Chasidut su Genesi 11:39
Kedushat Levi
The belief that the thoughts that cross the minds of parents engaged in marital intercourse influence the spiritual focus of a child conceived as the result of their union, is universally accepted in the writings of our sages, and especially so in Nachmanides’ essay האמונה והבטחון, chapter 15, page 395 in כתבי רמב'ן, published by Mossad Harav Kook. [The authorship of this volume has not been determined with accuracy even nowadays. Rabbi Chayim David Chavell, whose edition I am using, devotes 11 pages to his introduction when he explains that there is some genetic spiritual input by both the father and the mother into the soul of the child they produce.
If I understand the message in these words, it is that this input is transmitted only at the time when the parents conceive the child, and it outweighs what the parents try to teach the youngster after he or she has been born. It follows that if the parents are interested in transmitting their own and their ancestors’ good characteristics to their own children, they must not only live according to these principles, but even conduct themselves according to these principles in the privacy of their bedrooms. Perhaps this sheds some light on the lament of many parents who have one or more children who do not follow in their footsteps and who fail to understand this. Ed.]
Pessachim 50 urging us to be careful to perpetuate the good practices of our forefathers meticulously, the Talmud quotes Proverbs 1,8 שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תטוש תורת אמך, “my son, hear the moral instruction of your father, and do not forsake the teachings of your mother.” It is clear from the Torah’s description of Terach before he had sired children (assuming he became a monotheist later) that the thoughts we have described did not occur to him when he and his wife conceived Avram. In fact, if Terach had been a believer in the one and only G’d, much of the credit Avraham accumulated would have been due to his father.
Avraham was the first human being, who, by absorbing some of the “sparks” of the Shechinah which we discussed on pages 21-22 was able to transmit such spiritual values by means of his semen. He himself had absorbed only the kind of material input from his father and mother as is capable of being defined through DNA in our days. In the parlance of our sages this input of physical matter by the mother is known as אודם, primarily cells which produce blood, whereas the input by her male partner consists primarily of לובן, albumen.
Terach and his wife contributed only elements of the material terrestrial part of the universe to the fetus of Avraham, whereas G’d, anxious to see an eventual Jewish people emerge from that embryo, contributed characteristics that stemmed from the spiritual spheres of the universe. This is the meaning of Avram’s question “how do I know that I will inherit?” The word דעת or ידע always describes a close attachment to the subject or object it describes. Avram wanted to know which spiritual characteristic links him to his existence in the terrestrial world, a link described in Proverbs 1,8 as אבי in the verse שמע בני מוסר אביך, in which Solomon cautions his listeners to carefully perpetuate the moral lessons absorbed from אביך, your father, i.e. your roots. His question was prompted by his realization that he could certainly not be expected to perpetuate the moral lessons that he had been taught in the house of his father Terach. If he were to do this, how could he possibly bequeath to his offspring the qualities needed to become G’d’s people? He knew instinctively that this could happen only if he had in his genes spiritual input from a higher world. The characteristic that represented this spiritual input is know as אב, part of the name אברהם. The word ירושה, inheritance, is always used in connection with inheritance from one’s father; hence seeing that the word אב, father, was part of his name this was the link that enabled him to become the first patriarch of the Jewish people. Avram understood that the origin of the Jewish people, a concept in G’d’s mind and the contribution He had made as the third partner in any human being to Avram’s genes, were of the same kind, so that the Jewish people could truly be described as having its terrestrial root in Avraham, as he would be called shortly before Yitzchok was born.
