Hello, you need to enable JavaScript to use this network.
Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator.
Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator.
Torah Networking
Posted on May 2nd, 2008 at 1:08pm —
No Comments (Add)
Spread the word. Get your own The Global Yeshiva badge for your website or MySpace page. (Get Code)
The Global Yeshiva was created by Rav Mitterhoff
Chassidus - Be'er Mayim Chaim
(10 members)
Shabbos Challah Gemach
(4 members)
Divrei Torah on the Parshah
(8 members)
Shofar
(3 members)
Let's Join in Tefilla
(19 members)
© 2008 Created by Rav Mitterhoff
Comment Wall (3 comments)
You need to be a member of The Global Yeshiva to add comments!
Join this network
You asked, "In Parshas VaYeirah, in the section about the akeidah, A Malach calls twice to Avraham. Why, after speaking directly to Avraham numerous times, does he communicate through a malach?
With Hashem's help, I'll take a shot at trying to answer it.
Based on Rav Kook’s explanation (http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/VAYERA61.htm) on one part of the Akeida, we may be able to work out an answer to your question. Let’s take a look.
VaYera: Hidden and Revealed Holiness -
A Paradoxical Blessing
After Abraham passed the test of the Akeida (Binding of Isaac), an angel called out to him:
“God states: I have sworn by My Essence, that since you performed this act, and did not withhold your only son, I will bless you greatly, and increase your descendants like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall possess their enemies’ gate. All the nations of the world shall be blessed through your descendants - all because you obeyed My voice.” [Gen. 22:16-18]
This blessing appears to be contradictory. On the one hand, Abraham’s descendants will be victorious over their enemies (“your offspring shall possess their enemies’ gate”). On the other hand, his descendants will be loved and appreciated by the entire world (“all the nations shall be blessed through your descendants”). What will be the lot of the Abraham’s children - enmity from the nations, or love and appreciation?
Also: why did God compare Abraham’s descendants to both the stars and the sand?
Two Levels of Holiness
In fact, God’s angel appeared to Abraham twice. The angel appeared the first time just as Abraham was about to slaughter his son:
“Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God.” [Gen. 22:12]
Why were there two messages from heaven? Rav Kook explained that two themes pervade the test of the Akeida and the blessings which God subsequently bestowed. The Akeida relates to two levels of holiness. This first is a latent holiness, concealed in the inner soul. The second is a holiness revealed in action and deed.
The first call from heaven stopped Abraham from physically carrying out the Akeida. This summons belonged to the hidden inner state of sanctity, truly revealed only to God. “For now I know that you fear God.” Only God knew the true greatness of Abraham’s inner soul. This holiness could not be expressed in any external activity. “Do not do anything.”
The angel appeared a second time after Abraham had sacrificed the ram in place of his son. Abraham’s inner dedication and devotion had now been revealed in the physical realm of action. At this point the angel could inform Abraham that his blessing was not limited to himself, to his own inner spiritual world, but extended to all generations of his descendants. Abraham succeeded in expressing this inner holiness in the outer physical world. The angel emphasized this aspect when he said, since you performed this act.”
What is the meaning of this unusual oath, “I have sworn by My Essence”? This short phrase refers to both hidden and revealed dimensions. God’s Essence is, of course, the deepest, most profound secret. On the other hand, an oath is a promise to take action, to fulfill and act upon an inner decision. (The word ‘oath’ (sh’vua) has the same Hebrew root as ‘seven,’ relating it to the seven days of creation and the physical world.)
Israel’s Dual Destiny
This dichotomy of the hidden and the revealed explains the dual nature of God’s blessing to Abraham. Why will Abraham’s children be like both the stars and the sand? They will reach for the stars - to attain their sublime inner aspirations of love towards God. At the same time, they will also be like the sand, with a revealed holiness, expressed in practical, down-to-earth ways.
The destiny of Abraham’s descendants among the nations also reflects this dual nature. In the beginning, the Jewish people appeared as yet another nation in the world, struggling against enemies and foes. Their inner sanctity was hidden and unrecognized. For this stage in history, the Jewish people required the Divine blessing of “possessing their enemies’ gate.”
But in the future, God’s hidden light on Israel will be revealed. The nations will realize that this is not an ordinary nation, but the revelation of God’s Word among humanity and the entire universe. The inner sanctity of Israel will be apparent to all, and “all the nations of the world shall be blessed through your descendants.”
[adapted from Olat Re’iyah vol. I, pp. 94-6]
---------------------------------
We see by Rav Kook’s explanation that the angel appeared twice to Avraham. “The first call from heaven stopped Abraham from physically carrying out the Akeida. This summons belonged to the hidden inner state of sanctity, truly revealed only to God.”
“The angel appeared a second time after Abraham had sacrificed the ram in place of his son. Abraham’s inner dedication and devotion had now been revealed in the physical realm of action.”
Hashem had instructed Avraham to perform this 10th and final test, the Akeida. When Avraham reached the first plateau, the first visit from the angel occurs telling him to stop. If Hashem had appeared and told him to stop, there may have been a question of his true hidden ”inner sanctity”. If he was willing to go ahead with the sacrifice at Hashem’s command, of course he’d stop at Hashem’s command. If an angel appeared, however, Avraham could have told him, “You can’t stop me now.” That he did stop for the angel showed even more clearly the hidden aspects of his ”inner sanctity”. He demonstrated his ability to sense the true will of Hashem from wherever it came due to his closeness to Hashem.
Also, concerning the sacrifice of the ram, Avraham’s proceeding to sacrifice after the angel’s visit was a greater exhibit of his inner holiness within the outer physical world in his devotion to Hashem, than if it was done after a visit by Hashem. It was at that point, after the sacrifice, that the angel could appear a second time to complete the sequences of the tenth test. The angel was able to inform Abraham that Hashem’s blessing to him extended to all generations of his descendants.
But couldn’t Hashem have told him this directly? After all Avraham had followed through on everything. Why did Hashem still send an angel?
Yes, He could have. However, Avraham’s acceptance of Hashem’s blessing after being told by an angel instead of Hashem was the final proof and confirmation of both his hidden inner sanctity and his inner holiness within the outer physical world. Avraham didn’t need Hashem to appear before him in order to show his total devotion to Hashem’s will. The door for the challenges that the Satan kept bringing against Avraham was finally closed.
The part where you have the warning about the "Glade Plug-in", I didn't know about that. I'll make sure to tell people not to use it, or be aware of this. A simple ounce of prevention.
May Hashem spare us from any more Tzorus!