ויקם אברהם מעל פני מתו וידבר אל בני חת לאמר. Why does it have to say Avraham got up, obviously he wasn't sitting in the same spot? It doesn't mean merely that Avraham stood up. It means he aroused himself, he was able to move on from his grief and figure out the next step. Rav Yeruchem in a mussar vein takes this as a lesson in interpersonal relationships. It would not be not be becoming of Avraham to speak with the people in a state of misery and teary eyed. Avraham got up, he wiped of his face and put on a descent face to talk to the people properly.
The Gemarah Bava Bathra (91a-b) says ואמר רב חנן בר רבא אמר רב אותו היום שנפטר אברהם אבינו מן העולם עמדו כל גדולי אומות העולם בשורה ואמרו אוי לו לעולם שאבד מנהיגו ואוי לה לספינה שאבד קברינטא (דברי הימים א כט, יא). Why did the world cry over Avraham, they disagreed with him, he was העברי, apart from everyone else? Because despite his philosophical differences, he still cared for everyone and dealt with them as such. The world recognized that and bemoaned the loss of their protector, friend and leader (on the two descriptions of the Gemarah see here.)
Rabbi Lord Sacks (who's yartzeit was Monday,) applies this a general lesson as how to move beyond personal tragedy. One must not wallow and sit in a state of misery but be able to get up and do something to be able to move forward in life. He contrasts the actions of Avraham with that of Noach who after the flood got drunk, he let the misery he felt get the better of him and that literally stagnated his growth. Of course dealing with loss and tragedy is difficult but after the proper time is allotted to deal with it one must take a step forward to continue growing.
No comments:
Post a Comment