Avraham's Planting of Kindness and Prayer

1“He planted an eshel in Be'er Sheva, and there he called in the name of Hashem, God of the world” [Bereishis 21:33]. The Gemara says (Sotah 10b): “Do not read vayikra, ‘he called,’ but vayakri, ‘he made others call.’ This teaches that Avraham Avinu made every passerby call out the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. How? After his guests had eaten and drunk, they stood up to bless him. He told them, ‘Did you eat of mine? You ate of what belongs to the God of the world. Thank, praise and bless the One who spoke and the world came into being.’” That is, Avraham Avinu planted his own trait of kindness in the heart of the whole world: to bring in guests, feed them and give them drink, give them lodging for the night and escort them on their way, bonding with them in love. This is the meaning of “He planted an eshel in Be'er Sheva.” The Midrash explains (Bamidbar Rabbah 14:4): “Why are the words of the wise compared to a planting? Just as a tree's roots spread out in every direction, so the words of the wise enter and take root throughout the whole body.” All the more so, Avraham Avinu's words entered people's very being and became like a planting that grows many shoots.

2He did something more. Through the power and holiness of the prayer he prayed there, he made an opening for everyone in the world to pray before Hashem and to awaken the kindness of the Avos. That is “there he called (vayikra) in the name of Hashem, God of the world”: do not read vayikra but vayakri. He made a path and an opening for us as well, so that we can call in the name of Hashem, “You are the One who was.” And that is Kel Olam, “God of the world” or “God forever”: the tzaddik, alluded to in the Name Kel¹, the Name of Yesod, endures forever. As it says, “You are holy, enthroned upon the praises of Israel” (Tehillim 22:4).