Commento su Genesi 12:2

ואעשך לגוי גדול AND I WILL MAKE OF THEE A GREAT NATION —Since travelling is the cause of three things—it decreases (breaks up) family life, it reduces one’s wealth and lessens one’s renown, he therefore needed these three blessings: that God should promise him children, wealth and a great name (Genesis Rabbah 39:11).

AND BE THOU A BLESSING. You will be the blessing by whom people will be blessed, saying, “G-d make thee as Abraham.” To this He added that all families of the earth²³Verse 3 here. will cite him in blessing, not just the people of his country alone. It may be that the expression, And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed,²³Verse 3 here. means that they will all be blessed on his account.
Now this portion of Scripture is not completely elucidated. What reason was there that the Holy One, blessed be He, should say to Abraham, “Leave your country, and I will do you good in a completely unprecedented measure,” without first stating that Abraham worshipped G-d or that he was a righteous man, [and] perfect?²⁴Above, 6:9. As was the case with Noah. Or it should state as a reason for his leaving the country that the very journey to another land constituted an act of seeking the nearness of G-d.²⁵Psalms 73:28. This may indeed be an illuminating personal remark shedding light on Ramban’s journey, towards the end of his life, to the Land of Israel; the very journey constituted to him a religious experience of “seeking the nearness of G-d.” The custom of Scripture is to state, “Walk before Me,²⁶Genesis 17:1. and hearken to My voice, and I will do good unto you,” as is the case with David²⁷See I Kings 2:4. and Solomon,²⁸Ibid., 3:13-14. as well as throughout the Torah: If ye walk in My statute;²⁹Leviticus 26:3. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d.³⁰Deuteronomy 28:1. And in the case of Isaac, it says, For My servant Abraham’s sake.³¹Genesis 26:24. But there is no reason for G-d to promise [Abraham a reward merely] for his leaving the country.
However, the reason [for G-d’s promising Abraham this reward] is that the people of Ur of the Chaldees did him much evil on account of his belief in the Holy One, blessed be He, and he fled from them to go to the land of Canaan, tarrying for a time at Haran, whereupon the Eternal told him to leave these places as well and to fulfill his original intention that his worship be dedicated to Him alone and that he call upon people [for the worhip of] the Name of the Eternal in the Chosen Land. There He would make his name great, and these nations would bless themselves by him, not as they treated him in Ur of the Chaldees, where they abused and cursed him, put him in prison or in the fiery furnace. He further told Abraham that He will bless those who bless him, and if some individual will curse him, he will be cursed in turn.
This then is the meaning of this portion of Scripture. The Torah, however, did not want to deal at length with the opinions of idol worshippers and explain the matter between him and the Chaldeans in the subject of faith, just as it dealt briefly with the matter of the generation of Enosh³²Above, 4:26. See also above in Seder Noach, Note 280. and their thesis concerning the idol-worship which they instituted.

והיה ברכה, a true blessing by G’d is when G’d rejoices in our deeds and actions. Our sages (Berachot 7) illustrate this when they quote a conversation between the High Priest Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha who, while offering incense on Yom Kippur, had a vision of the angel Katriel sitting on the throne of G’d. The latter said to him: “Yishmael, My son, bless Me.” He said to him: (in the words attributed as being G’d’s own ‘prayer’) “may it be Your will that Your mercy will subdue Your anger and may Your mercy exile Your justified attribute to punish Your people for their sins, and may Your mercy prevail so that You deal with Your children by applying the attribute of Mercy.” When G’d’s representative, the angel Katriel heard this, he touched the High Priest on the head, which the latter took as a sign that the blessing uttered by an inferior creature for a superior should not be dismissed as worthless.” [I have stuck more closely to the text of the Talmud than did the author here. Ed.] G’d here blessed Avram, with becoming the one who would preach monotheism including awareness of the benevolence of G’d which He extends to all of His creatures.

ואעשך לגוי גדול. I shall make a great nation out of you. Since G'd had given Abraham a threefold commandment, He now promised that fulfilment of these three steps would result in three benefits to Abraham. 1) The promise that Abraham would become a great nation was the reward for leaving his country. 2) The promise to bless Abraham and make him a great name was a reward for his leaving his birthplace. 3) The promise that Abraham himself would become a source of blessing was a reward for his leaving his father's home. These three promises were compensations for things people normally enjoy when they are in familiar surroundings. 1) They have many friends and acquaintances. 2) They enjoy a degree of honour and respect within their family. 3) Inasmuch as they are part of a family their economic needs are taken care of should they fall on hard times. When a person emigrates to a totally strange country, he knows that he gives up the mental and economic stability that he took for granted in his home.

