Torah Ohr · Parshas Lech Lecha · Maamar 2
. פי׳ מגן אברהם. דהנה נודע שאברהם הוא…
“I am a shield to you”: the meaning of “Shield of Avraham”
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The big idea
Avraham’s kindness is boundless, and boundless kindness would give endless life even to evil; the “shield” G‑d places over Avraham’s kindness measures it, so that the world receives kindness for its good while evil receives only what it needs and can finally be removed.
The maamar in brief
The maamar explains G‑d’s promise “I am a shield to you” and the blessing “Shield of Avraham.” Avraham embodies Chesed without restraint: he sees all as good, and even knowing what Yishmael was, he asked that Yishmael live forever, by limitless kindness. This is why the Sifrei says Yishmael came forth from Avraham: from the overflow of his kindness. But such kindness cannot be the world’s final order, since the days of Mashiach require that death be swallowed up and impurity removed from the land. So Yitzchak came with judgment; yet harsh judgment produced Eisav, and only Yaakov’s balanced bed was complete. A shield is a covering, like the sheath of the sun in “a sun and a shield”: it tempers the great light so that it can be borne, until the Time to Come when G‑d takes the sun out of its sheath. Every morning Avraham’s kindness is aroused, and G‑d wishes to lead the world with kindness. Without a shield, that kindness would give the kelipos unlimited life-force, though they are meant to receive only what they need for darkness to be turned into light. So each morning we bless G‑d as “Shield of Avraham,” asking Him to shield Avraham’s kindness for our good.
Outline
- Avraham’s boundless kindnessAvraham is Chesed without restraint; he asked that Yishmael live forever, by kindness without limit, though he knew what Yishmael was.¶1
- Why unlimited kindness is not enoughYishmael came from Avraham’s excess kindness and Eisav from Yitzchak’s harsh judgment; the days of Mashiach require evil to be removed, and only Yaakov’s balance was complete.¶2
- What a shield isA shield is a covering, like the sheath that makes the sun’s light bearable until the Time to Come.¶3
- The morning blessing “Shield of Avraham”Each morning Avraham’s kindness is aroused; we ask that it be shielded and contracted so the kelipos receive only what they need and evil can be eradicated.¶4
Key concepts
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving without limit, the quality of Avraham, which sees only good and gives even to the unworthy.
- Shield (magen)מגן
- A covering that screens and tempers; here, the measure placed on Avraham’s kindness so that it can be received rightly.
- Sheath (nartik)נרתק
- The covering of the sun that makes its great light bearable; the Sages say it will be removed in the Time to Come.
- Judgment (din)דין
- The quality of Yitzchak: restraint and strict measure, the opposite of unlimited kindness.
- tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- Giving in a contracted, measured way, so that the kelipos receive only the life-force they need.
- kelipos (the husks)קליפות
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness; they must be sustained for a purpose, the transformation of darkness into light, but not without limit.
For children · ages 9–13
Shield of Avraham
The big idea
Kindness is very great, but it needs a measure, as the sun needs a covering, so that it brings only good.
G‑d told Avraham, “I am a shield to you,” and every day in the Amidah we call G‑d “Shield of Avraham.” What does this mean? Avraham’s quality is Chesed, kindness. He saw good in everyone, and his kindness had no limits. But kindness with no limit at all is not enough. It would give endless strength even to what is not good, and the world is meant to reach the days of Mashiach, when all that is bad is gone and darkness is turned into light. Strictness alone is not complete either. Only Yaakov’s way, a balance of kindness and strictness, was complete. A shield is a covering. The verse says that G‑d is “a sun and a shield.” Every morning Avraham’s kindness wakes up in the world, and G‑d wants to lead the world with kindness. So we ask Him to be “Shield of Avraham”: to measure that kindness so that it goes to what is good, and so that what is not good receives only what it needs, until it can be removed completely.
