1
R. Eleazar was sitting one day before his father, R. Simeon, and with him were R. Judah and R. Isaac and R. Hizkiah. Said R. Eleazar to R. Simeon: In reference to this verse, GET THEE FORTH FROM THY LAND AND FROM THY KINDRED, since they all went forth, why was not Abram told that they should go?
2
For though Terah was an idolater, yet since he had the good impulse to go forth with Abram, and since, as we know, God delights in the repentance of sinners, and Terah actually began the journey, why is it not written “get ye forth”? Why was it said to Abram alone “get thee forth”?
3
R. Simeon replied: If you think that Terah left Ur of the Chaldees in order to repent of his past life, you are mistaken. The truth is that he was running away for his life, as his fellow-countrymen wanted to kill him. For when they saw that Abram was delivered (from the fiery furnace) they said to Terah, “It is you who misled us with those idols of yours”, and it was through fear of them that Terah left. When he reached Haran he did not go any further, as it is written, “And Abram went as the Lord had said to him, and Lot went with him”, but Terah is not mentioned.
4
R. Simeon expounded in this connection the text, “And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken” (Job 38, 15). The words “and from the wicked their light is withholden”, he said, can be referred to Nimrod and his contemporaries, from whom Abram, who was their light, departed. “The high arm is broken” refers to Nimrod.
5
Or we may refer them to Terah and his household, whose light was Abram. It does not say “light”, but “their light”, viz. the light that was with them. “The high arm is broken” refers to Nimrod, who led astray the whole of mankind. Therefore it is written lech lecha (lit. go for thyself), to give light to thyself and to all that shall follow thee from now onwards.
6
R. Simeon further discoursed on the text, “Now they see not the light; it is bright in the skies, and a wind passeth and cleanseth them” (Job 37, 21). “Now they see not the light”, i.e. Abram’s family saw not the light when God said to Abram, “Get thee forth from thy land and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house”. “It is bright in the skies” means that God willed to make Abram cleave to that supernal light and to shine there.
7
“A wind passeth and cleanseth them”: because subsequently Terah and all his household repented, as it is said, “and the souls which they had saved (lit. made) in Haran”, referring to Terah’s household, and further, “and thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace” (Gen. 15, 15), which shows that Terah joined Abram.
8
(There are seven blessings in this passage) One, "And I will make of you a great nation"; two, "and I will bless you"; three, "and make your name great"; four, "and you shall be a blessing"; five, "And I will bless them that bless you"; six, "and curse him that curses you"; and seven, "and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed." And after he received these seven blessings, it is written, "So Abram departed, as Hashem had spoken to him." (Meaning he went) down to the world, as he was commanded to do.
9
Immediately, "Lot went with him." This is the serpent that was cursed and caused the world to be cursed. The scriptures call the serpent by the name Lot, because Lot means 'a curse' in Aramaic. The serpent was cursed and brought curses on the world. So he accompanies the soul during its stay in this world. And the serpent stands at the opening, in order to mislead the body. And this is why the soul will not start fulfilling the mission it was commanded to perform until it has completed thirteen years in this world. Because from the twelfth year onward, the soul is aroused to fulfill its task. Therefore, it is written, "and Abram was seventy five years old" (Gen. 12:4) and seven and five equals twelve. and curse them that curse you, and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed."
10
And then the soul can be seen in this world, because it comes from the "five years," which are the five hundred parasangs of the Tree of Life. "And seventy years" refers to the same tree, which is the seventh among the grades, namely, the Nukva, which is the seventh Sefirah among the seven Sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut. And then the soul is acknowledged as the offspring of Zeir Anpin and the Nukva. Then the soul departs from the filth of the serpent and enters to the holy work. And so it is written, "when he departed out of Charan" from the wrath and aggression of the Satan, who until now had ruled over the body by deceiving it.
11
The Orlah (lit. 'foreskin') rules over the tree for three years. In the human being, the first thirteen years are called the "Orlah years." After the body has lived these years, the soul is aroused to fulfill its holy task. It then receives full control over the body and inspires the goodwill necessary to overcome the serpent. And then the serpent will not be able to control the body as it did before.
12
As it is written, "And Abram took Sarai his wife..." (Gen. 12:5). This refers to the body, which in comparison to the soul is like the female toward the male. "And Lot his brother's son" refers to the serpent that does not completely leave the body because the clinging of the body is not entirely gone from it. Nevertheless, the arousal of the soul strikes it always, warns and reproves it, and forces it to obey so that it cannot take control any more.
13
"And all their substance that they had gathered..." refers to the good deeds that a person performs in this world because of the awakening of the soul. "And the souls (Nefesh) that they had made in Charan...", that Nefesh, which at first was attached to the foreskin of the body and clung to it and which later was amended (by the Neshamah). So after thirteen years, when the Neshamah is aroused to amend the body, both amend that Nefesh that participated in the harsh (judgments) of the serpent and its evil desires. As it is written, "and the Nefesh that they had made in Charan..."
14
the reason this is written in the plural is because it refers to the Neshamah and the body, which together amend the Nefesh, the Neshamah by awakening the body, and the body by its good deeds. With all of this, the Neshamah continues to attack the serpent in order to break it, so that it will surrender and be enslaved under the influence of repentance. Therefore, it is written, "And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem" (Gen. 12:6), because Shechem is the dwelling place of the Shechinah. And that is because the power of the serpent has already been completely broken by the Neshamah. (End of Sitrei Torah)...