ואעשך לגוי גדול, even though your wife is barren, I will cure her and in this country she will bear a child.

והיה ברכה, “and become a blessing.” You will be the blessing by whom the nations will bless themselves when they quote you as a role model when blessing others and wishing that they should turn out to be like Avraham.

ואעשך לגוי גדול, “and I will make you into a great nation.” Our sages (Bereshit Rabbah 39,15) explain that being a traveler, a nomad, brings in its wake three negative phenomena. It results 1) in a decrease of one’s fertility; 2) a decrease of one’s financial resources; and 3) in a decrease of one’s standing amongst one’s peers. G-d promised Avraham that he would not suffer from these negative phenomena. By saying: “I will make you into a great nation,” G-d told Avraham that his ability to procreate would not only not suffer but would be enhanced. By adding: “I will bless you,” G-d hinted that Avraham would prosper financially. By further adding “I will make your name great,” He countered Avraham’s concern that his standing amongst his peers would decline due to his becoming a nomad.
It is noteworthy that G-d did not use the customary expression ואשימך לגוי גדול, “I will let you become a great nation,” but He said ואעשך לגוי גדול, “I will make you into a great nation.” This is equivalent to G-d saying: “I will make you into an entirely new phenomenon.” The expression G-d used is comparable to when the Torah said (1,7) ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע, “G-d made the sky.”
The deeper meaning of the words לגוי גדול, “to a great nation,” is a reference to the Jewish nation which is described in Deut. 4,8 as ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חקים ומשפטים צדיקים, “and who else is a great nation which has righteous decrees and ordinances?” The words: “I will make you into a great nation,” are alluded to when we refer to G-d as the G-d of Avraham,” the words “I will bless you,” are alluded to when we refer to G-d as “the G-d of Yitzchak;” the words “and I will make your name great,” are alluded to when we speak of G-d as “the G-d of Yaakov.” The words והיה ברכה “and be a blessing,” prompted our sages when they formulated the first benediction in the principal עמידה prayer to conclude with reference to Avraham only when we say מגן אברהם, “the shield of Avraham” at the conclusion of that benediction.
The deeper meaning of these words והיה ברכה, “and be a blessing,” is that G-d had said: ”up until now when I created My universe and it needed My blessing in order to endure I blessed Adam and Chavah as we read (1,28) ‘G-d blessed them.’” This was repeated when Noach and his family required G-d’s blessing after the deluge in order to rebuild mankind. At that point (9,1) the Torah wrote: “G-d blessed Noach and his sons, etc.” From here on is the power to bless was entrusted to Avraham who could use it to bless whomever he saw fit to qualify for a blessing.

Since traveling causes three things. Rashi is answering the question: Why did Hashem give Avraham these three specific blessings, and not other blessings?

ואעשך לגוי גדול. Auch ganz oberflächlich betrachtet, ergibt es sich schon, dass Abraham alles Aufgegebene und zwar in bedeutend gesteigertem Maße durch Gott wieder erhalten sollte. Indem er sich מארצו lossagt, gibt er seine Nationalität auf; statt aber sich einer andern anzuschließen, spricht Gott: du selbst sollst Boden einer neuen Nationalität werden. Mit dem Aufgeben seiner Heimat, מולדתו, soll er den Quell des berechtigten Gedeihens nicht vermissen, ואברכך, vielmehr in Gott das Bürgerrecht zur Blüte auf Erden gewinnen; und indem er seine Familie verlässt und damit Ehren und ererbtes Familienansehen aufgiebt, אגדלה שמך, soll in ihm ein neuer Name zur Ruhmes- größe erwachsen.

ואברכך, “I shall bless you;” I personally, not through any agent of mine.

ואעשך לגוי גדול, “I am going to make you into a great nation, etc.” G-d, being aware that Avram’s wife is presently barren, tells him that notwithstanding this fact he will become the founding father of a great nation. We had been told in Genesis 11,30, of Sarah’s inability to have children. A different interpretation of this verse: The Torah does not write: ואשימך לגוי גדול, “I will make you to be a great nation, which could have been misinterpreted.” G-d stressed that He would perform an act that would neutralise any negative decree from which Avram suffered, i.e. changing both his and his wife’s name. People called: Avraham, and: Sarah, had never been decreed to remain childless. According to the Midrash, originally Avram lacked 5 important organs: eyes, ears, as well as the glans. The glans is called “the head of the body,” as sacrificing, i.e. circumcising it is equivalent to offering one’s entire body as an offering to G-d. (Compare Talmud, Nedarim 32.) When G-d added the letter ה to his name, He supplied these missing 5 organs of his body. This is meant when G-d invited him to become תמים, “whole, a perfect specimen. (Genesis 17,1)

ואברכך AND I WILL BLESS THEE —with wealth (Genesis Rabbah 39:11).

