Self-Sacrifice: Opening a New Order of Blessing
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Bereishis 22:5
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם אֶל־נְעָרָיו שְׁבוּ־לָכֶם פֹּה עִם־הַחֲמוֹר וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד־כֹּה וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם
Avraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder; we will bow down and return to you.”
1“I and the lad will go yonder, ad koh; we will bow down and return to you.”1 The Midrash says: “From where did Israel earn the Priestly Blessing? … R' Yehudah said: From Avraham, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ R' Nechemiah said: From Yitzchak, as it says, ‘I and the lad will go yonder.’ Therefore the Omnipresent said, ‘So shall you bless Bnei Yisrael.’”2 The Baal HaTurim, in his commentary on the Torah, likewise cites a note of the Masorah, the traditional record of where words recur in Scripture: “‘So shall you bless’: to recall the merit of ‘I and the lad will go yonder’ and of ‘So shall your offspring be.’”3 What connection is there between the Priestly Blessing and these verses?
וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה וְנִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה וְנָשׁוּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם (כב, ה). אִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (בראשית רבה מג, ח) מֵהֵיכָן זָכוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים וְכוּ׳, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אָמַר מֵאַבְרָהָם ״כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ״ (בראשית א, ה), רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אָמַר מִיִּצְחָק, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה״, לְפִיכָךְ אָמַר הַמָּקוֹם (במדבר ו, כג) ״כֹּה תְבָרְכוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל״. וְכֵן הֵבִיא הַבַּעַל הַטּוּרִים (במדבר, שם) מְסוּרָה, ״כֹּה תְבָרְכוּ״, לְהַזְכִּיר זְכוּת ״וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה״, וְ״כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ״. וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין, מַה שַׁיָּיכוּת יֵשׁ בֵּין בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים לְאֵלּוּ הַכְּתוּבִים.
- Bereishis 22:5. ↩
- Bereishis Rabbah 43:8; Bereishis 15:5 (the sefer has 1:5); Bamidbar 6:23. All three verses share the word koh: “koh (so) shall your offspring be,” “we will go ad koh (yonder),” and “koh (so) shall you bless.” ↩
- Baal HaTurim on Bamidbar 6:23. ↩
In shortThe Midrash and the Baal HaTurim tie the Priestly Blessing to the word koh in two verses about Avraham; what is the connection?
2aWe may explain this with a teaching in the holy sefer Noam Elimelech, by R' Elimelech of Lizhensk.4 He asks: when a tzaddik prays and pleads for mercy for the sick among the Jewish people, how is it that the Holy One, blessed be He, answers him? For then Hashem would, so to speak, be changing His mind: earlier He decreed death on the sick person, Heaven forbid, and now He sends him a complete healing. The Noam Elimelech answers with the teaching of the Zohar that when a tzaddik fulfills the Torah and the mitzvos completely, new worlds are created through him.5 The tzaddik binds the people who need healing and salvation to those new worlds, and there, in the new world, the harsh judgments do not take hold. Since that world is new, the decree never applied to it, and so they are saved. So Hashem does not change His mind. The decree was indeed issued in this world, but in the new world created by the tzaddik's prayer it does not apply at all. Those are his holy words.
