אַחַ֣ר ׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ שְׂכָרְךָ֖ הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃
נאָך די דאָזיקע געשעענישן איז דאָס װאָרט פֿון גאָט געװען צו אבֿרמען אין אַ זעונגען, אַזױ צו זאָגן: זאָלסט ניט מורא האָבן, אבֿרם, איך בין דיר אַ שילד; דײַן שׂכר איז זײער גרױס.
Kedushat Levi
When the Torah writes at the beginning of chapter 15 that היה דבר ה' אל אברם במחזה לאמור, “the word of Hashem came to Avram in a ‘vision,’ proceeding to say, etc.;“ we understand this as a manifestation of G’d’s word to Avram by a vision screened by a veil while he was engaged in serving G’d by the performance of mitzvot with various parts of his body.
At that point G’d told Avram not to be afraid, אל תירא אברם, as he would continue to act as his shield, אנכי מגן לך. G’d reassured Avram that the fact that he was now serving Him by performing מצות, i.e. under the auspices of the יש instead of the auspices of the אין, that this was not a lowering of the standards that he was used to, but that on the contrary, he was in line for a great reward, שכרך הרבה מאד.
As long as the Torah had not yet been given, fulfilling the “commandments” while in Eretz Yisrael was quite different from nowadays when the Torah has been given, and fulfilling the parts of it that are capable of being fulfilled in the Diaspora, is deserving of recognition. When Avram served G’d outside the land of Israel, concentrating on the aspect known as מסירת נפש, wholehearted physical and mental devotion to the Lord, he thereby “repaired” the reputation of G’d amongst mankind, which had sustained considerable damage due to the sins of mankind which had apparently been ignored by the Creator, thus giving the impression that He either did not care or was unable to deal with.
Tanchuma 8 on Parshat Chukat, relates in the name of Rabbi Yossi bar Chaninah, that at the time when Moses ascended to the celestial regions He found G’d preoccupied with the details of the rules pertaining to the red heifer. He overheard G’d saying that the correct ruling concerning the age of the red heifer when it is to be burnt is according to “my son Rabbi Eliezer,” i.e. when it is one year old. Anyone reading this Midrash must surely ask how G’d had been able to say something like that, seeing that Rabbi Eliezer was born more than 1000 years after Moses died. We have a tradition that man is not programmed, can make his own decisions, so that it is impossible to foretell who will say what tomorrow, never mind 1000 years hence?
In answering this justified question, we must consider that the domain we called אין, the totally spiritual domains of the universe, included within it all the aspects of wisdom as something potential. While this potential had not yet assumed definitive proportions until someone possessed of both body and soul was able to formulate it, its very existence in “embryonic” form, so to speak, makes it possible for a human being when the time comes to draw upon this “wisdom” and make use of it in the material world of the יש. The example of the “red heifer” discussed in the Tanchuma is merely an illustration of the principle that nothing “new” or “original” is produced in the realm of the physical world, the world known as the יש in kabbalistic parlance, or “olam hazeh”, in what we are used to refer to when speaking of what goes on the planet we live on. The acquisition of such חכמה, wisdom, as is necessary to arrive at the conclusion that the red heifer must be two years old when it is to be burnt, is largely a matter of the will of the individual grappling with this halachic problem. The “freedom of choice,” as we call it, means that we are free to decide if we want to make the effort to acquire such wisdom or not. It is not withheld from anyone who truly labours to acquire it by willing it with all his being. While he was in the celestial regions, Moses heard that there would in due course be a scholar by the name of Rabbi Eliezer who would have attained that particular piece of wisdom enabling him to correctly rule on the problem that was under discussion in the heavenly spheres at that time. Ed.]
G’d has two options when dealing with man’s aspirations. He can either decide to grant man’s request in accordance with that person’s expressed wish, or He can decide to be guided by what the overall situation in His universe requires for its good at the time, [as frequently, if not most of the time, the desires of an individual do not correspond to, or coincide with what is in the best interests of the world as seen by its Creator.
At that point G’d told Avram not to be afraid, אל תירא אברם, as he would continue to act as his shield, אנכי מגן לך. G’d reassured Avram that the fact that he was now serving Him by performing מצות, i.e. under the auspices of the יש instead of the auspices of the אין, that this was not a lowering of the standards that he was used to, but that on the contrary, he was in line for a great reward, שכרך הרבה מאד.
As long as the Torah had not yet been given, fulfilling the “commandments” while in Eretz Yisrael was quite different from nowadays when the Torah has been given, and fulfilling the parts of it that are capable of being fulfilled in the Diaspora, is deserving of recognition. When Avram served G’d outside the land of Israel, concentrating on the aspect known as מסירת נפש, wholehearted physical and mental devotion to the Lord, he thereby “repaired” the reputation of G’d amongst mankind, which had sustained considerable damage due to the sins of mankind which had apparently been ignored by the Creator, thus giving the impression that He either did not care or was unable to deal with.
Tanchuma 8 on Parshat Chukat, relates in the name of Rabbi Yossi bar Chaninah, that at the time when Moses ascended to the celestial regions He found G’d preoccupied with the details of the rules pertaining to the red heifer. He overheard G’d saying that the correct ruling concerning the age of the red heifer when it is to be burnt is according to “my son Rabbi Eliezer,” i.e. when it is one year old. Anyone reading this Midrash must surely ask how G’d had been able to say something like that, seeing that Rabbi Eliezer was born more than 1000 years after Moses died. We have a tradition that man is not programmed, can make his own decisions, so that it is impossible to foretell who will say what tomorrow, never mind 1000 years hence?
In answering this justified question, we must consider that the domain we called אין, the totally spiritual domains of the universe, included within it all the aspects of wisdom as something potential. While this potential had not yet assumed definitive proportions until someone possessed of both body and soul was able to formulate it, its very existence in “embryonic” form, so to speak, makes it possible for a human being when the time comes to draw upon this “wisdom” and make use of it in the material world of the יש. The example of the “red heifer” discussed in the Tanchuma is merely an illustration of the principle that nothing “new” or “original” is produced in the realm of the physical world, the world known as the יש in kabbalistic parlance, or “olam hazeh”, in what we are used to refer to when speaking of what goes on the planet we live on. The acquisition of such חכמה, wisdom, as is necessary to arrive at the conclusion that the red heifer must be two years old when it is to be burnt, is largely a matter of the will of the individual grappling with this halachic problem. The “freedom of choice,” as we call it, means that we are free to decide if we want to make the effort to acquire such wisdom or not. It is not withheld from anyone who truly labours to acquire it by willing it with all his being. While he was in the celestial regions, Moses heard that there would in due course be a scholar by the name of Rabbi Eliezer who would have attained that particular piece of wisdom enabling him to correctly rule on the problem that was under discussion in the heavenly spheres at that time. Ed.]
G’d has two options when dealing with man’s aspirations. He can either decide to grant man’s request in accordance with that person’s expressed wish, or He can decide to be guided by what the overall situation in His universe requires for its good at the time, [as frequently, if not most of the time, the desires of an individual do not correspond to, or coincide with what is in the best interests of the world as seen by its Creator.
Kedushat Levi
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.
[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.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 15,1. “do not fear, Avram, I will be your shield.” G’d reassures Avram that He is aware that when he took revenge on the four kings and their armies this was an act of self-defense, as they had planned to harm him. G’d had protected him so that they could not carry out their evil designs. He had killed these kings and their soldiers. G’d had done so because He loved Avram and He would continue to act as his shield, but not from feelings of revenge against them, but because of His love for him, so that Avram would not have any of his merits and the reward due him deducted from his credit balance in heaven, on account of G’d having come to assistance.