Avos imprint Godliness in every Jew

ואעשך לגוי גדול זהו שאומרים אלקי אברהם כו' והיה ברכה בך חותמין.

"And I shall make you a great nation" — this is what we say, "the God of Avraham…"; "and you shall be a blessing" — with you we seal (the berachah).

The promise to Avraham is expressed in the first berachah of Shemoneh Esrei, which opens with "the God of Avraham" and seals with "the Shield of Avraham" — Avraham is both the opening and the seal.

כי הג' אבות הם עמודים שכל בני ישראל עומדים עליהם כמ"ש במדרש אם חומה היא נבנה עלי'.

For the three Avos are pillars upon which all of Bnei Yisrael stand, as it is written in the Midrash, "if she is a wall, we shall build upon her" (Shir HaShirim 8:9).

The three forefathers are the foundational pillars of the entire nation; every Jew rests upon them, and the Midrash compares this to building upon a firm wall.

ע"ש.

See there.

The Sefas Emes refers the reader to that Midrash for the full statement.

דגם נח הי' צדיק לשעה בדורותיו.

For Noach too was a tzaddik, but only temporarily, in his generations.

Noach was righteous, yet his righteousness was bounded to his own time and did not establish a permanent legacy.

אבל מהאבות התחיל בנין חדש קבוע לעולם וכל מעשיהם היה בכללות כל בנ"י והניחו אלקות בנפשות בנ"י וכמ"ש בוחרים בדרכיהם ועי"ז עושין כמעשיהם ובך חותמין כי כחו של אאע"ה הוא חותם ברית מילה שחתם בבשרינו והוא יותר מכל האותות כמ"ש בטור ה' מילה שהוא דבוק בגופינו ממש.

But from the Avos there began a new edifice, permanent for all eternity, and all their deeds were on behalf of the whole of Bnei Yisrael, and they implanted Godliness (Elokus) in the souls of Bnei Yisrael; and as is written, "they choose their ways," and through this they act as they acted; and "with you we seal," for the power of Avraham Avinu is the seal of the bris milah that he sealed in our flesh, and it is greater than all the signs, as is written in the Tur, Hilchos Milah, that it is attached to our very body.

The Avos founded a permanent structure: their deeds were done for all their descendants, embedding Divine holiness in every Jewish soul, so that by choosing their path we naturally come to act as they did. Avraham's particular power is the bris milah, "sealed" into our actual flesh — a sign more intimate and lasting than any other.

וע"ז נאמר שימני כחותם על לבך.

And concerning this it is said, "set me as a seal upon your heart" (Shir HaShirim 8:6).

The "seal upon the heart" alludes to this bond of milah sealed within us, binding Bnei Yisrael to Hashem.

חותם על זרועך הוא בחי' יצחק והוא התפילין דכ' וקשרתם שצריך קשירה בעקידת יצחק ידכה יד כהה עזה כמות אהבה כדכ' בזוה"ק כקשיא דפרישא דנפשי' מגופי'.

"A seal upon your arm" is the aspect of Yitzchak, and this is the tefillin, of which it is written, "and you shall bind them," for there must be a binding through the Akeidah of Yitzchak — "yadcha" (your hand), the weak hand — "love is as strong as death," as is written in the holy Zohar, "as hard as the separation of one's soul from his body."

The "seal upon the arm" corresponds to Yitzchak and to tefillin, which are "bound" on the arm. This binding draws on the Akeidah, where Yitzchak's love for Hashem was "strong as death" — as intense and total as the soul tearing free of the body.

ע"י שחותם זה בבשרינו ממש הוא קשה כשאול קנאה דכ' ביצחק ויקנאו בו.

Because this seal is in our very flesh, it is "as hard as the grave is jealousy," as is written regarding Yitzchak, "and they envied him."

Because the bond is sealed into the physical body, it carries the fierce, unyielding quality the verse calls "jealousy hard as the grave" — reflected in Yitzchak, whom the Pelishtim envied for his power.

רשפי' רשפי אש בחי' בית יעקב אש.

"Its coals are coals of fire" — the aspect of "the house of Yaakov is a fire."

The verse's "coals of fire" correspond to Yaakov, of whom it is said "the house of Yaakov shall be a fire" — the burning passion of avodah passed to his descendants.

שלהבת הוא יוסף עם השבטים.

