Avraham actualizes the soul's lofty root

והנה האבות נתעלו להיות מרכבה אל השכינה וכח האבות והראשון אברהם אע"ה לא הי' יכול להתגלות עד שבא אל ארץ ישראל כמ"ש בזוה"ק הנצנים נראו בארץ אלו אבהן וז"ש לך לך לתקוני גרמך וכדאיתא בזוה"ק דאברהם הבין בחכמה כל שורש הארצות ועל שורש ארץ ישראל לא הי' יכול לעמוד שהיא עמוק וכח אלקי.

Behold, the Avos rose to become a merkavah (chariot) for the Shechinah, and the power of the Avos — and the first, Avraham, peace be upon him — could not be revealed until he came to Eretz Yisrael, as is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh: "The blossoms appeared in the land" — these are the Avos. And this is the meaning of "Lech lecha" — "go for your own benefit, to perfect yourself." And as is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh, that Avraham comprehended through wisdom the root of all the lands, but upon the root of Eretz Yisrael he could not stand, for it is deep and a divine power.

The Avos became a chariot — a vehicle through which the Shechinah is revealed in the world. Avraham's full spiritual potential could only emerge in Eretz Yisrael, the land whose hidden root he could not fathom even with all his chochmah, because it is a uniquely deep, divine place. So "Lech lecha" means a journey "for yourself" — to actualize his own inner essence.

וכמו כן עצמו.

And so too his own self.

Just as the root of Eretz Yisrael was beyond his grasp, so too the root of his own soul was hidden from him.

שורש נפש האבות הוא גבוה מאוד וז"ש לך לך להודיע טבעך בעולם להוציא מכח אל הפועל שורש נפשו ועצמותו.

The root of the soul of the Avos is exceedingly lofty, and this is the meaning of "Lech lecha" — to make your nature known in the world, to bring out from potential into actuality the root of his soul and his very essence.

The neshamah of the Avos has an extraordinarily high root. "Lech lecha" was a call to draw that hidden essence out into the open and realize it within the world.

והארת האבות אין מתגלים רק בזמן ומקום מיוחד וכמו כן באיש ישראל בכח המילה מתנוצץ בו חלק מבריתו של אאע"ה וכמו כן בכלל ישראל עמך כולם צדיקים שהם כלים שיתגלה בהם הארת האבות.

And the illumination of the Avos is revealed only in a special time and place; and likewise within every individual Jew, through the power of the milah (circumcision), a portion of the bris of Avraham Avinu sparkles within him; and likewise within Klal Yisrael as a whole, "Your people are all tzaddikim" — for they are vessels in which the illumination of the Avos is revealed.

The light of the Avos shines forth only under special conditions of time and place. Yet a spark of it is implanted in every Jew through the bris milah, which carries a portion of Avraham's covenant, and the entire nation is a fitting vessel — "all tzaddikim" — to manifest that ancestral light.

וכמו כן בא"י וביהמ"ק שם צוה ה' את הברכה.

And likewise in Eretz Yisrael and in the Bais Hamikdash — "there Hashem commanded the blessing."

The special "place" where this illumination appears is Eretz Yisrael and the Bais Hamikdash, the designated channels of divine blessing.

וכמו כן בשבת קודש כל האותות והבריתות הכל ענין אחד שנגלה שם כח אלקות כדאיתא במד' ואתה בריתי תשמור שברית ושבת וא"י תלוי זה בזה ע"ש.

And likewise on Shabbos Kodesh — all the signs (osos) and covenants (brisos) are one matter, that the power of Godliness is revealed there, as is stated in the Midrash on "And you shall guard My covenant," that the bris (of milah), Shabbos, and Eretz Yisrael are dependent upon one another; see there.

The special "time" is Shabbos. The signs and covenants — milah, Shabbos, and Eretz Yisrael — are really one theme: each is a place where divine power becomes manifest, and the Midrash teaches they are bound up together.

דהנה כתיב אנכי עשיתי ארץ ואדם עלי' בראתי.

For behold, it is written, "I made the earth, and created man upon it" (Yeshayahu 45:12).

The Sefas Emes brings a verse to define the proper relationship between man and the physical earth.

עלי' פי' להיות שליט על הארץ בכח הנשמה שהיא מן השמים.