אָכֵן אֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר, עַל פִּי מַה דְּאִיתָא בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ נוֹעַם אֱלִימֶלֶךְ (פרשת תצא ד״ה כי יקרא) דְּהִנֵּה יִפָּלֵא מֵהָבִין, הַאֵיךְ בְּאִם צַדִּיק מִתְפַּלֵּל וּמְבַקֵּשׁ רַחֲמִים עַל חוֹלִי עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל הקב״ה נַעֲנֶה לוֹ, דַּהֲרֵי זֶה כִּבְיָכוֹל שהקב״ה מְשַׁנֶּה דַּעְתּוֹ, שֶׁמִּקּוֹדֶם לָכֵן גָּזַר עָלָיו מִיתָה ח״ו, וְכָעֵת שׁוֹלֵחַ לְחוֹלֶה רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵימָה. וְתֵירֵץ, כִּי יָדוּעַ (זוהר ח״א ה, א) אֲשֶׁר בְּאִם הַצַּדִּיק מְקַיֵּים תּוֹרָה וּמִצְוֹות בִּשְׁלֵימוּת נִבְרָאִים מִזֶּה עוֹלָמוֹת חֲדָשִׁים, וְהַצַּדִּיק מְקַשֵּׁר שָׁם אֶת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר צְרִיכִים לִרְפוּאוֹת וִישׁוּעוֹת, וְשָׁם בָּעוֹלָם הֶחָדָשׁ הַלָּז לֹא חָלִים הַדִּינִים, כִּי זֶה הָעוֹלָם הוּא חָדָשׁ וּמִמֵּילָא עָלָיו לֹא הָיְתָה חָלָה הַגְּזֵירָה, וְעַל יְדֵי כָּךְ יֵשׁ לָהֶם יְשׁוּעָה. וְנִמְצָא שהקב״ה אֵינוֹ מְשַׁנֶּה דַּעְתּוֹ, דְּאָמְנָם בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה נִגְזְרָה הַגְּזֵירָה, אֲבָל בְּעוֹלָם הֶחָדָשׁ אֲשֶׁר נִבְרָא בִּתְפִלַּת הַצַּדִּיק לֹא חָלָה הַגְּזֵירָה כְּלָל, עכד״ק.
2b[We learn from his words that there is a lofty place to which a person can be raised, where the nature of illness has no hold on him. Further on we will explain, in a different way, how a similar level is open to every person, through the power of mesirus nefesh.]
[נִלְמַד מִדְּבָרָיו דְּיֵשׁ מָקוֹם גָּבוֹהַּ שֶׁעַל יָדוֹ מִתְעַלֶּה הָאָדָם שֶׁשָּׁם אֵין חָל בּוֹ טֶבַע הַחוֹלִי, וּלְהַלָּן יִתְבָּאֵר בְּאוֹפֶן אַחֵר הַאֵיךְ שַׁיָּיךְ כְּעֵין עֲבוֹדָה זוֹ אֵצֶל כָּל אָדָם בְּכֹחַ הַמְּסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ].
In shortA tzaddik's prayer heals without Hashem changing His mind, the Noam Elimelech explains, because his service creates new worlds untouched by the decree.
3With this, I once said, we can resolve a question raised by my holy great-grandfather, zt"l, in the holy sefer Divrei Binah, in the name of the holy Rebbe, R' Dov Ber of Radoshitz, zt"l.6 Chazal teach: “In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will give each and every tzaddik 310 worlds as an inheritance.”7 Why, he asked, does a tzaddik need so many worlds? We may say that it is because many people come to the tzaddik and ask him to pray for them, and he can save them only through a new world [as in the words of the Noam Elimelech we have cited]. That is why he needs many worlds. [Since the tzaddik creates new worlds, it follows that in the future Hashem will give him as his inheritance the delight on high of all the worlds he created with his Torah and his prayer, for he is taking from what is his own.]
