LECH LECHA I | לך לך א

Adapted from sichos delivered on Chof-Daled Iyar, 5711 (1951), and Yud Shvat, 5712 (1952)

Introduction

It would be presumptuous for us to measure ourselves against our Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. They are the exemplars whose conduct shaped our spiritual heritage. Avraham kept the entire Torah centuries before it was given, and every Jew since has walked the path he and the other Patriarchs paved.

At the same time, our Sages teach a challenging concept, one that reorients this basic assumption: Our observance of the mitzvos surpasses theirs. A Jew who puts on tefillin today achieves something the Patriarchs, for all their greatness, could not.

Why? Because the Giving of the Torah transformed the nature of our relationship with G-d. Beforehand, people had to reach toward G-d on their own initiative and with their own spiritual capacities. Afterwards, G-d’s command empowered the Jewish people to connect with Him in a way otherwise beyond their reach.

And yet, we look back to the Patriarchs, for it was they who made our fulfillment of the mitzvos possible. Indeed, even the advantage we possess in our observance is dependent on their actions.

This is the message of the following sichah: The bridge between their service and ours rests on a single mitzvah – one that Avraham did not fulfill until he was commanded.

Why Avraham Waited

A Bridge to Sinai

1. Our Sages state that Avraham fulfilled all the commandments of the Torah before it was given. However, the Torah teaches that Avraham did not circumcise himself until G-d explicitly commanded him to do so at the age of 99. Why was the mitzvah of circumcision an exception? Why did he wait to fulfill it until he received G-d’s command?

To resolve this question, we must first understand the difference between the mitzvos the Patriarchs observed before the Giving of the Torah and the mitzvos the Jewish people have observed since then. The Patriarchs observed mitzvos on their own initiative and according to their own spiritual capacity. They lacked the unique empowerment from Above that G-d’s command granted the Jewish people at the Giving of the Torah.

Consequently, although the Patriarchs also observed the mitzvos through actual deeds involving material objects, they were not able to have the holiness of the mitzvos permeate the physicality of these objects and make them holy.

For example, the Zohar explains that by setting out the staves before Lavan’s sheep, Yaakov drew down the same spiritual influence as we draw down by fulfilling the mitzvah of tefillin. Nevertheless, once he had completed his service with these staves, they remained ordinary pieces of wood without any vestige of holiness.

By contrast, after the Giving of the Torah, G-d’s command endows the mitzvos the Jews have since observed with the power to draw down holiness even into the material objects with which the mitzvos are being fulfilled; the objects themselves become holy.

At the same time, although our mitzvos are on a loftier level than those that were fulfilled by the Patriarchs, it is specifically the observance of the mitzvos by our Patriarchs which empowers us and makes it possible for us to fulfill mitzvos within the material realm, as it is said, “The deeds of the Patriarchs are a sign for their descendants.” Their deeds blazed a path for their descendants and enabled them to follow.

Since the potential for our observance of the mitzvos comes from “the deeds of the Patriarchs” and the mitzvos they fulfilled, it was necessary that at least one of their mitzvos entirely resemble our mitzvos, those that we fulfill after the Giving of the Torah. This mitzvah and its holiness would permeate the physical object’s existence and endow it with holiness. It would become holy and that holiness would endure even after the observance of the mitzvah was completed.

This one mitzvah would establish a connection between all the other mitzvos the Patriarchs observed and our mitzvos. Although their observance was almost entirely spiritual in nature, this mitzvah linked their mitzvos with the mitzvos observed after the Giving of the Torah, empowering holiness to be drawn down into the material world.

To cite a parallel to the concept that there had to be at least one mitzvah through which the Patriarchs drew down holiness into material entities: When G-d commanded a prophet to convey a specific prophecy, He would often have the prophet perform certain physical activities in connection with that prophecy, e.g., lying on his left side, or his right side, or the like.

Why was it necessary to connect the prophecy with a physical activity? Our Rabbis explain that a prophecy may be subject to change and may not come to fruition, remaining only in the spiritual realm. To ensure that it would be fulfilled in the physical world as well, G-d had the prophet connect at least part of the prophecy with a physical act.

Similarly, for the observance of our Patriarchs to influence our actual fulfillment of the mitzvos, it was necessary that, at least in one instance, their observance affect material substance.

“An Eternal Bond in Your Flesh”

2. The one mitzvah through which our Patriarchs drew down holiness into material existence was that of circumcision. Circumcision is unique in that it brings holiness into a material entity, altering the human body and modifying its nature. That holiness continues to endure, as it is written, “And My covenant will be an eternal bond in your flesh.”

