Every young sports enthusiast dreams of getting a press pass. What’s a press pass? It’s a card normally given to members of the media allowing them access to the field and the clubhouse, so they can speak with and interview the players and coaches. Sometimes, though, a fan can do some wheeling and dealing and get his hands on this precious commodity, so that he can go onto the playing field and into the clubhouse together with his favorite players. Once a person has this card in his hands, it doesn’t matter who he is and what he does. He does not have to be a journalist, photographer, sportscaster, announcer, or anybody of importance. He just flashes the card and goes right in.
We, le’havdil, have a special “press pass,” something that grants us special access to none other than the Almighty Himself.
Every time we come before Hashem to recite the Amidah prayer, presenting to Him all our requests, we begin by mentioning the three avot (patriarchs). We turn to Hashem and refer to him not just as “G-d,” or even as “our G-d,” but as אלוקינו ואלוקי אבותינו, אלוקי אברהם אלוקי יצחק ואלוקי יעקב – “our G-d, the G-d of our fathers, the G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yitzhak, and the G-d of Yaakov.” And we emphasize that although G-d is generally kind – גומל חסדים טובים – He specifically performs kindness for us, the descendants of the avot: וזוכר חסדי אבות ומביא גואל לבני בניהם – “and who remembers the kindnesses of the patriarchs, and brings the redeemer to their descendants.”
This is our “press pass” to access Hashem’s kindness. We acknowledge that we might not necessarily belong in the “clubhouse” by our own merits, based on who we are or what we’ve done, but we should still be granted access to Hashem’s benevolence because of חסדי אבות – the deeds of our forefathers.
זכות אבות in the Torah
One of the Biblical sources of this concept – known as זכות אבות (“merit of the patriarchs”) – appears in Parashat Ekev, where Moshe Rabbenu makes the following statement to Beneh Yisrael:
אל תאמר בלבבך...בצדקתי הביאני ה' לרשת את הארץ הזאת... לא בצדקתך וביושר לבבך אתה בא לרשת את ארצם, כי ברשעת הגויים האלה ה' אלוקיך מורישם מפניך ולמען הקים את הדבר אשר נשבע ה' לאבותיך, לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב.
Do not say in your heart… “It is because of my piety that G-d has brought me to possess this land…” It is not because of your piety and your upright heart that you are coming to possess their land, for it is because of the evil of these nations that Hashem your G-d is vanquishing them for you, and in order to fulfill what Hashem promised your forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. (Devarim 9:4-5)
Moshe makes it very clear that Beneh Yisrael did not deserve the Land of Israel. It was given to them only because of זכות אבות, in the merit of their righteous patriarchs, to whom G-d made a promise that their descendants would take possession of Eretz Yisrael.
In fact, without זכות אבות, Beneh Yisrael would have remained as slaves in Egypt, forever.
Back in the Book of Shemot (2:24), the Torah introduces the story of the burning bush – where G-d first appeared to Moshe and commanded him to lead Beneh Yisrael out of Egypt – by saying, וישמע אלוקים את נאקתם, ויזכור אלוקים את בריתו את אברהם את יצחק ואת יעקב – “G-d heard their sighs, and G-d remembered His covenant with Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov.” It was only due to His promise to the patriarchs that Hashem brought their descendants, Beneh Yisrael, out of Egyptian bondage.
Later, as Beneh Yisrael found themselves trapped at the shores of the Yam Suf, G-d told Moshe that there was no need to pray, and Beneh Yisrael should simply journey forward into the sea (מה תצעק אלי, דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו – Shemot 14:15). Rashi explains that Hashem informed Moshe that there was no need to pray because the merit of their forefathers, combined with the people’s faith, sufficed to earn the miracle of the splitting of the sea so that they could cross and flee from the pursuing Egyptian army. The implication is that without the merit of the patriarchs, the sea would not have split, and the nation would not have been saved.
It turns out, then, that זכות אבות is what allowed Beneh Yisrael to be freed from Egypt, to cross the sea when they were pursued by the Egyptians, and to take eternal possession of Eretz Yisrael. Talk about a powerful “press pass”!
Another example appears towards the end of the Book of Vayikra, in Parashat Behukotai, at the conclusion of the section of the קללות – the “curses” which Hashem warns would befall the Jewish People, Heaven forbid, if they disobey the Torah. This section describes the most frightening and tragic events imaginable, such as death by war, famine and disease. The Torah speaks of a time when Beneh Yisrael breach their covenant with Hashem, resulting in grave calamity and their banishment from their land. But then Hashem says:
וזכרתי את בריתי יעקב ואף את בריתי צחק ואף את בריתי אברהם אזכור...
