LECH LECHA II | ךל ךל ב
Adapted from a sichah delivered on 6 Marcheshvan, 5718 [1957]
Introduction
In the sichah that follows, the Rebbe compares Avraham’s two sons, Yishmael and Yitzchak. From the contrast between them, he derives lessons fundamental to parenting, explaining that the greatest nachas, satisfaction, parents derive from their children is seeing them continue their legacy – that their children conduct themselves in a manner that reflects their own principles and values. They want Yiddishe nachas: for their children to grow up with Judaism ingrained in their personalities and that it guide them, particularly at the turning points of their lives.
The Rebbe outlines the basis for the educational approach that will lead a child to such a path. From the time a Jewish child is born, he should be trained to appreciate the miraculous heritage of our people, how our bond with G-d is unlimited by nature and characterized by a commitment that transcends logic.1
A child must be raised with a commitment to Judaism that is not bound by his mind or logic. Developing that thrust:
One should never think that a child’s education should begin with a watered-down approach to Judaism and that later, as the child grows older, he will be given more….
From his earliest years, a child should be taught and given the understanding that the Jewish people as a whole – and every Jew as an individual – depends neither on nature nor its calculations and boundaries.
The Rebbe promises that “a child raised in this spirit will bring his parents and his people true nachas, both spiritually and materially.”
The Foundation of the Jewish People
Living Each Week with the Parshah as Our Guide
1. My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe Rayatz, often reminded us that each and every Jew is inherently connected to the Torah. As such, since the Torah is divided into weekly portions, each week’s parshah provides us with the guidance needed to relate to the events of that particular week.
A Father’s Highest Hope
2. Among the central events of this week’s parshah are the stories of the births of Avraham’s sons, Yishmael and Yitzchak.
Their births carry a universal message, because every parent hopes and prays that their children will continue their legacy. Thus, we can learn an importantlesson from the stories this week’s Torah reading relates about the two children G-d gave Avraham, first Yishmael and then Yitzchak.
Thirteen years after Yishmael’s birth, G-d promised Avraham that Yitzchak would be born. In response to G-d’s promise that he would father another child, Avraham replied,1 “May it be that [at least] Yishmael live in Your presence.” It’s clear that Avraham would have been satisfied even if Yitzchak were not to have been born as long as Yishmael would “live in G-d’s presence,” in other words, that his oldest son would live a virtuous life and follow in G-d’s paths.2
G-d agreed to Avraham’s request, promising,3 “I will heed you regarding Yishmael.” Nevertheless, although He assured Avraham that Yishmael would bring him nachas, a parent’s satisfaction, G-d informed Avraham that he should not be content with that alone. Instead, He promised Avraham that he would father Yitzchak and told him, “Your progeny will be called after Yitzchak,”4 letting him know that it would be Yitzchak – and not Yishmael – who would ultimately provide him with true nachas.
Dare to Envision an Even Higher Good
3. G-d revealed these prophecies to Avraham when he was 99 years old. By then, he’d already served G-d for decades and had undergone numerous trials of faith. Certainly, after living a G-dly life for so many years, he had gained a genuine understanding of what deriving satisfaction from children really means. When he asked of G-d, “May it be that Yishmael live in Your presence,” his intention was that Yishmael would follow the way of life that Avraham would teach him. In this way, Avraham would derive genuine satisfaction from him in a manner that he would appreciate. Nevertheless, G-d told Avraham that he needed to set his sights higher and understand that it would be Yitzchak – and not Yishmael – from whom he would derive true satisfaction, true nachas.
Yishmael grew up with positive moral values. Aside from Avraham’s influence, his mother, Hagar, was a G-d-fearing woman, as the Midrash points out.5 Indeed, her conduct was so virtuous that she was later given the name Keturah, connecting her to one of the services in the Beis HaMikdash, the ketores (incense) offering.6 She demonstrated mesiras nefesh, genuine self-sacrifice, to follow Avraham’s path of life. As our Sages relate,7 Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, the ruler of one of the most powerful civilizations of that era. Nevertheless, she left the royal palace to become Sarah’s maid-servant so that she could be part of Avraham’s household. Obviously, she raised her son Yishmael to follow in this path.
On this basis, we can understand why Avraham was willing to content himself with Yishmael, hoping that he would be the source of ample and complete satisfaction. This, however, makes it even more puzzling that G-d clearly told him not to be satisfied with Yishmael, but instead that “your progeny will be called after Yitzchak.”
Making Up One’s Mind and Going Beyond One’s Mind
4. The difference between Yishmael and Yitzchak can be explained as follows: Yishmael was born in a natural manner, not through a miracle. Yitzchak, on the other hand, was born through a miracle. According to the laws of nature, it was impossible for Avraham and Sarah to have a child at their extremely advanced ages. Nobody could believe that such a thing could happen. Even Avraham himself did not believe that he was worthy of being shown such a miracle by G-d.
Another contrast reflecting the fundamental difference between Yishmael and Yitzchak concerns their circumcisions, the only mitzvah through which a bond could be established with G-d before the Giving of the Torah. Yishmael was circumcised at the age of thirteen. At thirteen, a child gains intellectual maturity. For that reason, he becomes obligated in the observance of the mitzvos,8 since by that age we can reasonably assume that he is capable of handling himself responsibly. Yishmael’s willingness to undergo circumcision at this age demonstrates that he made a concious decision to connect to G-d.
