Avraham at the Door: Humility, Knowledge and Hope

1The Midrash on “Hashem appeared to him” [Bereishis 18:1] (Bereishis Rabbah 48:2) cites the verse “After my skin is thus cut off, from my flesh I see God” [Iyov 19:26]. Avraham said, “Had I not done this, how would the Holy One, blessed be He, have revealed Himself to me?”

2Here is the explanation. As is known, Yesod is the attribute of connection, which binds a Jewish soul to “the cord of Hashem's inheritance” [cf. Devarim 32:9]. The holy Arizal writes that the mitzvah of milah is the secret of the revelation of Godliness. The words milah and peri'ah, the cutting and the uncovering, combine as mal-Yah and pera-Yah, joined to the Divine Name Yah. By removing the flesh of the foreskin, a person merits Chochmah, Binah and Da'as: wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Da'as means connection, as in “And Adam knew (yada) his wife” [Bereishis 4:1]. Through the light of da'as, he knows how precious his soul is and the Godly portion hidden within him, and he binds himself to the cord of Hashem's inheritance with a strong bond. There is also the well-known teaching of the Rebbe R' Shmelke¹, zt"l, that the purifying of the soul is hinted at in the Mishnah (Terumos 9:7): “Seedlings of terumah that became impure and were then replanted become pure and no longer make things impure.” The idea is this. The seed's essence and source is the earth. So if one plants it in the ground after it became impure, the sowing joins it to its source and turns it back into raw potential. It becomes nullified within the ground, and its impurity flies away. So too, when a person knows how lowly he is and attaches himself to the quality of dust, when “his soul is like dust to everyone,” then by joining his soul to its source, he revives it and purifies it of its impurity.

3This explains the holy verse “Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre” [Bereishis 18:1]. As the holy books say, Mamre has the numerical value of 281, the value of efer, “ashes.” By the holy power of his humility, Avraham Avinu lived in the spirit of “I am dust and ashes” [Bereishis 18:27]. He considered² that by his own worth, in his own eyes, he was not fit for all the levels, perceptions and holy lights he had. Even so, he drew strength precisely from knowing his true worth: that all his perception and every revelation of Godliness came only from Hashem, who wants the portion of Israel to come close to Him. Hashem wants the inner Jewish point, so that “no outcast will be cast away from Him” [cf. Shmuel II 14:14]. In His great mercy, when He sees the humility of a person who knows his own lowliness and becomes like dust to everyone, until he is like raw, formless matter, He awakens His compassion for him. He draws him close to enjoy the radiance of His light and opens an opening of light for him. That is the meaning of “Hashem appeared to him in elonei Mamre.” Elonei, “oaks,” means strength, as in the verse “he was strong as the oaks” (Amos 2:9). It seemed to Avraham Avinu that all his vision and perception of Hashem's greatness, and his receiving the presence of the Shechinah, came only from strengthening himself as “dust and ashes,” which has the same value as Mamre. Through this he drew down healing and life. That is why the holy books also say that Mamre has the numerical value of rapha, “heal.”

4In truth, even if a person merits true knowledge, how could he imagine that it comes because his deeds are worthy? How could creatures formed from clods of earth be worthy of coming close to the light of the King's face [Mishlei 16:15], were it not that Hashem does it for His own sake? He wants Israel close to Him, and wants the portion of Himself that He breathed into them in His great mercy. “And he (hu) was sitting” [Bereishis 18:1]. Hu, “he,” hints at the Torah's lofty and exalted secrets, as the holy Zohar explains on “The Levi, he (hu), shall serve” [Bamidbar 18:23]. “Sitting” means, as the holy books say, that he settled his mind. “At the entrance of the tent”: ohel, “tent,” means light, as Rashi writes (Shabbos 88)³ on “Moshe would take the tent” [Shemos 33:7], related to “when His lamp shone (behilo)” [Iyov 29:3]. That is, even one who merits a great level and perceives holy lights, who sees the pure, brilliant light of the King's face, must settle in his mind that he is still only at the entrance of the tent. He is in the corridor before the banquet hall [Avos 4:16]. He has not yet truly entered the gate of holiness into the hall; only a glimmer reaches him through an opening as narrow as a needle's eye. He must plead for mercy to merit entering the tent and seeing the light of the King's face. As the Rebbe R' Zusha⁴, zt"l, said: when an opening of hope is opened for a person, it is like a villager for whom a crack is opened in the king's gate. Fortunate is the one who merits to win the king's favor and come into his palace.

5This is what the holy Arizal wrote in the zemer for Friday night [Azamer Bishvachin]: “To enter within the gates of the field of holy apples.” In truth, for someone whom Hashem has graced with true knowledge, the closer he comes and the higher he rises, level above level, the more it seems to him that his light has gone dark and he sees nothing at all. It is “a dark light” compared to the higher light (Zohar). Even his perceptions and illuminations, and his closeness to the Light of the world, come only from Hashem's kindness and great mercy, from the One who has no limit. A person must settle all this in his mind.

