A thought on פרשדת וירא
"...va'yikra Avraham shem ha'makom HaShem yireh..."
"and Avraham called that place 'HaShem will see'..." (22:14)
After Akeidas Yitzchak, Avraham gave a name to the mountain where he had built an altar to HaShem. He named that place "HaShem Will See." That title seems mysterious and secretive. It seems to allude to a future event and to HaShem's omniscience; the name seems almost incomplete. Imagine if a place was named "It Is Where You Can..." or a book was entitled "When The." We would ponder the absence of closure and wonder about the deeper meaning or the reason for the obscurity. Just what will HaShem see? What would He see that has not already been foreseen by Him? Let us look for an interpretation of a spot on a mountain named "HaShem Will See."
The Rambam (Hilchos Bais HaBechira 2:1; Moreh HaNevuchim 3:45) writes that Avraham foresaw that this spot was already designated as the center of sanctity on earth. It is a tradition of ours, he writes, that Adam was formed there and made a sacrifice there, Kayin and Hevel brought forth their offerings there, Noach consecrated his shrine there upon disembarking from the ark.
Avraham instructed his descendants that this was to be the central location for serving HaShem. Moshe Rabbeinu knew, as did many others then and in times to come, that the spot where the akeida took place was and would be the place where our nation would focus its efforts to commune with the Divine Will.
However, throughout the Torah, it is spoken about only by reference, by allusion. There are many verses in Devarim where the Torah says, "the place which HaShem will choose" in referring to the Bais HaMikdash. This seems as mysterious as the name given it by Avraham, "HaShem Will See." What lurks beneath these enigmatic expressions?
The Rambam concludes that the history and destiny of this mountain were known only through the mesora, the tradition passed down from our earliest patriarchal ancestors. Its exact location could be identified only by a prophet who contained the sacred tradition. It was only Dovid HaMelech who would reveal the precise location which had been chosen and predesignated by select great figures from Adam through Avraham.
Avraham knew this, prophetically, and could only name the place "HaShem Will See", for HaShem alone would see to it that when the nation was deserving and the time was right, the makom ha'mikdash would become known again. Dovid was the chosen one and while he did not build the Temple, he alone was given the vision to reveal its sacred spot.
* * * * *
The Rosh offers a different yet compatible interpretation on the name "HaShem Will See" which in the Sacred Tongue of the Torah is "HaShem Yireh." Other names were also used in referring to that area. Earlier (14:18) it is called Shalem. Here it is called Yireh. Dovid HaMelech held the tradition and knew the history. He understood that the Torah had used both references to that sacred spot, one preceding the Akeida and one following it. Both names were significant for they captured the continuity of that mountaintop's enduring role as the core region for worship, as the primary place where great individuals had sought out a Divine encounter, and the place prepared for the multitudes to sense the Sacred.
Blending the names into Yirehshalem and to our familiar Yerushalayim captured the continuity, the history and the sanctity of our Jerusalem. Dovid alone was chosen to reveal the precise location and he had the merit of affixing it with the name which still endures. When Avraham referred to it as "HaShem Will See", the tentativeness of that name alludes to the temporary nature of that title. Although Dovid would not build the Temple there, he would declare its eternal name, Jerusalem.
These two great rishonim approach this secretive verse with shared curiosity, and offer two windows into the deep mystery of its words. Both help us sense why our yearning for times to come is depicted as, "Return in mercy to Your city Jerusalem...and speedily establish in it the throne of Dovid."
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"and Avraham called that place 'HaShem will see'..." (22:14)
After Akeidas Yitzchak, Avraham gave a name to the mountain where he had built an altar to HaShem. He named that place "HaShem Will See." That title seems mysterious and secretive. It seems to allude to a future event and to HaShem's omniscience; the name seems almost incomplete. Imagine if a place was named "It Is Where You Can..." or a book was entitled "When The." We would ponder the absence of closure and wonder about the deeper meaning or the reason for the obscurity. Just what will HaShem see? What would He see that has not already been foreseen by Him? Let us look for an interpretation of a spot on a mountain named "HaShem Will See."
The Rambam (Hilchos Bais HaBechira 2:1; Moreh HaNevuchim 3:45) writes that Avraham foresaw that this spot was already designated as the center of sanctity on earth. It is a tradition of ours, he writes, that Adam was formed there and made a sacrifice there, Kayin and Hevel brought forth their offerings there, Noach consecrated his shrine there upon disembarking from the ark.
Avraham instructed his descendants that this was to be the central location for serving HaShem. Moshe Rabbeinu knew, as did many others then and in times to come, that the spot where the akeida took place was and would be the place where our nation would focus its efforts to commune with the Divine Will.
However, throughout the Torah, it is spoken about only by reference, by allusion. There are many verses in Devarim where the Torah says, "the place which HaShem will choose" in referring to the Bais HaMikdash. This seems as mysterious as the name given it by Avraham, "HaShem Will See." What lurks beneath these enigmatic expressions?
The Rambam concludes that the history and destiny of this mountain were known only through the mesora, the tradition passed down from our earliest patriarchal ancestors. Its exact location could be identified only by a prophet who contained the sacred tradition. It was only Dovid HaMelech who would reveal the precise location which had been chosen and predesignated by select great figures from Adam through Avraham.
Avraham knew this, prophetically, and could only name the place "HaShem Will See", for HaShem alone would see to it that when the nation was deserving and the time was right, the makom ha'mikdash would become known again. Dovid was the chosen one and while he did not build the Temple, he alone was given the vision to reveal its sacred spot.
* * * * *
The Rosh offers a different yet compatible interpretation on the name "HaShem Will See" which in the Sacred Tongue of the Torah is "HaShem Yireh." Other names were also used in referring to that area. Earlier (14:18) it is called Shalem. Here it is called Yireh. Dovid HaMelech held the tradition and knew the history. He understood that the Torah had used both references to that sacred spot, one preceding the Akeida and one following it. Both names were significant for they captured the continuity of that mountaintop's enduring role as the core region for worship, as the primary place where great individuals had sought out a Divine encounter, and the place prepared for the multitudes to sense the Sacred.
Blending the names into Yirehshalem and to our familiar Yerushalayim captured the continuity, the history and the sanctity of our Jerusalem. Dovid alone was chosen to reveal the precise location and he had the merit of affixing it with the name which still endures. When Avraham referred to it as "HaShem Will See", the tentativeness of that name alludes to the temporary nature of that title. Although Dovid would not build the Temple there, he would declare its eternal name, Jerusalem.
These two great rishonim approach this secretive verse with shared curiosity, and offer two windows into the deep mystery of its words. Both help us sense why our yearning for times to come is depicted as, "Return in mercy to Your city Jerusalem...and speedily establish in it the throne of Dovid."
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 10:53 PM
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