Chasidut su Genesi 14:26

Abraham’s insistence on this oath is disturbing. Would he not trust Eliezer’s solemn commitment? Eliezer had been Abraham’s most loyal student.³⁰See Gen. 15:2 and the commentary of Rashi, s.v. u-vein meshek beisi and Dammesek. The two had fought together and depended on one another in battle.³¹See Gen.14:14 and Rashi’s commentary on that verse. Abraham had trusted Eliezer’s loyalty to defend his life; why would he not trust Eliezer’s word? One might posit that Eliezer’s word was not trustworthy in the absence of an oath since he was not a member of Abraham’s family. This solution would not apply to a different circumstance of oath-taking in the Torah.

Rabbi Shimon said, “I raise my hands in prayer to He who created the world (see Bereshit, 14:22). Even though our predecessors have revealed hidden supernal knowledge in this verse, one would do well to look into and contemplate the secrets of the book of Adam, because this is the source of the hidden book of Shlomo HaMelech.” (Zohar, Yitro, 70a) Thus we find that Shem and Eiver³⁶Whom tradition identifies as pre-Sinaitic Torah scholars, living from the time of Noach until the days of Yaakov. had a house of study. When Rivkah was pregnant and the twins were fighting in her womb, it says (Bereshit, 25:22), “She went to ask of God.” The Midrash Rabbah (Bereshit, 63) notes that she went to the house of study of Shem and Aiver. The Gemara teaches us that Yaakov hid himself from Eisav in the house of Aiver (Megillah, 17a).

From the days of Avraham began the, “two thousand years of Torah.” This is as it says in the Gemara (Sanhedrin, 97a), “Two thousand years of chaos, and two thousand years of Torah.” The Ramban comments on the verse in Bereshit, “and God blessed the seventh day,” that the two thousand years of Torah began with Avraham. Likewise, we find in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah, 2), “‘And the earth was chaos and formless, and darkness on the face of the void’ – these are the first generations. ‘And God said, let there be light’ – this is Avraham.” Avraham began to illuminate the world with the understanding that God does not exist only in heaven, but also on earth. Noah’s son Shem is identified as Malki Tzedek, the king of Shalem. (See Bereshit 14:18) Malki Tzedek addressed God as El Elyon, “the supernal God.” The verses identify him as, “a priest to El Elyon,” and he himself said, “blessed is Avraham to the El Elyon, and blessed is El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hands.” Elyon – Supernal – represents that which is above man’s comprehension. Before the giving of the Torah, the acts of studying Torah and serving God were accompolished through tremendous self-nullification, trials, and suffering. This led them to an understanding of G-d’s existence, and the knowledge of the One who rules His world in the aspect of, “the Supernal God.”

Avraham, however, understood that God, “fills the whole world with His glory.” He removed the orlah,³⁹Orlah means “foreskin.” The author is stating that Avraham’s removal of concealment of G-d paralleled his own act of circumcision. This idea is found in the Zohar, and many Kabbalistic and hasidic writings. the force of concealment, which divided God’s light from man’s understanding. Thus we find after he was given the commandment of circumcision (milah) it is said (Bereshit, 21:33), “And he called in the name of Hashem, the God of the world.” This means that God’s existence became apparent in all aspects of the creation, as the Midrash Rabbah (Vayera, 48) states, on the verse (Iyov, 19:26), “‘From my flesh I shall see God’ – Were it not for the act of circumcision, how could God have been revealed to me?” That is, he saw God’s light in every detail of creation. When Avraham said, “I raise my hands to the Supernal God,” it was before the circumcision.⁴⁰See the Beit Yaakov in parshat Lech Lecha, 33. Similarly, we find that the Patriarchs taught the Torah to their sons. The Midrash⁴¹Midrash Tankhuma, Vayigash 11; Midrash Rabbah,Vayigash 95; Midrash Rabbah, Shemot 5. tells us that while Israel was in Egypt they possessed scrolls with which they would delight in each Shabbat.

