנגדו, a helper beside him. Nowhere in this role is the notion of sexuality brought up. A woman is not to be the object of Man’s lust. Woman stands parallel to Man, standing beside him, with complete equality and independence, sharing mankind’s mission.

RSRH explains the inner meaning of the word עזר to mean one who helps in a way that relieves the person from some of his tasks, allowing him to focus on the remaining tasks more completely. (See his commentary here for a full explanation.)

God created a woman as opposed to creating another man, because the intention was to create a different kind of person, who would not duplicate the tasks of man, but rather have a different position than man. Mand and Woman compliment one another. Woman does not stand with Man but next to him.  Each stands at a different point along the same line.

Beraishis 2:18, Pages 64-66

 

 

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Beraishis 2N Man Names all the Animals – Scientific Inquiry

God Who created Man and things, led all the animals to stand before him so that Man would see what to call them for himself.

Man does not view things objectively. He sees them subjectively, from his own perspective as a נפש חיה. Man gave things names based on the impression they give on him. Based on our understanding, we give assign things their place in the world. The word שם which means “name” is the same word for “there”.

The fact that God gives Man the task of naming things tells Man that while he may not grasp the complete truth of what he is observing, he has the right to trust himself enough to presume that he has grasped some of the truth. He can rely on his understanding of the world, limited as it may be, to put it to use to accomplish his mission on earth.

It follows from this that belief in God who created Man and things, is what gives us confidence to engage in scientific study.

(Science is not at odds with Religion. Religion is the basis of Science. GS)

Beraishis 2:19, Pages 66-67

 

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Beraishis 2O Woman formed from Man’s Side

1. Man’s body was formed out of the earth but Woman’s body was formed out of Man’s body which was already a feeling, sensitive being. Our sages teach us that this is the source of a woman’s female character, temperament, voice and her developing both spiritually and mentally earlier than men.

2. At the creation of Woman, Man declares that after searching unsuccessfully all created beings, he could not find anyone who could stand beside him and join him in his mission as אדם until the creation of Woman. No other being on earth has free will. Woman stands alongside Man to become a complete אדם. The name אשה does not imply Woman’s dependance on Man but rather Woman’s equality with Man.

Beraishis 2:22-23, Pages 68-69

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Beraishis 2P Marriage – ודבק באשתו

All animals, birds, fish etc. are divided into sexes but there is a very big difference between all of them and humans. They were all created at the same time, male and female. Each was created independent of one another. Each can carry out its mission in life without the other one. The only need in their uniting is to breed. However, humans were created one as part of the other. The woman is עזר כנגדו. Their lives are unfulfilled without one another.

A man is to work hand in hand with his wife to fulfill their joint mission. He cannot do this alone. The expression ודבק באשתו , he shall cleave to his wife, is only stated by humans.

This unity takes place when both invest their minds, emotions and spirit to to be subordinate to and directed by a Higher Will. Together they form אדם.

Beraishis 2:24, Pages 69-70

 

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Beraishis 2Q They Were Naked and Were Not Ashamed

1. At that time they were both of one mind, dedicating body and soul completely to fulfilling God’s will. There was nothing to feel ashamed about.

Shame is a feeling of being disappointed in ones expectations of one’s self and Adam and Eve had no reason to feel any dissapointment. Nothing about their physical, sensual side was in opposition to their calling. It was part of their calling. The pure human body, directed by heeding God’s laws, is no less holy than the soul!

When a person makes use of his senses to serve himself rather than God, then there is shame in nakedness.

2. The Torah stresses that both Man and Woman were naked and not ashamed. Both were directing their complete selves toward godliness.

In some societies there is an expectation that girls are holy and chaste but the same is not expected of the boys and men. The Torah opposes this thought. Men and women are equally expected to uplift themselves in body and spirit. Men are given the mitzvah of ברית מילה as a warning to be holy in this area of life. See more on this in the Comment Man in the Image of God – Holiness of the Body.

Beraishis 2:25, Pages 70-72

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Beraishis 3A The Argument of the Snake – The Rationale for Man to SIn

The model for all of Man’s struggle with sin lies in the argument the snake presented:

“The fruit of the tree could not possibly be forbidden to you by God even if He told you so. The tree is beautiful and its fruit looks delicious. Your inner self is telling you to have it. Surely that is the voice of God within you telling you that you should have it.”

This argument was presented by the wisest of the animals. For an animal, this argument is absolutely true. Even the wisest of animals has no free will. When an animal acts upon its sensual instincts it is indeed carrying out the will of God.

But Man was designed to have two opposing sides in order to have free will. Often, Man must deny his sensual urges for a higher duty. The voice of God speaks to Man but not in him.

Animal wisdom, and in modern times philosophers, exaggerate what is prohibited and tell us that too much is being asked of us. They say we shouldn’t deny ourselves what is so instinctual.

