English translation — מאמר ואברהם זקן תשמ"ו

B"S.

Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah,

Mevarchim Chodesh Kislev,

5746.

"And Avraham was old, advanced in days," etc.1,

and with this, the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory, whose birthday is the 20th of Cheshvan

(on this Shabbos, the concept of "And the heavens were finished"2 is actualized

in all the days of the past week,

including the day of the 20th of Cheshvan),

brings in his maamar on this verse

(Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah 56543),

what our sages said in the Gemara4

and in the Midrash5,

that until Avraham there was no old age... Avraham came and begged for mercy, and old age came into being, as it is said, "And Avraham was old," etc.

And he brings the question of the Maharsha6

and the Yafeh Toar7,

for it is written before this8

"And Avraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days," and what was the innovation now in Avraham's request?

And he brings their answer to this

(the essence of which is one,

and only in the details of the matter are there differences between them)

that the content of Avraham's request was that old age should be more recognizable.

For before Avraham, although there was the concept of old age, nevertheless the difference between a young man and an old man was not recognizable,

and Avraham requested that old age be recognizable,

as the language of the Midrash5

"He said before Him: Master of the Worlds! A man and his son enter a place, and no one knows whom to honor..."

and especially if their facial features are similar,

as it is brought in the Gemara there4

regarding Avraham and Yitzchak themselves,

that the facial features of Yitzchak were similar to Avraham,

as it is written9

(in the coming week's portion, which is read during Minchah of this Shabbos)

"And these are the generations of Yitzchak son of Avraham, Avraham begot Yitzchak," and Rashi explains that the Holy One, blessed be He, formed the facial features of Yitzchak similar to Avraham,

and everyone testified that Avraham begot Yitzchak.

And it was for this that the request was made, that it be immediately recognizable that Avraham was older than Yitzchak10.

For this is the innovation in this request beyond what is written "And Avraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days,"

for there, the concept of old age was not recognizable and prominent in them,

but unlike that, through Avraham's request, a prominent change was effected in the faces of the elderly,

namely, both a change in the skin of the face through wrinkles, etc.

(creases)

in the skin of the face11,

and this concept is also in Sarah12

(in women),

as it is written13

"After I have withered, I have had freshness,"

and these are the change in the hairs of the head and the beard among men,

for even though the hairs of the beard exist already in a young man,

as per the halachah14

that a twenty-year-old's beard is filled with hair,

nevertheless, the innovation through old age is in the color of the hairs,

that the hair of the beard becomes white15.

And as it is brought in the Midrash16

that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham: "Come, wear My garments," and "Avraham was old, advanced in days," as it is written17

"The Ancient18

of Days sat, His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool,"

and this is the concept of the whitening of Avraham's hairs.

And just as it is regarding the concept of whitening of hairs

(which was innovated in the concept of "And Avraham was old," etc.)

so too must it be said that there is an innovation also in the concept of "advanced in days,"

as will be explained below.

And he explains in the maamar there19

the general concept of the whitening of hairs,

that it is the drawing down of the aspect of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy,

the revelation of the thirteen tikkunei dikna, about which it is said "His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool,"

meaning a drawing down that is above the order of the chain of descent,

and this was the innovation that was effected through Avraham,

and as is explained at length there.

However, it still needs to be understood regarding the concept of "advanced in days"20,

what is the concept and the innovation in this matter.

For it was already said before this, "And Avraham and Sarah... advanced in days."

And "advanced in days" does not mean that he has already reached the end of his days

[as in this week's haftarah, where it is written21

"And King Dovid was old, advanced in days,"

for the intention there is

(also)

that he reached the end of his days22,

the age of seventy22],

for the verse "And Avraham and Sarah... advanced in days" was said more than forty years before this verse in our parshah

(which was said at the time of the matchmaking of Yitzchak and Rivkah when Yitzchak was forty years old23,

and the verse "And Avraham and Sarah were old..." was said before the birth of Yitzchak),

that is, before Avraham was one hundred years old,

and Avraham lived afterwards until 175 years24.

And similarly, what is said here "And Avraham... advanced in days" does not mean that he reached the end of his days,

for he was then one hundred and forty years old,

and he lived afterwards another thirty-five years,

and furthermore,

had Esav not been born, he would have lived another five years25,

that is, more than thirty-five years,

more than half of a person's years

("The days of our years in them are seventy years"26).

