Go to Yourself: Turning Every Trait to Holiness
How does a person come to see Hashem’s greatness in everything his eyes fall on, and to grasp the upper worlds? And why does Hashem say lech lecha, “go for yourself,” before naming land, birthplace and father’s house?
Bereishis 12:1
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם לֶךְ־לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ
Hashem said to Avram, “Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.”
7Or we may read “Go for yourself” as a hint to a person's work on his own traits. It seems to me that a person must always search, probe and seek to see the greatness of God in everything his eyes see. Through this he will be privileged to have Hashem, blessed be He, give him wisdom and understanding, to grasp and comprehend the upper worlds. But to reach this level of gazing at God's greatness, a person must first rectify his middos, his character traits. For Hashem created man with every kind of trait, and every single trait in a person has a part that turns toward holiness, and likewise a part that turns the opposite way, toward evil, Heaven forbid. By his own choice a person must break himself, to turn his traits toward holiness alone. Then he will be privileged to understand and gaze at God's greatness, and Hashem will open the springs of wisdom for him, so that each time he grasps and understands with a higher and higher intellect what the eyes of his mind have never seen.
אוֹ יֹאמַר "לֶךְ לְךָ". נ"ל ע"ד הָרֶמֶז, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ הָאָדָם לַחְקוֹר וְלִדְרוֹשׁ וּלְחַפֵּשׂ תָּמִיד לִרְאוֹת רוֹמְמוּת אֵל מִכָּל דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יִרְאוּ עֵינָיו, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה יִזְכֶּה שֶׁיִּתֵּן לוֹ השי"ת שֵׂכֶל וּבִינָה לְהָבִין וּלְהַשְׂכִּיל בְּעוֹלָמוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים, וְאוֹפֶן אֲשֶׁר יַגִּיעַ לְמַדְרֵיגָה הנ"ל לְהִסְתַּכֵּל בְּרוֹמְמוּת אֵל, צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם מִקּוֹדֶם לְתַקֵּן אֶת מִידּוֹתָיו, כִּי השי"ת ב"ה בָּרָא אֶת הָאָדָם בְּכָל מִינֵי מִידּוֹת, וְכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה שֶׁבָּאָדָם יֵשׁ צַד וְחֵלֶק בְּאוֹתָהּ מִדָּה אֶל הַקְּדוּשָּׁה, וְכֵן לְהֵיפֶךְ לְרַע ח"ו כַּיָּדוּעַ, וְצָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לְשַׁבֵּר עַצְמוֹ בִּבְחִירָתוֹ לְהַפֵּךְ אֶת הַמִּדּוֹת רַק אֶל הַקְּדוּשָּׁה לְבַדָּהּ, וְאָז יִזְכֶּה לְהָבִין וּלְהִסְתַּכֵּל בְּרוֹמְמוּת אֵל, והשי"ת ב"ה פּוֹתֵחַ לוֹ מַעְיָינוֹת הַחָכְמָה לְהַשִּׂיגוֹ וּלְהַשְׂכִּילוֹ בְּכָל פַּעַם בְּשֵׂכֶל עֶלְיוֹן יוֹתֵר וְיוֹתֵר מַה שֶׁלֹּא רָאוּ עֵינֵי שִׂכְלוֹ מֵעוֹלָם.
In shortSeeing Hashem's greatness in all things opens the upper worlds to a person, but first he must choose to turn each of his traits toward holiness.
8That is the meaning of lech lecha, “go for yourself”: “for yourself” in its plain sense, about your own self. Look at yourself always, so that you separate from the earthly traits in you and turn them to good, as we said, bringing them to holiness alone; that is “from your land.” “From your birthplace”: when a person behaves with ugly traits, bad offspring, more bad traits, come out of him, Heaven forbid, for one trait gives birth to its fellow, in the spirit of “one sin drags another in its wake”;1 that is “from your birthplace.” “From your father's house”: sometimes traits are stamped into a person by nature, coming to him from the power of his father, who put these traits into him. He must leave them and bring them into holiness; that is “from your father's house.” Then you will be privileged to come “to the land that I will show you”: you will reach the higher intellect and the land on high, which I will show you, which you have never seen.
