Introduction:
The inspiration for this
letter comes from the
following Divine message
which the Prophet Isaiah
proclaimed to our people:
“Listen to me, pursuers of
righteousness; seekers of
Hashem: Look to the rock
from which you were hewn, to
the quarry from which you
were dug. Look to Avraham,
your father, and to Sarah,
who bore you” (Isaiah
51:1,2)
“Look to Avraham, your
father, and to Sarah who
bore you” – “Look at them,
and go in their ways”
(commentary of Radak).
In this letter, we will
discuss sources which reveal
that Avraham and Sarah
engaged in spiritual
outreach. These sources can
therefore inspire us to go
in their ways and engage in
the spiritual outreach which
is crucial to our future in
Zion.
Dear Friends,
Avraham and Sarah lived in a
pagan era where most people
viewed the world as an arena
of competing gods and their
competing followers. This is
because most people had lost
the awareness that Hashem,
the Compassionate One, is
the Unifying Source of all
creation. Avraham and Sarah
therefore began to engage in
spiritual outreach in order
to help people regain the
unifying awareness of Hashem.
In addition, they made
people aware that they were
created in the Divine image
with the ability to emulate
the compassionate and loving
attributes of Hashem.
Through their spiritual
outreach, Avraham and Sarah
were able to “convert” many
people to their monotheistic
faith.
An allusion to their
spiritual outreach is found
in a verse which describes
the journey of Avraham and
Sarah to the Promised Land.
The verse mentions that
Avraham and Sarah were
accompanied by “the souls
they made in Haran” (Genesis
12:5). The commentator,
Rashi, writes:
“They are said to have
‘made’ the souls, for they
brought them under the wings
of the Shechinah – the
Divine Presence. Avraham
would convert the men, and
Sarah would convert the
women.” (based on Midrash
Genesis Rabbah 39:14, 84:4)
Regarding Avraham’s outreach
in the Promised Land, the
Torah states:
“He planted an eshel
in Beer-Sheba, and there he
proclaimed the Name of
Hashem, God of the
universe.” (Genesis 21:33)
What is the eshel
that Avraham planted? Rashi
cites the following
explanations of two sages,
Rav and Shmuel:
“One says that it means an
orchard from which to bring
fruits for guests at the
meal. And one says it means
an inn for lodging, and in
it were all sorts of food.”
According to the second
explanation, Avraham
“planted” a hospitality tent
for travelers. Rashi
explains that the Hebrew
term for planting is also
used within biblical
literature in reference to
tents, and he cites the
following example: “And he
will plant the tents of his
palace” (Daniel 11:45).
According to both
explanations, the eshel
was a place of loving
hospitality where “he
proclaimed the Name of
Hashem, God of the
Universe.” Avraham
proclaimed the Name of
Hashem not only through his
teachings, but also through
emulating the compassionate
and loving attributes that
are associated with the
Divine Name. As the
following Midrash teaches,
he also brought guests into
his home where they
experienced his loving
hospitality:
“Avraham, our father, would
bring them into his home,
give them food and drink,
draw them close, and bring
them under the wings of the
Shechinah.” (Genesis Rabbah
84:4)
Sarah, who engaged in
outreach to women, had a
similar approach; thus, the
Midrash states:
“All the days that Sarah
was alive, the doors were
open wide.”(Genesis Rabbah:
60:16)
The phrase, “The doors were
open wide,” can be
understood as a metaphor for
her loving hospitality that
attracted many spiritual
seekers. The Midrash adds:
“A blessing was bestowed
upon her dough.” According
to Tiferes Tzion, a
commentary on the Midrash,
the “blessing upon her
dough” means that she was
able to feed all the guests;
there was always enough for
everyone.
The above teachings reveal
the loving nature of the
outreach of Avraham and
Sarah. In addition, these
teachings reveal that they
not only taught people about
the compassionate and loving
attributes of Hashem through
their words, but also
through the spiritual power
of their own example.
The following teaching from
the Talmud reveals that when
we cause people to come
close to Hashem through the
spiritual power of our own
example, we are also
fulfilling the mitzvah to
love Hashem:
………………………………
Abaya states: It is written:
“You shall love Hashem, your
God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with
all your resources”
(Deuteronomy 6:5).
One of the ways to express
your love for Hashem is to
cause the Name of Hashem to
become beloved through you.
The following can serve as
examples: You should study
the Written and Oral Torah,
serve the sages (in order to
learn from their ways), deal
honestly in business, and
speak pleasantly to people.
(Yuma 86a)
The Talmud then adds the
following insight: If one
who studies Torah causes
people to love Hashem
through becoming a noble
example of the Divine
Teaching, people will praise
those who taught this person
Torah, and they will also
say:
“Woe to those who do not
study Torah! The one who
studies Torah – how pleasant
is his behavior, how proper
are his deeds! To this
person, the following Divine
statement applies: ‘He said
to me: You are My servant,
Israel, in whom I will be
glorified’ (Isaiah 49:3).”
………………………………………
Through their loving
outreach and behavior,
Avraham and Sarah caused the
Name of Hashem to be beloved
by people. As the above
teaching from the Talmud
indicates, this was one of
the ways in which Avraham
and Sarah expressed their
love of Hashem.
We, the children of Avraham
and Sarah, are to serve as a
collective example of the
Divine Teaching in the Land
of Zion and thereby cause
the Name of Hashem to be
beloved by the nations. We
will then merit the
fulfillment of the following
prophecy regarding our
universal role in Zion at
the dawn of the messianic
age:
“Nations will go by your
light; and sovereigns by the
glow of your dawn.” (Isaiah
60:1-3)
Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
(See below)
Related Insights:
1. Avraham and Sarah taught
their disciples spiritual
concepts and precepts which
are found in the Torah – the
Divine Teaching – that was
later revealed on Mount
Sinai. Avraham and Sarah
thereby became the spiritual
parents of their disciples
through teaching them
aspects of Torah; thus, the
Talmud teaches (Sanhedrin
99b):
“Whoever teaches his
friend’s child Torah, it’s
as if he made him, as it is
written (concerning the
disciples of Abraham and
Sarah): ‘the souls they made
in Haran’ (Genesis 12:5).”
2. There is a custom at the
Friday night Shabbos table
to sing the ancient hymn
known as “Eshes Chayil” – A
Woman of Valor – which is
found in the concluding
chapter of the Book of
Proverbs. There is a
tradition that it was
composed by Avraham as an
eulogy to Sarah, and it
later became part of the
Book of Proverbs (Midrash
Tanchuma on Genesis 24:1).
Within this eulogy to Sarah,
we find the following words
which may be referring to
her spiritual outreach:
“She opened her mouth with
wisdom, and the Torah of
loving-kindness was upon her
tongue.” ((Proverbs 31:26)
3. Hashem proclaimed: “Look
to Avraham, your father, and
to Sarah, who bore you”
(Isaiah 51:2). Based on the
Hebrew grammar, Rashi gives
this alternative
translation:
“Look to Avraham, your
father, and to Sarah, who
will give birth to you.”
“Sarah, who will give birth
to you” – According to this
translation, the reference
to Sarah is alluding to the
spiritual rebirth of our
people. In this spirit, King
David refers to our people
in the messianic age as the
“newborn people” (Psalm
22:32).