Summarized by Aviad Brestel, Translated by David Strauss
In our parasha there are two covenants between Avraham and God: the covenant of the pieces [brit bein ha-betarim] and the covenant of circumcision [brit mila]. In both of these covenants, and on many other occasions, the same two promises are repeated: the promise of descendants and the promise of the land. We will try to understand the connection between these two promises and between the promises and the covenants.
The covenant of the pieces opens with the following account:
And He brought him outside, and said: Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you be able to count them; and He said to him: So shall your seed be. And he believed in the Lord and He counted it to him for righteousness. And He said to him: I am the Lord that brought you out of Ur Kasdim, to give you this land to inherit it (Bereishit 15:5-7)
And in the commandment of circumcision:
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you. And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said to Avraham: And as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you, and your seed after you throughout their generations. (Bereishit 17:7-9)
The main common denominator here would seem to be differentiation. Circumcision and the land distinguish the seed of Avraham – in the covenant of the pieces, God promises seed and land to Avraham and his descendants, and in the covenant of circumcision, God gives substance to these promises, declaring their purpose. These covenants transform the seed of Avraham into the people of God, living in the land in which God chose to rest His name and settle His people.
Our Rabbis taught: Beloved are Israel, for the Holy One, blessed be He, surrounded them with precepts: tefillin on their heads, tefillin on their arms, tzitzit on their garments, and mezuzot on their door-posts. Concerning these David said: "Seven times a day do I praise You, because of Your righteous ordinances" (Tehillim 119:164). And as David entered the bath and saw himself standing naked, he exclaimed: Woe is me that I stand naked without any precepts about me! But when he reminded himself of the circumcision in his flesh his mind was set at ease. And when he came out he sang a hymn of praise concerning it, as it is written: "For the Leader; on the Eighth. A Psalm of David" (Tehillim 6:1), that is, concerning circumcision which was given eighth.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: Whoever has tefillin on his head, tefillin on his arm, tzitzit on his garment, and a mezuza on his doorpost, is in absolute security against sinning, for it is written: "And a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Kohelet 4:12); and it is also written: "The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him, and delivers them" (Tehillim 34:8). (Menachot 43b)
God has surrounded us with various mitzvot, some of which are close to the body, like tefillin and tzitzit. But circumcision is physically imprinted on our flesh; it cannot be disavowed. It physically and constantly expresses the unique connection between us and God and the obligations that flow from it. In the words of the Seforno, it is "the seal of the master upon the slave."
So too with the land: The Land of Israel is not like other lands. It responds to what happens in it. It is almost "alive": when, God forbid, it is filled with sins, it vomits out the sinners and they go into exile. Thus, the Torah writes, "and you shall not pollute the land"; "and no expiation can be made for the land"; "and the land shall not vomit you out"; and so on.
These two – circumcision and the land – distinguish between us and the gentile. However, this distinction was made not for its own sake, but to create the capacity to influence and enlighten all of humanity, in accordance with the mission that God assigned to Avraham when He changed his name: "But your name shall be Avraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made you" (Bereishit 17:5).
Hence, we find in our parasha and in the continuation of Avraham's story another guideline of successful integration: involvement in the material and earthly fields that lead to involvement in, and impact upon, the broader environment. Time and again it is emphasized that the patriarchs were men of great wealth, who prospered in business, in livestock, in silver and gold, in finding water sources and more. Moreover, it seems that precisely because of this they were able to exert a positive influence on their surroundings. Thus, only after Yitzchak had sown and reaped a hundredfold – only when everyone had seen his economic success – did Avimelekh come to make a covenant with him.
So too, in the war of the four kings against the five kings, Avraham does not hesitate to intervene, and he even achieves a victory through which he rescues Lot. Immediately thereafter, he is honored by the surrounding nations: Malkitzedek blesses him and the king of Sedom offers him the spoils; or, in the words of the Sages: "'The Valley of Shaveh' – where all the nations were leveled [hushvu]and made Avraham king over them."
In various midrashim, Chazal say that the patriarchs studied Torah all the time, but the verses imply otherwise, and it seems that they did other things as well. The answer to this contradiction is not that one of them is incorrect, but that both are true: the patriarchs drew close to God and walked in His ways, and it was precisely out of that unique relationship and that separation from their surroundings, that they were able to integrate into the world and influence it for the better. As the Rambam says in his Guide for the Perplexed:
I think these four [= the patriarchs and Moshe] reached that high degree of perfection in their relation to God, and enjoyed the continual presence of Divine providence, even in their endeavors to increase their property, feeding the flock, toiling in the field, or managing the house, only because in all these things their end and aim was to approach God as much as possible. It was the chief aim of their whole life to create a people that should know and worship God. Compare: "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him [that they will observe the way of God, to do righteousness and justice]" (Bereishit 18:19). The object of all their labors was to publicize the unity of God in the world, and to induce people to love Him; and it was on this account that they succeeded in reaching that high degree; for even those [worldly] affairs were for them a perfect worship of God. But a person like myself must not imagine that he is able to lead men up to this degree of perfection.
This is the meaning of the change of Avram's name to Avraham. As Rashi explains, the additional heh signifies a new and universal role that was assigned to Avraham:
Neither shall your name any more be called Avram, but your name shall be Avraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made you. (Bereishit 17:5)
"For the father of a multitude of nations" – an acrostic on his name [av (ra) ham – av hamon]. But the resh which was previously in his name – denoting that he was the father only of Aram [av ram] which was his native country, while now he became father of the entire world — nevertheless was not taken out of his name. (Rashi, ad loc.)
Avraham must now take responsibility for the world, and this, precisely, from that same place of clear distinction from his surroundings. Only from a genuine separateness that preserves his uniqueness can he influence the world to call upon the name of God.
Thus also today, two conditions are necessary to ensure Israel's ability to fulfill its destiny to perfect the world and bring it to accept the Divine kingdom: separation from the nations by fully adopting the Torah's system of values, commandments, and morality; and full integration in economic, technological, and all earthly developments. These two together are the foundation that can lead to significant influence.
This is what we pray for on Rosh Hashana – "So may Your name be sanctified, O Lord our God, upon Israel Your people" – the sanctification of God's name in the world will be accomplished by the Jewish people, who will meet the challenges of the patriarch Avraham.
As yeshiva students, we must also embrace these two tasks – immersion in meaningful study, delving into and becoming knowledgeable in God's Torah and our spiritual missions, alongside awareness that the full impact will come later with the full integration of the Jewish people as a nation in all realms of earthly activity.
[This sicha was delivered by Harav Baruch Gigi on Shabbat Parashat Lekh Lekha 5779.]
[Edited by Yair Lichtman]
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