This is the aspect of "And he divided himself against them" (Genesis 14:15) which is said about Abraham at the time he chased after the kings. For Abraham revealed G-d's blessed providence in the world. Therefore, the essence of the fulfillment of the generations of the heavens and earth is through Abraham, as it is written (Genesis 2:4) "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, בְּהִבָּרְאָם - meaning, through Abraham בְּאַבְרָהָם (Genesis Rabbah 2:4). Abraham revealed His blessed providence to the world; for the essence of the existence of the world is through this. Therefore, Abraham had the power to divide the night, in other words to break the night, which is the aspect of nullification of nature, the aspect of rising at midnight, as explained above. Then {Abraham} overpowered the four kings, which are the aspect of the four Malchuyot, as brought. The essence of their subjugation is through the nullification of nature, as explained above. Therefore, because he erred {by saying} what was written there (Genesis 15:8) "how will I know that I will inherit it?", the exile was decreed because of this, for it was a blemish in knowledge, which is the aspect of divine providence. The essence of knowledge is the aspect of divine providence. And divine providence, this is the aspect of the Land of Israel, the aspect of (Deuteronomy 11:12) "the eyes of Lord your God are always upon it", as Rebbe Nachman wrote in another place. Therefore, because he blemished the da'at/knowledge and blemished the Land of Israel, which is the aspect of divine providence, (Genesis 15:12) "a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and behold, a fright, a great darkness was falling upon him". Because he saw the strength of the exile, which is the aspect of 'a deep sleep', the aspect of darkness, the essence of their subjugation through the natural sciences, through the blemishing of divine providence, as explained above.

“Anan orcha d’oraita naktinan - We are following the way of the Torah.” This is exactly how Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai said it. Rabbi Shimon revealed how all mysteries are within the Torah. God enlightened him to the knowledge that the Torah contains all Divine names and chambers. The Torah contains the order of the concatenation of the spiritual worlds. All Sefirot, holy names, and names of angels are derived from its verses. It is clearly stated in the Tikunei Zohar (Tikkun 57, page 91b), “every angel has a verse in the Torah.” The mysteries of the pre-Sianitic teachings are not based on the verses of the Torah, for the Torah had not yet been given.⁸⁰However, all pre-Sinaitic teachings are hinted at in the Torah, as the Torah includes everything, as will soon be explained. From the days of Rabbi Shimon, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed the knowledge that it is all in the Torah. Therefore it is said in the Zohar (Aharai, 61a), “All who aspire to ascend levels into the realm of mysteries, do so only in order to complete themselves in the knowledge of Rabbi Shimon.” Even that which was taught in the book of Adam HaRishon was again reviewed and taught to Moshe in the Torah. Concerning this, it is written in the Zohar (Yitro, 70a), “Rabbi Shimon said, I raise my hand in prayer⁸¹Referring to what Avraham said to the king of Sodom in Bereshit 14:22. to the One who created the world. Even though our forbears revealed great mysteries in this verse, it is well for us to delve deeply into the secrets of the book of Adam HaRishon, for this knowledge found itself in the hidden book of Shlomo HaMelech. This book reveals the secrets of man’s generations. It is a tree which reveals the generations of man and bears the fruits which bring them into the world. This is the book of the knowledge of hidden and profound wisdom, which was delivered to the physical Adam HaRishon. This same wisdom was given to Shlomo HaMelech, who recorded it in a book. We have learned that Moshe has great difficulty learning these matters, until the Shekhina came and taught it to him … Then Moshe learned this wisdom, and internalized it.” From here we see that Adam HaRishon had the book of the knowledge of mysteries, and God later imparted this knowledge to Moshe. This is hinted at in Parshat Tetsave (Shemot, 27:20). It is also hinted at in the realms of Ma’aseh Bereshit (The mystery of Creation) and Ma’aseh Merkava (The mystery of the Chariot). “And God created man in His image, in the image of Elo-him,” These are two good points – which are male and female. (Zohar, Nasso, 122b) Just as there is a good spiritual form on the Tsaddik, which leads him in the proper behavior whereby he merits the world-to-come, so too is there an evil form on the head of the wicked, which leads him in his evil behavior, whereby he inherits hell.⁸²This “form” (heb. tselem) is the medium through which the good or wicked individual receives his power to act. Come and see! The actions of man are a testament to that individual’s spiritual form, and is revealed on his face, as it is written (Yeshayahu, 3:9), ‘the form of their faces witnesses against them.’ The form of a man’s face reveals the nature of the angel which accompanies him; whether it is the lion, or the ox, or the eagle, or the man of the chariot of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shekhina. … Or perhaps it is from the chariot of the four elements of the earth … This is the secret of (Bereshit, 1), ‘Let the earth bring forth particular species of living creatures.⁸³The word for living creature, חיה, is the same as the word for angel. ‘ … Come and see! Each of the six days of creation had a specific spiritual countenance⁸⁴Or “Face” – Partsuf, in Aramaic. which would lead it. (Zohar, Nasso, 123a)⁸⁵Evidently, Rav Gershon Henokh is quoting this passage in the Zohar as an example of the Rabbi Shimon’s reception and revelation of the wisdom of the Book of Adam. The Zohar refined the knowledge of the book of Adam in a way that could be accessed by later generations.

