The midrash (39:8) says when Avrohom reached sulomo shel tzur he
saw the people pruning and plowing and said this is the place to live. What greatness did Avrohom see in this? How did Avrohom see from these basic
agricultural actions the kedusha of Eretz Yisroel. I will share the approach of a Chassidic
master, baal mussar and the Rebbe.
I believe these different approaches aren’t just distinct views in the
midrash but reflect a whole different world view as to how to learn
Chazal.
The Mear Ve'shemesh explains that the pruning and plowing of the soul. Avrohom saw that the people were going up the sulom of kedusha to tzur olamimim, Hashem by pruning out their evil traits. The plowing of the midrash refers to digging even deeper into the soul. Not only did they work on their traits when they were young but even after they grew older they still dug into the depths of their soul to see that there were no traits of evil inside of them. The Meor Ve'Shemesh is from the school of the Chassidic masters which understand Chazal to be referring to the soul of a person. They view Chazal from the realm of the avosas hanefesh.
Rav Yeruchem (in his intro. to the Daas Torah) understands that Avrohom saw that everything was exactly beseder. Everyone was doing what they were supposed to do and things were running smoothly. Everything is an extension of the spiritual reality. If everyone was acting in the proper line of order that means that spiritually everything was in order as well. This is an example of the mussar approach, to view Chazal in a physiological realm.
The Rebbe (see Likutay Sichos volume 15 sicha 4 on Lech Lecha) has a different approach. He cites the Gemorah in Sanhedrin (99b) that people were created to work. The conclusion of the Gemorah is that man is created for the work of Torah toil. Why is man created in order to work? The Rebbe says because Hashem wanted man to be able to have the ability of creation like Himself. How does man create something original? Through work and creation. The main chidush a person can enact in the world comes from the spiritual effect of Torah on the world. However, the initial thought of the Gemorah also remains true to a degree as well. The physical work is necessary to make the the world ready for change. When Avrohom saw that the land was worked on physically and used for a creative purpose, he saw the land was ready for the chidush of Torah. Since the land was already worked on in a physical form, it was now a complete vessel to contain the light of the Torah. Avrohom didn't just see the physical working of the land, he saw the spiritual harvests of the work. The land had the potential to contain the light of the Torah and could therefore contain the ability to create an oasis of kedusha. This interpretation is reflective of the Chabbidi approach that the world can be worked on and changed for the better.
The Mear Ve'shemesh explains that the pruning and plowing of the soul. Avrohom saw that the people were going up the sulom of kedusha to tzur olamimim, Hashem by pruning out their evil traits. The plowing of the midrash refers to digging even deeper into the soul. Not only did they work on their traits when they were young but even after they grew older they still dug into the depths of their soul to see that there were no traits of evil inside of them. The Meor Ve'Shemesh is from the school of the Chassidic masters which understand Chazal to be referring to the soul of a person. They view Chazal from the realm of the avosas hanefesh.
Rav Yeruchem (in his intro. to the Daas Torah) understands that Avrohom saw that everything was exactly beseder. Everyone was doing what they were supposed to do and things were running smoothly. Everything is an extension of the spiritual reality. If everyone was acting in the proper line of order that means that spiritually everything was in order as well. This is an example of the mussar approach, to view Chazal in a physiological realm.
The Rebbe (see Likutay Sichos volume 15 sicha 4 on Lech Lecha) has a different approach. He cites the Gemorah in Sanhedrin (99b) that people were created to work. The conclusion of the Gemorah is that man is created for the work of Torah toil. Why is man created in order to work? The Rebbe says because Hashem wanted man to be able to have the ability of creation like Himself. How does man create something original? Through work and creation. The main chidush a person can enact in the world comes from the spiritual effect of Torah on the world. However, the initial thought of the Gemorah also remains true to a degree as well. The physical work is necessary to make the the world ready for change. When Avrohom saw that the land was worked on physically and used for a creative purpose, he saw the land was ready for the chidush of Torah. Since the land was already worked on in a physical form, it was now a complete vessel to contain the light of the Torah. Avrohom didn't just see the physical working of the land, he saw the spiritual harvests of the work. The land had the potential to contain the light of the Torah and could therefore contain the ability to create an oasis of kedusha. This interpretation is reflective of the Chabbidi approach that the world can be worked on and changed for the better.
I can see Reb Yeruchum saying the same as the rebbe
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