6aThe same is true in the opposite case, Heaven forbid. Someone may have sinned so much that he has gone down to the depths of the abyss. Even when he sees himself drowning in the depths of She'ol, he must not tell himself that it is hopeless. Rather, let him trust in Hashem's mercy and kindness. Hashem devises plans and strategies to help His children, even those who have gone down, Heaven forbid, to “the great deep” [Tehillim 36:7]. Let him believe that there is still a remedy and a cure for the illnesses of his soul. If he merits to sigh even one sigh from the depths of his heart, Hashem will shine His light on him and raise him from there to the eternal light, “to be lit with the light of life” [Iyov 33:30].

6bThis is the meaning of “If I make my bed in She'ol, You are there (hineka)” (Tehillim 139:8). Even if I am in She'ol, Heaven forbid, “You are there,” through one sigh⁵. Given the greatness and exaltedness of Hashem, who has no end or limit and whom no intellect can know, what is “the depth of the beginning” to Him, and what is “the depth of the end” [Sefer Yetzirah 1:5]? In His great mercy, so that no spark of Israel will be lost, Heaven forbid, He devises plans and strategies even for one drowning in the depths of the sea, to save him from the mire and mud. My father and teacher, R' Yechiel of Alexander, zt"l, said in the name of the holy R' Shalom of Belz, zt"l, on the verse “He brings down to She'ol and brings up” (Shmuel I 2:6): Hashem devises plans even for one sunk in the depths of destruction, below which there is no lower level. If he cries out to Hashem “from the belly of She'ol” [Yonah 2:3] to raise up his soul and light it up, then “He brings down to She'ol”: in His great mercy, Hashem lowers and deepens She'ol further. So the person is still not on the lowest floor, where he would have no hope, Heaven forbid. “And brings up”: and he rises upward.

7So the knowledge a person must always have is to see himself as standing at the door, both when he merits closeness to Hashem and in the opposite case, Heaven forbid. Avraham Avinu merited this knowledge through the milah, as we wrote above in the name of the holy Arizal. That is what the Midrash means by “Had I not done this”: had I not removed the flesh of my foreskin, I would not have merited the light of knowledge, and how would the Holy One, blessed be He, have revealed Himself to me? Avraham Avinu went further and shone this light of knowledge into every Jewish soul. Wherever a Jew may be, the light of knowledge will shine for him to raise him up and revive him. That is why Avraham is called the man of kindness, for all kindness is brought about through him, as Chazal say (Bereishis Rabbah 60). And this is “By His knowledge the depths were split” (Mishlei 3:20). Through Avraham Avinu's knowledge the depths were split: even for one who has gone down to the depth of the abyss, the abyss is split open further, so that he can still rise.

8This is the meaning of the verse “For I have known him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of Hashem” [Bereishis 18:19]. All the knowledge a person merits, to recognize that everything comes from Hashem's kindness, flows from the knowledge of Avraham Avinu. Hashem gave Avraham Avinu such great knowledge so that he would have the power to give and teach knowledge to everyone in the world. This is what Chazal say: “Avraham sits at the entrance of Gehinnom and does not let a circumcised Jew go down into it” [Eruvin 19a]. The light of Avraham Avinu's knowledge, which he passed on to the seed of Israel, sits at the entrance of Gehinnom. A person knows that there is still hope for his soul, and that he is still only at the entrance of Gehinnom. Whoever merits this light of knowledge, “a circumcised Jew,” as we said, Avraham does not let go down into it, so that no portion of Yaakov will be lost. As it says, “For I, Hashem, have not changed, and you, children of Yaakov, have not been consumed” (Malachi 3:6). This is also “sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day” [Bereishis 18:1]. “The heat of the day” is the fire of Gehinnom, as Chazal say in the Midrash [cf. Bereishis Rabbah 48:8], on the day of which it says, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven” [Malachi 3:19]. Let a person not tell himself that it is hopeless. Let him picture himself as standing at the entrance of the tent, as we said.

9This explains the words of the Midrash further on (Bereishis Rabbah 48:8): “‘The entrance of the tent’: You opened a good entrance for those who pass by and those who return.” Tov, “good,” is knowledge, for the holy books say that the Divine Name of da'as equals tov [seventeen]. The holy books also note that the initials of vayeira eilav Hashem, “Hashem appeared to him,” equal tov, the value of the Name of da'as. As we wrote, Hashem gave Avraham great knowledge, so that he would have the power to give, to shine light into darkness in the hearts of the holy congregation, and to teach them knowledge. With his attribute of kindness, Avraham Avinu gave knowledge and opened a door and a gate for those who knock in teshuvah, so that they would not tell themselves, Heaven forbid, that it is hopeless. That is “for those who pass by (ovrim)”: those who at first transgressed (ovrei) His will. “And those who return (shavim)”: those who afterward want to do His will. “You opened a good entrance for converts (gerim)”: this is true humility, in the spirit of “For I am a stranger (ger) with You” [Tehillim 39:13], an exceedingly good trait.

