The Avos as foundation for the generations

בפסוק ואעשך לגוי גדול זה שאומרים אלקי אברהם כו'.

On the pasuk "And I will make you into a great nation" — this is what we mean when we say "the God of Avraham."

The Sefas Emes connects the promise made to Avraham with the way Klal Yisrael invokes Hashem as "Elokei Avraham" in davening — Avraham became the channel through which Hashem is reachable to his descendants.

ובמדרש אותו הגוי דכתיב מי גוי גדול אני מעמיד ממך כו' כבר כתבנו בכמה מקומות כי כל עבודת האבות היו לדורות לכל בני ישראל ונק' אבות כי כל מהותם הי' להיות יסוד לתולדותיהם לכן אמר אברהם אע"ה מה תתן לי ואנכי הולך ערירי כי לא הי' נחשב לו הכל אם לא יהי' לו תולדות.

And in the Medrash: "that nation" — as it is written, "what nation is great" (Devarim 4:7) — I will establish from you, etc. We have already written in many places that all the avodah of the Avos was for the generations, for all of Bnei Yisrael; and they are called Avos (fathers) because their entire essence was to be a foundation for their offspring. This is why Avraham Avinu said, "What will You give me, seeing that I go childless" (Bereishis 15:2) — for everything would have counted as nothing to him if he would have no offspring.

The whole purpose of the Avos was to serve as a foundation for future generations. Avraham's anguish at being childless was not personal disappointment but the realization that his life's avodah would have no continuation in which to take root.

והאבות נעשו כלים אשר על ידיהם יכולין גם אנחנו להמשיך אלקותו ית' אלינו ז"ש אלקי אברהם כו'.

The Avos became keilim (vessels) through which we, too, are able to draw Hashem's Godliness down to ourselves — this is the meaning of "Elokei Avraham."

By laying the spiritual groundwork, the Avos became the conduits through which every later Jew can connect to Hashem, which is why we anchor our tefillah in their names.

והנה בני ישראל הם מיוחדים בב' אלו דכתיב מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלקים קרובים היא עבודה זו תפלה.

Now, Bnei Yisrael are distinguished by these two things, as it is written: "What great nation has God close to it" (Devarim 4:7) — this is avodah, which is tefillah.

The first distinction of Klal Yisrael is closeness to Hashem through prayer — the avodah of the heart.

ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חוקים כו' הוא בחי' התורה.

And "what great nation has statutes" (Devarim 4:8) — this is the aspect of Torah.

The second distinction is the gift of Torah, the "chukim" through which Hashem governs Bnei Yisrael.

וב' אלו השורש שלהם היה באברהם אע"ה.

And the root of both of these was in Avraham Avinu.

Both tefillah and Torah trace back to Avraham, who first opened these pathways.

ויתכן שזה רמז ב' הגדולות ואעשך לגוי גדול לכן דרשו ז"ש אלקי אברהם כח התפלה בכל קראינו אליו ותפלות אבות תקנום.

And it may be that this is hinted at in the two "greatnesses" of "And I will make you into a great nation" (Bereishis 12:2). Therefore Chazal expounded that this is the meaning of "Elokei Avraham" — the power of tefillah, "whenever we call upon Him" (Devarim 4:7); and the Avos instituted the tefillos.

The doubled language of "greatness" hints at the two gifts of Avraham — Torah and tefillah — and Chazal taught that Avraham established the very power of prayer through which we call out to Hashem.

שהוא התקרבות אל השי"ת.

For it is a drawing-close to Hashem.

The essence of tefillah is not asking for needs but coming near to Hashem.

וזה עצמו ענין הקרבנות שבמקום תמידין תיקנום וזה נקרא תיקון הטבע והבריאה המתחדש בכל יום להיות דבוק לשרש.

And this itself is the matter of the korbanos, in whose place [the tefillos] were instituted, corresponding to the daily Tamid offerings; and this is called the tikkun (rectification) of nature and of creation, which is renewed each day to be attached to its root.

Just as the korbanos drew the physical world back to its Source, tefillah renews creation daily by reconnecting nature to its spiritual root.

ובמד' קובע אני לך ברכה בשמ"ע.

And in the Medrash: "I fix for you a berachah in the Shemoneh Esrei."

Hashem promised Avraham that his blessing would be permanently set into the structure of our daily davening.

פי' כי סדר הי"ח ברכות הם סדר קבוע גם בשמים שנפתח בכל יום אלה השערים שעל זה תקנו י"ח ברכות.

The explanation: the order of the eighteen berachos is a fixed order in Shomayim as well, for these gates are opened each day — and it was for this that the eighteen berachos were instituted.

The arrangement of Shemoneh Esrei mirrors a heavenly order; eighteen spiritual gates open daily above, and our eighteen berachos correspond to them.

מכלל שמברכין בכל יום ברכות אלו ע"כ שנפתח תמיד מחדש אלה השערים.

From the very fact that we recite these berachos every day, it must be that these gates are always opened anew.

Our daily repetition of these berachos is itself proof that the heavenly gates of bounty are reopened fresh each day.

ופתיחה ראשונה בכחו של אאע"ה.

And the first opening was through the power of Avraham Avinu.

Avraham was the one who first broke open these channels of blessing for all who came after him.