By contrast, Yitzchak underwent circumcision when he was but eight days old. At that age, a baby cannot be asked for his consent. Nevertheless, Yitzchak was brought into a powerful bond with G-d while still a tiny infant. Such a connection can never be severed or erased. It is, in the words of the Torah,9 “an eternal covenant.”
Nature and Transcendence
5. The two differences between Yitzchak and Yishmael mentioned above: a) that Yitzchak’s birth was supernatural and miraculous, while Yishmael’s birth was natural, and b) that Yitzchak’s connection with G-d transcended intellect, while Yishmael’s connection was based on his mind, enables us to understand why the true nachas (satisfaction) that Avraham would derive would be specifically from Yitzchak.
When a child is born, he grows up under the watchful eyes of his parents, who do their best to protect him from even the slightest draft. He is educated, trained from his earliest years to develop a proper understanding and outlook that will lead him to connect with G-d.
This was the path of Yishmael. Raised in Avraham’s household, thanks to the upbringing he received, Yishmael developed the proper understanding that he must connect with G-d and therefore made the decision to undergo circumcision.
However, being raised in such a way does not guarantee that a person’s bond and connection with G-d will endure. When a child’s entire connection with Judaism stems only from the mind, from his understanding, there is no way to know what will happen when he is confronted with disruptions in his life.10 In addition, even before such a person is confronted with challenges, it is impossible to know how deep his commitment to Judaism is and what it will be in the future. Will he devote himself fully and completely, or will his commitment be measured, extending only as far as it coexists with his understanding?
For this reason, even in the instance of Yishmael, when the question of Avraham’s inheritance arose,11 Yishmael acted in a manner completely inconsistent with his upbringing, to the degree that he could no longer remain in Avraham’s household. That’s when G-d told Avraham to banish Yishmael because “your progeny will be called after Yitzchak.”12
With this statement, G-d was underscoring the fact that when it comes to establishing the bedrock on which is based the future of the Jewish people, one cannot adopt an approach that is bound by the limits of nature, for the entire existence of the Jewish people transcends nature. From the time a Jew is born, his life begins with and continues to reflect miracles, without restriction by nature’s limitations.
G-d was telling Avraham: True Jewish nachas can only come from a child whose very birth and entire life from that moment on follows a G-dly pattern. As soon as he is eight days old, i.e., at the very first opportunity, he is brought into a bond with G-d, becoming part of “an eternal covenant.” The child has no understanding of this and he cannot be asked if he approves. It is precisely this approach that serves as the basis of a Jew’s covenant with G-d.
For such a child, commitment to Judaism will not be merely intellectual. Instead his bond with G-d wil be based on self-sacrifice. Such a child will provide his parents with true Jewish nachas.
A Lesson for All Time
6. The Torah is not a history book, Heaven forbid. The Torah is eternal. This is obvious from the fact that every year, we begin reading the Torah anew from Bereishis. This reminds us that the Torah’s teachings are lessons applicable at all times and in all places, instructing a Jew as to how to conduct himself at home, in his business, and in his community.
This also applies to the stories found in this Torah reading. They give us the guidance we need to live our lives in every respect and, in particular, in our approach to Jewish education which is of such crucial importance.
What Each Child Needs to Know
7. There are some who think that the process of a child’s education and upbringing should be undertaken slowly. They argue that one should wait until the child is old enough to understand on his own the best way to conduct himself. Since we are talking about a descendant of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, there is reason to hope that he will attain a proper appreciation of Judaism on his own.
This week’s Torah reading, however, provides a clear lesson that powerfully refutes this approach. If someone is guided by human intellect alone, no matter how hard he tries, he is bound to fall short. Intellect is not the way to connect to G-d. A true connection to Him is only possible through self-sacrifice.
Undiluted Holiness
8. Following the reasoning above, one should never think that a child’s education should begin with a watered-down approach to Judaism and that later, as the child grows older, he will be given more.
That would make sense if we were speaking about something dependent only on logic and intellectual thought. However, Jews stand above nature and any and all calculations and conclusions based on it. Our Torah reading teaches us that the basis of a Jew’s education needs to be established right from the start. When a child is only eight days old, he is ready to be given the strongest measure of Judaism. Already then he is connected to G-d with an eternal bond, a connection that will last not just for a year, nor for 10 or 20 years, but for all time.
A People That Stands above Nature
9. What does giving a child the strongest measure of Judaism mean on a personal level? From his earliest years, a child should be taught and given to understand that the Jewish people as a whole – and every Jew as an individual – depends neither on nature nor its calculations and limitations. A young person should be told that he has to abandon such calculations, as he descends from a people whose very beginnings were not natural. He is part of the world’s oldest nation, with the world’s oldest book of law, a people that has undergone so many challenges and difficulties that their entire existence is miraculous. And since he is above any such calculations from the physical or natural world, he need not pay them heed and allow them to restrict his understanding or blind him to G-d’s presence in the world.
When a child is led down such a path from his very first days – when he understands that a Jew is above nature’s calculations and restrictions but is instead connected with G-d with an eternal bond – then G-d promises, “Your progeny will be called after Yitzchak.” A child raised in this spirit will bring his parents and his people true nachas, both spiritually and materially.
