Among all the great personalities that appear in the Torah, the Avos (forefathers) hold an exalted place. Chazal tell us there are only three Avos. This statement indicates that an Av is not merely an ancestor, because we also descend from Terach and Noach, yet they are not described as our forefathers. Rather, from the Avos we have inherited a profound connection to HaShem.
The Midrash states: “The Avos are the Chariot.” Maharal explains that they are the vehicle by which HaShem dwells in this world. Rav Eliyahu E. Dessler, ztz”l, elaborates on this image: Every action of the Avos revealed HaShem in the world. Three character traits form the foundation of all middos. HaShem represents these three qualities in their perfection. However, before the Avos, people were unaware of these traits and how they demonstrate HaShem’s greatness. The Avos excelled in these attributes, thereby demonstrating HaShem’s greatness and teaching others how to emulate Him by emulating them. By analyzing how they excelled in each trait, we can understand how we too should approach character development and, in turn, deepen our connection to HaShem.
The three traits embodied by the Avos are chesed, gevurah, and emes – kindness, strength, and truth. (We will see in later essays that these translations do not convey the full meaning of the Hebrew terms.) Avraham excelled in chesed, Yitzchak in gevurah, and Yaakov in emes. Each Av was to teach his special quality to the world. As Rav Dessler writes, this teaches us that “the first goal of man’s Divine service is to recognize and reveal his main trait, perfect it through the Torah, and be strong in it.” We learn from the Avos that if a person naturally inclines toward a certain trait, HaShem gave him that particular strength so he can utilize it to fulfill His will. However, Rav Dessler notes, we also learn from the Avos that it is insufficient to perfect our natural strengths; we must also work hard to develop those virtues that are less naturally in tune with our character.
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, ztz”l, expands on this point: He observes that the Avos more than anyone else faced extremely difficult tests, particularly in areas that challenged their natural inclinations. Rav Kamenetsky explains that even though a person excels in his avodas HaShem through his own natural traits, he may be not acting purely out of a desire to perform HaShem’s will; rather, he may simply be following his nature. To ascertain the intentions behind his actions, it is necessary to test him, to place him in situations where he must defy his natural inclinations. If he still succeeds in doing HaShem’s will, it demonstrates that his actions are purely for the sake of HaShem.
In addition to the lessons we can learn from the Avos about character, their contemporaries add their own contributions through their traits. The Imahos also excelled in specific qualities, complementing their husbands’ own strengths. Indeed, with regard to Sarah and Rivkah, their natural qualities were clearly the opposite of their husbands’.
In contrast, there are a number of less wholesome characters whose lives were very much intertwined with those of the Avos. They teach us a great deal about how the very same character traits can be misapplied by a person who is not driven by serving HaShem.
The Torah is a Toras chaim, a guide to living. This is nowhere more apparent than in its accounts of the Avos and Imahos. May we enlighten our lives in our studies of these great people and those around them.
From the book “Beacons of Light”