Musar su Genesi 21:78

The first quality: Know that the love of Abraham, peace be upon him, was to teach all those who came into the world the service of the Creator, blessed be He, and proclaim His name always, as it is said (Genesis 13:4), “And Abraham called there on the name of the Lord.” It is also said (ibid., 12:8), “And he built an altar unto the Lord, Who appeared unto him.” And it is said (ibid., 21:33), “And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord.” These verses are to let you know that every place that Abraham went he would call on the name of the Lord and would occupy himself with service to Him. He was not restrained from doing so by the fear of the nations of the world.

The sixth quality: The pious man will not put any personal matter ahead of his service to God, until he has first fulfilled the commandment of his Creator, blessed be He. For we find that in any matter which the Creator, blessed be He, commanded Abraham, Abraham did not perform any one of his personal acts before fulfilling the commandment of God, blessed be He. Thus, in the covenant of circumcision, it is said (Genesis 17:22), “And God went up from Abraham.” And it is further written (ibid., 17:26), “In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised,” and he did not perform any personal act until he had fulfilled the commandment. It is said in the case of Ishmael (ibid., 21:12), “In all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice, for in Isaac shall seed be called to thee.” It is written immediately after this (ibid., 21:14), “And Abraham arose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting in on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away.” We learn from this that in the dream of the night it was told to him, and therefore, he rose early in the morning before doing any other deed in order to fulfill the command of God, blessed be He.

The sixth quality: The pious man will not put any personal matter ahead of his service to God, until he has first fulfilled the commandment of his Creator, blessed be He. For we find that in any matter which the Creator, blessed be He, commanded Abraham, Abraham did not perform any one of his personal acts before fulfilling the commandment of God, blessed be He. Thus, in the covenant of circumcision, it is said (Genesis 17:22), “And God went up from Abraham.” And it is further written (ibid., 17:26), “In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised,” and he did not perform any personal act until he had fulfilled the commandment. It is said in the case of Ishmael (ibid., 21:12), “In all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice, for in Isaac shall seed be called to thee.” It is written immediately after this (ibid., 21:14), “And Abraham arose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting in on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away.” We learn from this that in the dream of the night it was told to him, and therefore, he rose early in the morning before doing any other deed in order to fulfill the command of God, blessed be He.

Jacob was the descendant of Isaac and Rebeccah. In the case of Abraham's son Isaac, G–d had promised Abraham only כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, that part of Isaac would be his worthy seed, not all of Isaac. The Torah reports that Rebeccah loved Jacob (25,28). We have said that then the world was filled with Jacob's "beauty," which was of the kind once possessed by Adam, מטתו שלמה, Jacob's bed was perfect, i.e. all his children were loyal to his teachings which enabled him to become known as ישראל. Since only ישראל is called אדם, the connection between Jacob and Adam is clear.

And then there is one who listens and is rewarded. That would be Abraham, our father for it was said to him "in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice" (Gen. 21:12). And what was his reward? "For in Isaac shall thy seed be called" (Gen. 21:12).

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said : "Be jealous for My sake, were it not for envy, the world would not stand. A man would not plant a vineyard, marry a wife or build a house (Shoher Tob 37a). For all of these matters come about because one man envies his companion. If he builds a house, then another person will have it in mind to do likewise, and thus it is concerning a wife. And since the perpetuation of the world depends upon envy, let him dedicate all these envious qualities to God. If he builds a house let him build in it room for the study of Torah, a gathering place for the wise, a place where guests are welcomed, and a place where he does kindness to men. And thus did they say (Shohar Tov ibid). Had not Abraham been jealous he would have not acquired both worlds. And how was he envious? He asked Melchizedek¹See Nedarim 32b, where Melchizedek is identified with Shem, the son of Noah., "How did you emerge from the Ark?" And Melchizedek answered, "Because of the charity that we did there," Abraham said to him, "What kind of charity could you do in the Ark; — were there any poor people there? There was no one there except Noah and his sons, so to whom were you doing charity?" Melchizedek answered him : "With the animals, with the beasts and with the fowl. We did not sleep but were constantly giving food to all these living creatures all night long." At that moment Abraham said, "If these people had not done charity with the animals, beasts and fowl, they would not have emerged from the Ark, but because they did justice with them, they did emerge safely, then I who will do justice with all the children of man who are in the image of the Holy One, Blessed be He, will not this be all the more favorable in God's eyes?" At that moment "And he planted a tamarisk (eshel) in Beersheba" (Gen. 21:33). (The sages take each letter of the Hebrew word Eshel and they say that the word Eshel means a place where strangers can eat, drink and lodge.) In this manner, a man ought to, indeed, increase his zeal.

