Chasidut do Rodzaju 22:5
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֶל־נְעָרָ֗יו שְׁבוּ־לָכֶ֥ם פֹּה֙ עִֽם־הַחֲמ֔וֹר וַאֲנִ֣י וְהַנַּ֔עַר נֵלְכָ֖ה עַד־כֹּ֑ה וְנִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה וְנָשׁ֥וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃
I rzekł Abraham do pachołków swoich: "Zostańcie wy tu przy ośle; a ja i chłopię pójdziemy do onąd, i pokłonim się, i powrócim do was."
Kedushat Levi
When Moses, in Deuteronomy 32,2 describes G’d as וזרח משעיר למו הופיע מהר פארן, “the Lord shone upon them from Seir, He appeared from Mount Paran,” every intelligent person must ask that Esau and Yaakov had been separated already prior to their respective births, and that the two represented two totally opposite perceptions of what life and the world is all about, one deciding in favour of worldly goods, whereas Yaakov decided in favour of spiritual values, so what point was there in G’d offering the Torah to the descendants of Esau? At the same time, since when do we the descendants of Yaakov, expect to have a share in G’d’s largesse on this earth? Does the Talmud Kidushin: 39 not teach us not to expect a reward for serving the Lord while we walk on this earth?
The answer to this question is this: Every Israelite is obligated by being part of the covenant between Israel and G’d, to serve the Lord enthusiastically and meticulously with all his soul at all times. Just as G’d supervises his well being every minute of every hour, so, in turn he is obliged to serve the Lord. When G’d on occasion supplies a Jew with material benefits, these are not to be understood as part of the reward for his mitzvah performance. It may be understood as an encouragement to the person concerned, to serve the Lord with even greater devotion and intensity. When Moses speaks of מימינו אש דת למו, “from His right side the fire had turned into law,” he meant that if G’d decided to give the Jewish people, or some of the Jewish people, part of the material comforts that had originally been allocated to Seir, i.e. Esau, He referred to G’d’s “right side”, the side exuding love. G’d intended that by doing so even the ordinary Jew who is not steeped in Torah learning will respond to G’d’s Torah with more enthusiasm when he feels that G’d had singled him out for loving care.
This is one of the reasons why Avraham called his son Yitzchok, the name reflecting the joy he felt at being granted this son by Sarah. If Yitzchok developed into a personality symbolizing יראה, awe, this was because he was rooted in שמחה, joy, and joy‘s root in turn is fire. [If I understand the author correctly, the joy described as “fire” is the enthusiasm, almost ecstasy, with which such a person serves his G’d. Ed]. The characteristic יראה is not one that is manifest in the person who possesses it all the time, as it is in the nature of being a response to certain stimuli, in this instance the external “cause” is G’d Himself. This characteristic becomes manifest in response to external stimulants. This is what Solomon had in mind when he said in Kohelet 7,12 ויתרון דעת חכמה תחיה בעליה, ”and the advantage of knowledge is that it adds an additional dimension to the life of him who possesses it..”
It is significant that the letters in the word מחשבה, “thought,” are the same as in the word בשמחה,”with joy.”מחשבה is an attribute that is both primary and constant. If a person reduces himself to the אין, negating all interest in the physical part of the world, having done this he is able to attach himself to the source of all “Life.” When this has occurred, a new “LIFE” is bestowed on him, a life in a different world, one in which he is elevated to be close to Eternal G’d. This concept is portrayed in the Torah in Leviticus 27,10 where the subject is the person who donates to הקדש, G’d’s representative on earth, his “net worth,” as defined according to his age. Having done so, the Torah there describes him as והיה הוא ותמורתו יהיה קודש, “then both he and his substitute will be holy.” Concerning this procedure the sages in the Jerusalem Talmud B’rachot 2,4 said: the messiah was born on the 9th day of Av, he being the exchange for the Jewish world which had been destroyed on that day (when the Temple was burned). We find an allusion to this negating the physical world and being “reincarnated,” when Avraham before proceeding to offer his son Yitzchok as a total burnt offering, tells the servants attending them, that “we will go, and prostrate ourselves and return to you.” (Genesis 22,5)
The answer to this question is this: Every Israelite is obligated by being part of the covenant between Israel and G’d, to serve the Lord enthusiastically and meticulously with all his soul at all times. Just as G’d supervises his well being every minute of every hour, so, in turn he is obliged to serve the Lord. When G’d on occasion supplies a Jew with material benefits, these are not to be understood as part of the reward for his mitzvah performance. It may be understood as an encouragement to the person concerned, to serve the Lord with even greater devotion and intensity. When Moses speaks of מימינו אש דת למו, “from His right side the fire had turned into law,” he meant that if G’d decided to give the Jewish people, or some of the Jewish people, part of the material comforts that had originally been allocated to Seir, i.e. Esau, He referred to G’d’s “right side”, the side exuding love. G’d intended that by doing so even the ordinary Jew who is not steeped in Torah learning will respond to G’d’s Torah with more enthusiasm when he feels that G’d had singled him out for loving care.
This is one of the reasons why Avraham called his son Yitzchok, the name reflecting the joy he felt at being granted this son by Sarah. If Yitzchok developed into a personality symbolizing יראה, awe, this was because he was rooted in שמחה, joy, and joy‘s root in turn is fire. [If I understand the author correctly, the joy described as “fire” is the enthusiasm, almost ecstasy, with which such a person serves his G’d. Ed]. The characteristic יראה is not one that is manifest in the person who possesses it all the time, as it is in the nature of being a response to certain stimuli, in this instance the external “cause” is G’d Himself. This characteristic becomes manifest in response to external stimulants. This is what Solomon had in mind when he said in Kohelet 7,12 ויתרון דעת חכמה תחיה בעליה, ”and the advantage of knowledge is that it adds an additional dimension to the life of him who possesses it..”
It is significant that the letters in the word מחשבה, “thought,” are the same as in the word בשמחה,”with joy.”מחשבה is an attribute that is both primary and constant. If a person reduces himself to the אין, negating all interest in the physical part of the world, having done this he is able to attach himself to the source of all “Life.” When this has occurred, a new “LIFE” is bestowed on him, a life in a different world, one in which he is elevated to be close to Eternal G’d. This concept is portrayed in the Torah in Leviticus 27,10 where the subject is the person who donates to הקדש, G’d’s representative on earth, his “net worth,” as defined according to his age. Having done so, the Torah there describes him as והיה הוא ותמורתו יהיה קודש, “then both he and his substitute will be holy.” Concerning this procedure the sages in the Jerusalem Talmud B’rachot 2,4 said: the messiah was born on the 9th day of Av, he being the exchange for the Jewish world which had been destroyed on that day (when the Temple was burned). We find an allusion to this negating the physical world and being “reincarnated,” when Avraham before proceeding to offer his son Yitzchok as a total burnt offering, tells the servants attending them, that “we will go, and prostrate ourselves and return to you.” (Genesis 22,5)
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