Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740-1809) teaches: “The true tzaddik does not pray only for himself, but for everyone. He cannot be content with blessings that are his alone. If others remain unblessed, he feels that he himself has not been fully blessed. Therefore, when Heaven wishes to bestow a blessing upon the tzaddik, it blesses everyone through him.
“This is the meaning of the verse, ‘The Lord had blessed Abraham with all’ (Genesis 24:1). The blessing was not merely that Abraham possessed everything he needed. Rather, his blessing lay in the fact that he blessed everything and everyone around him. Abraham’s joy was inseparable from the well-being of others, and therefore the divine blessing that rested upon him overflowed to the entire world. This is the essence of Abraham’s blessing: not receiving abundance for himself but becoming a channel through which blessing reaches all.”
Each one of us can emulate Abraham in our own lives! When we freely share our talents and resources so that they benefit others – in our work lives, our communal lives and our personal lives– we become a source of blessing, so that when we are gone, even the memory of us will be a blessing.
Shabbat Shalom
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