Lech Lecha
ויהי אברם בן תשעים שנה ותשע שנים וירא ה' אל אברם ויאמר אליו אני א-ל שד-י התהלך לפני והיה תמים. ואתנה בריתי ביני ובינך וארבה אתך במאד מאד. ויפל אברם על פניו וידבר אתו אלקים לאמר. אני הנה בריתי אתך והיית לאב המון גוים. ולא יקרא עוד את שמך אברם והיה שמך אברהם כי אב המון גוים נתתיך. והפרתי אתך במאד מאד וגו' (יז, א-ו)
Avram was ninety-nine years old and Hashem appeared to Avram and He said to him, “I am Kel-Shakkai; go before Me and be whole. And I shall place My covenant between Myself and yourself and I shall multiply you very very much. And Avram fell upon his face and G-d spoke with him, saying: “As for I – behold: My covenant is with you and you shall be a father of a multitude of nations. Your name will no longer be called Avram, rather your name will be Avraham, for I will have made you into a father of a multitude of nations. And I shall increase you very very much…
In the work Shoshan Sodos*, there are twenty-six questions raised about this passage; following are a selection.
1) Considering that Avraham became cognizant of Hashem’s existence at the age of three**, why did it take until the age of 99 for him to be commanded about the Milah? 2) Why does Hashem present Himself as Kel-Shakkai in this of all places? 3) What did Hashem mean with the instruction that Avram should “go before Him” – hadn’t he already been doing so for a long while? 4) The Zohar*** distinguishes between the terms לפני and מלפני. What is the significance of the former here?**** 5) Why is Avram promised that he will become a תמים, and not another title of greatness, such as צדיק or חסיד? 6) What relevance do the change of his name and the promise of becoming an אב המון גוים have to the Milah? 7) Why does Avram suddenly fall on his face as a result of this prophecy? If it was due to his being uncircumcised – he was uncircumcised during his previous prophecies as well. 8) Why does the description of Hashem change now from Havayah (the Tetragrammaton) to Elokim? 9) The implication of the text is that the promise of being an אב המון גוים is the result of the change of name; why, then, does v. 4 juxtapose it to the Milah? 10) In other words: why is the אב המון גוים first associated with the Milah, and then the name change? 11) Everything that Hashem created was with a purpose. If the orlah (foreskin) serves no function, why was it created? And if it serves a purpose, why are we bidden to destroy it? Indeed, this is the crux of the question posed to R. Akiva by Turnus Rufus.***** 12) Why the repetitive language of המול ימול? s****** 13) Why does v. 9 begin with a new communication? *******
In order to answer these questions, let us begin with the relevant passage in the Talmud about Milah********:
Rebbi taught: Great is Milah, as evidenced by that which despite all of the mitzvos which our forefather Avraham performed, he was not called “whole” until he circumcised (עד שמל), as it says, go before Me and be whole. Alternatively, great is Milah, as evidenced by that which Hashem would not have created (לא ברא) His world if not for it, as it says, If not for My covenant day and night, I would not have placed the laws of Heaven and Earth.********* Alternatively, great is Milah, as it is equivalent to all of the mitzvos in the Torah, as it says, Behold – the blood of the Covenant which Hashem sealed with you over all of the matters.********** [The Talmud later observes about the second teaching that it is at odds with the understanding of R. Eliezer, who interpreted that verse as referring to the Torah, not Milah, as critical for the Creation.]
There are a number of observations to make about this passage. 1) How did Rebbi know that the “completion” of Avraham through the Milah was due to its intrinsic value – perhaps it happened to be the one mitzvah that he was lacking? Perhaps had it been any other mitzvah that he was missing, it’s performance would also have completed him, leaving us only to wonder why it was specifically Milah that was left for last. Subsequently, I found this question raised by the Tosafos Yom Tov to this passage. 2) Why עד שמל in the active, instead of עד שנימול, until he was circumcised, in the passive? 3) As the Tosafos Yom Tov asks, how can the term “My covenant day and night” apply to the Milah if it is only performed during the daytime? 4) Why “His world” and not “the world?” 5) Why is the term ברא used and not another term for creation, such as יצר or עשה? 6) Why is אילמלא היא in the feminine used instead of הוא in the masculine?***********
The first of these questions could be resolved in the following manner:
The Chassid Yavetz************ quotes R. Yonah to the effect that Torah study only elevates a person to the degree that his middos, personal qualities, are positive. If one has negative qualities, it will only serve to enhance them. And the Maharsha to the above passage cites the Rambam************* that the Milah did not serve to remove a physical imperfection, rather one of middos.
Taken together, these ideas offer an understanding of Rebbi’s teaching. Through the Milah, Avram was given the potential to perfect his character, which, in turn, allowed him to perfect his performance of Torah and mitzvos. Thus, the wholeness brought about through the Milah is intrinsic to its design, and that is how Rebbe discerned as such.