ואברך, I will give you additional goodness, such as material wealth, possessions and honour, as we read in 13,2 “Avram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold.”

Therefore, these three blessings were necessary. Question: How did these three things that are diminished by traveling pertain to Avraham? He had no children. Also, he had no wealth, for on his way [down to Egypt] he bought everything on credit [see Rashi on 13:3]. Furthermore, he replied to the King of Sedom (14:23): “So you will not be able to say, ‘I have made Avram wealthy’” — [implying that beforehand, he indeed was not wealthy]. And nowhere does it say he had acquired fame. [Since he never had these things, he need not fear losing them on account of traveling!] It seems the answer is: Rashi means that for one who has them, traveling inhibits these things. And one who lacks them surely will not acquire them on account of traveling. Thus Avraham needed these three specific blessings in order to acquire them, being that they are contrary to the norm, for traveling inhibits them. (Nachalas Yaakov) This refers to valuing the mitzvah of the Akeidah, [not Yitzchok]. (Tzeidah L’Derech)

Die Weisen in ב"ר ל׳ט erinnern, es heiße nicht: אשימך לגוי גדול, dass Gott etwa nur Schutz- und Schirmherr der nationalen Entwicklung seiner Nachkommen sein werde, ähnlich dem das Wachsen und Blühen anderer Völker schirmenden göttlichen Walten, sondern: אעשך, machen, schaffen werde ich dich zu einem großen Volke; alle äußeren natürlichen Umstände sollen dagegen sprechen und es soll augenfällig Gott hier als Schöpfer des Volkes als solcher erscheinen. Schon das Alter und die Kinderlosigkeit des zur Wurzel eines künftigen Volkes erwählten Paares widersprach nach allen natürlichen Voraussetzungen der verheißenen Zukunft. Nur Gott konnte den Abraham zu seinem großen Volke machen. So sollte von vornherein schon das bloße Werden und Dasein dieses Volkes eine Offenbarung Gottes sein. —

ואגדלה שמך, “I will make your name great.” I will add a letter to your name, so that its numerical value will amount to 248, corresponding to the number of limbs in your body. Your body will then be found to be whole, matching your name.

ואגדלה שמך, “I will make your name great.” This was accomplished by adding a single letter to his name. Through this addition the numerical value of the letters in his name amounted to 248, the total number of limbs in a perfectly formed human (male) specimen. [Incidentally, this is also the total number of positive commandments in the Torah. Ed.] Avraham then had a perfect body and a perfect, whole name.

והיה ברכה AND BE THOU A BLESSING — Blessings are entrusted to you; hitherto they were in My power — I blessed Adam and Noah — but from now on you shall bless whomsoever you wish (Genesis Rabbah 39:11) Another explanation is: AND I WILL MAKE THEE A GREAT NATION, this alludes to the fact that we say in our prayer “God of Abraham”; AND I WILL BLESS THEE — that we say, “God of Isaac”; AND I WILL MAKE THY NAME GREAT — that we say, “God of Jacob”. One might think that we should conclude the benediction in which these invocations are recited by mentioning again the names of all the patriarchs — the text therefore states “Be thou a blessing” meaning, with you (i.e. with your name only) shall they conclude the benediction and not with them (their names) (Pesachim 117b).

ואגדלה שמך, your name will be known throughout many nations due to how blessed you are, due to your good deeds, and the success of your undertakings. Examples were Avram’s defeat of the four most powerful kings on earth at that time, when he freed Lot and the King of Sodom. The Canaanites (בני חת) said to him when he wanted to buy a burial plot for Sarah “you are a prince in our midst” (Genesis 23,6). We find a similar statement which G’d made to David in Chronicles I 17,8 ועשיתי לך שם בשם הגדולים אשר בארץ, “I will make you as renowned as the greatest men on earth.” This is part of the good that G’d does for people.

