YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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Reading Midrash
By Rav Ezra Bick

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Please continue to pray for the critically wounded in recent terror attacks.
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Shiur #4: Abraham's Coin

	At the end of the last shiur, I introduced the midrash about Avraham's (and other's) "monetin," and suggested you try and figure out, first, what is "monetin," and second, what the midrash is saying. Now it is time to find out what we have thought of in the intervening two weeks. But first, let us review the midrash text.

A.

R. Berachya said in the name of R. Chelbo: [The verse means] that his "monetin" went out in the world. 
There are four whose monetin went out in the world.
Avraham: I shall make you a great nation; his monetin went out.  And what is his monetin? An old man and woman on one side; a lad and a maiden on the other. 

	What does the word "monetin" mean? In retrospect, I made this easy, by transliterating it as "monetin" rather than as the more accurate "monitin." As I pointed out last time, this is not an original Hebrew word, although in modern Hebrew it means repute or fame. Thinking of the Latin root - moneta - and we immediately realize that the word means "money," or, more accurately, coin. (The English word of this root with the closest meaning to the original is "mint.") Coins, as we know, have to have a distinctive minting to indicate their value and authority. The Roman emperor indicated the authority of his coins by minting his image on it, as the Queen of England does to this day. A reliable coin would be widely circulated, thereby spreading the king's fame worldwide. Hence, the monetin of our midrash literally means that Avraham had a widely circulated coin with a particular image minted on it. The midrash is apparently a comment on the verse "and I shall make your name great." The choice of images, on each side of the coin, is the subject of the midrash.

	What was Avraham's monetin? An old man and woman on one side; a lad and a maiden on the other. These are, apparently, a sort of symbol of Avraham's "reign," of his accomplishment in life. It would seem to be the equivalent of a coat of arms. What then does the old couple on one side and the young one on the other symbolize?

	I think that most midrashim are to be interpreted symbolically and therefore are subject to multiple layers of meaning, but this is especially true of a midrash that is explicitly speaking of images and symbols. So it will not be surprising that this set of images can be understood in more than one manner. Rashi (Bava Kama 97b), for instance, explains that the two youths are Yitzchak and Rivka, and the old couple are Avraham and Sara. Remember that this is the coin of Avraham and not that of Yitzchak! Accordingly, the meaning of the coin, taking both sides as a whole, is one of continuity and permanence. Even though they were old, they succeeded in producing young, and hence the idea of Avraham took root and continued. Avraham and Sara were not sterile and not a temporary phenomenon - they were the START of a living tradition.

	I would like to suggest a slightly different interpretation. Both sides of the coin represent Avraham and Sara. They were, literally, on the one hand old, and on the other hand they themselves were a lad and a maiden. This interpretation is based on one of the previous midrashim in this section, which we discussed in the previous shiur. "When I will make you into a new creation, then you will be fruitful." Avraham - and of course Sara as well, were literally remade, rejuvenated. It is not Yitzchak who is the youth, but Avraham himself. This is stated explicitly by Sara herself, when wondering about the promise of the visiting angels - "After being worn out, shall I experience youth?" Remember, both Avraham and Sara are given new names at the Brit Bein HaBetarim. In order for them to have children, in the manner of Rashi's interpretation, they have to be rejuvenated themselves, made young and fresh again. 

	This interpretation serves, I think, better as a symbol of Avraham's life, in a manner that fits my understanding of a monetin. It is indeed important that Avraham and Sara were succeeded by Yitzchak and Rivka - but is that fact the defining symbol of their lives? I am suggesting that the symbol of their lives is rejuvenation and revolution. By separating themselves from the existing culture, they reinvented themselves and, in a sense, began creation itself anew. The idea which would have interested Chazal in this metaphor - and remember, this midrash is not really giving us a pshat understanding in some incident of Avraham's life - is what this says about Judaism itself; that it is a new recreation of man, that it divorces one from the past and allows a fresh start on a new way, that time begin anew on the day that Avraham sets out on his journey. Avraham's discovery of God is the meaning of his life, and Chazal say that this discovery is rejuvenation. Avraham is not really old at all; he is a youth, discovering a totally new way of understanding the world he marvels about. To use the phrase introduced in a midrash (39,7) we saw several weeks ago, "the dew of your youth is yours."

[At least two of the other monetin described in the midrash - David and Mordechai - are of this pattern, with the two sides describing two sides of their personalities. David's coin had shepherd's tools on one side, and a mighty, royal tower on the other. Mordechai had sackcloth on one side and royal garments on the other. In both cases, the two sides describe opposing pictures, both of which were true for the personality involved. I think the midrash is trying to say that they were not only succeeding stages in the lives of David and Mordechai, but permanent parts of their personalities, and the same is true for Avraham and Sara. The case of Yehoshua is more ambiguous - an ox on one side and an antelope on the other. Both are symbols of power. We shall not discuss this image here, but you are invited to tackle these symbols on your own and share your thoughts with me.]

