Dvar Torah for Parshat Lekh Lekha

Based on Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #191

The Gates of Perception

Once the Rebbe came into the house and said, "What does one do when there's a giant mountain of fire in front of him and on the other side of the mountain there's a precious treasure, excellent and very, very lovely? But it's absolutely impossible to get the treasure except by traveling over the mountain of fire. And it's imperative to get to that lovely, precious treasure..." A few days later the Rebbe spoke about this again. He chuckled and said, "I've already been informed what to do in such a situation."

Avraham Avinu (our patriarch Abraham) also passed through a mountain of fire (Bereishis Rabbah 38:13.) (The following is from Shevat Musar, chapter 52).

The evil king Nimrod commanded his subjects to gather wood to make a bonfire. It's purpose? To punish the rebel Avraham who was guilty of spreading the heresy that there is only one God, the Invisible Viewer.

For forty days the wood piled higher and higher. The resulting mountain of wood was kindled. The heretic was brought to the platform. Nimrod gave one of the noblemen the honor of throwing Avraham Avinu into the fire. Before he could do so, a tongue of fire escaped the bonfire and the nobleman died. A second nobleman was invited to try. He suffered the same fate as the first. Nimrod was stymied. Satan appeared, dressed in silk, and approached the king. "Your majesty, I have a suggestion. Have a catapult built and shoot the rebel into the bonfire from a safe distance."

As the catapult was being prepared, Avraham Avinu's anguished mother came to plead with him. "My son! Bow to Nimrod and be saved from the fire!" "Mother, get away from me! Nimrod's fire can be extinguished by water, but the fire of God burns forever!" Seeing her son's strong faith, she said, "The God you serve will save you, my son."

The angel Gavriel came to Avraham Avinu. "Do you want me to save you?" "No! It's not enough for you to save me. God in Whom I trust must save me." Seeing Avraham Avinu's faith in Him, God told the fire, "Cool off and be calm."

The soldiers came to catapult Avraham Avinu into the bonfire. When he landed in the fire a miracle occurred. The wood began to blossom and grow fruit. The bonfire became a royal garden. (If you've been there, think Versailles.) Angels came to join Avraham Avinu in the garden.

A mountain is, well, a mountain. If it's tall enough, it's, well, insurmountable. A wall of fire is its own pack of trouble. Not many people can pass their hand through fire without getting burnt for their trouble, let alone take a stroll through it. (Yes, Rebbe Nachman tells us [on page 114 of Rabbi Nachman's Stories] that for some it is possible to walk around in a fire that consumes people at a distance of four miles, but that's a different story.) And what precious treasure was the Rebbe referring to? What makes it imperative to have?

When Avraham Avinu was bound and placed in the catapult he was frightened. He realized that he had no choice but to pass through a mountain of fire. He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't know that God was going to perform miracles on his behalf. He didn't know that he was going to survive. In fact, he thought that he would not survive. He cried out to God to save him.

From his earliest days Avraham Avinu was a searcher. He was amazed by the miracles that he saw in his own survival (he had been abandoned in a cave shortly after birth) and in the natural world around him. He perceived that there was someone responsible for the elements and for the orchestration of life. At first he thought it was the sun and then he thought it was the moon. Then he realized it was neither. It pained him that he didn't know whom to worship or how. He kept searching until the angel Gavriel taught him about the Invisible Viewer.

Avraham Avinu had the precious treasure. He knew Who his Creator was. He knew what was expected of him. Yet, that wasn't enough. The precious treasure was too precious to belong to one man. It was too precious to remain denied by Nimrod and those allied to him. It was necessary to climb the mountain of fire in order to make the treasure available to all. That is why it was insufficient for Gavriel to save him. It would not be a big enough demonstration of God's power. Avraham Avinu perceived a world much different than the one Nimrod did. Avraham Avinu perceived a world filled with things responding to their Creator. He perceived a Creator controlling events and destiny. Avraham Avinu perceived a world full of people perceiving the Invisible Viewer.

It's imperative to get to that lovely, precious treasure. The mountain of fire still stands in our way. Avraham Avinu made it through. Rebbe Nachman told us that there is a safe way through. We may already be in the catapult, but still not know the way. Yet, we can cry out and ask for the faith to see the safe passage through so that we, and others, can reach the treasure.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!