He promised him children, wealth and fame ... Rashi seems to be saying: since traveling inhibits having children, Hashem therefore promised him that traveling will not harm him. If he were not to travel he would have had children, so too he will have children, in spite of his traveling. But this contradicts what Rashi said before: “Here you will not merit having children.” Similarly, since traveling lessens fame, Hashem promised him that traveling will not harm him. If he were not to travel he would have fame, so too he will have fame in spite of traveling. But this contradicts what Rashi said before: “I will make your character known to the world,” implying that outside of Eretz Yisrael he had no fame at all. A further question: Why does Rashi first explain והיה ברכה and only then say, “An alternate explanation: ואעשך לגוי גדול...” which is contrary to the verse’s order? Moreover, why does Rashi first explain ואעשך לגוי גדול and only then explain מארצך וממולדתך, which is contrary to the verse’s order? The Re’m answers that Rashi cited the Bereishis Rabbah’s teaching [of “Traveling causes three things...”] at the end, to show that it disagrees with the previous explanation of “For your own benefit, for your own good.” But there is another, more intricate answer: When Rashi says, “Traveling causes three things...” he is not explaining ואעשך לגוי גדול [differently than before]. Rather he is challenging what he said before, “Here you will not merit having children” — for in Bereishis Rabbah it says that “traveling causes three things...” and this implies Avraham would indeed have children without traveling to Eretz Yisrael. And lest we claim that the text of the Midrash Rabbah is inaccurate, as children and fame are mentioned in the verse while wealth is not, Rashi then explains that wealth is also mentioned: ואברכך refers to wealth. And lest we still claim that the Midrash is inaccurate, as it attempts to interpret all the extra words in the verse, but how will it interpret והיה ברכה? To answer this, Rashi explains that והיה ברכה comes to teach that, “The blessings are entrusted to you....” Perforce the Midrash is accurate, and therefore it presents a difficulty on Rashi’s first explanation. Rashi answers: “An alternate explanation is ... the basis of the opening Shemoneh Esrei prayer...” Rashi is saying that the Midrash Rabbah itself has an additional explanation for ואעשך לגוי גדול. Consequently, when Rashi said, “Here you will not merit having children,” is in line with the Midrash Rabbah’s alternate explanation. (author’s commentary)

Eine zahlreiche Nachkommenschaft macht aber noch kein Volk. Damit eine Masse eine גוי, eine Volkseinheit bilde, dazu bedarf sie eines gemeinsamen Bandes. Überall sonst ist dies das gemeinsame Land, das Zusammenwohnen unter denselben Einflüssen, das Getragenwerden von dem gemeinsamen Boden der Existenz. Abrahams Nachkommen aber sollen auch ein Volk, nicht aber durch gemeinsamen Boden, sondern wiederum nur durch Gott werden. Abrahams Geist soll sich in seinen Nachkommen wiederholen und: was anderen Völkern ihr Boden ist, das sollst du deinen Nachkommen sein. Mit der Abstammung von dir sollen sie auch das volkbildende Einigungselement erben. Dadurch, dass wir noch jetzt אלקי אברהם, Gott, wie ihn Abraham erkannt, wie er sich ihm offenbart und in der Leitung seines Geschickes gezeigt hat, אלקינו, unseren Gott nennen — und wir bedürfen dieser Bezeichnung, nicht zur partikularistischen Absonderung, sondern gerade zur reinhaltenden Unterscheidung des abrahamitischen und allgemeinsten Gottesbegriffes קונה שמים וארץ, von jeder partikularistischen Trübung — dadurch, durch dieses von Abraham überkommene gemeinsame geistige Erbe sind wir noch heute ein Volk, nachdem wir schon längst das Band des gemeinsamen Bodens verloren. Und darin, dass nicht nur Abraham, sondern auch sein Sohn und Enkel solche Persönlichkeiten wurden, in welchen sich Gottes Waltung also manifestierte, dass auch sie mustergültig für die ganze jüdische Nation blieben, und wir nicht nur אלקי אברהם, sondern auch אלקי יצחק und אלקי יעקב sprechen: darin erkennen die Weisen zunächst die dem Abraham gewordene Segnung und Größe. Und gerade in אלקי יעקב verwirklicht sich das ואגדלה שמך Jakobs, in dessen Geschick es sich vor allem mustergültig zeigte, dass die jüdische Bestimmung unabhängig von äußerer Größe und äußerem Glanze sei. Je weniger ein Mensch hat, um so größer erscheint seine Persönlichkeit. Die Größe, der Segen, den ein Unbemittelter verbreitet, känn nur in seiner Persönlichkeit wurzeln. Wenn ein יעקב groß ist, wenn eine Nation glänzt, die seit Jahrhunderten nicht in Kriegsruhm usw. exzelliert, so kann dies eben nur in ihrer geistig sittlichen Persönlichkeit liegen, eben יעקב ist מגדל שמך. —

