“Look to the Rock From Which You Are Hewn”

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

The Prophet Yishayahu directs us on how we can find consolation and grapple with the difficulties facing Israel along their uphill, obstacle-ridden path of thousands of years. He counsels, “Look to the rock from which you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug out. Look to Avraham your father, and to Sorah who bore you. For he was but one when I called him, and I blessed him and increased him” (Yishayahu 51:1-2).

Avraham was one and unique in his generation. He publicized faith in Hashem, the G-d of the world, by means of his family and his generation, and through the power of his own faith. Ultimately he became the father of many nations. All of mankind was influenced by him, and a great and holy nation emerged from him. And just as he was one against the many, yet succeeded, so have the Jewish People withstood all those who rose up against them, and they will continue to do so, like a mighty boulder and a well-rooted tree.

“Look to Sorah who bore you.” Sorah was physically barren, yet in profound old age she bore a child, aided by a divine miracle. It is the same with Israel’s miraculous survival. Their development contradicts the laws of nature (Ibid., Malbim). We must reflect upon the rock from which we were hewn. It says, “For from the top of the rocks I see [this nation] and from the hills I behold it” (Bamidbar 23:9). Rashi comments, “I look at their origin and at the beginning of their roots, and I behold them strongly founded like yonder rocks and mountains, which evoke the patriarchs and matriarchs.” To learn about the strength of the tree, one must gaze upon its roots. The stronger and deeper they are, the better the tree will hold fast, such that all the winds in the world will not uproot it. Likewise, to know about the hardness and special qualities of a given rock, one must ponder the boulder from which it was hewn.

In these challenging times, we must look to our roots. We must study and know ourselves by studying the character and actions of the Avot and Imahot, who were people of faith and noble traits, and who clung to G-d in all changing circumstances. They are the root of us all, and by walking in their path we shall continue to grow and flourish, and to produce sweet fruits. Then through us shall be fulfilled the words of Yishayahu (Ibid., v. 3): “For the L-rd shall comfort Tzion. He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eiden, and her desert like the garden of the L-rd. Joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”

Looking forward to salvation,
With the Love of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael,
Shabbat Shalom.