When G’d told him that he should realize that his offspring would begin their collective life as “strangers,” i.e. as a new nation in the families of nations, it was this strain that he shared his spiritual origin with. He would henceforth have to concentrate on his role as the spiritual root of that nation as and when it would become such. G’d reminded him already in verse 7 that this was the purpose for which He had saved him from the fiery furnace in Ur Kasdim continuing this theme in verse 18 when He entered into a sacred covenant with Avram. He had given him a preview that the development of this nation of which he would become the founding father, would undergo a difficult “adolescence” and that these difficulties once endured and overcome with His help would qualify them for their historic mission as trailblazers of monotheism. Although Terach is credited with having sired Avram, (Genesis 11,26) this was merely a biological phenomenon; he was in no way an ancestor of Avram in the sense that Avram as the son would continue a tradition sacred to his father.To the question of how we are to understand Genesis 15,15 ואתה תבוא אל אבותיך בשלום תקבר בשיבה טובה, “as for you, you will join your “fathers’ in peace and will be buried in a ripe old age,” the word אבותיך does not refer to Terach; but is an assurance that Avram would die without sharing the servitude his descendants would experience.
The Zohar I 78 commenting on Genesis 12,5 ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, writes that Terach became a penitent, but that this does not mean that Avraham would be reunited with his father in the life after death, but since our sages had difficulty in how to understand the words: ואתה תבוא אל אבותיך בשלום, they understood this as Terach sanctifying the name of Avraham’s G’d while still alive. The name of “G’d” in that verse therefore is אב, the spiritual genes that we described above as having been injected by G’d into the ovum that eventually developed into Avram.
[We may understand this as Terach establishing a horizontal spiritual bond with his son through his penitence instead of the vertical bond created when a father passes on his spiritual values to his son. Ed.]
If you find it difficult to accept the argument that Terach is not to be regarded as Avram’s “father” in verse 15, consider the following statement in Yevamot 22. גר שנתגייר כקטן שנולד דמי, “a convert after conversion is comparable to that of a newly born baby.” He has no residue of the spiritual input normally transmitted by the respective genes of his father and mother. The only spiritual force active within him is that of the soul which has been given to him by his Creator. He is no longer called after his father, when called up to the Torah, the name of his father, the gentile, is not even alluded to. The reason is that he no longer contains the spiritual input his father had transmitted to him at birth. The separation of such a convert from his biological father is so absolute, that according to Biblical Jewish law the convert is free to marry his biological mother, or sister, (assuming either of them has converted). [If the Rabbis forbade this, it is because it raises suspicions that the conversion had ulterior motives. Ed.]. Avram/Avraham both because he was a convert, and because his name was changed by G’d before he sired Yitzchok, was no longer connected to Terach at all. When the Torah writes in Genesis 25,19 ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם, אברהם הוליד את יצחק, “and these are the generations of Yitzchok; son of Avraham; Avraham had sired Yitzchok,” the Torah makes a point of describing Yitzchok as descendant of Avraham, whereas it never described Avraham as a descendant of Terach. The term “father,” is mentioned in the Torah only in connection with the characteristic אב which G’d had supplied to Avram, and which helped him to sanctify G’d’s Holy name to large groups of people as we explained previously.
If I understand the message in these words, it is that this input is transmitted only at the time when the parents conceive the child, and it outweighs what the parents try to teach the youngster after he or she has been born. It follows that if the parents are interested in transmitting their own and their ancestors’ good characteristics to their own children, they must not only live according to these principles, but even conduct themselves according to these principles in the privacy of their bedrooms. Perhaps this sheds some light on the lament of many parents who have one or more children who do not follow in their footsteps and who fail to understand this. Ed.]
Pessachim 50 urging us to be careful to perpetuate the good practices of our forefathers meticulously, the Talmud quotes Proverbs 1,8 שמע בני מוסר אביך ואל תטוש תורת אמך, “my son, hear the moral instruction of your father, and do not forsake the teachings of your mother.” It is clear from the Torah’s description of Terach before he had sired children (assuming he became a monotheist later) that the thoughts we have described did not occur to him when he and his wife conceived Avram. In fact, if Terach had been a believer in the one and only G’d, much of the credit Avraham accumulated would have been due to his father.
Avraham was the first human being, who, by absorbing some of the “sparks” of the Shechinah which we discussed on pages 21-22 was able to transmit such spiritual values by means of his semen. He himself had absorbed only the kind of material input from his father and mother as is capable of being defined through DNA in our days. In the parlance of our sages this input of physical matter by the mother is known as אודם, primarily cells which produce blood, whereas the input by her male partner consists primarily of לובן, albumen.