וּבָזֶה אָמַרְתִּי לְיַישֵּׁב מַה שֶׁהִקְשָׁה כ״ק זְקֵנִי זצללה״ה בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ דִּבְרֵי בִּינָה (פרשת לך ד״ה ויעל) בְּשֵׁם הרה״ק רַבִּי דּוֹב בער מראדושיץ זצללה״ה, בַּמֶּה שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (עוקצין ג, יב) עָתִיד הקב״ה לְהַנְחִיל לְכָל צַדִּיק וְצַדִּיק ש״י עוֹלָמוֹת, וְהִקְשָׁה מַדּוּעַ צָרִיךְ הַצַּדִּיק לְכָל כָּךְ הַרְבֵּה עוֹלָמוֹת. וְיֵשׁ לוֹמַר, דְּהוּא מִשּׁוּם שֶׁבָּאִים אֶל הַצַּדִּיק הַרְבֵּה אֲנָשִׁים וּמְבַקְּשִׁים שֶׁיִּתְפַּלֵּל עֲלֵיהֶם, וְרַק עַל יְדֵי עוֹלָם חָדָשׁ יָכוֹל לְהוֹשִׁיעָם [כְּמַאֲמַר הַנּוֹעַם אֱלִימֶלֶךְ הַנִּזְכָּר], לָכֵן צָרִיךְ הוּא לְהַרְבֵּה עוֹלָמוֹת. [דְּכֵיוָן שֶׁהַצַּדִּיק בּוֹרֵא עוֹלָמוֹת חֲדָשִׁים, לָכֵן מִמֵּילָא עָתִיד הקב״ה לְהַנְחִילוֹ מִנּוֹעַם הָעֶלְיוֹן מִכָּל הָעוֹלָמוֹת שֶׁבָּרָא בְּתוֹרָתוֹ וּתְפִלָּתוֹ, דְּמִשֶּׁלּוֹ הוּא נוֹטֵל].
- The first Biala Rebbe, author of Divrei Binah, the Rebbe's great-grandfather. Divrei Binah, Lech Lecha, s.v. Vaya'al. ↩
- Uktzin 3:12. ↩
In shortA tzaddik receives 310 worlds because only new worlds let him save the many who seek his prayers, and he inherits their delight.
4It seems that the Noam Elimelech's question can also be resolved in another way. We know that the Holy One, blessed be He, runs His world in two ways. The first is the usual order, the order of nature. This is how the world is run most of the time, without His needing to change the workings of nature. The second is through miracles, as we find at the splitting of the Red Sea and the like. When are we privileged to be led by miracles? When we are ready to give up our lives for the Creator's honor. Then, as a result, Hashem leads us with miracles. For, as is well known, “an awakening from below arouses an awakening from above.”8 So one who serves with mesirus nefesh, above nature, arouses the same toward himself from above, and by this power he can draw down an order of miracles, above nature. This is just what we find at the splitting of the Red Sea. Nachshon, prince of the tribe of Yehudah, leapt into the sea with mesirus nefesh,9 and by doing so he caused Hashem to perform the miracle for Bnei Yisrael. So too, every time miracles were done for Israel, an act of mesirus nefesh on Israel's part came first.
וּבְדֶרֶךְ אַחֵר נִרְאֶה לְיַישֵּׁב קוּשְׁיַת הַנּוֹעַם אֱלִימֶלֶךְ הַנִּזְכֶּרֶת, כִּי יָדוּעַ שהקב״ה מַנְהִיג עוֹלָמוֹ בִּשְׁנֵי דְּרָכִים, הָא׳ הִיא הַהַנְהָגָה הָרְגִילָה בְּמִדַּת הַטֶּבַע, שֶׁהוּא הַנְהָגַת הָעוֹלָם עַל פִּי הָרוֹב, שֶׁלֹּא נִזְקַק הקב״ה לְשַׁנּוֹת סִדְרֵי הַטֶּבַע, וְהַשֵּׁנִית הִיא הַנְהָגָה שֶׁל נִסִּים, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ שֶׁהָיָה בְּעֵת קְרִיעַת יַם סוּף וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה. וְאֵימָתַי זוֹכִים לְהַנְהָגָה זוֹ שֶׁל נִיסִּים, כַּאֲשֶׁר אָנוּ מוֹסְרִים נַפְשֵׁינוּ לִכְבוֹד הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ, אָז עַל יְדֵי זֶה מַנְהִיג הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ אוֹתָנוּ בְּהַנְהָגָה שֶׁל נִיסִּים, כִּי כַּיָּדוּעַ בְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא אִיתְעַר אִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְעֵילָא (זוהר הקדוש ח״ג צב, א), וְכֵיוָן שֶׁכֵּן מִי שֶׁעוֹבֵד עֲבוֹדָתוֹ בִּמְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ לְמַעְלָה מִן הַטֶּבַע, אַף לְמַעְלָה מְעוֹרֵר