Noam Elimelech · Parshas Toldos · Maamar ז From the Torah ofRebbe Elimelech of Lizhenskרבי אלימלך מליז'נסקProfile ›

A Hundred Gates Above: Blessing Through the Name

Yitzchak found “a hundred gates,” and then “Hashem blessed him.” Why does the verse speak of the holy Name blessing him? And what does Dovid mean when he says he will exalt Hashem and then “bless Your Name forever”? Can a person bless Hashem’s Name?

Bereishis 26:12

וַיִּזְרַע יִצְחָק בָּאָרֶץ הַהִוא וַיִּמְצָא בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִוא מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים וַיְבָרֲכֵהוּ יְהוָה

Yitzchak sowed in that land, and in that year he found a hundredfold, and Hashem blessed him.

16Or we may say that “Yitzchak sowed in that land, and in that year he found a hundredfold,” me'ah she'arim, “a hundred gates,” hints at the upper worlds, as explained earlier: the hundred gates on high, each opened by one of the hundred daily blessings. Yitzchak brought a flow of blessing to the upper worlds, and so “Hashem blessed him”: through this he brought it about that blessing came by way of the holy Name, Hashem, which the verse names, for the flow of blessing comes mainly through the holy Name. This is “A praise of Dovid: I will exalt You …”:¹ through my exalting You and bringing about a flow of blessing in the worlds, “I will bless Your Name forever.” That is, by bringing that flow, I cause Your Name itself to be blessed, so that blessing flows down through the holy Name. This is easy to understand.

אוֹ יֹאמַר "וַיִּזְרַע יִצְחָק בָּאָרֶץ כּוּ' מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים", רֶמֶז לָעוֹלָמוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים כַּאֲשֶׁר מְבוֹאָר לְעֵיל, דְּהַיְינוּ ע"י שֶׁהָיָה מַשְׁפִּיעַ לָעוֹלָמוֹת הָעֶלְיוֹנִים, "וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ ה'", עי"ז הָיָה גּוֹרֵם שֶׁיִּתְבָּרֵךְ ע"י הַשֵּׁם הַקָּדוֹשׁ, דְּעִיקַּר הַהַשְׁפָּעוֹת בָּאִים ע"י שֵׁם הַקָּדוֹשׁ, וְזֶהוּ "תְּהִילָּה לְדָוִד אֲרוֹמִמְךָ כּוּ'", פֵּירוּשׁ ע"י שֶׁאֲנִי מְרוֹמֵם אוֹתְךָ וְגוֹרֵם הַשְׁפָּעָה בְּעוֹלָמוֹת, עי"ז "וַאֲבָרְכָה שִׁמְךָ לְעוֹלָם" אֲנִי גּוֹרֵם שֶׁיִּתְבָּרֵךְ שִׁמְךָ לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ ע"י הַשֵּׁם הַקָּדוֹשׁ. וק"ל.

Tehillim 145:1. ↩

In shortBringing blessing to the upper worlds, Yitzchak made it flow through the holy Name, as Dovid says, “I will exalt You … and bless Your Name.”

The maamar as a whole

Reading the verse a second way, R’ Elimelech takes the “hundred gates” as the upper worlds. Yitzchak brought a flow of blessing to those worlds, and so “Hashem blessed him”: the verse names the holy Name because blessing flows mainly through it, and Yitzchak caused the blessing to come through the Name. Dovid’s words say the same. “I will exalt You”: by exalting Hashem a person brings a flow of blessing into the worlds; and so “I will bless Your Name forever”: he causes the Name itself to be blessed, so that blessing flows down through it. Service below opens the way for blessing to return.

Takeaway

When we exalt Hashem in our prayers and blessings, we are doing more than giving praise: we bring a flow of blessing to the worlds above. His holy Name itself is blessed by it, and through that Name the blessing flows back down.

Learn this in the merit of Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk. His yahrzeit and life ›

All of Noam Elimelech

More on Parshas Toldos

See all ›

Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of BialaYaakov from Esav: Bringing the Bad into HolinessGood and bad come to us mixed together, and in exile our work is not to make the bad vanish but to draw out the good within it, serving Hashem with the very desire and longing…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of BialaAlways Going, Truly Humble: Yitzchak's GreatnessWe came down to this world not to receive a gift we have not earned, but to perfect ourselves, and for that we need two things together. Like Yehoshua setting out the benches for…Lehavas David · Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz of BialaGrowing Greater through Wealth: Yitzchak's AvodahThe Torah tells of the Avos' wealth to show that they kept walking upward in avodas Hashem even when prosperity made the yetzer hara strong against them. Yitzchak's mesirus nefesh…

Sources he cites

Tzaddikim he names

More on Parshas Toldos