והיה ברכה, “your blessing will precede My blessing,” i.e. when referring to you, in their daily prayers, people will first describe Me as מגן אברהם, “the Shield of Avraham,” before they will refer to Me as מחיה מתים,”the G–d who revives the dead.” An alternate interpretation: of the words: והיה ברכה “and be a blessing;” up until now, for the last two thousand years, I have been the only source of blessing for mankind; from now on the power to bless has been transferred to you, and you can bless whosoever you see fit to provide with a blessing. This is the reason why, when wanting to transfer this power to bless to his son Yitzchok, when he foresaw prophetically that Yitzchok would sire an Esau, Avraham could not bring himself to transfer this power to Yitzchok before he died, and he left it to G–d to decide if that power were to be transferred to him. This is why we read in Genesis 25,11, that after Avraham had died G–d bestowed this power on his son Yitzchok. The matter can be illustrated by a parable. A king owned a valuable orchard which he entrusted to one of his intimate friends to look after, and to irrigate properly. The friend began to undertake his task and found that there were two trees, one of which laden with a fruit containing a deadly poison, the other with an elixir of life. Both trees needed to be irrigated, but he found that the two trees were positioned in such a way that it was impossible to irrigate the one without at the same time also irrigating the other. He said to himself that if he irrigated the beneficial tree, he would simultaneously also prolong the existence of the poisonous tree. How was he to resolve this dilemma? He therefore resolved to leave well enough alone until the next time the owner of the orchard would visit it, when he could consult with him. At that time, he would follow the owner’s instructions. Another interpretation of the words: והיה ברכה. This is not so much to be understood as a blessing itself, but as a command to become the source of blessings. Wherever his journeys would take him, he was to make it his concern to spread the knowledge about his Creator and to bless the person with whom he came into contact. This is also what Avraham did, as we know from Genesis 12,8; ויקרא בשם ה', “He proclaimed the Name of the Lord,” (praising Him). Seeing that the people did not respond to his sermons positively, G–d resorted to bringing on a famine in the land.

והיה ברכה, “as a result you will become a source of blessing.” We find a parallel to this expression in Isaiah 19,24: ביום ההוא אשים את ישראל ברכה בקרב הארץ, “on that day I will set up Israel as a blessing in the midst of the earth.”

מארצך FROM THY LAND — But had he not already departed from there together with his father and had reached as far as Haran (Genesis 11:31)? But thus God in effect said to him: Go still further away — leave now thy father’s house also.

והיה ברכה, the construction והיה is similar to the future tense (not imperative) תהיה, i.e. “you will become.” [the author, presumably, finds it difficult for man to be commanded to be a source of blessing. How does one go about carrying out such a directive? Ed.] We encounter a similar construction as an imperative when G’d orders Moses to ascend the mountain and to die there on the mountain, עלה ומות בהר, seeing that “dying” is understood to be something passive, not active. Hence he would translate that verse also as “ascend the mountain where you will die.” (Deuteronomy, 32,48-50) Similar constructions which describe something impossible are found in Ovadiah 1,4 ואם בין כוכבים שים קנך, where one cannot order someone to make his nest among the stars. These formulations are substitutes for regular future tenses. G’d is telling Avram that his blessings and his fame will be so great that they will spill over to benefit those around him. This promise has become fulfilled to such an extent that when people bless their children they wish them: “may the Lord bless you with the blessing of Avraham”

This is when we say: “God of Avraham.” The verse implies this explanation, since only about a multitude is it said, “God of.” For instance, it says, “God of Israel” (33:20), “God of the Hebrews” (Shemos 3:18) and “the gods of the peoples” (Devarim 6:14). The Torah never says “God of” about an individual. Accordingly, Hashem told Avraham: “I will make you into a great nation” — you will be as a great nation, since they will say about you “God of Avraham.” And since “I will bless you” connotes additional blessing, it means that also Avraham’s son will be so blessed, that they will say “God of Yitzchok.” And since “I will make your name great” connotes further greatness, it means that also Avraham’s grandson will be so blessed, that they will say “God of Yaakov.” The reason this blessing was dependent on his traveling to Eretz Yisrael, and he could not receive this blessing outside of the Land [of Yisrael], is because it says in Kesubos 110b: “Anyone who lives outside the Land [of Yisrael] is considered as if he has no God.” Therefore, “God of Avraham” could not be said unless he traveled to Eretz Yisrael. Rashi offers this alternate explanation, [about the Shemoneh Esrei,] because according to the [first] explanation, the verse should say והיה מבורך [rather than והיה ברכה] — as the verse is speaking about the one who offers blessings. Thus Rashi gives the alternative explanation [in which the verse speaks about the blessing itself]. Then Rashi goes on to explain the whole verse accordingly. And Rashi’s explanation of והיה ברכה [is based on] the gematria ofוהיה , which is the same as that of י-ה-ו-ה. It hints that only with mention of Avraham do we conclude the [first] blessing [of the Shemoneh Esrei] and say: ברוך אתה ה' מגן אברהם. (Maharshal)

