Surrender first, then rectify the world

במדרש שמעי בת משל לעובר ממקום למקום וראה בירה דולקת כו' כי אברהם אע"ה ראה שכל העולמות מסודרין עפ"י הסדר שנתן הקב"ה וכשבא לעיין בעוה"ז ראה אשר הוא בלי תיקון וחשב לעמוד על בירור הדבר כי תאמר ח"ו שהוא בלי מנהיג ובודאי השגחת הקב"ה בעוה"ז ג"כ.

In the Midrash on "Hear, O daughter" — a parable of one passing from place to place who saw a castle alight (with fire/light)… for Avraham Avinu saw that all the worlds are arranged according to the order Hashem set, and when he came to examine this world he saw that it was without rectification, and he sought to clarify the matter, lest you say, chas v'shalom, that it has no Director — and certainly Hashem's hashgachah (providence) is over this world too.

Like the traveler who sees a lit castle and concludes it must have an owner, Avraham observed the orderly worlds, was troubled by this world's apparent disorder, and reasoned that it too must have a Guiding Director — Hashem's providence reaches even here.

והשיבו השי"ת לך לך כלומר שלא יעכב כאן וילך לדרכו כי א"י לתקן אלו המקומות עד שמשליכין מקודם כל עניני עוה"ז.

And Hashem answered him "Lech lecha" (Go forth) — meaning that he should not tarry here but go on his way, for one cannot rectify these places until he first casts off all the matters of this world.

Hashem's response was that the disorder cannot be fixed by analysis; one must first let go of worldly concerns entirely before these lower places can be repaired.

ומס"נ לעבודת השי"ת יותר מהשגת חכמת האדם.

And to give oneself over (mesirus nefesh) to the service of Hashem more than to the attainment of human wisdom.

True avodah requires self-sacrifice and surrender that goes beyond what human intellect can grasp or achieve on its own.

ואז זוכין לבסוף ג"כ לתקן הכל.

And then, in the end, one merits to rectify everything as well.

Paradoxically, only after surrendering worldly understanding does a person ultimately gain the power to repair everything.

כי בודאי בריאת האדם הי' ע"ז לתקן אלה הדברים רק שמקודם צריכין לבטל הכל שלא בהדרגה.

For certainly man was created for this — to rectify these things — only that first one must nullify everything, not in gradual stages.

Rectifying the world is man's very purpose, but it begins with an act of total bittul (self-nullification) that is all-at-once, not incremental.

וז"ש שמעי בת ראי הטי אזנך כי שמיעה ראשונה הוא מה שהשי"ת פותח שער לכל ברי'.

And this is the meaning of "Hear, O daughter, see, and incline your ear" — for the first hearing is that which Hashem opens as a gateway for every creature.

The initial "hearing" is an awakening that Hashem grants freely to every being — an opening doorway of divine call.

ואח"כ צריך האדם לדבק עצמו בנקודה זאת.

And afterward a person must attach himself to this point.

Once that gateway opens, the person's task is to cling, with devekus, to that inner point Hashem has revealed.

ולעזוב הכל אז זוכה להרחיב זאת הנקודה ונאמר והטי אזנך כלומר להטות כל שמיעת גוף האדם אשר בא ממנו.

And to leave everything; then he merits to expand this point — and it says "and incline your ear," meaning to bend all the hearing of the person's body, which comes from him, toward it.

By abandoning all else and devoting his whole self, a person widens that inner point; "incline your ear" means directing every faculty of his physical being toward that holy point.

וכ"ז ע"י שכחי עמך וכן נוהג זה הענין בכל אדם ע"י שמסר נפשו בתחילה כראוי יכול לתקן אח"כ כל הדברים בדרך הישר.

And all this comes through "forget your people" — and so this matter applies to every person: through giving over his soul properly at the outset, he can afterward rectify all things by the straight path.

This is the universal pattern: one who first surrenders himself with genuine mesirus nefesh ("forget your people" — let go of one's prior attachments) is afterward able to set everything right on the straight path.

וגם בכל ש"ק שהוא ענין לך לך שיש בו מנוח מכל המלאכות.

And also on every Shabbos Kodesh, which is itself the matter of "Lech lecha," in which there is rest from all labors.

Shabbos embodies this same "Lech lecha" of letting go — resting from all melachah and thereby releasing worldly involvement.

וכשמקבלין השבת כראוי יכולין לתקן אח"כ ימי המעשה כנ"ל:

And when one receives Shabbos properly, one can afterward rectify the weekdays, as above.

Properly accepting Shabbos — the weekly act of bittul and rest — empowers a person to then go out and repair the ordinary days of the week.

Summary: Avraham saw the world's disorder and sought its Director; Hashem answered "Lech lecha," teaching that one cannot rectify the lower world through intellect, but only by first casting off all worldly concerns and giving oneself over with mesirus nefesh and bittul. Through that initial total surrender — and through properly receiving Shabbos, its weekly form — a person clings to and expands the inner point and is then empowered to set everything, including the weekdays, on the straight path.