This point is made even more clearly in Genesis 13,14 where ‎we read: ‎וה' אמר אל אברם אחרי הפרד לוט מעמו שא נא עיניך וראה מן ‏המקום אשר אתה שם צפונה ונגבה וקדמה וימה‎, "and the Lord had said to ‎Avram after Lot had separated from him ‘raise your eyes and look ‎northward, southward, eastward and westward;’” this was a ‎promise first and foremost that he would see in his lifetime three ‎of the patriarchs of the Jewish people, i.e. himself, Yitzchok, and ‎Yaakov. The first three directions mentioned here symbolize the ‎attributes ‎חסד‎ ‎‏, גבורה, ‏and ‎תפארת‎, referring to Avraham, Yitzchok ‎and Yaakov in that order.
When telling Avraham that he ‎would see ‎את כל הארץ‎, “the whole of the land” (future Eretz ‎Yisrael), this refers to David, whose attribute is ‎מלכות‎, Royalty, ‎David representing this symbol on earth, the Jewish people. David ‎is directly linked to the patriarch Avraham, was shown “the ‎whole land,” so that he would be aware that the glory of the ‎Kingdom of David would be directly traceable to him. This is the ‎reason why north and south, east and west are listed here in this ‎order. According to Ari za’l, ‎ימה‎, “west,” refers to the ‎emanation ‎יסוד‎, the emanation directly above the emanation ‎מלכות‎, the one symbolized by the kingdom of ‎David.
[Malchut, as the “lowest” of the emanations, is ‎the one closest to the physical universe. Rabbi Elie Munk (Ascent ‎to Harmony) has described the emanation Malchut as ‎‎“History” (of man), thus seeing it as the bridge between the ‎actual physical universe and the celestial domains, since when ‎something becomes “history,” it has either receded or ascended ‎‎(depending on whether the persons making history made ‎constructive or destructive contributions) to a domain beyond ‎the physical but robbing it of the “substance” common to ‎phenomena in the earthly domain of the universe. ‎Ed.]
According to the Zohar, tzaddik and tzedek, ‎the righteous person and the performance of righteous deeds, are ‎indivisible, i.e. the emanations ‎מלכות‎ and ‎יסוד‎ always go hand in ‎hand. We find this concept first alluded to in the Torah when ‎‎Malki Tzedek, King of Shalem, (Jerusalem) in Genesis 14,18 ‎congratulates Avram on his victory, blesses him in the name of ‎the Lord, and presents him with bread and wine. The word ‎לחם‎, ‎commonly understood as “bread,” is used to describe ‎חכמה‎, ‎‎“wisdom,” whereas the word ‎יין‎, commonly understood as “wine” ‎means ‎בינה‎, “insight,” in this context. Malki Tzedek presented ‎these items as symbols of the two highest emanations man can ‎usually attain, both of which Avraham employed in his service of ‎the Lord.
[As on previous occasions, the author sees in such ‎apparently irrelevant details as a King bringing bread and wine ‎from hundreds of kilometers from Jerusalem. According to Genesis ‎‎14,15, Avraham had pursued the armies of Kedorleomer all the ‎way to Damascus) an allusion to something far more profound. ‎Ed.]
The Zohar I,199 traces the fact that a tzaddik ‎serves the Lord with ‎חכמה‎ and ‎בינה‎ to Job 28,28 ‎יראת ה' היא חכמה ‏וסור מרע בינה‎, “Reverence for the Lord is wisdom, to shun evil is ‎understanding, insight.” The two blessings that Malki Tzedek, ‎who was viewed as G’d’s High Priest in those days, most likely ‎Shem, Noach’s oldest son, bestowed on Avram, represent the two ‎emanations that Avram had been able to use in his service of the ‎Lord, and are reflected in Targum Yonathan’s translation of the ‎Torah, in the first verses of the Torah in which they appear. [In ‎our verses, instead of commending Avraham to G’d, as we would ‎translate the words ‎ברוך אברם ל..‏‎, Yonathan ben Uzziel translates: ‎ברוך אברם מ...‏‎, “Avram has been blessed by the supreme G’d, etc.” ‎Ed.] Targum Yerushalmi translates already the first words of the ‎Torah, i.e. ‎בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ‎, as “in the ‎beginning G’d used the emanation of ‎חכמה‎ to create heaven and ‎earth.” ‎