Bei näherer Betrachtung dürfte mit diesen ersten drei Sätzen Abraham die ganze Summe der jüdischen Geschichte in nuce in die Hand gegeben sein. In 1: לך לך מארצך וגו׳ erscheint Abraham bloß als Individuum, "wage es, allein zu sein!" In 2: ואעשך לגוי וגו׳, tritt schon das Volk hervor, aber noch außer Berührung und Beziehung zu den andern Völkern. 3: ואברכה וגו׳ zeigt uns das jüdische Volk im Zusammenhang mit anderen Völkern, der Segen Abrahams ist schon bedingt durch den Segen anderer, ja es können schon andere wagen, ihm zu fluchen. — Abrahams Aufgabe war, sich zu isolieren, Wandel allein mit Gott. Zweites Stadium: die Schöpfung eines Volkes aus diesem Abraham. Wenn es hervortreten soll, dass dieses Volkes Dasein eine zweite Schöpfung Gottes in der Geschichte sei, so kann dieses Volk nur auf dem Wege der Heimatlosigkeit, des גלות und גרות zu einem Volke werden. Sesshaft wäre es kein אצבע אלקי׳, kein ׳מעשה ד gewesen. ואעשך לגוי גדול: von יצחק bis ואברכך .יציאת מצרים, dann werde ich dich einpflanzen in ein ואגדלה שמך ;ארץ זבת חלב ודבש, nicht אגדל Gott kann Menschen und Völker segnen, aber dass sie zu einer solchen sittlichen .שמך Größe gelangen, um ein mustergültiger Mensch, ein mustergültiges Volk genannt zu werden, das kann Gott nur wünschen, das ist durch die Treue bedingt, die dem göttlichen Gesetze gezollt wird. Ebenso heißt es nicht: והיית ברכה oder: ותהיה ברכה, sondern והיה ברכה "werde ein Segen", in diesen zwei Worten die ganze sittliche Aufgabe zusammenfassend, deren Lösung eben die Erfüllung jenes Wunsches bedingt: "ich möchte deinen Namen groß werden lassen, werde du ein Segen!" Ich möchte dich zu einem Volke machen, auf welches die Völker nur hinzublicken hätten, um sich ihrer Aufgabe bewußt zu werden, und diese Aufgabe, die du im Gegensatz zu allen sonstigen Völkerbestrebungen zu lösen haben sollst, heißt: Segen werden!

אשר אראך WHICH I WILL SHOW THEE — He did not reveal to him at once which land it was in order that he should hold it in high esteem and in order to reward him for complying with each and every command. Similar is, (Genesis 22:2) “Take thy son — thine only son — whom thou lovest — even Isaac”; similar is (Genesis 22:2) “upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of”; similar is, (Jonah 3:2) “And make unto it the proclamation that I shall tell thee of” (Genesis Rabbah 39:9).

Keep distancing yourself from there. Regarding “your father’s house,” where Avraham was living, לֶךְ could only mean “leave.” But regarding “your land,” which Avraham had already left, it could only mean “further distance yourself.” Thus Rashi was forced to explain לֶךְ both as “distancing” and as “leaving.”