The mashal
If the sun had no covering, no one could bear its great light. The covering, like a shield, holds back some of the light so that we can enjoy it. In the Time to Come, G‑d will take the sun out of its covering.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- Why does even kindness need a measure?
- How is the covering of the sun like a shield?
- When you are kind to someone this week, how can you make sure your kindness really does good?
Explanation © likuteitorah.com, CC BY-NC 4.0: retold for children from our translation and explanation, with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a human editor.
Avraham’s boundless kindness ¶1
1(אנכי מגן לך).12 פי׳ מגן אברהם.34 דהנה נודע שאברהם הוא בחי׳ חסד גדול עד מאד בלי שום מונע וכולם טובים בעיניו והוא רק טוב
(“I am a shield to you.”) This means “the Shield of Avraham.” For it is known that Avraham is the level of an exceedingly great Chesed (kindness), without any restraint at all; all are good in his eyes, and he is only good.
G‑d’s promise to Avraham, “I am a shield to you,” is the source of the phrase “Shield of Avraham” that closes the first blessing of the Amidah. To understand what the “shield” is, the Alter Rebbe first describes Avraham himself: he embodies Chesed, kindness that flows out with nothing holding it back, seeing only good in everyone because he himself is only good.
ולכן אמר לו ישמעאל יחיה לפניך5 שפי׳ שיחיה לעד לפניך שהוא בחי׳ א״ס בלי גבול ואעפ״י [ואף על פי]
Therefore he said, “O that Yishmael might live before You,” which means that he should live forever before You, which is the level of the endless (ein sof), without limit. And even though
When G‑d promised Avraham a son from Sarah, Avraham answered, “O that Yishmael might live before You.” The Alter Rebbe reads “live before You” as a request for life without end, an endless, limitless life: the natural wish of boundless kindness.
שהוא יודע מהו ישמעאל6 אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] מחמת חסד גדול וטובו הגדול7 רוצה שיחיה ולא זו בלבד אלא שרצה שיחיה לחסד בלי גבול.8
he knows what Yishmael is, nevertheless, because of [his] great kindness and his great goodness, he wants him to live; and not only this, but he wanted him to live by a kindness without limit.
Avraham was not blind to Yishmael’s faults; he knew what Yishmael was. Yet his kindness was so great that he wanted Yishmael to live, and to live not by merit but by kindness that has no limit.
The paragraph introduces the verse “I am a shield to you” and the blessing “Shield of Avraham,” and sets out the problem the maamar will solve: Avraham’s Chesed is boundless, and it wished limitless life even for Yishmael.
The whole maamar turns on the difference between Avraham as unlimited Chesed and the “shield” that measures that Chesed. Here the unlimited quality is shown at its most extreme: it extends endless life even to one known to be unworthy.
Marei mekomos
- 1אנכי מגן לך · הצ״צ קורא למאמר זה בענין ”פי׳ מגן אברהם” — אוה״ת בשלח ע׳ תנב. נדפס גם באוה״ת כרך ד תרצג, א. [מלקו״ת לג״פ פז, ד]. וראה גם ד״ה והיה ברכה תרל״ט ע׳ א. ד״ה זה נזכר לקמן קטו, ב. בלקו״ת אמור טז, ב ”בפ׳ וירא”. שה״ש יט, ד. ראה בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע.
- 2אנכי מגן לך · Genesis 15:1
- 3פי׳ מגן אברהם · Psalms 18:15
- 4מגן אברהם · Bereshit Rabbah 48:1
- 5
- 6ואעפ״י שהוא יודע מהו ישמעאל · ולהעיר מאוה״ת ח״ש (קכא, א. תמה, רע״א) שאילולי הי׳ יודע שיצא לתרבות רעה כ״כ לא הי׳ רוצה כלל להחזיקו אלא הי׳ סבור שיהי׳ גם הוא הגון וחשוב רק לא כיצחק — לקו״ש חט״ו ע׳ 196.
- 7שו״ה ישמעאל — חסד גדול וטובו הגדול · בבוך 2056: חסדו וטובו הגדול.
