פרשת לך לך תש"ו - הבטחת הזרע והארץ

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.

And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said: ‘Unto thy seed will I give this land’; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him: ‘Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

And He brought him forth abroad, and said: ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them’; and He said unto him: ‘So shall thy seed be.’

In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said: ‘Unto thy seed will I give this land’; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.’

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him: ‘Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

ON THAT DAY G-D MADE A COVENANT WITH AVRAM SAYING... G-d promised Avraham the gift of the Land many times, but all of them were needed, for a purpose. When he first came to the Land, G-d said to him, "To your offspring's I'll give this land" but He didnt explain on His gift, for it implied only the land he [actually] walked on, "as far as the place of Shechem until Eilon Moreh." After when his merits grew in the land, [G-d] added for him, "Raise now your eyes and look out... north, south, east and west [for all the land you see to you I'll give it]" [meaning] that he would give him all those lands [of the Cananim], in a general way. the explanation of "[the land] that you see" doesnt mean "that you see 'with your eyes'" [literally], for ones sight doesnt go far into the distance. Rather, that [He] would give him [land] in all directions that his eyes could see. Or, He showed him all of Israel (miraculously) as it occurred with Moses our teacher. He also added in the second blessing "and to your descendants, FOREVER" and also that he would multiply his children like the dust of the earth. The third time He elaborated to Avram] the [precise] borders of the land, and mentioned to him all the peoples- ten nations. He also sealed a covenant with him on those lands], so no sin can revoke it. When G-d commanded him about circumcision, He said to him, "[And I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojourning's, the entire land of Canaan] for an everlasting possession," meaning if they got exiled they would return and inherit it. He added further "And I shall be a G-d to them", meaning that He Himself, in His Glory, would lead them, and they wouldn't be subject to the rule of any star or constellation or any of the Heavenly ministers as will be explained in the Torah. The Torah says the first time, "To your descendants "I will give'" in future tense. Also the second tome, for until now He hadn't given him the land in its entirety, and therefore said "I will give it". But the third time at the time of the covenant he said "To your offspring's I have GIVEN", meaning He sealed a covenant with him over a gift he had ALREADY given him, Likewise, at the time of the circumcision, when he said "[And I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojourning's, the entire land of Canaan] for an everlasting possession," He said to him "I WILL give to you" in the future. Rashi says: "To your offspring's have I given"- The statement of the One on High is considered done. But there's no need (for this explanation her).

In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;

ולא יכלה ארץ מגוריהם AND THE LAND OF THEIR SOJOURNINGS COULD NOT — supply sufficient pasture for the cattle which they had. A Midrashic comment (Genesis Rabbah 82:13) on מפני יעקב אחיו [HE WENT TO A COUNTRY] ON ACCOUNT OF HIS BROTHER JACOB is: on account of the bond of indebtedness involved in the decree, (Genesis 14:13) “thy seed shall be a stranger etc… and they shall afflict them etc.” that was imposed upon Isaac’s descendants. He said, “I shall go hence — I desire no part either in the gift of this land which has been made to him (to my father) nor in the payment of this bond" . Another reason why he went away was on account of the shame he felt at having sold his birthright (cf. Genesis Rabbah 82:13).