Alle anderen streben danach, nicht להיות ברכה sondern להיות ברוכים Segen zu gewinnen, gesegnet zu werden, und vor allem Völker. Die Redlichkeit, Menschlichkeit und Liebe, die man von dem einzelnen noch fordert, wird im Verhältnis von Volk zu Volk zur Thorheit, gilt der Diplomatie und Politik für nichts. Trug und Mord, die den einzelnen zum Kerker und Henker führen, werden "zum Besten der Staaten", von Staat gegen Staat im großen geübt, mit Orden und Lorbeer bekränzt. Die abrahamitische Nation hat von allen diesen Nationalinstitutionen nichts, sie weiß nichts von einer Nationalpolitik und einer Nationalökonomie. Derjenige, der der Träger ihrer Nationalwohlfahrt sein wollte, braucht keine Subsidien zu geben und auf keine Koalitionen und Bündnisse zu rechnen. Zu seinem Gebote stehen der Regen und der Sonnenschein, die Kraft und das Leben, die Macht und der Sieg. — אם בחקתי תלכו, dann macht sich alles andere von selbst. In Mitte der Menschheit, die נעשה לנו שם ihrem ganzen Streben als Devise aufprägt und die Selbstvergrößerung und den rücksichtslosen Ausbau der eigenen Wohlfahrt als maßgebendes Ziel anstrebt, soll Abrahams Volk im Einzeln- und Gesamtleben nur dem einen Rufe folgen: היה ברכה, Segen zu werden, sich mit aller Hingebung den Gotteszwecken des Welten- und Menschenheils zu weihen, darin mustergültig die Wiedererstehung des reinen Menschentums, des אדם in seiner ursprünglichen Bestimmung, zur Anschauung zu bringen, dann werde Gott seinen Segen zu frischer Lebenstätigkeit geben und zur Weckung und Erziehung der Völker zu gleichem Streben den Namen des Abrahamvolkes weithin leuchten lassen: ואברכך ואגדלה שמך. Dieses zweite Stadium sollte in ארץ ישראל zur Verwirklichung kommen, dort sollte Israel in seiner unnahbaren Isolierung von den Völkern, nicht nur das Gesegnete, sondern in erster Linie das Segen verbreitende, ein Segensquell geworden sein — וישכן ישראל בטח בדר עין יעקב — dann hätte alles, was jetzt uns erst באחרית הימים winkt, sich bereits seit Jahrtausenden erfüllt, und der ganze Entwicklungsgang der Menschengeschichte wäre seitdem ein anderer gewesen.

In order that it be precious in his eyes. Rashi is answering the question: Why does the verse elaborate so much, by writing from where he left? It is obvious that he left his father’s house, as he was then living there. Scripture should simply have written, “Go to the land...” Rashi explains: The verse elaborated in order that Avraham’s own homeland will become more precious in his eyes. And this was to reward him for every word [Hashem spoke] and for every footstep [he took]. The more Hashem describes the land he is leaving, the more precious it becomes in his eyes, and the more will he be more pained upon leaving it. Thus his reward will be greater, since “The reward is according to the pain.” That is why there so many descriptions are written: “From your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house.” This fits well with what Rashi wrote next: “Similarly: ‘Your son ... Yitzchok.’” Hashem elaborated about Yitzchok, using many descriptions, to make him precious in Avraham’s eyes and give Avraham great reward for every word. The many descriptions served to increase Avraham’s pain in sacrificing his son and parting with him. For the same reason, here Hashem did not tell Avraham where he was going, [so he would think:] “Perhaps it is worse than the place I am leaving,” and he will be more pained. And this will increase his reward. (Re’m) The Maharshal explains that Rashi is answering two questions: 1.Why does the verse elaborate so much? It should say right away, “...From your father’s house.” Why did Hashem not tell him immediately [where he was going]? Rashi answers: 1.The purpose of the elaboration was to make his homeland more precious in his eyes. He did not tell him immediately [where he was going], to reward him for every word. Then Rashi explains that Hashem similarly elaborated in order to make Yitzchok precious to Avraham, and did not reveal the place in order to reward him. I agree with this explanation, except [for one point:] my teacher Maharam Yafeh is right that when Rashi says, “In order that it be precious in his eyes,” it refers to the land mentioned previously, [which is Eretz Yisrael]. For Rashi said right before, [regarding Avraham’s destination,] “He did not immediately reveal which land it was.” Whereas the land Avraham left was not mentioned at all. How could that be the land Rashi refers to? Similarly with, “Please take your son...” (22:2), about which Rashi says: “So that he value the mitzvah.”