- 8שו״ה זו בלבד — שיחיה לחסד בלי גבול, וזהו דאיתא · בבוך 2056: שיחיה לעד וזשארז״ל.
Why unlimited kindness is not enough ¶2
And this is what is taught: “Not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael came forth”; and he came forth because of the abundance of his kindness. But in truth this is not fitting.
The Sifrei contrasts the patriarchs: from Avraham came Yishmael, and from Yitzchak came Eisav, but all of Yaakov’s children were righteous. The Alter Rebbe explains why Yishmael came from Avraham: it was the overflow of his abundant kindness. Yet such limitless kindness, extended even to what is unworthy, is not really how things should be.
דהנה בביאת משיח אי״ה [אם ירצה השם] כתיב בלע המות לנצח.4 ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ.5 וצריך לבער כל הרע מן הארץ
For of the coming of Mashiach, G‑d willing, it is written, “He will swallow up death forever,” and “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land”; and all the evil must be eradicated from the land.
The goal of history is the time of Mashiach, when, as the prophets say, death will be swallowed up forever and the spirit of impurity removed from the land. That requires that evil be entirely eradicated, not endlessly sustained.
ואם יתנהג העולם בחסדו הגדול כנ״ל לא היה העולם יכולים לבא למדרגה הנ״ל של משיח.6
And if the world were to be conducted by his great kindness, as said above, the world would not be able to come to the aforementioned level of Mashiach.
If the world ran only on Avraham’s unlimited kindness, evil would keep receiving life without end, and the world could never reach the perfection of the days of Mashiach.
ולכן בא יצחק בחי׳ דין ואף יצחק יצא ממנו עשו מחמת דינו הקשה על חרבך תחיה.7 אך יעקב היתה מטתו שלימה:
Therefore Yitzchak came, the level of judgment; yet from Yitzchak, too, Eisav came forth, because of his harsh judgment: “By your sword shall you live.” But Yaakov’s bed was complete.
So Yitzchak came, embodying din (judgment and restraint), the opposite quality. But judgment alone also produces an imbalance: from Yitzchak came Eisav, whose blessing was “By your sword shall you live,” a life of harshness. Only Yaakov, who combines the two qualities, had a “complete bed”: all his children were fit and holy.
The paragraph shows that pure kindness (Avraham) and pure judgment (Yitzchak) each produce something unworthy, Yishmael and Eisav, while Yaakov’s balance produced only good. Unlimited kindness cannot bring the world to its goal, where evil is removed.
The phrase “came forth” (yatza) is read in the Rebbe Rashab’s discourse cited in the notes as the dross and refuse of holiness: Yishmael as the excess of Avraham’s Chesed. Yaakov, whose quality is Tiferes, the harmony of Chesed and Gevurah, is the balance that leaves no such waste.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · ספרי דברים לב, ט. ראה לקמן כח, ב.
- 2לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · Sifrei Devarim 312:1–2
- 3ויצא מחמת רוב חסדו · בד״ה וראיתם אותו תרס״ו ע׳ רסד מפרש ”פי׳ יצא שיצא ממנו בבחי׳ סיגים ופסולת שלו כו׳ דהיינו בחי׳ מותרי החסדי׳ דקדושה שיצא מאברהם איש החסד כו׳”, ע״ש.
- 4בלע המות לנצח · Isaiah 25:8
- 5ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ · Zechariah 13:2
- 6שו״ה הארץ — ואם יתנהג העולם . . הנ״ל של משיח · בבוך 2056: ואם היה העולם מתנהג בחסדו הגדול לא הי׳ העולם יכולים לבוא למדריגות של המשיח הנ״ל.
- 7על חרבך תחי׳ · Genesis 27:40
What a shield is ¶3
Now, it is known that a shield (magen) is the name for something that covers; for example, in war, what one covers oneself with, so that the bow will not prevail over him, is called a shield.
Now the Alter Rebbe defines “shield”: something that covers. In battle a shield is what a soldier holds over himself so that the enemy’s arrows cannot reach him.