וה' פקד את שרה . Our sages in Baba Kama 92 learn from the sequence of these verses that if someone prays for his fellow-man although he himself is also in need of the favor he asks G–d for someone else, then his own problem will be dealt with by G–d first. Rashi points out that this is proved by the word פקד, instead of .ויפקוד

והוכיח אברהם את אבימלך . Rabbi Yossi in the name of Rabbi Chaninah says that admonition eventually produces a feeling of love for the one who admonishes. We know this from Proverbs 9,8: "Admonish the wise and he will love you." Rabbi Yossi firmly believed that any "peace" that does not include admonition is no true peace (Bereshit Rabbah 54,3).

If these men indeed were angels, the meal that Abraham prepared for them has to be understood as an offering, whereas if they were Arabs, i.e. men, the meal represented an act of hospitality in keeping with Abraham's character. Abraham afterwards performed an act of kindness vis-a-vis his Creator, as was his wont, when he tried to introduce these strangers to the realisation that they had eaten from G–d's property, not from his, and that therefore they should say grace. Rashi quotes this view on Genesis 21,33 where the Torah describes Abraham as planting an orchard in Beer Sheba. When the Torah adds ויקרא שם בשם ה' א-ל עולם, "He called there in the name of the Lord, the Lord of the universe," this means that Abraham had asked all the people who enjoyed the fruit of that orchard to bless the Lord for His bounty. He explained to one and all that they would have been mistaken if they had thought they had partaken of Abraham's generosity; what they had partaken of was G–d's bounty since it was He who called the universe into existence. Thus Rashi. In the event these people were humans, Abraham's intention was to introduce them to the ways of G–d. We find Abraham first performing an act of kindness by offering food and drink to fellow- humans, and subsequently he performed acts of piety vis-a-vis G–d by trying to bring these people nearer to Him.

There are three kinds of generosity : generosity with money, generosity with one's body, and generosity with one's wisdom — and all three were found in Abraham, our father. He was generous with his money, as it is written, "And he planted a tamarisk" (Gen. 21:33). He was generous with his body, for he saved his nephew, Lot, and fought for his sake. He was generous in his wisdom, for he taught everyone the right path until they became converted, as it is written, "And the souls that they had gotten in Haran" (Gen. 12:5).

He explained to Esau that through the power of the afflictions endured as a result of the attribute of Justice, G–d becomes able to employ the attribute of Mercy. So much on the mystical dimension of the three gifts the Jewish people receive only by means of יסורים. These experiences are already alluded to by Sarah when she exclaimed צחק עשה לי אלוקים, "G–d (in His capacity of the attribute of Justice) has made a joy for me (with the birth of יצחק)" (Genesis 21,6).

When it comes to ridding the world of the קליפות, the spiritually negative pollutants, Abraham is secondary to Sarah. This is so in spite of the fact that Abraham's soul was connected directly to the source of the light that has been hidden, and which contains the power to purify that which is impure when it is once more released into this world. When we speak about Abraham being the first to remove part of the קליפות, it is because of his soul's origin. Seeing that the קליפות were released into this world through Adam and that Abraham was Adam's first תקון, these קליפות when being removed from our world are eliminated via Abraham on their way back to oblivion. Abraham is the מכניס גרים, the chief of the proselytizers, seeing that the חיצונים, those outside the fold are redeemable, will become purified and become פנימיים, "insiders." Sarah's outstanding quality lay in her diminishing the influence of the קליפות at the time when they were rampant in the world known as נקבה, female. She chose the path of פנימיות, She did not produce any קליפה, as opposed to Abraham when the latter sired Ishmael. Isaac's son Esau, by marrying a daughter of Ishmael, established a bond with that קליפה. Sarah, on the other hand, wanted the mother of that קליפה, whom she described as האמה הזאת, "this slave woman," removed together with her son. Even though Esau indirectly also was a descendant of Sarah, for he was her grandson, she was still superior to Abraham in that she recognized the evil influence of the קליפה. If Ishmael had remained alone, not partnered by Esau, his evil influence would have been far more negligible. Even though Ishmael and Esau did not live in the same region, did not even maintain peaceful relations, as is the custom among the קליפות, they still gave each other moral support in their spiritually negative outlook.

