Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com

Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein

Along with Hashem’s first command to Avraham Avinu, “Lech lecha.../Go for yourself…” comes Hashem’s first blessing to Avraham. In addition to the prophecy to become a great nation through which other nations will be blessed or cursed, the Torah writes, “Veheyei berachah/and [you] be a blessing.” The Ner Uziel asks the obvious question: while a person can bestow blessings, how can a person become a blessing himself? Citing Rashi whose first explanation is that you will control blessings, Rashi continues by examining the first of the blessings in our Shemoneh Esrei. Although we begin by invoking the merit of all the Patriarchs, we conclude only with “The Shield of Avraham,” based on this verse.

Rabbi Leff quoting Rabbi Shkop zt”l provides a historical perspective in answer to our question. Certainly the foundation of our nation begins with Avraham Avinu and has been transmitted through Yitzchak Avinu and Yaakov Avinu. But more significantly, while there are times and families when the precepts of Torah are learned from our parents and even from our grandparents, but that basis does not always exist Then we fall back on the absolute emunah, the faith of Avraham Avinu who was the first to spread monotheism in the world. That faith is what has kept us alive, as Rabbi Belsky zt”l notes, for as the Prophet Chabakuk says, “A tzadik lives by his faith.” It was in the merit of this faith that we were redeemed from Egypt, and that is the bedrock for all other traits.

We focus on the faith of Avraham Avinu, and also on the character trait most associated with him, the trait of chesed, loving kindness. As the prophet Yeshayahu says, “Zion will be redeemed through justice and will be returned through acts of tzedakah [i. e. chessed].”

In Ohel Moshe, Rabbi Scheinerman quoting Rabbi Meir Chodosh zt”l explains that Hashem wants Avraham Avinu [and by extension, his descendants] to become a source of blessing. How? By spreading belief in Hakodosh Boruch Hu and amplifying His honor in the world, we becomes a conduit for the blessings Hashem wishes to bestow on mankind.

The first step in bringing Hashem’s blessings down begins with striving to perfect yourself, writes Rabbi Grossbard zt”l in Da’as Shraga based on the Seforno zt”l. By becoming a more godly person, you become a model for others to follow, and you find favor in God’s eyes. You bring joy to Hashem Who reciprocates with blessings.

Rabbi Matlin, in Netivot Chaim, quoting the Ba’al Adedah likens this modeling to the purpose of the Priestly Blessings. In the introduction to the blessings themselves, Hashem commands the priests to “put His Name on Bnei Yisroel and I [Hashem] will bless them.” While the words of the blessing are spoken by the priests, the message is clearly that Hashem will provide the blessing itself. Each of the three parts of the blessing refers directly back to Hashem Who actually bestows the blessing. The priest is the conduit who makes the people aware that these blessings, as well as all blessing, come from Hashem. That recognition is the conduit for the blessings.

How was Avraham Avinu a blessing? He, like the priests, brought an awareness of Hashem to everyone he encountered. He taught them faith in Hashem, and through that faith, they, too, earned blessings.

Rav Mordechai Ezrachi is emphatic in his position that “Be a blessing” is a mandate, a command to Avraham Avinu. But the mandate arose from the desire of Avraham Avinu himself whose greatest desire was to bring good to others. How did Avraham Avinu achieve this? Hashem gave Avraham this power. A cryptic medrash says that Hashem gave Avraham an amulet, a special stone that he hung around his neck. Whoever saw the stone was immediately healed from anything that ailed him, granted him whatever he needed. The stone was symbolic, for after coming to Avraham Avinu, each left with the emunah that Avraham instilled in them. The leaders of the world would come to him for the clarity of his sage advice, and leave with the faith that Hashem had invested Avraham with wisdom. But Avraham was not a guru on a mountain. He modeled the behavior and the chesed that would bring the blessings.

Chesed is the foundation upon which Hashem created the world. That is the image Hashem has of mankind whom He created in His image. When we emulate Hashem by doing chesed, we bring blessing to the world. As He is a Giver, so does He want us to also be givers. Any day that you don’t do at least one chesed, writes the Netivot Shalom, is not considered a day of life. Since Avraham’s entire essence was chesed, mirroring Hashem’s chesed as much as humanly possible, he brought down Hashem’s chesed and blessings.

