And Hashem said to Avram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and you shall be a blessing." Rashi says, L §l K¤l means go to you, “for your benefit and for your good,” and there I will make you into a great nation, but here, you will not merit to have children.
A powerful question is asked by all, Why couldn’t Hashem give children to Avram where he was now, and not command him to wander away? Another phrase which many commentaries find difficult to explain. The words "and you shall be a blessing." There are many insights. Rashi answers a few ways: "and you shall be a blessing." The blessings are entrusted into your hand. Until now, they were in My hand; I blessed Adam and Noach. From now on, you may bless whomever you wish. Another explanation: “And I will make you into a great nation”: This is the basis of saying “the G-d of Avraham.” “And I will bless you”: This is the basis of saying “the G-d of Yitzchok.” “And I will aggrandize your name”: This is the basis of saying “the G-d of Yaakov” in the Shemone Esrah. You might think that the first Bracha should be concluded by mentioning them all. Therefore, the Torah states: “and you shall be a blessing”: with you they will conclude, and not with them. The closing of the blessing is “the shield of Avraham,” and not “the shield of Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov.”
There is still some difficulty, what is being a blessing have to do with having children? I saw in the Sefer Ohr Yitzchak (Rabbi Yitzchak Of Radvil the son of Rav Yechiel Mechel, the Zlotchiver Maggid) a strong base to understand this matter. A Tzaddik is one who spreads Emunah and Yiras Shamayim, and the ideal way is when that Tzaddik becomes a vessel and a piece of Mitzvah. He explains: Avram was in a place where there were many evil people as Nimrod and his followers. Therefore, in order for Avraham to be able to spread faith and the words of Hashem, he had to become a piece of Mitzvah. Therefore, by Avraham wandering around, and people fulfilled the Mitzvah of Hachnasas Orchim with him, Avraham’s body became a Mitzvah. Now he was a vessel of Mitzvah, and able to spread his holy words. This means L §l K¤l go to you, “for your benefit and for your good. To further your work in Kiruv.
This can be the reason why Hashem didn’t reveal to Avraham where to go to the land that I will show you. This is because he had to go from place to place not knowing where he is going so that he has to seek hospitality and become a vessel of Mitzvah. With this heilige insight, we can go further: Hashem wanted Avraham to be a piece of Mitzvah in order that he be blessed with children! That is the connection of being a blessing and having children. With this is good that the wandering away, was a benefit for Avraham himself to have children, and by being a piece of Mitzvah, he would be heilig that his blessings would work.
With this insight we can now connect the Akeidas Yitzchok. Hashem commanded Avraham "Please take your son, your only one, whom you love, and go away to the land of Moriah and bring him up there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains." The Meforshim stress the word "bring him up." This implies that Hashem only wanted to have Yitzchok brought on the Alter, and it doesn’t say to “slaughter him”! We can conclude a powerful insight based on what we said by Avraham, that the same can be said by Yitzchok. Hashem wanted that Yitzchok should follow in the ways of Avraham and spread the words of Hashem. Another reason is that Hashem wanted that Yitzchok should also merit to have children.
How can Yitzchok merit these two acts? Therefore, Hashem wanted that Yitzchok become a piece of Mitzvah. Hashem commanded Avraham to place his beloved son on the Alter. By doing this, Yitzchok would be elevated and become a piece of Mitzvah. Then Avraham would take him off the Alter and replace with a lamb. Now Yitzchok would be able to spread the word of Hashem, and his blessings would work to help people come close to Hashem. Yet the main benefit was that Yitzchok should merit to have children. This connects Avraham and Akeidas Yitzchok.
(Yehuda Z. Klitnick)