Also, it is necessary to understand the connection of the concept of "advanced in days" to what is said "And Avraham was old,"

and from the fact that it is said here again "advanced in days,"

it is necessarily to say

that this is an innovation and is related to the innovation of "And Avraham was old,"

the concept of the whitening of hairs mentioned above.

The explanation is,

that the meaning of "came with days" is

(as explained briefly in Torah Or27

and at length in Ohr HaTorah on our portion28)

that all his days were complete and supernal days, and not a single day was lacking, G-d forbid

(as brought in the Zohar29).

And this is the meaning of "came with days,"

that he came with all his days.

And this is the content of "came with days"

(in the verse "And Avraham and Sarah... came with days,"

and in the verse "And Avraham was old, came with days"),

that the sum total of his days until then were complete and full days in the service of G-d.

And within this itself there are two modes30,

that the service should be in the manner of "came with days" and the absence of lack,

but nevertheless this is within measurement and limitation,

of

his deficiency that is lacking to him.

However, above this is the service that is beyond measurement and limitation32,

"You are obligated to enrich him."

And this is the novel point of "And Avraham was old, came with days" beyond what is said "And Avraham and Sarah were old, coming with days,"

for the aforementioned verse

("And Avraham and Sarah...")

is the perfection of service within measurement and limitation

(for "old" there does not refer to the whiteness of the hairs),

but not so the verse "And Avraham was old, came with days" is the perfection of service of "old" that is beyond measurement and limitation.

And this is the matter of old age, which is the whitening of the hairs,

that refers to the hairs of the beard,

and is connected with the aspect of the supernal "old,"

the aspect of the beard of Atik Yomin,

which has thirteen rectifications of the beard, which are the thirteen attributes of mercy,

as above,

for the matter of the attributes of mercy is beyond measurement and limitation.

For hairs in general, their matter is the contraction of vitality,

to the point that the vitality is in a manner of complete cessation

(as explained in these discourses33),

and the novel point here is that the hairs are white in color,

which is connected with the thirteen rectifications of the beard,

the thirteen attributes of mercy,

completely beyond measurement and limitation.

And this is the novel point in what is said "And Avraham was old, came with days,"

that the matter of "came with days,"

the perfection of days,

that the days are full and complete,

is in the manner of "old" that is completely beyond measurement and limitation,

even to the manner of the thirteen rectifications of the beard.

Now, the Torah is eternal34,

and all the matters within it are eternal instructions for every single Jew,

and from this it is understood that this matter is an instruction in the service of every single Jew.

And especially since this matter pertains to Avraham Avinu, about whom our sages said35

"We call 'fathers' only the three,"

and it is explained in many places36

that the service of each of the tribes pertains primarily to that tribe,

and in general, Yisrael are divided into the two lines of Yissachar and Zevulun,

masters of Torah and masters of good deeds37,

but not so the service of the Avos, which pertains to every single Jew.

(From all this it is understood,

that the aforementioned service of Avraham Avinu

("old, came with days")

also exists in every single Jew).

And especially in the service of prayer, which every day we say at the beginning of the Amidah prayer the first blessing called "Birkas Avos"38,

and we conclude the blessing "Magen Avraham"

(meaning that this is the seal that authenticates the entire matter).

Moreover, this prayer is repeated three times each day,

and four times on Shabbos and Yom Tov, etc., and five times on Yom Kippur.

And this is why we conclude "Magen Avraham," because Avraham includes everything.

And this means,

that in addition to the three prayers in general being corresponding to the three Avos and were instituted by them39,

in more particularity there are three modes of service of the three Avos,

love, fear, and mercy40,

in the service of the entire day.

And as explained in many places41

that the attributes of holiness are interincluded with each other,

and even more particularly, according to what is explained in the discourses of Sefiras HaOmer42

that there is the interinclusion of each of the seven attributes within the seven,

from this it is understood all the more so regarding the three attributes of love, fear, and mercy, that they are interincluded with each other.

