פרשת לך לך
In this week’s parsha when Hashem commands Avraham Anivu with the Mitzvah of Bris Milah, Hashem notifies Avraham prior to this commandment that his name will no longer be Avram, rather Avraham. Moreover, Hashem advised Avraham of this seemingly trivial name change many years earlier when he left Ur Kasdim as Rashi mentions there, “ואגדלה שמך ” – there will be a “ה ” added to your name.
It is brought down in the Gemorah in Berachos י”ג that so serious is this name change, that anyone who calls Avraham by his old name, transgresses a negative commandment in the Torah! Moreover, Avraham was indeed able to have children after this name change as the Gemorah says, “Avram can’t have children, but Avraham can have. Similarly, we mention every day in Psukey D’zimra this alteration והצאתו מאור כשדים ושמת שמו אברהם! By virtue of the fact that this chapter in Nechemya is referring to the global praises that God has done for our nation, we can see that this name change affected all of Klal Yisroel.
How do we explain the tremendous significance which Chazal place on this ostensibly inconsequential name change?
We see the Gemorah in Berachos, Daf Vov asks, “From where do we know that the name affects a person? The Gemorah answers that it is sourced in a Passuk. It is clear from the Gemorah’s Kashya that a name expresses the essence of whatever being it belongs to. Many Seforim take this one step further to say that a name is given to a child through the Ruach Hakodesh of the parents.
Correspondingly, when Hashem added on the “hey” to Avraham’s name, He effectively changed Avrahams essence.
What indeed is the nature of this name change, (of adding the “ה ”? The passuk mentions that the “Hey” symbolizes Avraham being the “father of all nations”, whereas before this, he was merely the father of his town.
The Gemorah in Nedarim ל”ב explains that until now Avraham only controlled 243 limbs, (אברם ) and after his new naming, he gained control of the remaining 5 giving him a total of 248 limbs, (אברהם ).
This Gemorah seems pretentious to give a varying explanation then the Passuk itself. The passuk says that the “Hey” symbolizes Avraham’s being the father of the nations, whereas the Gemorah gives a disparate explanation.
I once heard an interesting Peshat in the name of the Sokochover Rav. He brings down from the Gemorah in Menachos כ”ט: which says that this world was created with the letter “hey” and that the letter “hey” symbolizes that this world contains the potential danger to “fall out the bottom”, (as the letter ה has a gap between it’s two legs), i.e. a person is naturally drawn down by the forces around him. Yet if a person tries very hard, they have the ability to return through the little space between the leg of the hey and the roof of the hey. The word “nature” is translated in Hebrew as Teva. The word Teva also implies “drowning” as if to say our intrinsic nature is to be drawn down. Nonetheless, with great effort, one can bring himself back up.
Avraham Avinu truly personified this Midah. He was referred to as “Avraham Haivri”. Ivri in Hebrew means the other side. While the entire world was on “one side” in their beliefs, he was on the other. Additionally, he traversed all ten of his trials which were custom made to force him to go against his nature. When Hashem perceived Avraham’s excellence in this midah of “hey”, Hashem saw fit to add a “hey” to his name which gave him the additional ability to control these 5 limbs that a person does not normally have the ability to control.
There is now no contradiction between the Gemorah and the passuk. The Gemorah is in fact explaining the Passuk. Specifically because Avraham was so successful in perfecting his level of control over his nature, this harmonious synthesis which Avraham achieved above anyone else in his generation is what allowed him to become “Father of the nations”.
How did Hashem decide to actualize this greatness of Avraham Avinu? Hashem gave him the Mitzvah of Bris Milah. The Mizvah of Milah represents the ability to take the “nature” (symbolized by the foreskin which epitomizes a person’s base desires) that God gave us and perfect it.
Similarly, Milah is done on the eighth day which is known as the number which is above nature. This may be seen by virtue of the world being created in seven days showing that this world is bound by the number seven. Eight is above the nature of this world
Avraham Avinu was successful in changing the entire destiny of Klal Yisroel by transforming us into a nation which exists “above” nature. The Torah demands from a Jew to keep laws which an ordinary person would consider impossible. However Avraham Avinu imbued in all future generations the ability to accomplish this feat.
May God help us to continue going in the path of Avraham Avinu and to serve Him with all of our vigor.