	As I said earlier, we are trying to interpret symbols here. I am sure that there are other possible interpretations, and, what is more, these multiple interpretations need not be considered to be mutually exclusive. So I will be happy to receive your ideas on the imagery of this midrash, and will comment on the answers in next week's mini-shiur.

B. 

	Let us continue with (and hopefully finish this time) the midrash.

R. Yudan said: I will establish for you a blessing in the Shemona Esrei, but you do not know whether Mine is first or yours is first. 
R. Achvia said in the name of R. Zeira: Yours comes before Mine, for first one says "magen Avraham" and afterwards "mechaye ha-meitim."

	This midrash is only peripherally about the text, and even that connection is pure "drush." God has told Avraham, "veheye berakha," which literally could be translated as "you will be a berakha." The midrash chooses to explain this to mean that Avraham will become a berakha in Shemona Esrei, the thrice-daily prayer. Sure enough, the first blessing ends, "Blessed be You, HaShem, the shield of Avraham. Now Rav Yudan asks, which berakha will come first, that of Avraham (magen Avraham) or the "berakha of God," which turns out to be "mechaye ha-meitim (Blessed be You, HaShem, who resurrect the dead), which in fact is the second berakha. The question appears to be incomprehensible, especially since all the blessings of the Shemona Esrei are actually about God, including magen Avraham. God is the shield of Avraham, not Avraham. And why, if indeed there is one blessing for God and one for Avraham, should the one for Avraham have precedence over the one for God?

	Since this will take us more into an understanding of the siddur and Jewish thought and a bit off the track of midrash and commentary, I will make this short. (I discussed this midrash in greater depth in the series "Understanding the Shemona Esrei, which was offered in the VBM a few years ago.) 

	The first berakha of the Shemona Esrei, which introduces one to the God to whom we pray, defines God as the God of our fathers in words which are deliberately general and universal. There is little mention of any reference to Jewish history; on the contrary, God is called "Kel Elyon konei shamayim va-aretz" (the Most High God, creator of heaven and earth). Aside from being universalist terminology, this is also a phrase coined by Malkitzedek, the king of Shalem (whom we shall meet in a future shiur), who was not Jewish, when he met Avraham. The berakha parallels the experience of Avraham, based on faith not rooted in the Jewish historical experience, but in man's innate search for God in nature (as we discussed in the first shiur). 

	The second berakha is "God's berakha," in a deeper sense than any other, because it is based on God's infinite ability to do what would otherwise be impossible. Of course every berakha describes God's power - to cure the sick, to provide sustenance, to redeem the Jewish people, etc. But this berakha describes God as unique, as He who resurrects the dead, who is discovered not within nature but rather when He OVERCOMES nature. The berakha is called by the Sages the berakha of "powers," and it describes God's power to reverse natural processes, symbolized ultimately by His power to overcome the most relentless and inexorable process of all, the process of death and dying. 

	In other words, the first berakha is about a relationship with God where we discover Him, and the second is about one where He imposes Himself on us, on nature, and on all of existence. The question then is, which should come first. As I claimed at length in the first two shiurim, the life of Avraham, the first father and the first archetype of Jewish existence, is a testament to the priority of "Man in search of God" before God appearing and forcibly revealing Himself to Man. God appears to Avraham - but only after Avraham has discovered Him. Hence, your berakha, Avraham, precedes Mine. This is not just a particular facet of Avraham's life, but a model for each and every Jew's approach to God, three times a day. Yours precedes mine!

C.

R. Abahu said: It does not say "look at the shamayim (heaven)" but rather "look ha-shamayma (a 'heh' at the prefix and the suffix)." God said: I have created the world with the letter "heh." I will add a "heh" to your name and you will be fruitful and multiply.

	Based on what we have seen this shiur and last, this midrash' interpretation is obvious. It stresses the radical nature of the transformation in Avraham, symbolized by the "heh" added to Avram - Avraham is being re-created, literally, in a process reminiscent of original creation.

[Note: The statement that the world was created with the letter "heh" is based on Bereishit 2,4; see Rashi and Bereishit Rabba (12,2)]

D. 

R. Yudan said: The (gematria) of your name will be equal to "avarekhikha" ("I will bless you"). (Avraham = 248 = avarekhikha).
R. Levi said: A man would no sooner evaluate a cow by Avraham (in order to price it before buying it) than he would be blessed, and he no sooner evaluated it for him than he would be blessed.
How (was the fulfillment of "and all families of the earth shall be blessed through you")? Avraham would pray for barren women and they would be blessed, for the ill and they would be healed.
R. Huna said: This was true not only if Avraham would visit the patient, but even if the patient only saw Avraham he would be healed.
R. Chanina said: Even ships at the great sea would be saved through the merit of Avraham. 