Allein diese erste Verheißung an Abraham scheint auf ein drittes Stadium hinzuweisen — schon, wie bereits bemerkt, stellt das optative ואגדלה die Verwirklichung jenes zweiten Stadiums nur als bedingten Wunsch hin — der dritte Satz scheint einen Zustand anzudeuten, in welchem das Abrahamsvolk mit seinem Segen und Fluch von Menschen abhängig erscheint, wo Menschen es segnen, Menschen ihm fluchen können; es wäre dies somit das Stadium des גלות, dem dieses Volk entgegengeht, wenn es seine Aufgabe vergißt und, statt להיות ברכה, den Völkern gleich sich dem Streben hingiebt להיות ברוכים; und hier, für dieses Galuth, wo es hinausgestreut unter die Völker, abhängig von ihnen und ihrem Segen und Fluch preisgegeben erscheint, hat Gott das große Wort gesprochen: ואברכה מברכיך, die dich segnen, die dich fördern, die dein Prinzip würdigen und anerkennen und sich deiner Sinnlichkeit und Gottesverehrung fördernd unterordnen, die werde ich segnen — und auch hier wieder tritt diese Verheißung optativ auf, Israel möge sich in der Zerstreuung also bewähren, dass seine Förderung die Förderung des Völkerheils bedeute. —

ומקללך אאור, nicht אוררך אאור, sondern מקללך. Der ברכה stehen zwei Begriffe gegenüber: קללה und קלל .מארה, wovon קל (leicht) und קללה, also materielle Verringerung, leicht machen, einer Sache oder einer Person die materiellen Mittel, die Fülle schmälern. ארר verwandt mit חרר, ausdorren, ausglühen, und ערר, rad. von ערירי kinderlos und ערער vereinsamt, also ארר: nicht bloß Schmälerung der materiellen Mittel, sondern auch der inneren Kräfte und Säfte. Was קלל extensiv ist, ist ארר intensiv: jemandem die innere Lebensfähigkeit rauben, Saft und Kraft entziehen, ihn zum ערער und ערירי machen. Dagegen ברכה: segnen, zur inneren und äußeren Entwicklung Kräfte geben. So ist bei דגים in äußerer Beziehung, bei שבת die innere, geistige Entwicklung durch ברך ausgedrückt. — Also: auch ins Leben unter den Völkern begleite ich dich hinaus; je nachdem die Nationen dem jüdischen Geiste huldigen werden, je nachdem werde ich sie segnen. Wer aber — nicht dir die innere Lebensfähigkeit nimmt, denn das vermag kein Volk — wer aber den Abrahamiten die Existenz beschränkt und verkümmert, sie nicht die Mittel zu ihrer Entfaltung finden lässt, dem — nicht אקלל — sondern dem nehme ich die innere Lebensfähigkeit der eigenen Fortentwicklung.

Indem es also heißt, dass nur diejenigen Völker zum Segen gelangen, die die Entwicklung deines Prinzips nicht nur nicht verlümmern, sondern ihm huldigend fördern, so ist von selbst damit gesagt, dass durch dich משפחות האדמה gesegnet werden; je mehr sie dir huldigen, desto mehr ברכה empfangen sie; Gott versichert aber, dass zuletzt כל משפחות האדמה, alle Völkerfamilien dieses Segens teilhaftig werden, indem sie alle ihr Leben auf demselben Wege begründen werden, der den Boden deines Lebens bilden soll. — So scheint es. —

קלל ist verwandt mit גלל und גלל ילל: rollen, Kreis, Rad. Dasjenige kann am leichtesten gerollt werden, das am wenigsten Seiten hat, die ihm einen Stütz- und Ruhepunkt gewähren, am meisten also das, was gar keine der Unterlage parallele Flächen bietet, die vollendete Kugel. Dies geistig übertragen, bezeichnet einen Schicksalszustand, wo die äußeren Verhältnisse gar keine Unterlage, keinen Stütz- und Ruhepunkt gewähren, wo sich der Mensch völlig halt- und ruhelos findet, von allen äußeren Verhältnissen zurückgestoßen, geistig נע ונד. Sein Ausdruck wird יללה: die wehevollste Klage. Was nun nicht durch die äußere Form, sondern durch inneren Mangel an Stoff und Wesenheit, keinen Ruhepunkt findet, ruhelos fortbewegt wird, leicht ist, heißt: קל, das Leichte. Andererseits wird dasjenige, was keines Zusammenhanges mit allem außerhalb mehr bedarf, weil es bereits sämtliches zu ihm Gehörige in sich trägt, das in sich Geschlossene, der Kreis und das Ganze, Vollendete, durch כלל ausgedrückt. כלכל heißt, in jemandes Kreis alles, dessen er bedarf, hineintragen: versorgen; geistig ומי יכלכל את יום באו, alles in den Begriff eines Wesens hineintragen, was in ihn gehört, gänzlich ermessen.