וְזֶהוּ "לֶךְ לְךָ", פֵּירוּשׁ לְעַצְמְךָ כִּפְשׁוּטוֹ, דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁתִּסְתַּכֵּל עַל עַצְמְךָ תָּמִיד שֶׁתִּפְרוֹשׁ מִמִּדּוֹת אַרְצִיּוּת שֶׁבְּךָ שֶׁתַּהַפְכֵם לְטוֹבָה כנ"ל, וְזֶהוּ "מֵאַרְצְךָ", וּתְבִיאֵם אֶל הַקְּדוּשָּׁה לְבַדָּהּ, "וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ", פֵּירוּשׁ דְּאָדָם שֶׁהוּא מִתְנַהֵג בְּמִדּוֹת מְגוּנּוֹת, אֲזַי יוֹצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ תּוֹלָדוֹת רָעוֹת חָלִילָה, שֶׁמִּדָּה אַחַת מוֹלֶדֶת אֶת חֲבֶרְתָּהּ ע"ד 'עֲבֵירָה גּוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵירָה', וְזֶהוּ 'וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ', "וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ", פֵּירוּשׁ דְּלִפְעָמִים מוּטְבָּע בָּאָדָם מִדּוֹת ע"פ טִבְעִית הַבָּאוֹת לוֹ מִכֹּחַ אָבִיו שֶׁהִכְנִיס בּוֹ הַמִּדּוֹת הַלָּלוּ, צָרִיךְ לָצֵאת מֵהֶם וּלְהַכְנִיסָם אֶל הַקְּדוּשָּׁה, וְזֶהוּ 'וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ', וְאָז תִּזְכֶּה "אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ", שֶׁתִּזְכֶּה לְשֵׂכֶל הָעֶלְיוֹן וּלְהָאָרֶץ הָעֶלְיוֹנָה שֶׁאַרְאֲךָ אֲשֶׁר מֵעוֹלָם לֹא רָאִיתָ.
- Avos 4:2. ↩
In shortLech lecha tells a person to look at himself: to turn to holiness his earthly traits, the traits they breed, and the traits he inherited from his father.
9The verse “Commit your way to Hashem; trust in Him, and He will act”2 means the same. Gol (גול), “commit,” speaks here of hisgalus (התגלות), revealing: reveal “your way,” your traits; look at them and see to it that they are all “for Hashem.” “And trust in Him”: a person's gazing at God's greatness is called trust. “And He will act”: then Hashem, blessed be He, will do new things for you, what you have never seen and never understood, “and He will bring forth your righteousness like the light.” Understand this.
וְזֶהוּ "גּוֹל עַל ה׳ דַּרְכֶּךָ", פֵּירוּשׁוֹ ג"כ כנ"ל, כִּי "גּוֹל" הוּא לְשׁוֹן הִתְגַּלּוּת, שֶׁתְּגַלֶּה "דַּרְכֶּךָ" וּמִדּוֹתֶיךָ, שֶׁתִּסְתַּכֵּל בָּהֶם וְתִרְאֶה שֶׁיִּהְיוּ כּוּלָּם "לַה'", "וּבְטַח עָלָיו", פֵּירוּשׁ מַה שֶׁהָאָדָם מִסְתַּכֵּל בְּרוֹמְמוּת אֵל זֶה נִקְרָא 'בִּטָּחוֹן', "וְהוּא יַעֲשֶׂה", פֵּירוּשׁ וְאָז יַעֲשֶׂה לְךָ השי"ת ב"ה עֲשִׂיּוֹת חֲדָשׁוֹת מַה שֶׁלֹּא רָאִיתָ מֵעוֹלָם וְלֹא הֵבַנְתָּ מֵעוֹלָם, "וְהוֹצִיא כָאוֹר צִדְקֶךָ". וְהָבֵן.
- Tehillim 37:5–6. ↩
In shortTo “commit your way to Hashem” is to lay your traits open and see they are all for Him; gazing at His greatness is trust, and He then does new things for you.
R’ Elimelech begins with a goal: a person should search always to see the greatness of God in everything he sees, and then Hashem gives him understanding of the upper worlds. But first he must fix his middos. Every trait Hashem created in man has a side toward holiness and a side toward evil, and by his own choice a person must turn each one to holiness alone. Lech lecha means “go to yourself”: look at yourself always. “From your land” is the earthly traits; “from your birthplace,” the traits they breed, for one sin drags another; “from your father’s house,” the traits that come from his father. Then he reaches the land on high, wisdom he never saw. “Commit your way to Hashem” says the same: lay your traits open, trust by gazing at His greatness, and He will do new things for you.
Takeaway
Look honestly at your own traits: the earthly ones in you, the ones they breed, and the ones you inherited, and turn each one toward holiness. Then lift your eyes to Hashem's greatness in everything you see, and He will open for you understanding you have never known.
Learn this in the merit of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk. His yahrzeit and life ›
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