The emphasis on the enduring nature of the mitzvah of circumcision is expressed in the two dimensions of this mitzvah: a) the one-time act of removing the foreskin; and b) a twofold, continuous effect – i) that the person will be circumcised, and ii), that he will not be uncircumcised.

The latter aspect is reflected in Rambam’s ruling that a man who “extends the flesh of his foreskin” to make himself appear uncircumcised is considered to have “abrogated the covenant of Avraham our Patriarch.” This demonstrates that the mitzvah is not merely the one-time act of circumcision; it also brings about an ongoing change – that a man be circumcised, i.e., that his foreskin be removed and, thus, that he not be uncircumcised. Therefore, one who “extends the flesh of his foreskin,” performing an act to nullify the effect of the circumcision, abrogates the covenant of Avraham our Patriarch.

The above reflects two concepts:

a) The intent of the mitzvah of circumcision is to affect the actual physical flesh of the male organ. The physical organ is more than an intermediary through which the mitzvah is fulfilled, as is the case regarding other mitzvos. To cite an example: The mitzvah of tefillin involves binding the tefillin on one’s arm and head. However, the mitzvah is not intended to bring about a change in these limbs. It is only that through these limbs the mitzvah is observed; the actual physical hand and head themselves are not altered. Regarding circumcision, it is not merely that the mitzvah is performed with this organ; the purpose of the mitzvah is to affect the actual flesh, so that the person be circumcised, and that he not be uncircumcised.

b) The mitzvah of circumcision extends beyond the time in which the foreskin is cut; it continues throughout the person’s entire life.

A proof of the continuous nature of the mitzvah of circumcision can be gleaned from the Talmud’s narrative concerning King David. When King David entered the bathhouse and saw himself naked, he exclaimed, “Woe is me! I stand naked, [no longer clothed] with mitzvos.” When, however, he remembered the mitzvah of circumcision, he regained his calm.

This indicates that the mitzvah of circumcision is continuous. The person’s fulfillment of the mitzvah is ongoing, enduring even after the act of circumcision. This realization is what allayed David’s distress. We cannot say that David was calmed by the recollection that he had been circumcised years ago, and the act, at that time, had drawn down holiness upon him. If this were the case, there would be no difference between the mitzvah of circumcision and mitzvos associated with other limbs of the body. What distinguishes the mitzvah of circumcision – and what soothed King David – is its ongoing effect.

True, after the Giving of the Torah, the other mitzvos we fulfill also affect the limbs with which they are fulfilled. For example, when a Jew puts on tefillin, this refines his head and arm and endows them with holiness. And this refinement and holiness continue even after he removes the tefillin, as mentioned previously. Unquestionably, an arm on which tefillin have been placed is not the same as an arm on which tefillin have not been placed, Heaven forbid. The distinction is that the refinement brought about by the mitzvah of tefillin – and similarly, by all the other mitzvos – and the holiness drawn down are everlasting. However, the mitzvah of tefillin itself does not remain on the hand and change its physical substance forever. Regarding circumcision, by contrast, the mitzvah itself continuously remains as part of the person’s body.

On this basis, we can also resolve a question concerning the Talmud’s ruling that women are not required to circumcise their sons, which it derives from the exegesis of a Torah verse. Tosafos asks: Why is the verse necessary? Women are not obligated to fulfill any time-bound positive mitzvos. Since the mitzvah of circumcision has such a limitation – it may be performed only during the day and not at night – it should be obvious that women are not obligated in its observance.

The distinction drawn above provides the answer: Although the actual deed of the mitzvah of circumcision is limited to a particular time, the continuous aspect of the mitzvah – that a Jew is circumcised (and that he is not uncircumcised) – is not limited to a specific time and applies at all times, both by day and at night.

Divine Command, Human Initiative

3. The abovementioned distinctive qualities of the mitzvah of circumcision – that it endows physical flesh with holiness and endures continuously – applied even before the Giving of the Torah. Therefore, when Avraham wanted his servant Eliezer to take an oath – and an oath must be taken while holding an article sanctified through a mitzvah – he told him, “Place your hand beneath my thigh.” The holiness of the mitzvah of circumcision had continued forever and, therefore, Eliezer could take an oath with his hand on this mitzvah.

We can thus understand why Avraham waited to perform the mitzvah of circumcision. All the other mitzvos he had observed on his own initiative, but he did not circumcise himself until G-d commanded him. Since this mitzvah resembles the mitzvos observed after the Giving of the Torah – like them, it draws down holiness into physical existence – it was necessary that it be commanded by G-d, and thus be endowed with Divine empowerment. This enabled it to serve as a bridge to the mitzvos to be fulfilled after the Giving of the Torah.