A thought on פרשת לך לך
"...v'hinai tanur ashan u'lapid esh..."
"...and he envisioned a smoking furnace and a flaming torch..." (15:17)
Avraham Avinu forged a covenant with HaShem which involved a set of profound spiritual acts.The Torah relates that he fell into a deep trance as HaShem spoke to him. This was the Bris bain HaBesarim - the Pact of the Splitting. Our verse contains two vivid descriptions of his spiritual encounter with the Divine. What does the Torah want us to understand in depicting a smoking furnace and a flaming torch seeming to split the deep darkness, passing between two rows of sacrifices?
The Rambam writes (Moreh HaNevuchim I:21) that these images were metaphors for his effort to apprehend a sense of the radiant Presence (Ohr HaShechina) which he experienced in this prophetic vision. There are a number of events in the Torah and TaNaCh where the prophets had a sense of fire or light in their efforts to depict their vision from above. This vision of Avraham foresaw the exiles to come and the covenantal promise of salvation. The dark night of exile would end with the light of Divine intervention and protection. Avraham was able to capture an image of a smoking furnace and then a flaming torch as if these were symbols of the intense energy and radiant power which would "split the night of exile." The images are very spiritual portraits of Avraham's heightened sense of the Sacred.
The Rosh writes that the images are not symbols of the Divine Presence, even though fire and flame can connote a spiritual sense. Rather, the smoking furnace and flaming torch have a concrete meaning: they are too hot to touch. They are painful and too hot to handle. The Rosh considers these images as representations of the suffering foretold in Avraham's prophecy.
Suffering may come about in two ways. There is the physical agony of oppression. There is also the eternal suffering of the wayward soul. The former takes place in this world r'l. The latter is a spiritual consequence in the next world r'l. The Pact of the Splitting portrayed the split, the choice, with which Avraham was presented. His descendants could face an oppressive exile which would be followed by geula. However, they could opt for a lifetime without meaning or structure which would be followed by the dismal fate of eternal void, known as gehinom. The former was a focused, flaming torch which would ultimately be extinguished. The latter was portrayed as a smoldering furnace which would await those who shirked a life of devotion and spiritual ascendancy. Avraham was able to distinguish one from the other and chose the path of exile-to-salvation for his descendants.
In our own lives, our choices and options sometimes seem murky and leave us in the dark. As the Rambam writes, we must look above and beyond for enlightenment. HaShem and the Torah are our only tools for making our way through the darkness. But our choices must be sound ones. We should not be split and uncertain in finding direction. As the Rosh writes, religious life does entail sacrifices, including painful ones. Yet, the alternative of abandoning the nurturing of the soul will eventuate in fearsome and irrevocable loss.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...and he envisioned a smoking furnace and a flaming torch..." (15:17)
Avraham Avinu forged a covenant with HaShem which involved a set of profound spiritual acts.The Torah relates that he fell into a deep trance as HaShem spoke to him. This was the Bris bain HaBesarim - the Pact of the Splitting. Our verse contains two vivid descriptions of his spiritual encounter with the Divine. What does the Torah want us to understand in depicting a smoking furnace and a flaming torch seeming to split the deep darkness, passing between two rows of sacrifices?
The Rambam writes (Moreh HaNevuchim I:21) that these images were metaphors for his effort to apprehend a sense of the radiant Presence (Ohr HaShechina) which he experienced in this prophetic vision. There are a number of events in the Torah and TaNaCh where the prophets had a sense of fire or light in their efforts to depict their vision from above. This vision of Avraham foresaw the exiles to come and the covenantal promise of salvation. The dark night of exile would end with the light of Divine intervention and protection. Avraham was able to capture an image of a smoking furnace and then a flaming torch as if these were symbols of the intense energy and radiant power which would "split the night of exile." The images are very spiritual portraits of Avraham's heightened sense of the Sacred.
The Rosh writes that the images are not symbols of the Divine Presence, even though fire and flame can connote a spiritual sense. Rather, the smoking furnace and flaming torch have a concrete meaning: they are too hot to touch. They are painful and too hot to handle. The Rosh considers these images as representations of the suffering foretold in Avraham's prophecy.
Suffering may come about in two ways. There is the physical agony of oppression. There is also the eternal suffering of the wayward soul. The former takes place in this world r'l. The latter is a spiritual consequence in the next world r'l. The Pact of the Splitting portrayed the split, the choice, with which Avraham was presented. His descendants could face an oppressive exile which would be followed by geula. However, they could opt for a lifetime without meaning or structure which would be followed by the dismal fate of eternal void, known as gehinom. The former was a focused, flaming torch which would ultimately be extinguished. The latter was portrayed as a smoldering furnace which would await those who shirked a life of devotion and spiritual ascendancy. Avraham was able to distinguish one from the other and chose the path of exile-to-salvation for his descendants.
In our own lives, our choices and options sometimes seem murky and leave us in the dark. As the Rambam writes, we must look above and beyond for enlightenment. HaShem and the Torah are our only tools for making our way through the darkness. But our choices must be sound ones. We should not be split and uncertain in finding direction. As the Rosh writes, religious life does entail sacrifices, including painful ones. Yet, the alternative of abandoning the nurturing of the soul will eventuate in fearsome and irrevocable loss.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 5:16 PM
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