And this is the matter of "And Avraham was old, came with days" in service,

that just as in Avraham there was the matter of "came with days,"

complete days,

and the matter of "And Avraham was old,"

"old" meaning he acquired wisdom43,

and the matter of the thirteen rectifications of the beard,

the service beyond measurement and limitation as above,

and as explained at length in the maamar of the Baal HaYom HaHuledes mentioned above,

so too must all these matters be in the service of every single Jew.

And we may add to this,

that the aforementioned maamar of the Baal HaYom HaHuledes was said over ninety years ago

(5654).

And our sages said in the Mishnah in Avos44

"A son of ninety for bending"45,

that the matter of "bending" refers to the matter of prayer

(according to the interpretation of several commentators on the Mishnah in Avos there46),

and as it is also written in our portion47

"And Yitzchak went out to bend in the field,"

and our sages said39,

"There is no 'bending' except prayer,"

and likewise it refers to the matter of Torah study

(as stated in the commentators on the Mishnah46),

and as it is written in Tehillim in "Temanya Api"

(Psalm 11948)

"How I love Your Torah, all day it is my bending,"

and one can say the intention in this,

that from the age of ninety begins a special completeness in Torah study and the service of prayer.

And in the manner that our sages said49

"Until forty years a person does not stand on his teacher's mind,"

meaning that a special completeness in Torah study begins after forty years,

likewise a special completeness in the manner of understanding Torah, etc., begins after ninety years.

For it is simple that the intention is not that after he reaches the age of ninety he cannot ascend more and more,

rather the explanation is that in the ninetieth year a special elevation is added,

and within this itself one must ascend in holiness50

and increase it51

more and more

(in Torah study).

And likewise in the matter of the fortieth year,

that what our sages said "until forty years, etc." does not mean that when the fortieth year arrives he cannot ascend further,

rather that then a special elevation is added,

and within it one must ascend in holiness and increase it, etc.

And furthermore,

that our sages said52

that students are called sons and the teacher is called a father,

and it is brought in the Gemara53

that "the power of the son is greater than the power of the father,"

meaning,

that even though whatever the son has is from the father,

and that the power of the son being greater is from the power of the father54,

nevertheless, there are in the father hidden matters that are not revealed in him

(to the point that it is possible they are in a concealment that is not in existence),

and they are revealed only in the son.

And this matter is halachically

(in halachah?),

that there are things

(halachos?)

in which the power of the son is greater than the power of the father.

And so it is also with students and a teacher,

that the students have the power to innovate matters in halachah that the teacher did not innovate,

meaning they were in concealment with him

(completely).

[For this is55

also the explanation of what our sages said56

"Whatever a diligent student will innovate in the future was all given to Moshe at Sinai"

(as the statement57

"Moshe received Torah from Sinai, etc." meaning that Moshe received the entire Torah),

for the matters that were transmitted through Moshe, some of them are in ultimate concealment,

and the diligent student innovates them,

reveals these matters].

For from all this the matter of "a son of ninety for bending" is understood,

that when the time of ninety years arrives, a special completeness begins in the manner of Torah study, etc.

And so it will be understood also regarding our maamar and the matters within it.

May it be His will,

that it be fulfilled in us

(within the Jewish people)

the conclusion of the verse,

"And God blessed Avraham with everything,"

for the blessing of "with everything" indicates a revelation of a foretaste of the World to Come,

as it is brought in the Gemara,

"Three did the Holy One, blessed be He, cause to taste in this world a foretaste of the World to Come; these are: Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov."

Avraham, regarding whom it is written "with everything" (bakol); Yitzchak, regarding whom it is written

"from everything" (mikol); Yaakov, regarding whom it is written

"everything" (kol).

And these three matters also apply to each and every Jew,

for we say in the Grace After Meals every day

(and especially on the Shabbos day,

when it is a mitzvah to eat a meal requiring Grace After Meals,

etc.),

"The Merciful One... just as He blessed our forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, with everything, from everything, everything,"

and in the manner of "And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless the Lord your God,"

for this is effected by each person revealing the aspect of Avraham within him

(similar to what is explained in Tanya,

that there is an aspect of Moshe within each and every Jew),

and "you will see your world in your lifetime" is fulfilled,

"He caused them to taste a foretaste of the World to Come,"

in the simple sense of blessing,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, blesses each and every one with "everything,"

in the physical and the spiritual, and in the spiritual and the physical,

in the good that is seen and revealed.