It is important to clarify the true nature of blessing. It is not those actions that fall within the normal interactions between people where we do each other favors. That is emes, truth, societal expectation. Chesed is going beyond the norm. Even within daily interaction, one can go beyond the expectation. For example, suggests Rebbetzin Smiles, agreeing to give someone a ride to the doctor may be emes, but offering to wait with them at the doctor’s office not only so they don’t have to ask someone else for a ride home, but also to offer emotional support, is going beyond the expected and is an example of chesed. Spending time with an elderly parent is emes; spending time with an unrelated, lonely person with whom you have no other connection is chesed. Because our very existence depends on Hashem’s chesed, it is incumbent upon us to practice acts of chesed every day. Otherwise, it is not considered a day of life. If you develop in yourself the middah of chesed, you too will become a source of blessing.

The entire world was created for the future appearance of Avraham Avinu. In the second chapter of the Torah, when the Torah recounts creation in greater detail than in chapter one, the verse states, “These are the products of the heaven and the earth בהבראם/when they were created…” Our Sages note that בהבראם is an anagram of באברהם/for Avraham. This was Hashem’s vision for creation. When Hashem tells Avraham that the families of the earth will bless themselves by you, explains Rav Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim, The Ramban zt”l explains that He is telling Avraham that parents will express the desire that their children should be like Avraham. That wish is in itself a blessing. It is the sense we express our longing, “When will my deeds touch and come close to the deeds of my Patriarchs?”

Rabbi Reiss presents a modern day analogy. Just as our homes get electricity through a relatively narrow wire that connects to a distant power plant, so does our desire act as a wire that connects us to the deeds of our Patriarchs, and specifically to those of Avraham Avinu. Emulate them, create the connection, the “wire,” to them. That connection brings the blessings from them to us.

The essence of berachah is expansiveness, enlargement, going beyond the “natural” law. The first blessing Hashem gave was “be fruitful and multiply.” That ability is one step removed from original creation wherein Hashem created something from nothing. [If you stack two coins together, one heads and one tails, will they produce more coins? The fact that even fruit trees and plants produce more than the original may be called natural, but it is in truth blessing. CKS] Only God has the ability to bestow blessings.

So how was Avraham able to transcend this nature and become a blessing, the source of expansion and growth? Rabbi Lopiansky explains that in its initial stages all people are receivers. The goal of mankind is to become givers, influencers. When we take something, whether it is money, an idea, a talent, and simply transmit what we receive to another, we are not expanding the original. That is not blessing, although it may be sharing. When we take what Hashem has given us, whether it is finances, knowledge or talent, internalize it, add to it a new idea, an additional use, we become not merely receivers, but influencers. We are expanding on the original and giving more to others than we received. That is how we ourselves become a blessing. Avraham’s passion aroused the passion for Hashem in others. Through his actions, Avraham didn’t just give blessings. He became a blessing incarnate, like a fountain that keeps pouring forth more and more water.

If you do everything that you are supposed to do, you remain a receiver, childlike. Only by going beyond the simple expectations, building upon them, giving and inspiring others, are you doing chesed, becoming a giver, becoming a blessing in your own right. Copying and pasting ideas without opening them further and exploring them is not growth or blessing.

All the nations of the world receive Hashem’s blessings. At best, they are grateful and grudgingly share what they have with the world. Bnei Yisroel is different. We take what we were given, expand, innovate, inspire others. [Israel is called the Innovation Nation; Israel is at the forefront of helping nations experiencing tragedy. It is Israel’s first response that undoubtedly inspires other nations to send help as well. Unfortunately, the nations refuse to recognize the blessing that is Israel. CKS]

Be a blessing yourself, exhorts us Rabbi Mintzberg zt”l. Take what inspires you, internalize it, add your own dimension, then share it with others. Develop yourself. Find your voice. Lech lecha, go to your inner self, for you have something unique to contribute. As we get older, are we growing and refining our avodas Hashem, the way we serve Hashem, or are we continuing in the same way with the same thoughts as we did as a child?

Rabbi Yosef B. Soloveitchick zt”l explains that we each have within ourselves both aspects, receiver and giver, feminine and masculine. For example, a teacher almost by definition is a giver. He is transmitting information. But when a student asks an intriguing question that inspires the teacher to examine new approaches and gain greater insight, the roles are reversed; the teacher has become the receiver while the student has become the giver. Take the passive role and make it more active. Move beyond yourself and become a blessing.

Chesed is transmitting, taking what Hashem gifts us with in every aspect of our lives and expanding on it or enhancing it as we give it to others. Do that bit extra that transforms an action from an obligation to a choice. Become a blessing to others.