I shall remember My covenant with Yaakov, as well as My covenant with Yitzhak, and I shall remember also My covenant with Avraham…
Even when the nation is so sinful that it is deserving of the harshest suffering, the merit of their ancestors will help them and ultimately save them. זכות אבות is what prevents our annihilation even in times when we are, G-d-forbid, worthy of it. This is how valuable this “press pass” is.
We need to ask, how does this work? What exactly is the concept of זכות אבות, and how does it help us? Why do we deserve great miracles just because we had ancestors who were spiritual giants?
The Four-Minute Mile
On May 6, 1954, an athlete named Roger Bannister did something unprecedented. He ran a mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.
This was considered at the time a historic achievement of monumental proportions. Until that day, no athlete had ever succeeded in running a mile in under four minutes. Roger Bannister was the first person in history to accomplish the feat – completing the mile .6 seconds faster than four minutes. This was hailed as an extraordinary accomplishment.
Since that day, this feat has been accomplished literally thousands of times, and some runners did even better. The current world record is held by a Moroccan athlete named Hicham El Guerrouj, who in 1999 ran a mile in 3 minutes, 43 seconds. If he had run alongside Bannister in 1954, he would have been over 100 yards ahead. And yet, Roger Bannister is celebrated as the greatest modern runner, not El Guerrouj. And there is a fellow named Steve Scott who ran a mile under four minutes about 140 times. Yet, his name is not nearly as famous and celebrated as the name Roger Bannister.
The reason is because Bannister was the first. He opened the door that had been locked for so many centuries. He laid the foundation for others to follow. He shattered the proverbial glass ceiling. He did what nobody else thought possible. And once he did, he allowed others to come and build upon his accomplishment.
The same is true about our righteous avot. They broke the barrier, so-to-speak, creating the foundation of religious greatness for us to build on.
Rav Haim of Volozhin, in his Ru’ah Haim, explains that each patriarch paved the way for us in a different area of achievement. Avraham left his homeland upon hearing Hashem’s call to build a new life in Eretz Yisrael. He paved the way for people who made major life changes, who completely transformed their lives, for the sake of dedicating themselves to Hashem. And Yitzhak was the first who prepared to sacrifice his life for G-d. This was, tragically, done millions upon millions of times since, as Jews surrendered their lives for their faith, whether it was during the time of the Greeks, the time of the Romans, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the numerous other periods of brutal persecution that our nation has suffered. The strength to make this עקידה, this unfathomable sacrifice, comes from Yitzhak. Finally, Yaakov brought us the strength to survive and even succeed and prosper in foreign lands, while living among hostile peoples or hostile influences. What we take almost for granted today – that Torah Judaism can thrive in a foreign country, living among non-Jews, submerged in a society with ideas and lifestyles that are diametrically opposed to ours – is in truth something remarkable. This is because Yaakov Avinu broke that barrier, heroically retaining his faith and thriving during the years he spent with his corrupt uncle, Lavan. He was the Robert Bannister of surviving in exile, laying the foundations upon which we are now able to build.
This concept is expressed by the Gemara when it makes the point that Avraham Avinu was the first person to ever refer to Hashem with the term אדון (“Master,” or “Ruler”). Of course, we use this term all the time in referring to Hashem, and we don’t consider this much of a big deal. But the fact that Avraham called Hashem אדון was a VERY big deal, because it was something entirely new. Before him, nobody recognized the existence of a Creator who rules and governs the earth. Avraham was the first to do that, and this breakthrough is what allows us to recognize Hashem without any second thought.
A contemporary analogy might be the case of an American Jewish kid who decides when he’s in 12th grade that he wants to go learn in yeshiva. Many parents are fearful of sending their children away to yeshiva, worrying that the boy might become something different from what they hoped, and that it might derail his plans of a successful career or business. It is not easy for the child of such parents to decide he wants to learn in yeshiva, and it will not be easy for him to go against his parents’ preference. By contrast, the child of yeshiva and seminary graduates has a much smoother time reaching this decision and fulfilling his or her wishes. As the parents had already laid the foundation, it is far easier for the child to follow suit.
On a personal note, my decision to become a Rabbi, and the process of growing into the role, was less difficult for me than it was for many of my colleagues, because I am the son of a prominent Rabbi. He, in a sense, laid the foundation for me, making it easier for me to step into the role and do, on some level, what he does.
The Windows on the 83rd Floor
With this in mind, we can understand more clearly how the concept of זכות אבות works.
We’ll use the example of a contractor who is hired to lay the foundations for a building. He and his team spend weeks preparing the ground and pouring the concrete. Over the next several months, everything is put into place, and the first several floors are built. In the ensuing months, other contractors are invited to continue the work.