Terach and his wife contributed only elements of the material terrestrial part of the universe to the fetus of Avraham, whereas G’d, anxious to see an eventual Jewish people emerge from that embryo, contributed characteristics that stemmed from the spiritual spheres of the universe. This is the meaning of Avram’s question “how do I know that I will inherit?” The word דעת or ידע always describes a close attachment to the subject or object it describes. Avram wanted to know which spiritual characteristic links him to his existence in the terrestrial world, a link described in Proverbs 1,8 as אבי in the verse שמע בני מוסר אביך, in which Solomon cautions his listeners to carefully perpetuate the moral lessons absorbed from אביך, your father, i.e. your roots. His question was prompted by his realization that he could certainly not be expected to perpetuate the moral lessons that he had been taught in the house of his father Terach. If he were to do this, how could he possibly bequeath to his offspring the qualities needed to become G’d’s people? He knew instinctively that this could happen only if he had in his genes spiritual input from a higher world. The characteristic that represented this spiritual input is know as אב, part of the name אברהם. The word ירושה, inheritance, is always used in connection with inheritance from one’s father; hence seeing that the word אב, father, was part of his name this was the link that enabled him to become the first patriarch of the Jewish people. Avram understood that the origin of the Jewish people, a concept in G’d’s mind and the contribution He had made as the third partner in any human being to Avram’s genes, were of the same kind, so that the Jewish people could truly be described as having its terrestrial root in Avraham, as he would be called shortly before Yitzchok was born.
When G’d told him that he should realize that his offspring would begin their collective life as “strangers,” i.e. as a new nation in the families of nations, it was this strain that he shared his spiritual origin with. He would henceforth have to concentrate on his role as the spiritual root of that nation as and when it would become such. G’d reminded him already in verse 7 that this was the purpose for which He had saved him from the fiery furnace in Ur Kasdim continuing this theme in verse 18 when He entered into a sacred covenant with Avram. He had given him a preview that the development of this nation of which he would become the founding father, would undergo a difficult “adolescence” and that these difficulties once endured and overcome with His help would qualify them for their historic mission as trailblazers of monotheism. Although Terach is credited with having sired Avram, (Genesis 11,26) this was merely a biological phenomenon; he was in no way an ancestor of Avram in the sense that Avram as the son would continue a tradition sacred to his father.To the question of how we are to understand Genesis 15,15 ואתה תבוא אל אבותיך בשלום תקבר בשיבה טובה, “as for you, you will join your “fathers’ in peace and will be buried in a ripe old age,” the word אבותיך does not refer to Terach; but is an assurance that Avram would die without sharing the servitude his descendants would experience.
The Zohar I 78 commenting on Genesis 12,5 ואת הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, writes that Terach became a penitent, but that this does not mean that Avraham would be reunited with his father in the life after death, but since our sages had difficulty in how to understand the words: ואתה תבוא אל אבותיך בשלום, they understood this as Terach sanctifying the name of Avraham’s G’d while still alive. The name of “G’d” in that verse therefore is אב, the spiritual genes that we described above as having been injected by G’d into the ovum that eventually developed into Avram.
[We may understand this as Terach establishing a horizontal spiritual bond with his son through his penitence instead of the vertical bond created when a father passes on his spiritual values to his son. Ed.]
