Musar zu Bereschit 17:5
וְלֹא־יִקָּרֵ֥א ע֛וֹד אֶת־שִׁמְךָ֖ אַבְרָ֑ם וְהָיָ֤ה שִׁמְךָ֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם כִּ֛י אַב־הֲמ֥וֹן גּוֹיִ֖ם נְתַתִּֽיךָ׃
Darum soll man dich nicht mehr Abram nennen, Abraham soll dein Name sein; denn zum Vater vieler Völker habe ich dich bestimmt.
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
When the sons of Chet addressed Abraham by saying: "You are a prince of G–d in our midst" (Genesis 23,7), what they meant was that the personality of Abraham had made a deep impression on their תוכיות, internality. They felt that their own spiritual roots had become purified through having an Abraham in their proximity. They were convinced that this augured well for their future and eventual salvation, and they thanked Abraham. When our Bereshit Rabbah 43,5 explains the words עמק שוה in Genesis 14,17, by saying that all the nations agreed (השוו) to crown Abraham there as their king, this describes Abraham as being freed, set apart from the קליפות. Abraham personally represents the spiritual level of ישראל; he achieved a higher level than all the other patriarchs. The statement that his name was ישראל indicates his spiritual level as being on a very high plateau enabling him to penetrate to the most rarefied Celestial Regions. The name אברהם, on the other hand, describes his being the (spiritual) father of a multitude of nations, כי אב המון גוים נתתיך, something that was acknowledged when the sons of Chet said שמענו אדני, נשיא אלוקים אתה in 23,6. He had also been called Abram, for it was still at that time that Ishmael issued from him. We see that the dimension of אב המון already began to take practical form while Abraham was still Abram. This dimension was reinforced with the birth of Isaac, who in turn produced an Esau who incorporates all the קליפות.
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