We are all familiar with Hashem’s oath to Avraham Avinu after the Akeidas Yitzchak – or are we? “The angel of Hashem called to Avraham a second time from heaven. And he said, ‘By myself I swear – the word of Hashem – that because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one, that I shall surely bless you and greatly increase your offering like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore and your offspring shall inherit the gate of its enemy. And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your offspring, because you have listened to My voice.’” (Vayeria – 22:15-17), What is the nature of this promise? After all, if we are likened to the lofty, exalted multitude of stars, what is being added by the words that compare us to the minuscule sand on the seashore?

To add to this quandary, the Midrash Or HaAfelah informs us that this pasuk teaches us the inevitable consequence of our momentous choices:  When the Jewish nation complies with the Creator’s will, we will resemble the stars of the heavens, whom no nation can dominate, however when the Nation is defiant, then it will resemble the sand of the seashore that is trampled by every oppressive foot. The Medrash suggests that this promise to Avraham is not exclusively a blessing, for it also contains an admonition. Since we are told that this promise is Avraham’s reward for the Akeidah: – “. . .  because you have listened to My voice”, how can we properly understand this Midrash?

Perhaps we can find a solution to the implication of this Midrash, in the pasukim, by considering two well known but seemingly paradoxical paths in the service of Hashem that are actually complementary to each other.  One path is to serve Hashem, like the stars of the heavens, by seeing the gadlus haBorei — the majesty of the Infinite Creator, while the other path is achieved through seeing oneself, like the sand of the sea, through

the lens of shiflus atzmo – our relative minuteness. Through learning Torah we can come to see the gadlus haBorei in every facet within the creation, whereas our tefillos are designed to aid us in reaching a place of equanimity through humbly recognizing our total dependence on the benevolence of the Creator. Just as the waves of the sea wash over the sand constantly purifying it, so do the “waves” of our nusach in tefillah flow through us constantly purifying and realigning our “attitudinal coastlines” according to the will of Hashem.

Furthermore, perhaps we can surmise that even though being compared to the sand of the seashore contains an admonition, there is also imbedded within it a blessing for just like sand when trampled upon maintains its unique resilience and unity, so how much more so is the grandeur of our holy Jewish nation has demonstrated time and time again its resiliency in weathering throughout our shifting historical galus the political, theological and social “storms” that that, have tried to erode away our idealism and solidarity”. Fortunately the blessing given to Avraham Avinu and his descendants to be like the sand of the sea assures us that even though some of the nation has drifted away from the service of our benevolent Creator, soon refreshing “tides of holiness”, captained by Malcus David, will float everyone back to his or her place within the nation so as to be in position to usher in the final geula and rebuilding of our holy Temple. We see expressed in the Min Hameitzar of Hallel as it is said: – “You pushed me hard that I might fall but Hashem assisted me” and then the Hallel continues with the inspiring expression: “The stone despised by the builders has become the cornerstone.”

Another wondrous moshal that can be culled from our being compared to the sand of the seashore; just as grain of sand that becomes imbedded within a oyster can be miraculously become the catalyst for the formation of a precious pearl, how much more so can we, the Jewish nation, that has been swallowed up within the troughs of galus, use this challenging opportunity to reveal the “pearls” of our potential.

May we also soon merit the words at the conclusion of the blessing promised to Avraham Avinu: “And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your offspring, because you have listened to My voice.”

Avraham and Noach are both called Tzadikim yet in some aspect Avraham’s perfection was considered on a much higher level. How can we understand in practical terms for us in this generation that there are different levels of righteousness that can be attained?Let us use an analogy that will shed light on this holy matter. Picture someone that is suffering from a headache, runny nose and cough all at the same time. One level of doctor will give him aspirin for the headache, an antihistamine for the runny nose and  cough syrup for the congestion. Within a short period of time the sick person will feel relief from all three discomforts, however tomorrow all these symptoms will probable reoccur. A more educated doctor will besides possibly these immediate remedies for temporary relief will also give him an antibiotic to take for a number of days in order to uproot the internal infection that is causing this uncomfortable symptoms. A even more educated doctor besides prescribing all of the above will also offer suggestions to help avoid the problem in the future such as increased regular intake of vitamin C and other nutritional supplements, improving the diet, working on personal stress management. There were some other tzadkim besides Avraham and Noach who were on the first level of advising other on how to relief their immediate “uncomfortable symptoms” by taking spiritual aspirin etc.. Then there was Noach who also advised others on how to temporarily uproot the “illness” by taking spiritual antibiotics. And then there was Avraham Avinu who would also give advice to the spiritually ill on how to permanently uproot any potential spiritual “illness” from overwhelming them. This then helps us understand and appreciate the great difference between Avraham’s level of perfection and Noach’s.

Have you ever stopped to think about just how much in our lives depends upon tevos?  Language is a repository for human traditions and culture. Each nation uses words in order to communicate their collective sociological and historical perspectives and experiences.  These words, however, are descriptive, but not creative.

Lashon Hakodesh is a unique language in that G-d used it to create, as well as constantly recreate, the entire universe. Thus the DNA, the blueprint of all reality, exists within the letters and words of the Torah.

When (Hashem) G-d brought the flood waters to inundate the world, He directed Noach to build a teiva.  In Lashon Hakodesh, “ark” and “word” are cognates, that is, they are both composed of the same letters.  This is not mere coincidence.  There is a profound spiritual message in that equivalence.

This “Ark” was constructed of specific dimensions which were shin amos long; nun amos wide and lamed amos high. Interestingly, the three letters, nun, shin and lamed, which are embedded within these dimensions, form the rashei teivos for the three major motivators of human behavior – the ruchnious influence emanates from the neshama, the intellectual powers develop from the seichel, and emotional expression springs forth from the lev.

Just as Noach’s teiva contained that which could reestablish the entire eco-system of this world on the physical level, our tevos through Torah and Tefillos contain within them the power to rectify this world at all levels (including the neshoma). Therefore we can see a fascinating relationship between the dimensions of the teiva  and ourselves. How so?

Just as Noach’s teiva travelled in the direction of its length which was “S”hin amos, so to the words that we speak “travel” in the attitudinal “direction” guided by our “S”eichel. That is to say it is our “S”eichel that assists us to “navigate” through life.

Also just as the width of the ark, which was “N”un amos, is the dimension that provides the ships balance and stability, how much more so is our “N”eshama, the most essential “dimension” of our essence, in that it provides not only the proper “balance and stability between spirit and matter but also can bring one to a state of equanimity (histakavut) and devakus.

Last but not least, just as Noach’s ark, which was “L”amed amos high, bobbed up and down as it drifted on the high seas, so too the emotions that spring forth from the “L”ev highlight the vibrancy of one’s personality.

May our tevos, of Torah and Tefillah, “steer” us safely throughout our “voyage” in life, thereby meriting to reach our “port of destination” – the final geula – soon in our days.