Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1 - 17:27) Part 2, Torah Lesson Plan, or YHVH Homepage
The very letters of the Hebrew alphabet are separated into five different classes: Palate, Lips, Teeth, Throat and Tongue. The word Kiddushah (holiness) consists of five letters, one from each class. Implying that the sounds are in themselves stages for ascent. Their pronunciations should be closely focused on during prayer.
Most people have the same complaint when praying from the siddur; “I can’t concentrate, my thoughts roam, etc.” This obstacle is explained by our Sages as a “storm.” It is by way of the above mentioned immersion into the words and letters that one will be able to break the barriers of the storm as mentioned in Ezekiel’s prophetic trance as his first obstacle; “A stormy wind came sweeping out of the north…” (Ezekiel 1:4). As we see in the book of Noach, the ark safely floated above the storm; such will be the case with your words, if you become one with them. They will take you above the confusion and turmoil.
“Go to yourself,” to the essence of your soul, one must leave the mundane behind… expelled from the mind during prayer… “Go to yourself, from your land, from your birth place, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1). Hashem here informs us, that after we break through the storm, and enter into our essence, it is He that will show you the rest. It is no longer up to you.
Abraham did just as Hashem told him, and he was told, in a physical sense to go to Jerusalem, to a higher level of holyness. Jerusalem, is the place of the Beit Hamikdash (Temple), and the central nervous system of the world, the inner chamber, otherwise known as the holy of holies. This is where the Holy Ark (with the Torah and Ten Commandments) were placed. From this chamber the Glory of Hashem entered into the world. The light was it’s brightest here.
Now, as we see Abraham obeying Hashem, and nearing the required state of Holiness, we all of a sudden are surprised to see “There was a famine in the land, and Abram descended to Egypt…” (Genesis 12:10). Who caused such a famine? Hashem of course, this was one of the many tests. Much like our above example of the father who is teaching his son how to walk. A test of will. Is the true desire to reach ones essence and unite with Hashem? Before the result, there will be a dryness, an emptiness. An obvious concealment of Hashem’s blessings. A trial. Abraham was promised fortune, blessings, a great name, and an entire nation would emerge from him. When he arrives he only sees famine. Nevertheless, he did not complain.
The main lesson in this chapter is it’s name, “Go to yourself,” so the question from above remains; “Why must there be a descent in order to have an ascent, or progress?” Even though “a trial” is an acceptable explanation, it does not suffice, because Abraham’s mission was not of a personal nature. He did not have selfish motives. He recognized Hashem alone, and his will was to share Him with the world. He did not charge for this service. Does Hashem not want recognition within His Creation? Why should there be a test. Why should Abraham not be allowed to break through the storm, and arrive at the Glory of Hashem, without any obstructions? The very instructions and name of the sidra reflect it’s goal “Go to yourself,” rise up and into your essence, your purpose, and the purpose of the Creation. Elevate yourself, etc. One would almost wish to say to Hashem, “All right already, you want me to go up, I’m going, stop pushing me back down.”
We cannot explain Abraham’s descent as a personal venture, for as we see, there was no personal motives. And, within his journeys to spread the Name of Hashem he not only descended in levels of holyness, he was placed in immediate danger as well. And even his wife Sarah was at the border of the most horrific possibilities in the clutches of the Pharaoh. How can this all be possible if the chapter “Lech lecha” implies that he “ascend”?
Let’s now try to answer some of our questions; Why the descent, if I am trying to advance? Why does Hashem reveal Himself, to us in prayer and in our daily lives, and then seem to disappear? Why did Abraham arrive at the “top of the world,” only to be sent back down without having his blessing fulfilled?
There is a dictum, “The works of the fathers are a sign for the children.” This means that what the fathers do will bring about the success of their children. Their teachings and merit, their recourses and expertise, will pave the road for their children. Their children can follow in their example. Abraham was paving the way for his grandchildren, the Children of Israel. The future generation which was to come out of Egypt and raise themselves to the ultimate Merkavah, the Throne of Hashem, and the giving of the Torah at Sinai. This ascent to the 49th gate of purity, revealed to all of Israel, the Glory of Hashem, only achieved after the long refinement in Egypt.