עָלָיו כֵּן, וְעַל כֵּן אֶפְשָׁר בְּכֹחַ זֶה לְהַמְשִׁיךְ הַנְהָגָה שֶׁל נִיסִּים וּלְמַעְלָה מִן הַטֶּבַע. וּבֶאֱמֶת כֵּן מָצִינוּ שֶׁהָיָה בִּקְרִיעַת יַם סוּף, שֶׁקָּפַץ נַחְשׁוֹן לַיָּם בִּמְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ (סוטה לז, א), וּבָזֶה גָּרַם שהקב״ה עָשָׂה הַנֵּס לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּכְמוֹ כֵּן בְּכָל פַּעַם שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ נִיסִּים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲזַי מִקּוֹדֶם לָזֶה הָיְתָה הַנְהָגַת מְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ מִצַּד בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
In shortHashem leads the world by nature or by miracles; mesirus nefesh, above nature, awakens miracles from above, as Nachshon's leap split the sea.
5This answers the Noam Elimelech's question: how can a decree be annulled, when no change at all can be imagined in Hashem? A person who conducts himself with mesirus nefesh brings about an entirely new order in Hashem's dealings with him, above nature. So even if his sentence was indeed sealed, it was sealed only under the order that held until then. Now Hashem deals with him under a new order, above nature. Hashem had already intended this new order from the start: that an awakening from below arouses an awakening from above. Under this order the decree was never issued at all.
וּלְפִי זֶה מְתוֹרָץ הַקּוּשְׁיָא הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל אֵיךְ אֶפְשָׁר לְבַטֵּל גְּזֵירָה, הֲרֵי לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ לֹא יְצוּיַּיר שׁוּם שִׁינּוּי, וְהוּא שֶׁכֵּיוָן שֶׁזֶּה הָאָדָם מִתְנַהֵג בִּמְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ, גּוֹרֵם לְשַׁנּוֹת כָּל הַנְהָגַת הקב״ה עִמּוֹ שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לְמַעְלָה מִן הַטֶּבַע, וְנִמְצָא דְּאַף אִם אָמְנָם נֶחֱרַץ דִּינוֹ, מִכָּל מָקוֹם אֵין זֶה אֶלָּא בְּתוֹךְ הַהַנְהָגָה שֶׁהָיְתָה אָז, אַךְ עַתָּה יֵשׁ הַנְהָגָה חֲדָשָׁה עִמּוֹ לְמַעְלָה מֵהַטֶּבַע, אֲשֶׁר כָּךְ כְּבָר עָלָה בְּמַחְשָׁבָה לִפְנֵי הקב״ה, שֶׁבְּאִתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְתַתָּא אִיתְעַר אִיתְעָרוּתָא דִּלְעֵילָא, וּבָזֹאת הַהַנְהָגָה לֹא נִגְזְרָה הַגְּזֵירָה כְּלָל.
In shortMesirus nefesh brings a person under a new order, above nature, in which the decree was never issued, so Hashem does not change.
6This also lets us understand the Midrash we cited. Here too we must ask how the Priestly Blessing can take effect on us. If the opposite had been decreed on us from the start, Heaven forbid, the Holy One, blessed be He, would, so to speak, be changing His mind. So how can the Priestly Blessing help? But as we have said, through mesirus nefesh Hashem deals with us under a new order, and we receive a great flow of blessing from Heaven. This is what the Midrash asks: “From where did Israel earn the Priestly Blessing?” And the answer is: from the power of these two verses, “I and the lad will go yonder” and “So shall your offspring be.” They point to the power of Avraham Avinu's mesirus nefesh when he bound Yitzchak his son, and to his having instilled and rooted this power in the generations to come, so that through it we too can serve Hashem with mesirus nefesh. In this merit we can be privileged to receive the Priestly Blessing, as we have explained.