‎Genesis 14,14. “when Avram heard that his brother (nephew) had ‎been taken captive, etc.” When the Torah continues and speaks ‎about Avram taking with him 318 men in his pursuit of ‎Kedorleomer and his armies as far north as the tribal territory of ‎Dan (in the future), the number 318 is not accidental, but ‎represents the numerical value of the word ‎שיח‎, another word for ‎דבור‎, suggesting that Avram defeated these armies by means of ‎uttering the holy name of G’d. [The reader is referred to when ‎Moses killed the Egyptian in Exodus 2,13, an act referred to in ‎Exodus 2,14 as having been accomplished by a word, i.e. ‎אומר‎. Ed.] ‎The word ‎דבור ‏‎ also means ‎הנהגה‎, leadership; the word ‎שיח=318‏‎ ‎also occurs in the sense of ‎השפלה‎, humiliation, i.e. Avram ‎humiliated these boastful kings. The word occurs in Proverbs ‎‎23,27 in that sense, i.e. ‎שוחה עמוקה זונה‎, “a harlot is a deep pit.” ‎‎[The author is at pains to understand the number of men Avram ‎took with him as also having profound symbolical meaning. Ed.]‎

The meaning is that there are many channels of abundance through which the abundance travels by any means until it arrived below to the person. But the person’s corruption below causes blockage in the channels; and that is how he comes, by way of his corruption, to the place of the judgments. The judgments stand and accuse and do not allow the life-force, the abundance, to travel to this person; and this is called “blocking the channels.” The virtue of tithing is to transcend the judgments and sweeten the judgments until the judgments consent to the influence of the blessing below, on account of their having been sweetened. And we must understand why this is: for it is known that “In the measure with which a man measures, so is he measured” (Sotah 8b); however a person behaves below, in a certain characteristic, so is it aroused above. If he arouses [in himself] the characteristic of compassion, the same is aroused above as well; and through this he causes sweetening of the judgment. But if, God forbid, the opposite, etc. And therefore through tithing – which is tzedakah – this also causes compassion above on account of his arousing the characteristic of compassion below. And so it is for all the characteristics: a person must offer himself to the Good and imitate his Creator as our Sages of Blessed Memory said, “Just as [God] is compassionate, etc.” (Massekhet Soferim 3.13). Now, regarding Abraham it says, Abraham was old, well advanced in days, which is duplicative language. But it is known that the upper characteristics are called the “thirteen arrangements of seniority;” and that is the connotation of old, that he had arrived at all the “arrangements of seniority,” which are called old. In upper days, he offered himself, with all the characteristics and days, to the upper Good – the place where there are no judgments at all. And that is [the meaning of] “By what merit:” “merit” [z’khut] connotes success as in, “I did not succeed [zakhiti] etc.” (Mishnah, Berakhot 1.5). Surely there is not a righteous man on earth [who does good and never sins] (Ecclesiastes 7:20), but here it is written, and the LORD, “He and His house of judgment,” implying that [the judgments] consented to bless [Abraham]! And is it possible that there would not be a single judgment to obstruct the descending of abundance? So they taught, “By the merit of tithing” as it is written, And Abram gave him a tenth of everything (Gen. 14:20); as is stated above, that this sweetened the judgments until they consented, “He and His house of judgment” all together, to a complete blessing as we have explained.

