So this is the next blog post for Parsha. It has been a bit of a crazy week, my wife who is always encouraging me to keep it simple and short is 40 plus weeks pregnant- so we are waiting for our next child to soon be born. But some things were interesting to me in this Parsha related to child birth. In Bereshis 24:1 it says Hashem blessed Abraham Bakol. ( in everything) The reason this Passuk first grabbed my attention was because of Rashi's commentary as he states "had blessed Abraham with everything. The numerical value of Bakol equals that of ben (son). Once he had a son, he had to take him a wife." This of course is Rashi's P'shat on the Passuk, and it also makes quite a bit of sense in relation that a good part of the Parsha this week focuses our attention on Eliezer- finding a wife for Yitzhak. And so I do think that this has something with the son and finding a match but I do think based upon the Ramban on this Passuk that there are many secrets in the Passuk that can be revealed, and should be from the point of view of someone who claims to know the teaching of Moshiach's elevation of Torah.
Ramban notes the beginning of these secrets in his commentary on the Torah by quoting the Gemara Baba Basra 16B- " On this point there is a difference between the Taanaim it is written Hashem blessed Abraham in all things Ba-kol. What is meant by in all things? R Meir said : in the fact that he had no daughter. R Judah said in the fact that he had a daughter. Others say that Abraham had a daughter whose name was Ba-kol." This is the part of Gemara that Ramban spends quite some time on. However, I do want to show the discussion of the other Ta'anim as it reveals other things as well about the Passuk. So the Gemara continues." R' Eliezer the Modiite said that Abraham possessed a power of reading the stars. for which he was much sought after by the potentates of East and West . R Shimeon ben Yohai said Abraham had a precious stone hung around his neck which brought immediate healing to any sick person who looked on it, and when Abraham our father departed from this world the HKB"H suspended it from the orb of the sun. Abaye said This bears out the popular saying As the day advances the illness lightens. Another explanation is that Esau did not break loose as long as he was alive. How do you know that Esau did not break loose while he was alive? Because it says And Esau came in from the field and he was faint." I will end the quote there as it shows all I want about the Passuk but if you want to read more I invite you to do so as I used the Soncino edition Talmud for this quote. Baba Bathra 16B. Let us though of course return to Ramban on the Torah....Now truthfully, the intent of the Acherim and their controversy with Rabbi Yehudah were not merely to inform us of the name of this daughter. Far be it from them to expend the great and generalized blessing of Abraham on this matter. i.e that scripture is saying that G-d blessed him with one daughter by that name. However, the Acherim established a new interpretation on this verse, a very profound matter., and they explained it with one of the secrets of the Torah. Thus they said the word Ba-Kol. hints at a great matter, namely that the HKB'H has an attribute of Kol (all) so called because it is the foundation of everything. It is with reference with this attribute that it says, I am the Eternal that taketh Kol. And this is also what scripture says, and the profit of the earth is BaKol, that is to say, the profit of the earth and the abundant goodness that is bestowed upon all that come into the world is on account of this attribute Kol. It is the eighth attribute of the thirteen attributes." So let us go to Ramban on the 13 attributes, but first I want to show the thinking of Ramban on this passage for some it may be a little bit disconnected but I would very much like to show how Ramban comes to his conclusions and then what they mean for us as believers in Moshiach. So Ramban on the 13 attributes in Mishpatim writes "These three words are sacred names of G-d which the sages call Middos being that they constitute the attribute of the lord of repentance, the attribute of his mercies, and that of his goodness. The proper name of G-d, however does not lend itself to any plural form. And the attributes which are perceived in human form are ten, merciful and gracious, etc. Thus on one side they are all attributes and on the other there are three which denote the names of his essence, whereas the ten are his attributes. Now the attributes also represent names of G-d for merciful and gracious, long suffering etc. are all with reference to the essence of G-d the most high. Therefore it does not say the G-d who has mercy, grace, and is long -suffering for that would have meant that this are his ways with the lower creatures, instead it says merciful and gracious, long-suffering, indicating that these actions emanate from G-d's