Parshat Lech Lecha
The Sages teach a very important concept: “The actions of the fathers are a sign to the children” (Sotah 34a). This idea is manifest on many different levels – historically, psychologically, practically and spiritually. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs were all-inclusive souls and their every thought, speech and action left an indelible mark on the souls of all future Jews; informing how Jewish history has unfolded and continues to unfold.
One of the clearest examples of this is seen in the story of how Abraham and Sarah descend into Egypt, in order to eventually ascend. This pattern repeats itself almost exactly in what later transpires with the entire Jewish people. Confronted by a famine, Abraham and Sarah go down to Egypt where Sarah is taken into the house of Pharaoh who is then struck with a plague. Pharaoh subsequently sends Abraham and Sarah away with great riches, at which point they return to the Land of Israel. This exact pattern is repeated when Jacob and his family are forced to descend to Egypt due to a famine, resulting in the revelation that Joseph is still alive and in an incredible position of power. However, after a golden era, the Israelites are forced into slavery, which culminates in the ten plagues that nearly destroy Egypt. They leave Egypt with great riches and after 40 years, return to their homeland.
Nearly four and a half of the Five Books of Moses are involved with the Israelites descending to Egypt, the subsequent slavery and eventual redemption, followed by their 40-year sojourn in the desert before re-entering the Land of Israel. On a deeper level, this story mirrors the descent of the soul into the body, and the challenges and battles that take place between the soul and body, physical and spiritual. Receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai represents the roadmap for an individual soul and society at large, to learn how to best operate within the confines of the physical world without losing its innate spiritual essence. The 40-year journey in the desert represents each and every person’s trials and successes navigating the world we live in. Returning to Israel symbolizes the soul at the end of its existence in the body, returning to its heavenly abode from which it was taken before its descent into this world.
In the book Keter Shem Tov a compilation of teachings from the Ba’al Shem Tov by his students (Torah #26), this descent of the soul from the higher worlds into our physical world is hinted at in the command of God to Abraham: “Go out (lech lecha) of your land and the place of your birth and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). In the Zohar, Abraham is referred to as representing the soul in general.
The Ba’al Shem Tov interprets “your land” as referring to descending from the highest of the four Kabbalistic worlds, Atzilut, the World of Emanation, which is a world of Divine unity, to Briah, the World of Creation. “From your birthplace” he interprets as descending from the World of Creation to Yetzirah, the World of Formation and “your father’s house” as the final descent from the World of Formation into our physical world known as Asiyah, the World of Action. This reading of God’s first revealed communication with Abraham is a constant reminder of the Divine, pristine and pure source of every soul.
Thus, Abraham and Sarah’s descent and ascent from Egypt not only foretold but, in a sense, paved the way for all of Israel; while God’s command to Abraham to leave his land, his birthplace and his father’s house exemplifies the story of each individual soul. Further, according to Jewish tradition, God tested Abraham 10 times (Pirkei Avot 5:3). Every test that Abraham passed likewise paved the way for the Jewish people to overcome every obstacle that history has put in our way.