If you find it difficult to accept the argument that Terach is not to be regarded as Avram’s “father” in verse 15, consider the following statement in Yevamot 22. גר שנתגייר כקטן שנולד דמי, “a convert after conversion is comparable to that of a newly born baby.” He has no residue of the spiritual input normally transmitted by the respective genes of his father and mother. The only spiritual force active within him is that of the soul which has been given to him by his Creator. He is no longer called after his father, when called up to the Torah, the name of his father, the gentile, is not even alluded to. The reason is that he no longer contains the spiritual input his father had transmitted to him at birth. The separation of such a convert from his biological father is so absolute, that according to Biblical Jewish law the convert is free to marry his biological mother, or sister, (assuming either of them has converted). [If the Rabbis forbade this, it is because it raises suspicions that the conversion had ulterior motives. Ed.]. Avram/Avraham both because he was a convert, and because his name was changed by G’d before he sired Yitzchok, was no longer connected to Terach at all. When the Torah writes in Genesis 25,19 ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם, אברהם הוליד את יצחק, “and these are the generations of Yitzchok; son of Avraham; Avraham had sired Yitzchok,” the Torah makes a point of describing Yitzchok as descendant of Avraham, whereas it never described Avraham as a descendant of Terach. The term “father,” is mentioned in the Torah only in connection with the characteristic אב which G’d had supplied to Avram, and which helped him to sanctify G’d’s Holy name to large groups of people as we explained previously.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Let us now proceed to explain the first verse in our portion, לך לך מארצך...אל הארץ אשר אראך, a verse which presented many commentators with difficulties. The major difficulty bothering these commentators is that we do not find anywhere that G’d showed Avram the land of which He had spoken. Another difficulty they raise is at the end of the previous portion when we read about Terach taking his family, including Avram and his wife (Genesis 11,31) planning to settle in the land of Canaan, but remaining in Charan without concluding his intention. Terach may have had reasons of his own why he did not continue his journey, but why did Avram and his wife not continue, as planned?
The author relates an answer to this query that he had heard from his father of sainted memory and Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezeritch, based on a Zohar I 85 which discusses the mystery of the unity of G’d which comprised masculine and feminine attributes. When or how did these “split?” [The souls that descend into this world are perceived as the “fruit” i.e. results of the deeds of the Creator, Ed.] In our domain of the universe we do not encounter such a fusion of both attributes. [If I understand correctly Rabbi Dov Baer drew a parallel to the Talmud Zevachim 51 where the problem of how blood of a burnt offering that was slaughtered on the northern part of the altar, and transferred to bowls there, could be poured down the south east corner, without violating the rule that it must be poured down the יסוד, base of the altar, (Exodus 29,12, et al) when the south east corner of the altar did not have such a base, [and the priests always had to walk in a certain direction always turning right, not backtracking. Ed.]
The gist of the Rabbi’s commentary is that there are two ways in which to serve the Lord. One is based on awe of the Creator, יראה, the other on love for Him, אהבה. [The matter has been touched on already in connection with Genesis 14,15, page 56. Ed.]
In order to serve G’d out of feelings of true awe one must first have mastered Torah and its various disciplines and have toiled greatly through study and concentration, performance of the commandments, and good deeds; only then will one be qualified to be granted the ability to serve the Lord by embracing the attribute of awe, involving, as we explained previously, a total negation of the self in doing so.
On the other hand, it is impossible to truly love one’s Creator except through one’s (good) deeds. Love, i.e. selfless love, is based on recognizing this attribute in G’d, Who has nothing to gain by performing loving deeds for man who is unable to reciprocate, as He is not in need of anything His creatures can offer Him. If someone employs his G’d given intellect to search and find the goodness of G’d, he will be rewarded by receiving further enlightenment from G’d.
We read in the Zohar that Avram realized that in the Holy Land one could perform service of G’d properly; so that he “wrapped,” i.e. committed himself wholly and enthusiastically to G’d. As a result, whereas Terach had moved to Charan after Avram had been saved from Nimrod’s furnace, only in order to save himself from his former customers who accused him of having sold them useless idols, he stayed there. Avram immediately experienced a call from G’d, Who wished to help him fulfill his wish to go to the Holy Land. By telling him that only he was to do so, G’d showed him that if one honestly and sincerely wishes to serve His Creator, the Creator, in turn will extend a helping hand. Since at that time Avram’s awe was the principal element that prompted him, seeing that he had experienced such a miraculous escape from Nimrod’s furnace, he remained on this level of serving G’d from יראה, a feeling of reverence and awe, for the time being.