In order to appreciate the dimension of holiness Isaac represented, it is fitting that we first see what the Zohar says on the subject of the עקדה. When Abraham was about to slaughter Isaac, the latter's soul flew away to be replaced later by a holy spirit from the Celestial Regions. It follows then that Isaac's life after the עקדה, was the life of a human being who had not originated from a drop of semen. We must view Isaac as someone re-born in consequence of that experience: a totally new creature. G–d had applied the strictest yardstick to him by letting him die, and subsequently by infusing him with a new soul. He had also sanctified his body; from that time on Isaac's body resembled that of אדם הראשון, also not the product of a drop of semen. Now we understand also why the ram which Abraham sacrificed in lieu of Isaac was not the product of natural procreation, i.e. through semen, but was created during the period of dusk on the sixth day of Creation as reported in Avot 5,6. When Genesis 22,13 describes this ram as והנה איל אחר נאחז וכו' "and here a ram after was caught, etc.," this means that this ram was created after all the other mammals had already been created and had procreated. The word אחר therefore is to be understood in the same sense as the same word when Abraham said to the angels אחר תעבורו. Isaac teaches us about G–d's very first objective when He set out to create this universe which would develop to become as perfect as He envisaged it.

In order to appreciate the dimension of holiness Isaac represented, it is fitting that we first see what the Zohar says on the subject of the עקדה. When Abraham was about to slaughter Isaac, the latter's soul flew away to be replaced later by a holy spirit from the Celestial Regions. It follows then that Isaac's life after the עקדה, was the life of a human being who had not originated from a drop of semen. We must view Isaac as someone re-born in consequence of that experience: a totally new creature. G–d had applied the strictest yardstick to him by letting him die, and subsequently by infusing him with a new soul. He had also sanctified his body; from that time on Isaac's body resembled that of אדם הראשון, also not the product of a drop of semen. Now we understand also why the ram which Abraham sacrificed in lieu of Isaac was not the product of natural procreation, i.e. through semen, but was created during the period of dusk on the sixth day of Creation as reported in Avot 5,6. When Genesis 22,13 describes this ram as והנה איל אחר נאחז וכו' "and here a ram after was caught, etc.," this means that this ram was created after all the other mammals had already been created and had procreated. The word אחר therefore is to be understood in the same sense as the same word when Abraham said to the angels אחר תעבורו. Isaac teaches us about G–d's very first objective when He set out to create this universe which would develop to become as perfect as He envisaged it.

The Talmud described the word ששון in our verse from the Book of Esther as a reference to circumcision. This was a commandment which had not been practised joyfully prior to the cancellation of Haman's decree. It could now be celebrated again. According to a view expressed at the beginning of chapter 19 in Shabbat 130, all commandments which the Jewish people accepted joyfully continue to enjoy popularity amongst the Jewish people One such commandment was the rite of circumcision because it was performed to the accompaniment of a feast. As a source for this statement Tossaphot quote the verse describing Abraham making a feast on the day Isaac was weaned. The extra letters ה and ג in the word הגמל serve as the basis that it was on the eighth day after Isaac was born that this feast took place (cf. Genesis 21,8). When Haman's decree was published Esther and Mordechai had decreed a three-day (72 hour) fast on the entire Jewish population of Shushan. Presumably there were many thousands of circumcisions during those days without a feast being prepared honouring performance of this commandment. Now that Haman's decree had been cancelled this commandment could again be performed amid a joyous celebration.

