In the first chapter of Tehillim we learn that HaShem knows the way of the righteous and the ways of the wicked are lost.  This tells of the finality of all things and relates to a deeper inyan my teachers have called the kolelles. That which adheres to Torah in this world, both in matters regarding the duty of the heart and in the matters of the limbs’, and our obligations to fulfill these directives such as demands us by way of mussar, the love in chassidus, song as teshuva, good deeds, fulfilling mitzvot, the best zach, learning Torah, developing your awe, whatever draws your person nearer to HaShem, our Creator, these actions, expressing kedusha, are “known” by HaShem, they are everlasting as His knowledge is everlasting. 

HaShem, the benefactor of all, kol, our good. Righteous person, aligned with the infinite and cleaving to HaShem your G-d today, you are alive and the praise of HaShem is eternal.

As Ben Bag Bag says, “Everything is in it, turn it over and over and over again.”  And as we state in the Aleinu, at the end of the first paragraph from Devorim 4:39, for Ain Od, there is nothing else.

This tells us of the inextricable nature of our reality from HaShem’s will. As a part of this tapestry, our being b’tzelem E-lokim elevates us to the heights we may pursue our divine objective (*explain this out with the Pi analogy) which is to be known by HaShem or to manifest our relationship with G-d in an eternal way, to be a part of His knowing.  If, G-d forbid, one desired to cleave to the tapestry itself becoming part of it and after sharing its fate, their actions will be as they are, primarily as formless dust when relinquished of their soul. G-d help us!

Following page 36 from the Feldheim Chovos Halevovos and the author’s central theme here, we can see where the theoretical causes division.  Controversy regarding the offerings as they appear to our minds, details which separate one Jew from another, matters of kashrus, dress, ideology, etc., these are distractions. We are taught that all resides in our daled amos; we have a small sphere of actual influence, but from this arrives worlds. It is the faith of our holy parents, Avraham v’Sarah, that they were “naaseh,” fulfilling the imperative of our Pesach song dayyenu. They completed there tasks for their own sake, their Torah forever concealed in humility. They never acted on the “nishmah,” they are forever the Torah’s embodiment of l’shmah. Many points of contention we have with others are not caused by those others but rather by our own insensitivity to the emes. 

The Significance of the Akeida and The Upside Down World

And Avraham lifted up his eyes and he saw the place from afar.  It follows from a previous lesson with Rebbe Reichman, shlit’a, that this concept of seeing the place from afar refers to the quality of Avraham Avinu being in a state of continual mishmeres.  Avraham Avinu saw the matter early from afar, so that every step was made reflecting HaShem’s wisdom back, returning HaShem’s great love and acting as a tamim. 

Ch’Z’L’ teach us that the place he saw from afar is today the Temple Mount.  This is one meaning of the quality of Emes, that it is only prosperous through itself. It remains new and yet has always been, indirectly revealing itself through patterns, described by our holy possukim. Our Ch’Z’L’ and those pious individuals after them, who modeled themselves after Avraham Avinu, can only be true and reflect greatness in their being when connected to HaShem prior to the manifestation of their actions. It is their intent, the internal factor that is primary, that defines their actions. Into this primary factor did HaShem place the heavens and the earth. This is the clear world that is called upside world, tov sholet ra.

By the other, this world, the opposite is true. Actions define their intentions. As R”M”K of F.L. stated, “First an automobile was inventing, increasing the power the driver has, beyond the horse and buggy. After many traffic accidents at intersections, stop signs were mandated. After many accidents seat belts were mandated.”

Toiling in Torah is to “see the place from afar” is to be mishmaret, that is to consider via one’s Daas Torah before acting and to remain, G-d help us, steadfast against whatever tides of influence we experience outside of these holy currents. We are not reacting to stimuli, we’re guarding against said stimuli, preemptively.  This is also why Shlomo HaMelech says “who is a wise person? One with eyes on top of his head,” who considers the long term ramifications of his actions through Daas Torah, and this is only available through humility. 

This quality of seeing the place from afar aides in our transitioning and transcending from the status of being an evid m’yirah into an avid m’havah, or as we say in the Rosh Hashanah service,  that we come before HaShem q’vanim or q’avodim. This state of being “mashmeras” gives us the blessing of q’vanim, like children, as we are called the children of HaShem.

This is like the owner of a company.  For his employee who is not related to him and solely works for the sake of a paycheck, any shortcoming on this employees behalf can result in the termination of his position. The employee strictly wants to fulfill the role of his job, when he shows regard, and does not consider beyond that obligation. The owner’s child however, may not only make mistakes and error without fear of losing his status but will even be encouraged by his/her parent to improve. As the child of the owner, the capacity to be mishmares means that the child will consider above and beyond the duties of whatever job they’re in in order to best see the family company improve and will desire the a parents approval for said effort that needed know prompting but the relationship between parent and child. 

This is Avraham Avinu relating to HaShem when he sees the place from afar.  His sole duty is like a child to a parent.  Avraham Avinu saw this place from afar, i.e. he was aware of this point and space where at a later time he would bring Yitzchak as an offering. Avraham would see too, that his grandson through Yitzchak, Yaakov Avinu would later rest his head at this place on a stone.  Avraham intuited from HaShem that he would have a descendent through Yitzchak who would later rest his head on a stone at this very spot, the very spot he would bring Yitzchak to be a sacrifice to HaShem. He did not see the way, only the objectives and acted with full trust in HaShem. This is a whisper of the “great love” that offers to its wearer, tamim.