When G’d spoke about “showing” him the land to which he should proceed, He meant that unless he would be given further guidance by Hashem, he would not ascend higher rungs on the ladder that would bring him closer to his Creator. G’d mentioned three separate stages involved in his reaching his self-imposed objective. He had to shed certain concepts that had previously attached him to the community surrounding him. They are: ארצך, מולדך, בית אביך, “your native land, your birthplace within that land, your family, i.e. the house of your father.” The three places mentioned represent נפש, רוח, נשמה, 1) “physical life-force, known as the body’s essence; 2) the “spirit”, seat of one’s urges and physical aspirations; 3) the spiritual essence, the soul.
The author relates an answer to this query that he had heard from his father of sainted memory and Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezeritch, based on a Zohar I 85 which discusses the mystery of the unity of G’d which comprised masculine and feminine attributes. When or how did these “split?” [The souls that descend into this world are perceived as the “fruit” i.e. results of the deeds of the Creator, Ed.] In our domain of the universe we do not encounter such a fusion of both attributes. [If I understand correctly Rabbi Dov Baer drew a parallel to the Talmud Zevachim 51 where the problem of how blood of a burnt offering that was slaughtered on the northern part of the altar, and transferred to bowls there, could be poured down the south east corner, without violating the rule that it must be poured down the יסוד, base of the altar, (Exodus 29,12, et al) when the south east corner of the altar did not have such a base, [and the priests always had to walk in a certain direction always turning right, not backtracking. Ed.]
The gist of the Rabbi’s commentary is that there are two ways in which to serve the Lord. One is based on awe of the Creator, יראה, the other on love for Him, אהבה. [The matter has been touched on already in connection with Genesis 14,15, page 56. Ed.]
In order to serve G’d out of feelings of true awe one must first have mastered Torah and its various disciplines and have toiled greatly through study and concentration, performance of the commandments, and good deeds; only then will one be qualified to be granted the ability to serve the Lord by embracing the attribute of awe, involving, as we explained previously, a total negation of the self in doing so.
On the other hand, it is impossible to truly love one’s Creator except through one’s (good) deeds. Love, i.e. selfless love, is based on recognizing this attribute in G’d, Who has nothing to gain by performing loving deeds for man who is unable to reciprocate, as He is not in need of anything His creatures can offer Him. If someone employs his G’d given intellect to search and find the goodness of G’d, he will be rewarded by receiving further enlightenment from G’d.
We read in the Zohar that Avram realized that in the Holy Land one could perform service of G’d properly; so that he “wrapped,” i.e. committed himself wholly and enthusiastically to G’d. As a result, whereas Terach had moved to Charan after Avram had been saved from Nimrod’s furnace, only in order to save himself from his former customers who accused him of having sold them useless idols, he stayed there. Avram immediately experienced a call from G’d, Who wished to help him fulfill his wish to go to the Holy Land. By telling him that only he was to do so, G’d showed him that if one honestly and sincerely wishes to serve His Creator, the Creator, in turn will extend a helping hand. Since at that time Avram’s awe was the principal element that prompted him, seeing that he had experienced such a miraculous escape from Nimrod’s furnace, he remained on this level of serving G’d from יראה, a feeling of reverence and awe, for the time being.
When G’d spoke about “showing” him the land to which he should proceed, He meant that unless he would be given further guidance by Hashem, he would not ascend higher rungs on the ladder that would bring him closer to his Creator. G’d mentioned three separate stages involved in his reaching his self-imposed objective. He had to shed certain concepts that had previously attached him to the community surrounding him. They are: ארצך, מולדך, בית אביך, “your native land, your birthplace within that land, your family, i.e. the house of your father.” The three places mentioned represent נפש, רוח, נשמה, 1) “physical life-force, known as the body’s essence; 2) the “spirit”, seat of one’s urges and physical aspirations; 3) the spiritual essence, the soul.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy