ABRAHAM’S PURSUIT OF LOVING-KINDNESS
In parashat Lech Lecha the Torah relates numerous instances in which Abraham moves around and travels in addition to his first command by God to lech lecha. In our parashah, Abraham is usually referred to as Abram, since God only changed his name to Abraham at the end of the parashah, when he entered the covenant with God through circumcision. Let us quote a few of these instances and explain the significance of the first in light of our earlier discussion:
“Abram journeyed, going and traveling towards the south.” In this seminal verse, the Torah uses three verbs to describe Abraham’s constant movement—always seeking to make progress and grow spiritually. It is explained in Chasidut that the “south” is associated with the trait of loving-kindness, the sefirah of chesed. Abraham is the archetypal soul of loving-kindness, therefore this verse attests that he was always travelling further to the south, seeking to enhance his already essential character trait of loving-kindness more and more. The Hebrew word for “south” (negbah) the Torah uses in this verse also means heights and elevation. Abraham was constantly reaching higher and deeper in his desire to be close to God.
Other verses include,
- “And Abram passed through the land, until the place of Shechem, until the plain of Moreh.”
- “And I will make your seed like the dust of the earth, so that if a man will be able to count the dust of the earth, so will your seed be counted. Rise, walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth, for I will give it to you.”
- “And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and God appeared to Abram, and He said to him, ‘I am the Almighty God; walk before Me and be whole.’”
As mentioned above, Abraham’s every act had a profound effect on the entire Jewish people throughout all the generations. Abraham paved the way for every Jew to constantly seek new horizons never content to accept rote and routine as a given, as a reality written in stone.