Genesis ‎14,18. “and Malki Tzedek King of Shalem produced bread ‎and wine, seeing that he was a priest loyal to the Supreme ‎G’d.”
We have previously referred to two different types of ‎people worshipping G’d, one worshipping Him out of a sense of ‎negating himself as a person, making no demands on life, whereas ‎the other expresses his worship of G’d through performance of ‎positive and negative commandments, as well as by being of ‎assistance to his fellow-man. The former is dedicated truly to the ‎metaphysical world, the totally spiritual Being Who created the ‎universe, the one we described as ‎אין‎, presiding over ‎אין‎ prior to ‎commencing creation, whereas the other serves the Lord under ‎the heading ‎יש‎, thereby raising the phenomena in the physical ‎world from a mundane to a more spiritual level when he performs ‎the positive and negative commandments of his Creator. G’d gave ‎the Jewish people these commandments to perform as part of ‎living in a domain called “‎יש‎.” Since the person serving G’d under ‎the heading of ‎אין‎ does not perform specific commandments ‎applicable in the ‎יש‎ part of the universe, he cannot draw down ‎from the metaphysical world any of G’d’s largesse, held in reserve ‎by G’d for the human race.
It is an error to think that by ‎performing ‎מצות מעשיות‎ commandments involving our bodies in ‎what appear to be mundane activities, we have closed the door to ‎being part of the meta-physical world, the ‎אין‎. This element of the ‎אין‎ part of the universes is the ‎נחת רוח‎, a pleasurable sensation, ‎satisfaction that man’s good deeds cause the Creator to ‎experience.
Indeed, he who draws down upon himself physical ‎gratifications in this world by means of his ‎מצוה‎ performance, ‎attaches himself both to the ‎אין‎ and to theיש ‏‎ aspects of the ‎universes; he does the former through having desired to provide ‎his Creator with this sense of satisfaction, with the feeling that ‎He has demonstrated to the creatures in the celestial regions that ‎He had been correct in His fondest hopes when He undertook to ‎create a free-willed human being; such a person also attached ‎himself to the ‎יש‎ part of the universe as the commandments of ‎the Torah were given in order to make him an inseparable part of ‎this ‎יש‎ part of the universe. This is the reason why, on occasion, ‎we find that some people by dint of performing G’d’s ‎commandments find their livelihood on this earth.‎

‎Genesis 14,19-20 “Blessed be Avram to the Supreme G’d,….and ‎blessed the Supreme G’d Who has delivered your oppressors ‎into your hand.”
It is a rule that when G’d deals with a ‎person on the basis of ‎מדה כנגד מדה‎, “measure for measure,” ‎reward or punishment will be in a reciprocal relationship to one ‎another. However, when G’d does not apply this method in ‎dealing with an individual, and He does man a favour-that he has ‎not earned,- he is the recipient of a gift from G’d. Since Avram ‎was a person whose very personality exuded loving kindness, it is ‎clear that G’d reciprocated in equal measure. In this instance, -the ‎victory of a few men under Avram’s command over mighty ‎armies, was something he considered as way in excess of his input ‎thus far. In other words, G’d had given Avram a gift that he had ‎not deserved.The Ari’zal writes that when we recite three ‎times daily the words ‎מלך עוזר ומושיע ומגן‎, “King, Helper, Saviour ‎and Shield,” our sages used this formulation to describe such an ‎undeserved gift from G’d. We also find that Onkelos translates the ‎word ‎חנם‎ in Genesis 29,15 and in Exodus 21,2 as ‎מגן‎. By using this ‎formulation, Malki Tzedek gave Avram a hint that he had ‎received an undeserved gift from G’d. This hint was reinforced by ‎Malki Tzedek referring to G’d as the “Supreme G’d owner of ‎heaven and earth.” What man possesses he does not have to ‎acquire. When he needs something that he does not own, he has ‎to acquire it. Avram did not need to acquire the virtue of loving ‎kindness, as apparently, he personified this virtue since birth; ‎However, the characteristic of ‎גבורה‎, the kind of bravery and ‎heroism needed to wage war successfully, was not a quality he ‎possessed from birth, so that he had to acquire it. Malki Tzedek ‎blesses G’d for having provided Avram with this quality at a time ‎when he was really in need of it. Seeing that G’d “owns” heaven ‎and earth, He is able to bestow this quality on people whenever it ‎suits Him.‎

Another approach to Malki Tzedek’s blessing. There are ‎problems [i.e. obstacles erected by Satan’s involvement in our ‎region of the universe, Ed,] in this “lower” part of the universe ‎that most people are able to deal with on their own if they really ‎put their mind to it. There are other problems that man, without ‎direct help from G’d, cannot deal with irrespective of how well ‎intentioned and capable he is. In such instances, when warranted, ‎G’d has to “kill,” i.e. neutralize the obstacles facing deserving ‎individuals. When Avram, representing “loving Kindness,” killed ‎the four kings who had defeated the Kings of Sodom and his allies, ‎he did so by garbing himself in a halo of heroism, appearing to be ‎a powerful warrior, since he was engaged in battling pagan forces, ‎active deniers of the concept of monotheism. By engaging in such ‎a battle, he acted against all his natural instincts, on behalf of a ‎higher ideal.
Malki Tzedek praised G’d, the Supreme G’d, Who ‎had enabled Avram to prevail over his oppressor against what ‎must have seemed like impossible odds. Although G’d owns the ‎whole universe, on this occasion He had allowed or enabled ‎Avram to assume powers that normally are reserved for the ‎Supreme G’d, exclusively. It was clear to Malki Tzedek that Avram ‎on his own could never have achieved such a stunning victory ‎unless G’d had actively intervened on his behalf.
As soon as ‎Avram had completed his victory, after having temporarily set ‎aside his natural tendency of relating to all phenomena in the ‎universe only with loving kindness, he was given G’d’s promise ‎that he would sire a son, who in due course would personify this ‎virtue of ‎גבורה‎ that Avraham had been able to acquire when he ‎thought that the situation demanded it. Until Avram had ‎demonstrated this ability to garb himself in ‎גבורה‎, the conditions ‎had not been ripe for him to sire a son such as Yitzchok. Up until ‎now, had Avram sired a Yitzchok, his son’s major characteristic ‎would have been the opposite of that of his father. This, in due ‎course, would have resulted in an estrangement between father ‎and son. Now that Avram had learned to appreciate the value and ‎necessitude of this personality trait, the conditions had been ‎created for father and son to coexist harmoniously.‎

