In Parshas לך לך we read about the begining of the history of Klal Yisrael. Hashem selects אברהם אבינו to be the father of the people who will be His nation.
As the פסוק says:
והקימותי את בריתי אתך ולזרעך אחריך אחוזת עולם
The Ramchal in Sefer דרך עץ החיים writes that a person who’s an עובד השם should ask himself:
מה עשו הראשונים שכה חשק בהם השם?
What did the אבות and our other leaders like משה רבינו do, that caused Hashem to desire them so strongly?
Perhaps the answer to that question can be explained as follows. Theרמב”ם writes when describing אברהם אבינו
כיון שנגמל איתן זה התחיל לשוטט בדעתו…עד שהשיג דרך האמת…וידע שיש שם אלוק אחד…והיה מהלך וקורא ומקבץ העם מעיר לעיר
Since he was a young child, אברהם אבינו searched for the truth, until he came to the realization that there is only Hashem. And once he came to this realization, he made it his life’s mission to spread the word of Hashem and to bring more and more people תחת כנפי השכינה.
The נביא יחזקאל says: אחד היה אברהם
In ספר ליקוטי מוהר”ן, Reb Nachman writes that the uniqueness of אברהם אבינו was that that he went with his truth all the way and did not hesitate to stand against the entire world and declare the truth to them. He sensed that he was אחד- unique in his life’s mission.
Continues Reb Nachman, every Yid is a decendent of אברהם and has that ability in him as well, to stand up proud and strong for the truth, even in the face of the entire world standing up against him.
Perhaps this is the understanding of why Hashem chose אברהם from all the other צדיקים of his time, to be the father of His nation. It’s because of his firm and strong commitment to stand up for the truth in all circumstances. And it’s this uniqueness that he inherited to us, his descendants כלל ישראל.
A survivor of the Simchas Torah pogrom speaks about the moment he was rescued by Jewish soldiers. ” When the attack began, we hid in our sealed room. After 22 hours of hiding in terror, we heard voices in Hebrew telling us to come out. Not being sure if they were Jews or terrorists, I called out to them ” Complete this פסוק for me…שמע ישראל!!! And they replied :
ה’ אלוקינו ה’ אחד!!
It was then that I knew they were our own forces and finally opened the door.”
Only כלל ישראל knows the secret of our uniqueness and Hashem’s Oneness. May we merit seeing ישועות and בשורות טובות בקרוב
Weekly Parsha Shiur 