My Musing

What is the motivation of both God and Abraham in issuing and fulfilling the first of the ten trials, seems to be the underlying thought to this week's midrash.

This test is called the test within a test by the midrash, denoting its extreme need for obedience to the true Commander in Chief. Not only is Abraham asked to leave his homeland, and all he has, he is also asked to leave without a final destination.

As part of understanding the motivation of God for doing this, the midrash compares Abraham to a bottle of perfume that is left in a cemetery. Leaving the negative allusion to the gentile population aside, this indicates that Abraham was unappreciated where he lived and it was God who wanted him to be appreciated.

In what seems to be a later addition to the midrash, a reward is implied within the very language of lech lecha. It is based on gematria, the numerical equivalence of the letters and segueing along that line of thought is the text for the teaching that Abraham came to God at the tender age of three.

מדרש תנחומא (ורשא) פרשת לך לך סימן ג
(בראשית יב:א,ב)" וַיֹּאמֶר יְדֹוָד אֶל אַבְרָם, לֶךְ לְךָ, מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ. וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה "

"And the Lord said unto Abram: 'Leave from your country, and from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show thee. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing."

זה שאמר הכתוב (תהלים מה:יא,יב) "שִׁמְעִי בַת וּרְאִי וְהַטִּי אָזְנֵךְ, וְשִׁכְחִי עַמֵּךְ וּבֵית אָבִיךְ. וְיִתְאָו הַמֶּלֶךְ יָפְיֵךְ, כִּי הוּא אֲדֹנַיִךְ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִי לו"ֹ
"שִׁמְעִי בַת וּרְאִי וְהַטִּי אָזְנֵךְ" זה אברהם. "וְשִׁכְחִי עַמֵּךְ וּבֵית אָבִיךְ" זו עבודת כוכבים ומזלות.
ואומר (ירמיהו ב:כז) "אֹמְרִים לָעֵץ אָבִי אַתָּה וְלָאֶבֶן אַתְּ <ילדתני> יְלִדְתָּנוּ, כִּי פָנוּ אֵלַי עֹרֶף וְלֹא פָנִים, וּבְעֵת רָעָתָם יֹאמְרוּ קוּמָה וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ"

This is what scripture says: 'Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear; forget also your own people, and your father's house; So shall the king desire your beauty; for he is your lord; and do homage unto him"
'Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear;’ this refers to Abraham. “forget also your own people, and your father's house” refers to the worship of the stars and the zodiacs. And it says Who say to a stock: 'Thou art my father', and to a stone: 'Thou hast brought us forth', for they have turned their back unto Me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say: 'Arise, and save us.'

"וְיִתְאָו הַמֶּלֶךְ יָפְיֵךְ", זה מלך מלכי המלכים והוא חפץ לייפותו בעולם הזה ולעולם הבא.
"כִּי הוּא אֲדֹנַיִךְ וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִי לו"
אמר רבי אבין משל לצלוחית של פלייטון הנתונה בבית הקברות ולא היה אדם יודע ריחה.
מה עשה? נטלוה וטלטלוה ממקום למקום והודיעה ריחה בעולם. כך היה אברהם דר בתוך עובדי כוכבים ומזלות. אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא "לֶךְ לְךָ, מֵאַרְצְךָ" ואני אודיע טבעך בעולם.

“So shall the king desire your beauty” this is the King of Kings and he desires to beautify him in this world and the next.
“for he is your lord; and do homage unto him"
Rabbi Avin said, this is similar to a bottle of perfume that is set in the cemetery and therefore no one could know how good it smelled. So he took the plate and carried it from place to place to make known its aroma to the world. Similarly this was Abraham. He lived among the gentiles. Then God said 'Leave from your country”, and I will make known your good nature to the world.

"לֶךְ לְךָ"
מהו לך לך? ל' שלשים כ' עשרים, הרי עולה בגימטריא ק', רמז לו כשתהיה בן מאה תוליד בן כשר. הדא הוא דכתיב (בראשית כא:ה) "וְאַבְרָהָם בֶּן מְאַת שָׁנָה בְּהִוָּלֶד לוֹ אֵת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ"

What is “lech lecha”? The letter lamed equals 30 and the letter caf equals 20. That gives two times fifty, which equals 100.This is an allusion to Abraham being 100 when he has a son. This is what is written, “And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him”

ורבי לוי אומר, נסיון הראשון כנסיון האחרון. נסיון הראשון ב "לֶךְ לְךָ, מֵאַרְצְךָ" נסיון האחרון ב(בראשית כב:ב) "וְלֶךְ לְךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה."
אמר רבי חנינא, בא וראה חיבתו של אברהם לפני בוראו. שבן שלש שנים הכיר בוראו שנאמר (בראשית כו:ה) "עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע אַבְרָהָם בְּקֹלִי וַיִּשְׁמֹר מִשְׁמַרְתִּי מִצְוֹתַי חֻקּוֹתַי וְתוֹרֹתָי"
ע' שבעים, ק' מאה, ב' שנים, הרי מאה שבעים ושנים. וכל ימיו של אברהם קע"ה. הא למדת שבן ג' שנים הכיר את בוראו.

Rabbi Levi said, the first (of ten) test was like the last (of the ten) test. The first test was with

the language of “lech lecha” and the last one was also with the language of “lech lecha”

Rabbi Chanina said, come and see the closeness of Abraham before his Creator. That he was three years ald when he recognized God as the creator. As it says, “EKEV because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.'
The letter ayin of the word Ekev equals 70, the letter kuf of the word Ekev equals 100, and the letter bet of the word Ekev equals 2. That adds to 172. We know that Abraham lived to be 175. This leaves three years without devotion to God.

" אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ"
לא אמר ליה 'למקום פלוני'. זו נסיון בתוך נסיון. יש אדם שהולך ואינו יודע לאיזו מקום הוא הולך. מה עשה? נטל את כליו ואת אשתו (בראשית יב:ד) "וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו יְדֹוָד וַיֵּלֶךְ אִתּוֹ לוֹט וְאַבְרָם בֶּן חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים וְשִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה בְּצֵאתוֹ מֵחָרָן"

“To the land that I will show thee”
It did not say to a specific place, (but to where I will show you), this is a test within a test. There are people who walk not knowing where they are going. What does he do? He picked up his possessions and his wife “And Abram went, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.

" וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ"
אין כתיב ואשימך אלא " וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ". אמר לו 'אותך, אני בורא בריה חדשה' כענין שנאמר(בראשית א:ז)
וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹקִים אֶת הָרָקִיעַ וַיַּבְדֵּל בֵּין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַ וּבֵין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ וַיְהִי כֵן:
(בראשית א:טז)וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹקִים אֶת שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים אֶת הַמָּאוֹר הַגָּדֹל לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַיּוֹם וְאֶת הַמָּאוֹר הַקָּטֹן לְמֶמְשֶׁלֶת הַלַּיְלָה וְאֵת הַכּוֹכָבִים:

“And I will make you”
“And I will put you” is not written, rather, I will make you. God said, you- I will make a new creature. As it says “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.”
And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.

אמר רבי פנחס הכהן בר חמא, אימתי עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא אברהם לגוי גדול? משקבלו ישראל את התורה, שכן משה אמר להם (דברים ד:ח) "וּמִי גּוֹי גָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ חֻקִּים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים צַדִּיקִם כְּכֹל הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם"

Rabbi Pinchas HaCohen, some of Chama said, When did The Holy One, Blessed be He, make him to be a large nation? From the moment that Israel accepted the Torah. As Moshe said to them, “And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?”