The verse pairs “sun” and “shield” with two Names of G‑d. The sun’s light is so strong that no one could bear it without a covering, a “sheath” that screens it. The sheath is the shield: it does not block the light completely but tempers it so that we can bear it.
וזהו לעתיד לבא הקב״ה6 מוציא חמה מנרתקה וצדיקים מתהנים בה ורשעים נדונים בה.
And this is [the meaning of the teaching that] in the Time to Come the Holy One, blessed be He, will take the sun out of its sheath, and the righteous will benefit from it and the wicked will be judged by it.
The Sages teach that in the Time to Come G‑d will take the sun out of its sheath: the unscreened light will benefit the righteous and be a judgment for the wicked. This shows what the sheath does now: it makes the great light bearable for everyone.
The paragraph defines a “shield” as a covering and illustrates it with the verse “a sun and a shield”: the shield is the sheath that tempers the sun’s overwhelming light so the world can bear it.
In Tanya (Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 4), cited in the notes, the same verse and saying are explained: the Name Elokim is a sheath and shield for the Name Havayah, concealing the creative force so that creations can exist. The Rebbe Maharash, quoting this passage, notes that most discourses explain the “shield” instead as the parochos, the curtain between Atzilus and Beriah.
Marei mekomos
- 1מגן נק׳ · Bereshit Rabbah 44:1–2
- 2מגן נק׳ דבר המכסה למשל במלחמה · קטע מכאן מובא בד״ה והי׳ ברכה — סה״מ תרל״ט ע׳ ג, והעיר ע״ז ”אך ברוב הדרושים פי׳ דבחי׳ מגן ז״ע הפרוכת, שהוא הפרסא שבין אצי׳ לבריאה כמ״ש בכ״ד”.
- 3נק׳ מגן — מה שמכסה בו שלא ישלוט עליו הקשת · בד״ה והי׳ ברכה תרל״ט ע׳ ג: ועפ״ז פי׳ הפסוק שמש ומגן כו׳ שהשמש אם לא הי׳ לו נרתק לא היו יכולים לסבול אורו הגדול, והנרתק הוא המגין שנוכל לסבול, רק לע״ל הקב״ה מוציא חמה מנרתקה כו׳, אך ברוב הדרושים פי׳ דבחי׳ מגן ז״ע הפרוכת, שהוא הפרסא שבין אצי׳ לבריאה כמ״ש בכ״ד וע׳ בפ׳ תצוה בד״ה ואתה תצוה גבי וענין הפרוכת הוא.
- 4כי שמש ומגן · Psalms 84:12
- 5והנרתק הוא המגין · ראה לקמן פא, ד. וביהל אור ע׳ שא.
- 6לעתיד לבא הקב״ה · Nedarim 8b:6
The morning blessing “Shield of Avraham” ¶4
4והנה נודע שבכל בוקר דאברהם בחי׳ חסד מתעורר בעולם1 וישכם אברהם בבוקר2 וכדאיתא בזוה״ק [בזוהר הקדוש]3 והקב״ה רוצה להנהיג את העולם בבחי׳ חסד.
Now, it is known that every morning [the quality] of Avraham, the level of Chesed (kindness), is aroused in the world, [as it is written,] “And Avraham rose early in the morning,” and as is taught in the holy Zohar; and the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to conduct the world with the level of kindness.
Each morning Avraham’s quality, Chesed, is awakened in the world, as the verse “And Avraham rose early in the morning” connects Avraham with the morning. G‑d’s wish is to run the world with kindness.
אם לא היה מגן לבחי׳ חסד הנ״ל לצמצם חסדו וטובו ולתת דרך צמצום4 כמו שצריך רק להחיות הקליפות מפני שצריכין בשביל סטרא דקדושה שיהיה אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא כידוע.