10aThe Midrash continues: “Were it not for you, I would not have created heaven and earth, as it says, ‘He spreads them out like a tent to dwell in’ [Yeshayahu 40:22].” We can understand this through what the great and holy Maggid of Mezritch, zt"l, wrote on Chazal's teaching (Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 2:4; Devarim Rabbah, Shoftim; and elsewhere) on “Dominion and fear are with Him; He makes peace in His heights” [Iyov 25:2]. Michael is all snow and Gavriel is all fire, yet they stand beside each other without harming each other, and each comes in peace to his own place and level. The Maggid gave a reason for this. The existence and stability of every created thing is the aspect of ayin, nothingness. When any created thing sees and understands its own essence and worth compared with the pure, brilliant light of the Infinite One, it becomes nullified in its own existence and counts itself as nothing. It thinks: why did He create us? Only for His honor. And surely this thing too, my opposite, which stands against me, the Creator also created for His honor. Through this they make peace with one another and do not cancel each other out, since both are aimed at one purpose: fulfilling the Creator's will. That is the inner point and purpose of each one.

10bThis is “Dominion and fear are with Him”: since both fire and water come from Him, they have no reason to oppose each other. Shamayim, “heaven,” is also a thing and its opposite: esh u'mayim, fire and water, two opposites in one thing [cf. Chagigah 12a]. Yet there is peace between them, because they consider why He created them together, when by nature each would put out the other. So their being together is the Creator's will and its fulfillment. This explains the Midrash: “Were it not for you,” meaning were it not for knowledge, “I would not have created heaven.” Avraham Avinu drew down the knowledge that the inner point is the ultimate power behind fire and water, as we said. That power is Godly, a part of the whole, which yearns only for the whole and for doing Hashem's will. The Midrash continues: “Were it not for you, I would not have created the sun, as it says, ‘For the sun He set a tent in them’ [Tehillim 19:5].” The sun is the giver, which sends its light to the moon. As the natural scientists say, the moon is in itself a dark, polished mirror that only receives the sun's light. How can there be a giver without knowledge? And even a receiver needs it. That is “Were it not for you, I would not have created the moon, as it says, ‘Even the moon does not shine (ya'ahil)’ [Iyov 25:5],” for the moon receives from the sun, as we said.

11In the precious taste of the wondrous light of holy Shabbos, a person merits the light of knowledge: the true knowledge that all strength and life come only from what flows from above, and the knowledge of how precious his soul is. Holy Shabbos is the inner center of time, the living soul of all six workdays. As it says, “and He rested (vayinafash)” [Shemos 31:17]: Shabbos is the soul, the nefesh, that gives every Jew the power to draw that knowledge into his Jewish soul. This explains the words of the zemer [Kol Mekadesh Shevi'i]: “Draw out Your kindness to those who know You, jealous and avenging God.” “Draw out Your kindness”: draw down the knowledge Avraham Avinu drew down, that everything is Hashem's kindness. “To those who know You”: draw down kindness to those who know and grasp something of Hashem's greatness and kindness, in the aspect of Kel, which is kindness, and who know that they are still only at the door of holiness. “Jealous and avenging”: or, Heaven forbid, to those who deserve to be punished like beasts, in the depths of a low state, who have gone down to the depths of the great abyss. Even so, let them strengthen themselves with knowledge and know the preciousness of the soul implanted in them. The thread of life is still within them, and this point restores their soul. Let them know that “I, Hashem, have not changed” [Malachi 3:6], and that no outcast will be cast away from Him. What is the depth of the beginning or the depth of the end to Me?

12This is what the Midrash says (Bereishis Rabbah 68:2): “Yaakov said: I do not give up hope in my Creator, for ‘my help is from Hashem’ [Tehillim 121:2].” So long as I know that a Godly portion is still within me, I do not give up hope in my Creator. For He helps and “supports all who fall” [Tehillim 145:14], and heals the broken in spirit and the broken-hearted of Israel. The zemer continues: “Those who keep the seventh day,” who will merit outpourings of knowledge and holy lights through the wondrous, pleasant light of holy Shabbos, which gives the very force of life. “Zachor and Shamor,” remember and keep, are the positive and negative commandments, which include every state and every action. “To uphold them” means to bring life into all actions. “Gladden them with a complete building”: give them knowledge in the merit of Avraham, through whom all kindness comes, and who is called “building” [cf. Tehillim 89:3]. As Chazal say (Bereishis Rabbah 39:3): “‘I am a wall’ [Shir HaShirim 8:10]: Avraham said before Him, Master of the worlds, I am a wall, I stand by my words. ‘And my breasts are like towers’: these are Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah.” “In the light of Your face make them shine”: make the light of knowledge shine for them, so that they merit to see the great, pure, brilliant light of the King's face. May they not become distant from You, and may they know that all this comes from the light of “Your face,” a face of mercy, and from Hashem's great and mighty kindness.

13So too today, the Torah reading awakens the time. The reading of this parshah sweetens harsh judgments even on the Day of Judgment, and turns judgment into mercy. At a time when many Jews need abundant, revealed mercy, so that they will not become estranged and distant from the light of the King's face, we can use the reading to draw revealed kindness upon them, in the merit of Avraham Avinu, through whom all kindness comes. Amen.