Avraham as the channel for Hashem's chesed

אא"ז מו"ז ז"ל הגיד על דברי המדרש עשה חסד עם אדוני אברהם אף אברהם אע"ה שהחסד מתגלגל בעולם בשבילו נצרך לחסד.

My grandfather and teacher, of blessed memory, said regarding the words of the Midrash on "Do kindness (chesed) with my master Avraham": even Avraham Avinu, through whom chesed rolls about in the world, [himself] needed chesed.

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather on Eliezer's prayer. Even Avraham — the very channel through whom kindness flows into the world — was himself still in need of Hashem's chesed.

ואמר אף שאליעזר הי' עבדו.

And he said: even though Eliezer was his servant —

The question is sharpened: Eliezer, as Avraham's own servant, was acting on Avraham's behalf and merit.

ולמה לא הי' לו לתלות במעש"ט וזכות אברהם אע"ה.

— why should he not have relied on the good deeds and merit of Avraham Avinu?

Why did Eliezer beg Hashem for chesed rather than simply invoking the abundant good deeds and zechus of his master Avraham?

אך כי אאע"ה פעל באנשיו שידעו זאת ברור.

But rather, Avraham Avinu had instilled in his household that they should know this clearly:

The answer is that Avraham trained the people of his house with a clear truth, which Eliezer absorbed —

שגם לאיש כמוהו נצרך רק חסדו ית' כו'.

that even for a man like him [Avraham], only Hashem's chesed is what is needed.

— namely, that even a tzaddik as great as Avraham depends entirely on Hashem's kindness, not on his own merits.

כי האמת אף זכיות של האדם נעשים ג"כ בסיוע עליון והכל בחסדו.

For the truth is that even a person's merits (zechuyos) are themselves accomplished only with Heavenly assistance, and all of it is through His chesed.

In truth, even the good deeds we "earn" are only possible because Hashem helps us perform them; the very merits are a gift of His kindness.

אלמלא הקב"ה עוזרו כו'.

As Chazal say: "Were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him [the yetzer hara would overcome him]" (Kiddushin 30b).

Chazal teach that a person could not overcome his yetzer hara at all without Hashem's help — proof that every spiritual achievement rests on Divine assistance.

ולזאת אף מה שהחסד מתגלגל בעולם בשבילו. אעפ"כ החסד חסד עליון.

Therefore, even though chesed rolls about in the world for his sake, nevertheless the chesed [itself] is a supernal chesed (chesed elyon).

Even though kindness enters the world by way of Avraham's merit, the kindness itself originates entirely from Above — it is Hashem's chesed, not Avraham's own.

רק שאאע"ה במעשיו המשיך החסד לעולם.

It is only that Avraham Avinu, through his deeds, drew the chesed down into the world.

Avraham's role was that of a conduit: his deeds opened the way for Hashem's supernal kindness to flow into the world.

עשית חסד עם אדוני (אברהם) הפי' כנ"ל שהקב"ה עושה חסד בעולם באמצעיות אבינו אברהם.

"You have done chesed with my master (Avraham)" — the meaning is as above, that the Holy One, blessed be He, does chesed in the world by means of our father Avraham.

Eliezer's words mean that Hashem performs kindness in the world through the agency of Avraham, who serves as the means by which it is delivered.

מתגלגל בשבילו ג"כ הפי' כך שעשה א"א ע"ה צינור ושביל שיוכל למשוך ולהתגלגל חסד עליון בעולמות התחתונים:

"Rolls about for his sake" likewise means this: that Avraham Avinu made himself a channel (tzinor) and a pathway through which supernal chesed could be drawn and rolled down into the lower worlds.

That kindness "rolls about for his sake" means Avraham fashioned himself into a pipe and pathway, allowing the chesed elyon from Above to flow down and spread into the lower worlds.

Summary: Even Avraham Avinu, through whom kindness flows into the world, depended entirely on Hashem's chesed — for even our merits are accomplished only with Divine help. Avraham did not generate the chesed; he made himself a channel and pathway through which Hashem's supernal kindness could be drawn down into the lower worlds. This is why Eliezer prayed for chesed rather than relying on his master's merit.