The unseen soul cleaving to Hashem
nefesh · emunah · devekus · wisdom of age · Avraham
במדרש תנחומא על פסוק ואברהם זקן ברכי נפשי את ה' כו' מה הקב"ה רואה ואינו נראה כו'.
In the Midrash Tanchuma on the verse "And Avraham was old" — "Bless Hashem, O my soul…" — just as Hashem sees yet is not seen…
The Midrash links Avraham's old age to the verse about the soul blessing Hashem, drawing a parallel between Hashem, who sees but cannot be seen, and the soul within man.
פי' שהקב"ה נתן באדם נפש אשר היא למעלה מהטבע ואין האדם יכול להשיג בחי' נפשו.
The meaning is that Hashem placed within man a soul (nefesh) which is above nature, and a person cannot grasp the essence of his own soul.
The neshamah given to each person transcends the natural order, so that man cannot fully comprehend even his own inner soul.
כדי שיאמין כי אף שאין להשיג כבודו ית' עכ"ז יכולין לדבק בו.
This is so that one should believe that even though His glory cannot be grasped, one can nevertheless cling to Him.
The soul's hiddenness teaches a lesson in emunah (faith): just as we cannot grasp the soul yet are bound to it, so too we cannot comprehend Hashem's glory yet can attach ourselves to Him through devekus (cleaving).
כאשר גוף האדם נדבק בנפשו.
Just as a person's body cleaves to his soul.
The body's intimate bond with the unseen soul is the model for how a person can bond with the unseen Hashem.
ומצד הנפש יכול לברך את ה' כנ"ל.
And from the side of the soul one is able to bless Hashem, as above.
It is precisely through the soul — that transcendent inner point — that a person gains the capacity to truly bless Hashem.
וז"ש שאברהם חידש זקנה פי' זקן שקנה חכמה.
And this is the meaning of "Avraham introduced old age" — "zaken" meaning one who has acquired wisdom.
Chazal read "zaken" (elder) as "zeh kanah chochmah" — one who has acquired wisdom; Avraham pioneered this dignified old age of wisdom.
הענין הוא להשיג בעוה"ז הארת עוה"ב והמשכיל יבין:
The matter is to attain in this world the illumination of the World to Come — and the discerning one will understand.
The "wisdom of old age" is the ability, already in this world, to perceive something of the light of the World to Come — to live with awareness of the transcendent soul and its connection to Hashem.
Summary: Hashem placed within man a soul that is above nature and cannot be grasped, teaching that just as we cling to our unseen soul, we can cleave to the unseen Hashem through emunah. Avraham's wisdom of old age is the attainment, already in this world, of the illumination of the World to Come — perceiving and blessing Hashem from the side of that hidden inner soul.