"Upon it" means to be a ruler over the earth, through the power of the neshamah, which is from heaven.

Man was created to rule "upon" the earth — to be its master, not its servant — by virtue of his heavenly soul.

וע"ז עדות השבת כמ"ש ולא נתתו לגויי הארצות ובמנוחתו לא ישכנו ערלים.

And to this Shabbos bears witness, as we say, "And You did not give it to the nations of the lands... and in its rest the uncircumcised shall not dwell."

Shabbos testifies to man's mastery over the earth through his soul; it was given to Bnei Yisrael and not to the nations, who remain bound to the earthly and physical.

פי' שהאומות עע"ז הם כח הבהמה היורדת למטה אבל איש ישראל בכח המילה מושך הארה מן הנשמה שהיא מן השמים.

The meaning is that the nations, the idol-worshippers, are the power of the animal that descends downward; but the Jew, through the power of the milah, draws an illumination from the neshamah, which is from heaven.

The idolatrous nations embody the downward-pulling animal soul, sinking toward the earthly. The Jew, through his bris milah, draws upon the higher light of the heavenly neshamah.

כמ"ש "מי "יעלה "לנו "השמימה והוא שליט על הארץ וכמ"ש הבט נא השמימה ומסיים כה יהי' זרעך.

As it is written, "Who shall ascend (Mi Ya'aleh Lanu HaShamaymah)" — [whose initial letters spell milah] — and he is a ruler over the earth, and as it is written, "Look now toward the heavens," and it concludes, "so shall be your offspring."

The hint that "Mi Ya'aleh Lanu HaShamaymah" spells "milah" shows that circumcision is what lets a Jew ascend heavenward and thereby master the earth. Hashem told Avraham to "look toward the heavens" — for his descendants would be rooted above, in the heavenly, not the earthly.

וכח האבות מסייע לנפשות בני ישראל לעולם.

And the power of the Avos assists the souls of Bnei Yisrael forever.

The spiritual strength established by the Avos remains a permanent aid to every Jewish soul in all generations.

כתיב התהלך לפני והי' תמים לשון זה כמו והי' ברכה שהברכות מסורים בידך כמו כן אברהם שורש התמימות לתת שלימות לכל הנמשכים אחריו כדאיתא במשנה תלמידיו של אברהם אבינו אוכלין בעולם הזה ונוחלין לעוה"ב זה בחי' תמימות להיות חלק שלמטה דבוק בחלק שלמעלה.

It is written, "Walk before Me and be wholehearted (tamim)" — this expression is like "and be a blessing," that the blessings are entrusted into your hand. So too Avraham is the root of temimus (wholeness), to give completeness to all who follow after him, as it is taught in the Mishnah: the disciples of Avraham Avinu eat in this world and inherit the World to Come. This is the aspect of temimus — that the lower portion is bound to the upper portion.

Just as "be a blessing" placed the power of blessing in Avraham's hand, "be tamim" made him the root of wholeness, able to impart shleimus to all who follow his path. The disciples of Avraham enjoy both this world and the next — the mark of temimus, where the lower, earthly part of a person remains bound to the upper, heavenly part.

בנח כתיב תמים היה לפי שעה.

Regarding Noach it is written "tamim," [but] it was only for the moment.

Noach too was called "tamim," but his wholeness was temporary, limited to his own time and circumstance.

והיה תמים הוא סדר קבוע ליתן שלימות לכל הדורות:

But "and be tamim" [said to Avraham] is a permanent order, to give completeness to all the generations.

Avraham's temimus, by contrast, was established as a permanent, enduring power — a wellspring of shleimus that continues to flow to every generation that follows him.

Summary: The Avos became a chariot for the Shechinah, and Avraham could only actualize the lofty root of his soul by coming to Eretz Yisrael — "Lech lecha" meaning to draw his hidden essence into the world. The light of the Avos shines through special times and places (Shabbos, Eretz Yisrael, the Bais Hamikdash) and through the bris milah implanted in every Jew, by which a person draws on his heavenly neshamah to rule over the earth rather than sink into the animal pull of the nations. Avraham is the permanent root of temimus, binding the lower world to the upper, granting wholeness to all who follow his path in every generation.