A thought on Parshas Chayei Sara
"...v'HaShem berach es Avraham ba'call..."
"...and HaShem blessed Avraham with everything..." (24:1)
There are a number of Talmudic and Midrashic interpretations about the meaning of these words. Chazal probe the term "ba'call" which can be translated as "with everything" or "with all things." The evident meaning, or the Pshat level of interpretation, is that Avraham had everything, and was thus complete, being blessed with wealth and property and other possessions.
Perhaps the most well known interpretation, originating in the Talmud Bava Basra (47b) and cited by many mefarshim here, is that Avraham was blessed with a daughter who was named Ba'call.
Now I doubt that many of us have heard much about this daughter, for indeed there is not a lot of lore-on-Ba'call. She is not mentioned elsewhere in TaNaCh and this makes us wonder what the interpretation might mean, that HaShem's blessing to Avraham was that of giving him a daughter about whom we know, essentially, nothing. I do not question for a moment that among the finest blessings a father can have is that zechus of having a daughter who can, he hopes, take on some of his positive characteristics and ultimately impart them to others, carrying on his legacy through her own lifework and family. Still, we might ponder Chazal's message to us a bit further.
Rabbeinu Bachya reveals the deeper meaning of "bas haysa lo u'Ba'call sh'moh" - he had a daughter and Ba'Call was her name. Rabbeinu Bachya reminds us that HaShem's blessing to the aging Avraham was certainly not limited to material things. A patriarch does not long for possessions. He seeks spiritual wealth and purity. HaShem would bless him with spiritual attainment at this stage. This is what Chazal mean: Avraham was blessed with a "daughter." The word bas here means a vessel (compare Melachim 1, 7:20) and contained within that vessel were emanations of the Kol - the Divine Source of all things. In his old age, Avraham had achieved a level of spiritual perfection to the degree that his efforts to access Divine will had veritably brought "down to earth" the qualities and characteristics and morals and standards which are midos of HaKol Yochol - the Infinite Source of All. He had dedicated his life to becoming a symbol of ratzon HaShem and in that sense, he was blessed with that sense of having and being a "daughter" perpetuating facets associated with HaKol. Those facets were Ba'Kol - traces of the true Kol.
This is the zenith of bracha - to exist in a way which gives birth to a sense of the Sacred. And it is one thing to sense that within one's self. It is a greater thing, perhaps, when others can sense that within you, to associate a sense of the Divine within one's conduct.
Ba'Kol, Mi'Kol, Kol. Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...and HaShem blessed Avraham with everything..." (24:1)
There are a number of Talmudic and Midrashic interpretations about the meaning of these words. Chazal probe the term "ba'call" which can be translated as "with everything" or "with all things." The evident meaning, or the Pshat level of interpretation, is that Avraham had everything, and was thus complete, being blessed with wealth and property and other possessions.
Perhaps the most well known interpretation, originating in the Talmud Bava Basra (47b) and cited by many mefarshim here, is that Avraham was blessed with a daughter who was named Ba'call.
Now I doubt that many of us have heard much about this daughter, for indeed there is not a lot of lore-on-Ba'call. She is not mentioned elsewhere in TaNaCh and this makes us wonder what the interpretation might mean, that HaShem's blessing to Avraham was that of giving him a daughter about whom we know, essentially, nothing. I do not question for a moment that among the finest blessings a father can have is that zechus of having a daughter who can, he hopes, take on some of his positive characteristics and ultimately impart them to others, carrying on his legacy through her own lifework and family. Still, we might ponder Chazal's message to us a bit further.
Rabbeinu Bachya reveals the deeper meaning of "bas haysa lo u'Ba'call sh'moh" - he had a daughter and Ba'Call was her name. Rabbeinu Bachya reminds us that HaShem's blessing to the aging Avraham was certainly not limited to material things. A patriarch does not long for possessions. He seeks spiritual wealth and purity. HaShem would bless him with spiritual attainment at this stage. This is what Chazal mean: Avraham was blessed with a "daughter." The word bas here means a vessel (compare Melachim 1, 7:20) and contained within that vessel were emanations of the Kol - the Divine Source of all things. In his old age, Avraham had achieved a level of spiritual perfection to the degree that his efforts to access Divine will had veritably brought "down to earth" the qualities and characteristics and morals and standards which are midos of HaKol Yochol - the Infinite Source of All. He had dedicated his life to becoming a symbol of ratzon HaShem and in that sense, he was blessed with that sense of having and being a "daughter" perpetuating facets associated with HaKol. Those facets were Ba'Kol - traces of the true Kol.
This is the zenith of bracha - to exist in a way which gives birth to a sense of the Sacred. And it is one thing to sense that within one's self. It is a greater thing, perhaps, when others can sense that within you, to associate a sense of the Divine within one's conduct.
Ba'Kol, Mi'Kol, Kol. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 12:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home