Chasidut do Rodzaju 11:31
וַיִּקַּ֨ח תֶּ֜רַח אֶת־אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֗וֹ וְאֶת־ל֤וֹט בֶּן־הָרָן֙ בֶּן־בְּנ֔וֹ וְאֵת֙ שָׂרַ֣י כַּלָּת֔וֹ אֵ֖שֶׁת אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּצְא֨וּ אִתָּ֜ם מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ אַ֣רְצָה כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ עַד־חָרָ֖ן וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃
I wziął Terach Abrama, syna swego, i Lota, syna Harana, wnuka swojego, i Saraj synowę swoję, żonę Abrama, syna swego, i wyruszyli i inni z nimi z Ur-Kasdim, by pójść do ziemi Kanaan; i doszli aż do Charanu i osiedli tam.
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.
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