ספר בראשית

Genesis ‎24,7. “do not bring my son back there under any ‎circumstances.!” We find that G’d confirmed Avraham’s ‎attittude concerning Yitzchok not leaving the soil of The Holy ‎Land, when He said to Yitzchok (Genesis 26,2) ‎אל תרד מצרימה, שכון ‏בארץ..גור בארץ הזאת‎, “do not go down to Egypt; reside in the ‎Land…even if you have to be a transient in this land!”We ‎have a standing rule according to which it is permissible to be ‎afraid of something or someone bigger than oneself, whereas it is ‎forbidden to be afraid of someone smaller than oneself. In other ‎words, whereas it is permissible to be afraid of G’d, it is not ‎permissible to be afraid of anyone other than G’d. This is why all ‎manner of idol worship is prohibited.‎The attribute of love enables one to love those who are ‎‎“smaller” than we are, notably the members of our household ‎who depend on us. When we keep this rule in mind we will be ‎able to understand a story in the Talmud Kiddushin 57 ‎where it is related that Shimon ben Ammasuni undertook to ‎explain the meaning of each word ‎את‎ in the Torah, proving that ‎the word invariably includes something that the Torah had not ‎spelled out specifically. However, when he came to the line ‎‎(Deuteronomy 6,13) ‎את ה' אלוקיך תירא‎, “you are to revere the Lord ‎your G’d,” he was stymied, not knowing what the word ‎את‎ in that ‎line could possibly add, as it is forbidden to revere anyone other ‎than the Lord. His students asked him if he thought that all the ‎explanations that he had found for the other times that the word ‎את‎ occurs should be disregarded? He replied that “just as the ‎Torah promises a reward for explaining its intricacies, so it ‎rewards those who refrain from offering explanations that are not ‎appropriate.” In the meantime, Rabbi Akiva who had heard of ‎Shimon ben Ammasuni’s dilemma, said that even this ‎את‎ added ‎an additional meaning to the verse in which it appeared, ‎suggesting that the Torah scholars deserve to be revered also. ‎Rabbi Akiva was able to offer this explanation since Torah ‎scholars are “greater” than the ordinary people consulting them, ‎so that they fit the principle that it is allowed to revere, be in awe ‎of, people that are greater than oneself. This is a basic difference ‎between the attribute of reverence, ‎יראה‎, and the attribute of ‎אהבה‎, love. While it is in order to say: “I am afraid of you,” to ‎someone more powerful than oneself, a king for instance, it is not ‎in order to say to such a king: “I love you.” It is, however, ‎permissible to say to such a king: “I love to be in your house,” “I ‎love to serve you,” etc.The above distinction explains why Shimon ben Amassuni ‎had not found a problem with the word ‎את‎ in Deuteronomy 6,5 ‎where the Torah writes: ‎ואהבת את ה' אלוקיך‎, “you shall love the ‎Lord your G’d.” He understood this verse as not applying to G’d’s ‎essence, but to attributes of G’d, attributes worth emulating ‎because they make Him lovable. This is also why Rabbi Akiva was ‎able to resolve his difficulty when he suggested that reverence for ‎Torah scholars, who are an extension of G’d from Whom they ‎received their knowledge and stature, therefore qualify for a ‎portion of reverence that is due to their Master. Seeing that the ‎Torah scholar is a servant of G’d, he too is entitled to some of his ‎Master’s reflected glory.‎Avraham’s major attribute was ‎אהבה‎, his love for people. This ‎attribute included even in their concerns with matters that did ‎not involve their relations to the Creator. This being so, G’d did ‎not object to his descending to Egypt, leaving the soil of the Holy ‎Land. His son Yitzchok’s primary attribute was ‎יראה‎, reverence ‎for the Essence of G’d; i.e. he concentrated all his faculties on how ‎to serve G’d. This being so, it would have interfered with his basic ‎character were he to leave the sacred soil of the land of Israel for ‎even a short period.‎