The paragraph commencing with וכי יגור אתכם גר, "When a stranger (convert) resides amongst you, etc" (19,33), contains an allusion to Abraham, the first convert to Judaism. He also became the first אזרח, natural born citizen, as we know from Psalms 89,1, which, according to all our sources, is a reference to Abraham. The reason the Torah alludes to Abraham as the first convert is to teach us not to accuse others of shortcomings when we ourselves suffer from the same type of shortcoming. To denigrate a stranger is to forget that we ourselves started our career as a nation as strangers. In the words of Baba Metzia 59b: "If one's family tree contains the name of someone who has been legally hanged, he should not even say to a fellow "hang this fish up for me," for the very mention of hanging is a reminder of a blemish in his own family." The Israelites were guilty of idol worship while in Egypt as well as of many abominable practices. How then could they dare remind a convert of his pagan past? Abraham himself chose exile (Shemot Rabbah 59) for his descendants in preference to their having to linger in purgatory. Purgatory comprises both the dimension of dryness and wetness. The dryness expresses itself in the fire, the wetness in a form of snow. As an allusion to this, the Torah here continues with the prohibition to sacrifice to the fire-god Moloch (20,2-5) a warning of what is in store for Esau and his followers. The Torah speaks only of people who sacrifice some of their offspring to Moloch. The author of Semag writes an explanation as a reply to the heretics; however, the true reason for this is analogous to the statement of our sages on Genesis 21,12 where Abraham did not want to expel Hagar and Ishmael. G–d told him there that his principal heirs would be "part of Isaac." Just as the Torah referred in that case to "part of Isaac," so here too the syntax of the Torah speaks of the likely event, i.e. that someone offers some of his offspring as a sacrifice to that deity. Just as only part of Isaac's descendants turned away from the Abrahamitic tradition, i.e. Esau, so the Torah, by speaking of "some offspring being offered to the Moloch," reassures us that it is inconceivable that a descendant of Isaac would sacrifice all of his offspring to such a deity. The Torah continues in 20,7: והתקדשתם. This is a reference to Jacob. He had succeeded in attaining sanctity of his body.

When G–d told Abraham in 22,12 אל תשלח ידך אל הנער ואל תעש לו מאומה, "do not raise your hand against the lad and do not do anything to him," Abraham was stunned, fearing that maybe Isaac was found blemished, not worthy as a sacrifice. It was then that G–d took Abraham into His confidence, explaining that when He had said in 21,12 כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, "for through Isaac your seed will be known," that had only referred to part of Isaac, i.e. ב. Now, after the עקדה, however, when Isaac has been cleansed of any unworthy parts, My promise refers to כל יצחק, all of Isaac, i.e. Isaac's entire personality qualifies to be your descendant. When Abraham receives a "second" message from G–d in 22,15, this is merely to assure him that G–d will certainly not change or qualify any promise He had made to him, and that the soul that inhabited Isaac's body now was שנית, a second one, his original soul having ascended to Heaven. It was because of the ריח ניחוח of the ram that Abraham slaughtered that Isaac's soul could ascend to Heaven, seeing that that ram had been a heavenly creature having been created at dusk of the sixth day of creation, as we know from Avot 5,9. The physical body of Isaac, who had been born of semen, was also replaced with sacred flesh. This is why he was forbidden to leave the holy soil of the land of Canaan.

This is followed by the paragraph reporting Isaac's birth, which alludes to the future when Israel will say to G–d "You are our Father, etc." as we have mentioned. This in turn is followed by the report of the עקדה, a hint of the distant idyllic future when the verse in Isaiah 52,8 will be fulfilled.

Having concluded with the development of Esau's descendants, the Torah turns to Jacob's settling in ארץ ישראל. The Torah next tells us that the true descendant of Jacob was Joseph. Since the word Toldot also means the further development, even through re-incarnation, we are told that it was Joseph who set in motion these developments, i.e. the refinement of the Jewish people in the "iron crucible," the bondage experience in Egypt. Having concluded the process of refinement, Israel was ready to receive the "crown" of Torah. Even Jacob personally had to reside in Egypt for a while in order to rid himself of the sin of not having performed the commandment of honoring father and mother during the twenty years he was at Laban's and the two years (on the journey to Laban and back). Although G–d had told Abraham that his descendants would be part of Isaac's seed (Genesis 21,12 expounded on in the Talmud Nedarim 31), and the Torah meant this to exclude Esau as the carrier of the Abrahamitic tradition, the fact remains that during the years of Jacob's absence from his father's home, the people in the land of Canaan perceived Esau as the true heir, for it was he who ministered to the needs of his father and mother in spectacular fashion. As a result, Jacob had to suffer pain at the hands of his most precious seed, his son Joseph. He observed mourning for Joseph for twenty-two years during which Joseph was in Egypt, the land described as the pubes of the Earth. During those years Joseph atoned for the fact that only part of Isaac's seed developed in the manner hoped for.