Genesis ‎15,1. “After these events the word of G’d came to Avram ‎in a vision- and said to him: ‘do not be afraid,’ etc. and he ‎built an altar there to the G’d Who had appeared to ‎him.
[At this point the author claims to quote a ‎commentary of Nachmanides on the words “he built an alter ‎there,” where Nachmanides questions why Avram built an altar ‎on this occasion, and not on a previous occasion. I have been ‎unable to find such a commentary by Nachmanides. The nearest ‎thing to it is a super-commentary by Sifssey Chachamim on ‎‎Rashi Genesis 12,8 where he raises such a question. I will ‎nevertheless present the author’s commentary, in which he deals ‎with this problem supposedly raised by Nachmanides. Ed.]
In ‎answering the question of why, until this time, Avram had not ‎built an altar, we must first explain the concepts of “altar” and ‎‎“sacrificial offering.” When a person experiences something ‎painful, be it physical or mental, he is not free to focus on the ‎actual pain, but must focus on the causes of his having to endure ‎such pain, and why on account of this pain his ability to serve his ‎Creator had become impaired. When he reacts to his pain in this ‎manner he causes G’d satisfaction, ‎נחת רוח‎. Keeping this in mind ‎we can understand the Talmud Yerushalmi, B’rachot, 2,4 ‎stating that the messiah was “born” on the 9th day of Av, the day ‎that the Temple was destroyed. This was because the Jewish ‎people felt such pain over the loss of the Temple, and their ‎inability to serve G’d there by offering their sacrifices. As long as ‎the Temple had been standing, G’d was able to derive satisfaction, ‎נחת רוח‎, from the offerings presented on the altar in the Temple. ‎We know this from Leviticus 1,13 ‎אשה ריח ניחוח לה'‏‎, ”an offering ‎by fire of pleasing odour to the Lord.” This offering represented ‎the opposite of ‎צער‎, painful feelings. As long as the Temple was ‎standing, the people of Israel dwelled in relative calm and safety. ‎The principal cause of Israel’s state of disquiet, pain, unrest, etc., ‎is the fact that we are not able to perform the sacrificial sacrifices ‎by means of which we could give “pleasure” to the Creator. As a ‎corollary to our inability, while in exile, to present these ‎offerings, G’d in turn is not encouraged to release the bounty of ‎goodness He has in store for His faithful servants on earth. We ‎have pointed out previously that with the advent of Avram, this ‎reciprocal relationship between man and G’d had become of great ‎benefit to man. (Compare page 51 on this interaction).‎‎
Ideally, our joy in this world as well as our pain, must ‎always focus on our relationship with our Creator and how we ‎can improve it; we must never consider our personal feelings as ‎being of the essence. “Joy” in the eyes of the Torah, has not been ‎granted in order for us to behave as do gentiles when they set off ‎‎“fireworks” to give expression to their feeling happy about ‎something.
It is worthwhile to remember that the Hebrew ‎word for “sacrifice” is ‎קרבן‎, from the root ‎קרב‎, to come close, or ‎closer. When offering a “sacrifice,” to the Creator, we are ‎sublimating something mundane, usually something representing ‎some of the most treasured living creatures, animals which serve ‎as our livelihood, to the Creator Who had endowed the terrestrial ‎part of the universe with such creatures for the benefit of the ‎highest ranking living beings on earth, the ones who have been ‎created in the image of their Creator.‎

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.‎