attributes which is his essence. And abounding in goodness and truth keeping mercy upon the thousandth generation. These three denote the attribute of mercy, since he increases the goodness over his strength and might and the truth in his mercies. And Notzeir keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, for he hath remembered his mercy and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. Or it may be that the word notzeir means sprouting of the root v'netzeir, and a twig shall grow forth out of his roots." I do want to note something interesting here about the Passuk quoted about this Emanation of G-d that brings mercy to the thousandth generation- in this passuk you have the Yishi v'netzeir from Isaiah 11 a known Messianic passage- which if you switch the last letter of Yishi and the first letter of v'enotzeri you get Yeshu y'notzri literally Jesus will sprout and out of him will come fruit. This is an absolutely amazing passage in light of what Yeshua says about himself, the idea of resurrection, and the fact that this name is directly related to a Messianic passage. However, Ramban here also correlates it to an attribute of G-d through which we perceive him, though he himself has no attributes we perceive him through Yishi V'notzeir, or as sometimes happens in Judaism--- a rearranged name of Yeshu Y'notzeri an attribute through which we perceive Hashem! But Ramban continues even further, "And in his goodness he is nosei (forgiving) iniquity and transgression and sin. This is the expression I have made, and I esa (will bear). The two phrases and that will by no means clear the guilty, and visiting the inquiry of the fathers upon the children, are an explanation to the one of forgiving inquiry (mentioned before). It is called an attribute because he clears the sinner by this visitation. And because this act of forgiving is not equal for iniquity, transgression and sin, but instead in each category has its own form of clearing the sinner, it is called in each one attribute.....Moses however, did not ask that G-d forgive our transgressions as it is impossible that G-d forgive transgressions., which are the sins of a rebellious nature; in those cases he is only to bear them through visitation and not destroy them.( for the clearing done in ths form of forgiving is by visitation it being another way of the forgiveness of sin. This is an of itself has great meaning for those of us who are looking to Moshiach Yeshua for redemption and forgiveness. Whether it be by visitation or if it be by sacrifice Hashem himself bears our sins by revealing himself to us, though it is only our perception and not G-d actually himself- the forgiveness of sins. I could almost have left the Ramban by himself for he understands this process without understanding the way in which Bakol is revealed. As is stated Abraham rejoiced to see my day, for before Abraham was I am, and it is also stated that Abraham was promised to bless all the nations through the offspring he was given- whether it was Yitzhak, or Bakol ( Yeshua, or Both I will let you decide. However, I do want to finish up with more from Ramban on this passuk.
It was this attribute which was to Abraham as a Bas because he was the man of kindness and he conducted himself in accordance with it. This is why the Acherim said that this blessing with which Abraham had been blessed does not allude to either his having a daughter or her name....but instead hints at a great matter that he is blessed with the Attribute of Bas which is contained in the attribute of Kol and is therefore called Kol being analogous to the expression my name is in him." This is connected to the verse for he will not pardon your transgressions found in Duet 18: 19. This is also found to be true of Moshiach Yeshua, as his words carried the weight of the HKB'H, in fact earlier he says so directly. We must strive to follow all the words of his Prophets, and of his Moshiach Yeshua. And I'll conclude with Ramban as he says of Bakol- or the eighth attribute of Hashem through which we percieve Hashem but not as he actually exists, and all this I have shown to relate to Moshiach Yeshua. "If you rebel against his word , for he who rebels against him rebels against the HKB'H which is in him, and he deserves to be cut off by the attribute of justice. It is possible that the expression my name is in hIm is connected to the above verses hearken to his voice for my name is in him and his voice is the voice of the Supreme one. In our Chassidus of Moshiach Yeshua we should be careful to not only claim him for forgiveness of sins, but to do as he did- keeping the whole law the Oral and the Written, expressing the middos of love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, goodness, meekness, patience and self control in every mitzvah that we do.
Hope it wasn't too longwinded my wife has been in false labor this whole week and wasn't able to pull me in.