וּבָזֶה יוּבָן גַּם מַאֲמַר הַמִּדְרָשׁ הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, דְּהִנֵּה גַּם כָּאן צְרִיכִים לְהָבִין אֵיךְ אֶפְשָׁר לְבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים לָחוּל עָלֵינוּ, דַּהֲרֵי בְּאִם מִתְּחִילָּה נִגְזַר עָלֵינוּ לְהֵיפֶךְ ח״ו, הֲרֵי זֶה כִּבְיָכוֹל שהקב״ה מְשַׁנֶּה דַּעְתּוֹ, וְהָאֵיךְ יְכוֹלָה בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים לְהוֹעִיל. אֶלָּא לְפִי מַה שֶׁאָמַרְנוּ אֲזַי עַל יְדֵי מְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ יֵשׁ הַנְהָגָה חֲדָשָׁה אִתָּנוּ, וּמְקַבְּלִים שֶׁפַע רַב מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם. וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמְרוּ מֵהֵיכָן זָכוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים וְכוּ׳, וְהַתְּשׁוּבָה לָזֶה הִיא, בְּכֹחַ ב׳ פְּסוּקִים אֵלּוּ ״וַאֲנִי וְהַנַּעַר נֵלְכָה עַד כֹּה״, ״כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ״, שֶׁהֵם מוֹרִים עַל כֹּחַ מְסִירוּת נַפְשׁוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ ע״ה שֶׁעָקַד אֶת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ, וְעַל זֶה שֶׁהִכְנִיס וְהִשְׁרִישׁ לְדוֹרוֹת הַבָּאִים הַכֹּחַ הַזֶּה, שֶׁעַל יְדֵי זֶה נוּכַל גַּם אָנוּ לַעֲבוֹד אֶת ה׳ בִּמְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ, וּבַעֲבוּר זֶה אָנוּ יְכוֹלִים לִזְכּוֹת לְבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים, וְכַנִּזְכָּר.
In shortMesirus nefesh lets the Priestly Blessing override decrees; the koh verses point to Avraham's mesirus nefesh at the Akeidah, rooted in his descendants.
7May Hashem grant that each of us be privileged to serve Him with mesirus nefesh, and that we receive an abundance of blessing until the coming of the righteous Redeemer. Amen.
יִתֵּן ה׳, שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה כָּל אֶחָד לַעֲבוֹד אוֹתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ מִתּוֹךְ מְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ, וְנִזְכֶּה לְשֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה עַד בִּיאַת גּוֹאֵל צֶדֶק, אָמֵן:
In shortMay we serve Hashem with mesirus nefesh and be granted abundant blessing until the righteous Redeemer comes.
Takeaway
A harsh decree is not the final word: when a person serves Hashem with mesirus nefesh, above nature, Hashem deals with him under a new order, in which that decree was never issued. Avraham's binding of Yitzchak rooted this power in all his descendants, and in its merit we receive the Priestly Blessing. Each time we serve Hashem with mesirus nefesh, we draw on that inheritance and open ourselves to an abundance of His blessing.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
More on Parshas Vayera
See all ›Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerLowly Origins: The Key to Receiving the TorahRemembering our lowly beginnings is not a cause for despair; it is the gateway to remembering that our souls are hewn from the Throne of Glory. Against discouragement, recall your…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerAlways at the Doorway: Endless Inner GatesEvery true level of holiness should show a person how many doorways still lie ahead, so that he never rests on what he has reached but longs for the next mitzvah; that longing is…Yismach Yisroel · Rav Yerachmiel Yisrael Yitzchok DancygerLowliness and Love: The Preparation for the TorahThe more truly a person recognizes his own lowliness, the more he becomes a vessel for the light of the Torah. That humility shows itself in warmly welcoming every person as…
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.