ואגדלה שמך הוא בחי' התורה שהוא הנהגה עליונה למעלה מהטבע זה גדלות השני שכתיב ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חוקים כו'.

"And I will make your name great" (Bereishis 12:2) is the aspect of Torah, which is a higher conduct, above nature — this is the second "greatness," as it is written, "and what great nation has statutes" (Devarim 4:8).

The second blessing, the greatness of "your name," refers to Torah — a mode of Divine governance that transcends the laws of nature.

והתחיל באברהם במצות מילה כמ"ש שש אנכי על אמרתך אמירה יחידית והיא שורש וראשית אל התורה כמ"ש במדרש מגיד דבריו ליעקב מי שאינו נימול אינו זוכה לתורה.

And it began with Avraham through the mitzvah of milah, as it is written, "I rejoice over Your word" (Tehillim 119:162) — a singular "saying," and it is the root and beginning of Torah, as the Medrash says on "He tells His words to Yaakov" (Tehillim 147:19): one who is not circumcised does not merit Torah.

The bris milah was the first step toward Torah; the Medrash teaches that milah is a prerequisite for receiving Torah, making it the root from which the Torah of Avraham's descendants grows.

ונק' ואגדלה שמך שניתוסף לו סדר ושם מיוחד אות ה' ומזה זכו אחר כך בני ישראל לקבל כל התורה.

And it is called "And I will make your name great," for there was added to him an order and a special name — the letter "hei" — and from this Bnei Yisrael later merited to receive the entire Torah.

The added letter "hei" in Avraham's name marked his elevation, and this elevation became the source from which Klal Yisrael would ultimately receive the whole Torah.

וכל מה שנאמר לו מאת הקב"ה אלה הדברים ואעשך כו' היינו שידע כי כל תהלוכות שלו היא הכנה לכל בנ"י וע"ז כתיב וילך אברם כאשר דיבר אליו ה' שהלך ע"ז הכוונה לעשות הכנה לכל בנ"י.

And everything that was said to him by Hashem — "these words," "and I will make you," etc. — meant that he should know that all his journeys were a preparation for all of Bnei Yisrael. About this it is written, "And Avram went as Hashem had spoken to him" (Bereishis 12:4) — that he went with this intent, to make a preparation for all of Bnei Yisrael.

Avraham understood that his travels and trials were not for himself alone but were paving the way for his descendants; his obedience to Hashem was conscious avodah on behalf of all future Jews.

ואיתא בדרך שאדם רוצה לילך מוליכין אותו מוכח מזה שכל רצון האבות הי' להיות נבנה מהם יסוד קיום לעולם.

And it is brought down: "On the path a person wishes to travel, he is led" (Makkos 10b). This proves that the entire ratzon (will) of the Avos was that a foundation for the world's endurance be built from them.

Since a person is led along the path he truly desires, the very fact that Hashem led the Avos shows that their deepest will was to become the enduring foundation of the world.

ובמד' ויהי רעב טרף נתן ליריאיו טירוף נתן כו' פי' ע"י שהאבות היו עמודי עולם הביא השי"ת דוקא בימיהם כל אלה ההרפתקאות וכן היא המדה טירוף נתן כדי שיהי' הכנה לדורות להיות נושעים גם בעת צרה על ידיהם ז"ש יזכור לעולם בריתו.

And in the Medrash on "and there was a famine" (Bereishis 12:10): "He gives sustenance (teref) to those who fear Him" (Tehillim 111:5) — He gave them turmoil (teiruf), etc. The explanation: because the Avos were the pillars of the world, Hashem brought specifically in their days all these tribulations; and so is the measure — "He gave teiruf" — in order that it be a preparation for the generations, that they too be saved in times of trouble through them. This is the meaning of "He remembers His covenant forever" (Tehillim 111:5).

Hashem deliberately sent the Avos through hardships so that those very trials would become a reservoir of zechus, enabling their descendants to be saved in their own times of distress.

וגם בפרט בכל דור ובכל אדם עובד ה' כן הוא שבעת רצון שנמצא לכל עובד ה' מתערבין אצלו מחשבות זרות והוא לטובה להיות הכנה לימי הרעה כמ"ש ביום טוב היה בטוב וביום רעה ראה וכנ"ל.

And this is so in particular in every generation and in every person who serves Hashem: that at a time of ratzon (favor) which a servant of Hashem experiences, foreign thoughts become mixed in with him — and this is for the good, to be a preparation for the days of difficulty, as it is written, "In a day of good be in good, and in a day of trouble, see" (Koheles 7:14), and as above.

Just as the Avos endured trials to prepare for the future, so too a Jew who experiences an elevated moment of closeness to Hashem may find distracting thoughts intruding — and even this is purposeful, storing up strength to weather the harder days ahead.

טרף נתן כו':

"He gave sustenance," etc.

The Sefas Emes closes by returning to the pasuk, reaffirming that Hashem provides both nourishment and trial as one continuous act of preparing His servants.

Summary: The entire avodah of the Avos, beginning with Avraham, was to lay a foundation for all future generations of Bnei Yisrael. Avraham opened the two great gifts of Torah and tefillah, fixed forever into our daily davening, and his very trials — like the famine — were endured so that his descendants could draw salvation from them in their own times of trouble; the same pattern repeats in every Jew, whose moments of difficulty are themselves preparation for enduring closeness to Hashem.