Walk Through the Parsha by Rabbi David Walk

Everything
Chaye Sarah 5768
November 1, 2007
This week's Torah reading informs us that our patriarch, Avraham, was blessed with everything (Genesis 24:1). Presently, I want to discuss what that means, but in the meantime I'd like comment on the timing of that statement. Why does the Torah record Avraham's blessed status immediately after the burial of his beloved wife, Sarah? Mourning seems like a less than blessed situation. There is a famous Midrash which claims that it was important to point out that the blessings of Avraham continued after the death of Sarah, because many believed that the blessings were in her merit alone. There's another way of looking at this issue. Perhaps, we are being informed that Avraham was beginning to move on from his great loss. After he had buried and mourned Sarah, he contemplated his life and realized that he really was blessed with a full and wonderful life. That may even be the definition of recovery from a tragedy, the recognition of the inevitable positive aspects of life, and not dwell on the equally inescapable bad stuff.

Okay, now it is time to understand the nature of the blessing. First of all allow me to point out that the 'everything' blessing applied to each patriarch, but in slightly varied forms. For Avraham the term is bakol, in everything; for Yitrzchak mikol, from everything; and Ya'akov just kol, everything. Some other occasion maybe we'll explore those nuances. Now let's ask, in what way was Avraham blessed 'with everything?' I understand 'everything' in terms of bagels (ya' know: onion, garlic, poppy seeds, the works), but what is 'everything' in terms of blessings. Thank God, I'm not the first to ask this question. There are a number of answers to the enigma, and here is a sampling.

It seems that the literal or straightforward explanation is given by the Ramban (Nachmonides, 1196-1270). He proposes that it means that Avraham was complete in all the areas that we would normal expect people to want: wealth, honor, long life, health, the standard shopping list. However, he still recognized the lack of grandchildren and that prompts the next story, finding a shidduch for Yitzchak.

In the Midrashic literature (Baba Batra, 16b), there is an interesting non-literal approach. Rabbi Meir says the blessing was that he didn't have a daughter. That was probably a blessing because there were no Jewish Prince Charmings available. On the other hand, Rabbi Yehuda suggests the opposite, that there was a daughter, named Bakol (Get it? That's word in the verse for 'everything.'). Clever, but not compelling. Rabbeinu Bechaye (d. 1340) adds a mystical interpretation. He believes that Avraham acquired the characteristic of 'everything' which refers to a strong relationship with both heaven and earth. That's highly unusual to be blessed and effective in both this world and the next, because most people either seem capable in the spiritual or physical realm, but rarely in both. That's everything.

This brings me to another Midrashic interpretation, less famous than the daughter argument. In Breishit Raba (59:7) it states that God's blessing for Avraham was that he ruled over his evil inclination (yetzer hara). This usage is unusual, because generally when discussing the yetzer hara we talk about conquering or subduing, not being its sovereign. Normally we think of the yetzer hara attempting to seduce us, and we measure success in terms of thwarting its efforts against us. That is indeed what happened throughout Avraham's life. He was severely tested (ten times), and overcame all challenges. The result of this consistent triumph over temptation was a great reward from God in the form of this unique blessing.

Rabbi Shalom Noach Barzovski the Slonimer Rebbe, in his famous commentary on Torah called Netivot Shalom, explains that this blessing is the fulfillment of a famous Rabbinic take on the second verse in Shma (Deuteronomy 6:5). In Shma we say that one must love God with 'all you heart.' The problem is that the Hebrew word for heart is lev with one letter vet, but here it's written with a double vet. According to the Talmud (Berachot 54a) this unusual spelling demands that we love God with both our good and evil inclinations. In other words it's not good enough to subdue our negative tendencies, I must bend them to my will for the sake of positive goals. The example is given of someone with a predisposition for violent behavior. Rather than become a mafia hit man, he should become a shochet (ritual slaughterer) or a mohel. The penchant for shedding blood is now utilized for the performance of mitzvoth.

Avraham achieved this level of sovereignty over himself. The Talmud (Nedarim 32b) actually declares that Avraham was king over his 248 anatomical parts. Through strength of character and will, he was able to control totally his body. Every physical and psychological drive was converted and directed towards Avraham's spiritual development, even through organs not normally under our voluntary control, like his eyes and ears only saw and heard what his will wanted him to see and hear.

This brings us to the Rebbe's last point. Because of the wording of the blessing we must ultimately be talking about spiritual blessings. Only in the realm of spirit can someone have everything. In the real world I can never have everything, because there must be some chocolate or gasoline left for the other guy, too. However, in spirituality I really can have it all. My having complete mastery over prayer doesn't preclude another sharing the wealth. Spiritual powers are infinite; there is no problem on the supply side. We just need more customers.

This kind of self control and mastery is so imposing that many of us may be impressed, but conclude that it's too much for me to even try to copy. Remember, it took Avraham ten stages of development (the ten tests) to achieve this state. So, don't be discouraged to make a start in one small area of life. We may never equal Avraham, but it's worthwhile to emulate him. After all he was our Zeidie.