	If Avraham's name equals God's promise of blessing, this means that it is not so much that Avraham will be blessed in the sense that he will receive good things as that he himself will be the source of blessings for others. The equivalence of the numerical value means that one can substitute one for the other, so that Avraham's name is "I shall bless you." Avraham blesses others - and the verse continues "all the families of the earth shall be blessed through you."

	The midrash gives several examples. Taking the second series, there is a clear progression in the opinions cited by the midrash. Avraham would pray for the needy and they would be helped; he would visit them and they would be helped, they would merely look upon him and they would be helped, and finally, even ships at sea, out of sight and any direct contact, are being saved because of the merit of Avraham. In other words, Avraham is not only a source of blessing, but he becomes the conduit of all blessing for the entire world. God channels, so to speak, His providence to the world through Avraham. 

	The first set of examples, the two concerning one who does business with Avraham, expresses a similar idea, though more restricted. It is not necessary for Avraham to bless you, nor is it necessary to receive an object from Avraham. Many people might imagine that getting hold of Avraham the saint's cow would bring blessing to the house of the purchaser. But as it turns out, as soon as one begins to discuss the terms, before the deal is consummated, one is already blessed. The basic idea is that blessing comes to the world because of Avraham's presence in it, though here at least some contact with Avraham is assumed.

	We have here a development of an idea we saw in the first shiur, where Avraham was defined as "achot" because he mended (icha) the tear, the fissure between the world and God. God's providence and interest in the world depends on the bridge created by Avraham, who has searched and found God and sought His presence and Providence in the world. If we think about this, I think we realize that it is not just that Avraham worships God that is important. It is that Avraham wants God to run the world, to bring justice and righteousness into dominance in the running of the world, that is so unique. God responds not to Avraham's own righteousness as to Avraham's desire that He respond. Hence, all blessing to the world runs through the bridge that is Avraham.

	I think it is obvious that the Sages here are speaking not only, or not even mainly, about Avraham the individual, but rather about Avraham's special unit that he is creating - the Jewish people. This midrash is, in fact, closely paralleled by a passage in the Talmud (Yevamot 63):

R. Elazar said: What is the meaning of "and all the families of the earth shall be blessed through you"? Even families that live in the earth are blessed only because of ISRAEL. Even ships sailing from Gaul to Spain are blessed only because of ISRAEL. 

	Ships travelling from Gaul to Spain do not pass near the Land of Israel or any other Jewish settlement. They are basically travelling at the end of the world - but even they are blessed, are able to withstand the dangers of the sea, only because of Israel. Avraham here has been transformed into Israel, even though this statement of R. Elazar is based on the promise given to Avraham by God.

	The Sages, as is well known, were not particularly concerned with directly preaching to the non-Jewish world, or materially contributing to it. They did not think that the job of the Jewish people was to explicitly look for ways to bring blessing to the world. On the contrary, our midrash is saying that the Jewish way of life and the relationship of the Jewish people to God is itself the blessing to the world. One might even sharpen this and say that the material blessing that comes to the world as a result of the life and achievements of Avraham pass through the Jewish people but do not really stay there - the Jews are the conduit for blessing for others and very possibly may not themselves enjoy those benefits. The rain in China is a blessing of God maintained by Jewish existence, and that is the blessing of the Jews, not necessarily rain in the Land of Israel.

	This theme is based on a basic idea in Judaism. God's relationship with the world is dependent on the world being a vehicle for God's presence. God does not force Himself on the world. He is found in relationship to there being someone - the Jews - who will carry His name and provide a "home" for Him, be it the holy Temple in Jerusalem, or the "little temples" in each community, or in their hearts and actions. The life of Avraham our father and the existence of the people of God constitute a revolution in the way the entire world is run. Avraham is a blessing for the rest of the world by his very existence.

E. 

"And you shall be a blessing (berakha)." Read it as though it were written "bereikha" (a pool of water). Just as a pool (a mikva) purifies the impure, so too you will bring the distant close and purify them for their Father in heaven. 

F.

R. Berakhya said: It is already written "I will bless you." What is meant by "and you shall be a blessing"? He said to him: Until now I had to bless my world; from now on, the blessings are given to you. Bless those whom you think are worthy of being blessed.

	My time is up. Explain these last two statements in light of what we discussed in section D. Remember that a "re-reading" of the text (in E.) should not contradict the original text, but is a trick to elucidate it and deepen its meaning. 

Next shiur: 39,14; 16; 43,4-5