[But] were there no shield for the aforementioned level of kindness, to contract His kindness and goodness and to give by way of tzimtzum (contraction) just as much as is needed merely to give life to the kelipos (the husks), since they are needed for the sake of the side of holiness, so that there be a transformation of darkness into light, as is known;
But kindness needs a shield that measures it out. Even the kelipos, the forces that conceal holiness, must receive some life, because holiness needs them: their darkness is meant to be turned into light. The shield ensures they receive only the bare minimum they need, through tzimtzum (contraction).
ואם לא היה דרך צמצום היה חיותם בלי גבול ולא היו יכולים לבער הרע מן הארץ.
and were it not by way of tzimtzum, their life-force would be without limit, and it would not be possible to eradicate the evil from the land.
Without that contraction, the kelipos would receive unlimited life-force, just as Yishmael would have from Avraham’s boundless kindness, and evil could never be eradicated from the world.
ולכן בכל בוקר כשמתעורר מדת אברהם מדת חסד כנ״ל אנו צריכין לברך ברכת מגן אברהם. מגין שיעשה מגין לבחי׳ אברהם הנ״ל לטובתינו:5
Therefore every morning, when the attribute of Avraham, the attribute of kindness, is aroused, as said above, we must recite the blessing “Shield of Avraham”: a shield, meaning that He make a shield for the aforementioned level of Avraham, for our good.
This is the meaning of the blessing “Shield of Avraham” in the morning prayer: as Avraham’s kindness wakes each morning, we ask G‑d to place a shield over it, measuring the kindness so that it benefits us and does not feed evil without limit.
The paragraph applies the idea to prayer: each morning Avraham’s kindness is aroused, and in the blessing “Shield of Avraham” we ask that it be shielded and measured, giving the kelipos only what they need so evil can finally be removed.
The shield is not a withholding of kindness but its proper measure: the kelipos are sustained only as far as their purpose requires, the transformation of darkness into light. A manuscript version cited in the notes makes the link with the Names explicit: Havayah is Chesed, and Elokim is the shield that contracts it so that the world can bear it.
Marei mekomos
- 1שבכל בוקר דאברהם בחי׳ חסד מתעורר בעולם · בענין אברהם הוא חסד עולם, ראה לקמן סט, א. פב, א ואילך. מאמרי אדה״ז תקס״ה ח״א ע׳ דש ואילך. מאמרי אדה״א שמות ח״ב ע׳ שלח ואילך. סה״מ תרכ״ז ע׳ קצט. תרל״ט ע׳ א.
- 2וישכם אברהם בבוקר · Genesis 22:3
- 3וכדאיתא בזוה״ק · Zohar I, 203a
- 4שו״ה הנ״ל — דרך צמצום · בבוך 2056: דרך צמצם להחיות האומות כפי שצריכים בשביל ישראל או מפני שעבוד מלכיות כנודע הי׳ החיות בלי גבול: ולא היו יכולים.
- 5שו״ה ורשעים — נדונים בה . . וישכם · בבוך 2056 נוסף: כך הוא בשמות אלו, הוי״ה הוא חסד, אלקים הוא מגן וצמצום חסדו ואורו בכדי שיהי׳ העולם יכול לסובלו: והנה נודע שבכל בוקר נתעורר מדת אברהם בחי׳ חסד כמ״ש: וישכם.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Every morning, as Avraham’s kindness awakens in the world, the blessing “Shield of Avraham” in prayer asks G‑d to shield that kindness, measuring it so that it is for our good and does not give evil unlimited life.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Alter Rebbe read Avraham’s plea “O that Yishmael might live before You” as a request for life without limit?
- If Avraham knew what Yishmael was, why did he still want him to live, and what does that reveal about unlimited kindness?
- Why does neither pure kindness (Avraham) nor pure judgment (Yitzchak) produce a “complete bed,” while Yaakov does?
- How does the sheath of the sun illustrate a shield that tempers light rather than blocking it?
- Why must the kelipos receive some life-force at all, and why only as much as they need?
Key terms in this maamar
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×7
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×1
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×2
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×2
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome. ×1