"A flame" is Yosef together with the Shevatim (tribes).

The "flame" that rises from the fire of Yaakov corresponds to Yosef and the tribes, the continuation and spreading of that holy fire into the nation.

וכל אלה הניחו אותות ורשימות בנפשות בנ"י לדורות לכן נקראו אבות.

And all of these implanted signs and imprints in the souls of Bnei Yisrael for all generations; therefore they are called "Avos" (fathers).

Each of these figures left an enduring "imprint" in the Jewish soul. That is precisely why they are called Avos — fathers whose spiritual legacy is inherited by every later generation.

והקדים הכ' לך לך כו'.

And the verse placed first "Lech Lecha" (Go for yourself)…

Before all the promises, Hashem's first command to Avraham was "Lech Lecha" — to leave everything behind and follow Him.

שגם זה הניח אאע"ה לדורות בבנ"י כמ"ש זכרתי לך חסד נעוריך כו' לכתך אחרי במדבר.

For this too Avraham Avinu implanted for the generations within Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "I remember for you the kindness of your youth… your following Me into the wilderness" (Yirmiyahu 2:2).

The capacity to follow Hashem into the unknown, embodied in "Lech Lecha," became part of the Jewish inheritance — later expressed when Bnei Yisrael followed Hashem into the barren desert out of love.

וכפי מה שמקוים זה בכלל ובפרט בכל א' שמרחק עצמו מגשמיות כך זוכה לכחות אלו אלקי אברהם יצחק יעקב.

And to the degree that this is fulfilled in general and in particular — in each individual who distances himself from physicality — so he merits these powers: "the God of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov."

The more a person, both the nation collectively and each Jew individually, detaches from materialism in the spirit of "Lech Lecha," the more he activates the inherited powers of the three Avos within himself.

וזה היה מתקיים בשלש רגלים שנמשכו בנ"י אחריו ית' וחל עליהם אלקות הנ"ל.

And this used to be fulfilled on the Shalosh Regalim (three festivals), when Bnei Yisrael were drawn after Him, may He be blessed, and the aforementioned Godliness rested upon them.

On the three pilgrimage festivals, Bnei Yisrael followed Hashem to the Bais Hamikdash, and the Divine power of the Avos descended upon them.

וכ' אשר אראך שזוכין עי"ז לראות פני ה'.

And it is written, "that I will show you," that through this they merit to see the face of Hashem.

Just as Avraham was told "to the land that I will show you," following Hashem leads to "seeing the face of Hashem" — the revelation experienced at the festivals.

וכן הוא בש"ק מעין זה ע"י ששובתין ממלאכות זוכין להארה עליונה מעין עוה"ב.

And so it is on Shabbos Kodesh, similar to this: through resting from labors, one merits a supernal illumination, a foretaste of olam haba.

Shabbos works the same way: by ceasing from melachah, a Jew detaches from physicality and receives a lofty light that is a sample of the World to Come.

ולכן הם הג' סעודות נגד הג' אבות ונקראו סעודתא דמהימנותא כי ע"י האמונה הנ"ל שמבטלין כל המעשים והוא בחי' לך לך.

Therefore the three Shabbos meals correspond to the three Avos, and they are called "the meal of faith" (se'udasa di-mehemnusa), for through the aforementioned emunah, by which one nullifies all his deeds — and this is the aspect of "Lech Lecha."

The three Shabbos meals parallel the three Avos and are called "meals of faith," because through emunah a Jew nullifies his own doings before Hashem — the very essence of "Lech Lecha," leaving self behind to follow Him.

מתקיים ואעשך כו' בחי' אלקות מהג' אבות:

So is fulfilled "and I shall make you…" — the aspect of the Godliness from the three Avos.

Through this bittul and emunah, the original promise "and I shall make you a great nation" is realized, as the Divine power of all three Avos comes to rest upon a person.

Summary: Unlike Noach's temporary righteousness, the three Avos founded a permanent edifice, implanting enduring Divine "imprints" in every Jewish soul — Avraham the seal of milah, Yitzchak the binding of tefillin and the fire of the Akeidah, Yaakov the holy fire continued through Yosef and the tribes. The first command "Lech Lecha," detaching from physicality and following Hashem in emunah, is the key that activates these inherited powers, realized on the festivals and on Shabbos through its three meals of faith.