In truth, God does not deny Man sensual pleasure in this world. Most pleasures of this world are permitted, but those pleasures are to be enjoyed out of a sense of duty, not instinct.

Beraishis 3:1, Pages 72-74

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Beraishis 3B The Danger of Making Rabbinic Fences Too Tall

Adam added a fence around the original prohibition against eating the fruit and told Eve they must not even touch it.

When Eve told this to the snake, she did not mention anything about Adam adding this fence. (Perhaps Adam never told her it was a fence? GS) She said they cannot eat from it or touch it lest they die. The Midrash explains that the snake caught her on this distortion, pushed her into the tree and told her that just as she didn’t die from touching the tree, so too she won’t die from eating its fruit.

This is the danger of exaggerating a rabbinical fence. Fences are important, but they must always be recognized as fences.

That same Midrash puts it this way: When a person builds a wall higher than it should be it will fall down on the produce it was designed to protect.

Beraishis 3:2-3, Pages 74-75

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Beraishis 3C Shame after the Sin

Immediately after they ate from the forbidden fruit they became aware that they were naked.

They sensed that their bodies should not remain visible.

This has its root in the basic human emotion of shame.

Before the sin, their bodies were in perfect harmony with the will of God. There was nothing to cover up. After the sin, brought about by their listening to their senses over and above God’s command, they became aware that their bodies have desires contrary to God’s will. That was the root of their shame. They came to understand that a part of themselves was not completely dedicated to the service of God which was their calling. The root of their sin was they they followed their animal instincts above God’s command.

Shame is the emotion of the conscience which reminds us we are not animals.

Beraishis 3:7, Page 77

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Beraishis 3D עיקר שכינה בתחתונים

The original, natural state of the world is one in which God’s proximity is felt directly by Man, here on earth.

It is only due to Man’s sin, for Man’s education, that God withdrew Himself somewhat from Man. Whenever in history God has communicated directly to Man, to our Avos, Moshe, the Nevi’im or when the entire nation stood before Har Sinai experiencing this closeness, that was the natural state of being. Those are moments, brought about by the power of the Torah, where the world returned to its natural state of being. The thousands of years of distance from God is the unnatural state.

Originally, all of nature lay before Man who stood before God. Man was at peace with the world, with himself and with God in Paradise. This is the natural state of the world.

The intent of every page of the Torah is to reestablish peace and harmony in this world, to open up the gates of Paradise once again and to bring God’s שכינה back to this world.

Beraishis 3:8, Pages 77-78

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Beraishis 3E God’s Distancing Himself as a Result of Human Sin

As a a result of Man’s sin God was מתהלך בגן – God withdrew to a limited sphere. Our sages understood this s to mean that God  was withdrawing to some degree from Man, סילוק שכינה, choosing to stay within the proximity of holiness. Man’s had chosen to not be holy.

Later in the Torah we find that when our camps are holy, God is to be found there. When we have made our מחניך קודש, then we find כי ה’ אלקיך מתהלך בקרב מחנך.

The lesson is clear. God can be heard in our camps, in our day to day lives on earth – not via some emotional, spiritual high or by some kabbalistic elevation to another state of being. God will be close to us in the midst of our regular, earthly lives when we live our lives in holiness, according to His will.

God withdrew from them in the garden, the garden being a place on earth. When Adam and Eve were living their lives according to God’s will, He could be sensed on earth.

Beraishis 3:8, Pages 78-79

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Beraishis 3F All Commandments are Positive (even the “negative” ones)

There is no word in biblical Hebrew for “forbidding”. When God asks Adam if he ate from the forbidden fruit, the expression used is “did you eat from the the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (As opposed to “did you eat from the the tree that I forbade you to eat from?”)

Every commandment requires positive energy to fulfill. No commandment tells us to remain inactive. Often a negative commandment requires more positive energy than does a positive commandment. We are asked to muster joyful energy in fulfilling all the commandments including when what we are asked to do is to refrain from some activity.

Beraishis 3:11, Page 80

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Beraishis 3G Man Remains Capable of Overcoming his Lusts

The snake is cursed, for the education of Man. (God speaks to it as ה’ אלקים – see Names of God for more )

From this point forward there is hatred between snakes and people. Perhaps this is to always remind Man that he must keep away from “animal wisdom.” Man must not follow his instinct but rather exercise his free will to follow God’s commands.

God tells the snake, which represents the voice of the animal lust that tempts Man, Man will hit you on the head and you will hit him on his heel. By this God is telling Man that he is stronger than his evil inclination. Man can do more harm to the snake than the snake can to Man (when Man is ready to fight the fight).

When Man is off guard, his evil inclination can get the best of him, just as a snake quickly jumps out and bites man.

Additionally, when Man arouses his lusts, he falls to them. When he leaves them to slumber, he can overcome them.

Beraishis 3:14-15, Pages 81-82

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