Abraham’s journey down to Egypt foreshadows the future Egyptian Exile. “And Abraham went up out of Egypt” just as Israel did with Moses. And just as Abraham left, “weighed down with cattle, silver and gold,” so too did the Israelites leave Egypt “with great wealth.” Even the merit of our Matriarch, Sarah, was mirrored within the women of Israel during the Egyptian Exile. For just as Sarah protected herself from Pharaoh’s advances, the women of the Exile also kept themselves from sinning with the Egyptians.
Now we can see things in a different light. We can now see the purpose of “go to yourself” within the end result, “weighed down with silver and gold.” The base of materialism, brought up, ascending to be used in the service of holyness. This combines our purpose with our ascent. And this is a very important lesson within our trials of prayer and daily actions, and the obstacles which we encounter. A Chasid once asked his Rebbe how to pray. He had the same complaint as many do, “I can’t concentrate, I can’t stop the mind from making noise.” To which his Rebbe replied, “While you are down there, what did you bring up with you?” In other words, the very same storm which is causing all the confusion within, is nothing more than the tools which you need in order to ascend. It is your duty and purpose to find how it applies to you, and how you can use it in your Divine service. The road to success and conquest is never a direct one. This can be seen within the two volumes of our Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud, is generally much more direct in reaching conclusions of halacha (law) than the Babylonian Talmud. The Babylonian Talmud never reaches its decisions directly but rather it arrives at them through digressions and dialectics which shed, in their apparent meandering, more light than a direct approach could. When the two books are in disagreement, the Babylonian verdict is always followed.
The Midrash compares the journeys of Abraham to the way that a spice box is shaken about from room to room, in order to spread it’s aroma to all corners of the space. So too are the digressions of the Jewish people from generation to generation, wandering from place to place, to every corner of the globe, shedding the Light of Hashem, and releasing the hidden sparks within the mundane, by way of the Mitzvot, in order to realize the ultimate Exile. The Exile from the Exile. The return to the Temple, and the awareness of our essence through King Moshiach, may it be Now! This will be the final redemption.
Exile, therefore, is an integral part of ascent, of spiritual advancement. Within our mundane and physical self, it is crucial that we must elevate just that very coarseness, called the mundane, in order to reach the higher realms of Holiness. It is true that our Prophets, while in meditation, shed all of their earthly constraints, including clothing at times, and it is also true that we must separate our minds from the mundane in order to advance and progress. This separation cannot be achieved in a physical world without first preparing the vessel which we are using to say the words of prayer. The heart which beats within the body must beat properly. All of our affairs must be for the sake of Hashem. By taking out the “silver and gold,” we must realize that these objects are now for the Divine service, they are no longer lowly objects as they were before. Before, they represented that which is found deep in the ground, far from the Heavens, so-to-speak, but now, they are united with Holyness, brought up from the lowly ground, and therefore, one with the essence… “Lech lecha.” “Go to yourself.” Unite, and become one with your essence. Then your purpose will be fulfiled, as well as the purpose of the Creator.
If we try to reach the heights of Holiness, without the labor of descent, it will be of no use to the very purpose of our creation. To unite with Hashem without labor, is kin to pre-birth. There is no purpose for such an existence. It is expressed in tractate Ta’anit as well as in the Zohar: “No drop of spiritual bounty (light-blessing) can descend from above, unless two drops of the essence (returning light) ascend from below.” In other words, in order to be able to draw one drop of Light from above, the servant of Hashem must excel himself first in bringing up two drops from below. This reflects on our above mentioned 32 paths, and the central nervous system, where the mind sends down the signal from above, and the body returns signals from below. It is no coincidence that the heart (LEV) beats in sets of two.
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