Plenty of Grain: Hashem's Delight in Our Avodah
Bereishis 27:28
וְיִתֶּן־לְךָ הָאֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְרֹב דָּגָן וְתִירֹשׁ
May God give you of the dew of the heavens and of the richness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.
17“May God give you of the dew of the heavens … and plenty of grain …” Chazal's saying “Israel provides for its Father in Heaven” will explain this verse.1 That provision is delight: Hashem, blessed be He, takes delight in Israel's service. The Creator always longs to take delight in Israel's service, and so His wanting that service and delighting in it is called dalet, from dalah, poor and needy.2 This is what the verse hints at in dagan (דגן), “grain”: the word is dalet (ד) and gan (גן), the garden [watered from Eden, whose name means delight]. So the dalet, that longing, will always be met with delight from Israel's service, and in “plenty.” Understand this.
וְיִתֶּן לְךָ אֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכוּ' וְרוֹב דָּגָן וְכוּ' (בראשית כז, כח). יְבוֹאַר עַל פִּי דֶּרֶךְ הַגְּמָרָא יִשְׂרָאֵל מְפַרְנְסִין לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם. וְהִנֵּה פַּרְנָסָה הוּא תַּעֲנוּג, דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרֵךְ יֵשׁ לוֹ תַּעֲנוּג מֵעֲבוֹדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְזֶה שֶׁהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרֵךְ רוֹצֶה בַּעֲבוֹדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיֵשׁ לוֹ תַּעֲנוּג נִקְרָא דֶּלֶת לְשׁוֹן דַּלָּה וַעֲנִיָּה, כִּי תָּמִיד הַבּוֹרֵא בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִשְׁתּוֹקֵק לָזֶה שֶׁיִּתְעַנֵּג מֵעֲבוֹדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְזֶה רֶמֶז דָּגָן דל"ת ג"ן, כִּי גַּן הוּא לְשׁוֹן תַּעֲנוּג מֵהַדֶּלֶת יִהְיֶה לָהּ תָּמִיד תַּעֲנוּג לְרוֹב מֵעֲבוֹדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהָבֵן:
- This saying of Chazal is found in the Zohar (III 7b), which brings it as an earlier teaching: “we have learned.” ↩
- Editor's note: It seems the Berditchever may be drawing on the Tikkunei Zohar, which calls the garden watered by the river that flows from Eden “the dalet, poor and needy” (Tikkunei Zohar 58a). Eden itself means delight. ↩
In shortDagan, grain, reads as dalet and gan: Hashem longs for Israel's service as one in need longs, and the blessing is that this longing will always be met with delight, in plenty.
Takeaway
As it were, our avodah provides for our Father in Heaven: He longs for it like one in need, and it brings Him delight. Knowing this, we can come to each prayer and each mitzvah as something Hashem truly longs for, and offer it gladly.
Learn this in the merit of Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. His yahrzeit and life ›
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English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.