Imagine the guy who, in the later stages of building, is brought in to install the windows on the 83rd floor of the skyscraper. His achievement is certainly less impressive than that of the original contractor, who prepared the foundations for the building. But nevertheless, he is worthy of being considered an important contributor to the project. Although he depended upon the hard work of the original team, he still deserves credit for his contribution.
In essence, this is what זכות אבות means. It means that although we will never be as great as our outstanding patriarchs, we can receive credit by building upon their work, to whatever extent we can. They laid the foundations, and we extend the building upwards.
As we saw earlier, the Jewish People were not always worthy of the kindnesses Hashem performed for them. And there were times when He punished the nation for their wrongdoing. But as long as we remain part of the project, making whatever small contribution we can, and, of course, ensuring not to destroy what our ancestors built, we receive some of their merit.
This message is succinctly conveyed by a remark made by Tosafot, commenting on the Gemara’s discussion of זכות אבות in Masechet Shabbat. The Gemara establishes that תמה זכות אבות – the merit of our patriarchs has ceased. The tank is now empty, without any merits left for us to access. The Gemara cites different opinions are to when this happened. One opinion claims that the merit was depleted during the time of the prophet Hoshea, another says this occurred during the time of Eliyahu, another maintained that this occurred during the reign of Chizkiyahu, and there is also a view that this happened when a king named Hazael ruled over the neighboring nation of Aram. In any event, all opinions seem to agree that we no longer have access to זכות אבות. Tosafot, however, make a crucial qualification, asserting that the Gemara refers only to sinners. People who do not follow the Torah do not have access to זכות אבות. For the righteous, however, there is no end to זכות אבות. There is always enough to go around, forever.
If we continue the work of our righteous forebears, then we receive their merit because we are part of their enterprise. If we continue to build upon the foundations which they laid for us, then we are given credit as participants in their “project.” When the Gemara teaches that תמה זכות אבות, that we can no longer access the merit of our ancestors, it refers to those who try breaking down what our ancestors built. They forfeit the merit of the avot. But as long as we try to continue the project, we are the beneficiaries of the patriarchs’ great merit by virtue of our participation in their glorious enterprise.
“Be Like Mike”
The Midrash instructs that every person must ask himself, מתי יגיעו מעשי למעשי אבותי – “When will my actions reach the actions of my forefathers?” It seems, at first glance, that the Midrash requires us to aspire to be as righteous as Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov.
But can this really be true? Is it not the height of arrogance to think that we can reach the level of faith, religious devotion and piety achieved by our sacred patriarchs?
We might answer this question by drawing a comparison to a commercial for Gatorade that aired in 1992.
The commercial became famous for coining what would become a celebrated saying throughout the 1990s: “Be like Mike.” The commercial wanted people to drink Gatorade in order to be like Michael Jordan – the legendary NBA superstar who dazzled fans at that time. For a number of years, this was the motto of every kid who played basketball: “Be like Mike!”
Quite obviously, none of these kids realistically hoped to grow to become as talented a basketball star as Michael Jordan. The idea, however, was that they should emulate him, they should do the things he did, and in this way they could become better basketball players.
Le’havdil, this is the meaning of the saying, מתי יגיעו מעשי למעשי אבותי. It means that we should learn about the way our avot conducted themselves and commit ourselves to the values and ideals by which they lived. We do not have to be exactly like them. This is not a realistic goal. But we can and must learn about their qualities, their faith, and the way they lived, and commit ourselves to try to develop those qualities within ourselves to the best of our ability.
The Ramhal (Rav Moshe Haim Luzzato, author of Mesilat Yesharim) wrote that everybody should spend a full hour each day thinking about the avot so we can be inspired by, and learn from, their conduct. Our obligation is not to be exactly like them, but to follow their lead, to become part of their world. If we do that, then we earn their merit. We become the beneficiaries of זכות אבות.
Whose Picture is on the Wall?
When we walk into a typical high school boy’s room, which pictures do we see on the wall? Most likely, we see posters of outstanding athletes or singers. Unfortunately, in contemporary society, these are kids’ heroes, the people they emulate, gain inspiration from, and think they want to live like when they grow older.
The concept of זכות אבות requires us to, figuratively speaking, put much different posters on the wall. It tells us that our heroes should be Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. We should be emulating people like Moshe Rabbenu and Aharon Ha’kohen. Our sources of inspiration should be the Tanna’im and Amora’im – the sages of the Mishnah and Gemara, and all the great tzadikim throughout the ages. These are the faces that should be appearing on the wall, the figures with whom we associate and identify, and whose example inspires and motivates us.
If we make them our heroes, then even if we fall very far from their standards, we enjoy the benefits of their זכות. If we see ourselves as members of their “team,” and full participants in their project, then even if we play only a small role, we receive the precious “press pass” of זכות אבות which grants us access to endless blessings and good fortune.