We may now add that there is no real dispute about the identity of the בריתי יומם ולילה; all agree that it is primarily the Torah. (Hence, “day and night” is apt.) Rebbi is simply adding that Torah cannot be properly fulfilled without wholeness of character; thus, Milah as a prerequisite is included. This would also be the meaning of the other teaching that Milah is equivalent to all of the mitzvos – by rendering man fit to perform them.
Now to return to the other issues in the above talmudic and scriptural passages. Rashi quotes the rabbinic interpretation of the Name Shakkai – שיש די באלקותי לכל בריה, My godliness is sufficient for every being. How is this relevant to our narrative?
Let us borrow an idea from Avos. The mishnah************** tells us that הבעל הבית דוחק, Hashem is constantly pressuring us to accomplish spiritually. Why? Because הפועלים עצלים והשכר הרבה, the workers are lazy and the reward is great. The combination of the two translates into a large banquet with few attendees. As such, the Host is “anxious” to ensure the maximum attendance possible. Similarly, as the One whose “godliness is sufficient for every being,” Hashem has much reward to bestow, and – particularly in the spiritually barren generation of Avraham – does not have that many worthy recipients for it. As such, Hashem’s objective in this meeting with Avram was to recruit him for a mission of gaining adherents to the cause from amongst his contemporaries.
Thus, when Avram was told to “walk before Hashem and be whole,” that wholeness was to come through his elevation of others. As R. Shlomo Alkabetz*************** explained the theory behind the Half-Shekel, an individual unto himself is only half complete; he must join others in donating to the Mikdash in order to achieve wholeness. Hence, the double expression of המול ימול, after completing his self through his own Milah, he would be able to finish the process through the betterment of others.
The catch is that in order to pull this off it would entail Avram’s lowering of himself for proximity with the masses. While this would seem like a step backwards for him, this was the only way that he would able to produce his coveted offspring. The name אברם consists of אבר ם – indicating that his ability to reproduce was boxed in, disabled. As such, his capability to influence the masses was inhibited as well. However, his name was then upgraded with the letter hei. As the Talmud***************** teaches, the hei is open on the bottom, indicating the option that every individual has to drop out of this world. For Avraham, it opened up the approach of שבע יפול צדיק וקם, Seven times shall the righteous fall and arise*****************, i.e., the tzaddik’s capacity to lower himself to the masses and elevate them along with him. This is also the final hei of the Tetragrammaton, which is representative of Malchus, our lower world. And so Avram became Avraham, with the portfolio of אב המון גוים, patron of the nations of the world. It also provided him with biological parenthood. This is the meaning of the Sages’ insight that אברם אינו מוליד אבל אברהם מוליד, Avram cannot bear children, but Avraham can.******************
The process of ירידה לצורך עליה, a descent for the sake of an ascent, is encapsulated in the term הליכה, going.******************* As such, Hashem opened this topic with התהלך לפני. It also follows that the term לפני, which the Zohar associates with Malchus, be used.
We can now resolve a number of our difficulties with the text. Avram fell upon his face as a demonstration of the ירידה that he was being bidden to undergo. This was frightening to him – what if he would not be successful in regaining his stature?******************** To this Hashem reassured him that he would be successful, backing it up with a covenant. אני הנה בריתי אתך. And the power to do so lay in Avram’s new name; thus, the covenant followed with לא יקרא שמך אברם והיה שמך אברהם.
The meaning of the talmudic passage also becomes apparent. Despite all of Avram’s great efforts in elevating himself, his ultimate greatness – his “completeness” – lay in his lowering himself to elevate others. This is the prooftext cited there: התהלך, engage in this program of ירידה לצורך עליה, לפני, which involves Malchus, והיה תמים, which will bring out his completeness.
This explains why a new address begins with the Name of Elokim, as Avram had cast himself to the world of Asiyah which is represented by it.
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* Often erroneously attributed to others, authored by R. Moshe of Kiev (1448-c.1519).** Nedarim 32a.*** Terumah, 170b.**** This question is the author’s own.***** Tanchuma, Tazria, 5.****** Bereishis 17:13.******* The author’s personal question.******** Nedarim 31b.********* Yirmiyah 32:25.********** Shemos 24:8.*********** [Being that the pronoun refers to המילה, which is feminine, it would seem that the language is correct. Theauthor’s intention is thus unclear.]************Avos 3:11.*************Moreh ha-Nevuchim 3:49**************2:17***************See Alshich, Shemos 30:13.****************Menachos 29b.*****************Mishlei 24:16.******************Shabbos 156a.*******************One example of this phenomenon would be in the midrashic description of the minimization of the Moon (Chullin 60b), in which Hashem tells it לכי ומיעטי את עצמך, go and minimize yourself. ********************Being that the descent would be certain and the subsequent ascent doubtful, we ought to apply the rule ofאין ספק מוציא מידי ודאי, a doubt does not outweigh a certainty. An example of such a calculation can be seen in Tosafos’ question at Bava Metzia 114b as to how Eliyahu – as per the gemara’s position there that he was a kohen – was allowed to come in contact with the dead child of the Tzarfatis, considering that the impurity was certain and the salvaging of the child’s life was doubtful.