What Does It Mean to be a Blessing?: Parashat Hashavua Lech Lecha 5785

(1) יהוה said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing.

Rabbi Yudan said: [God said to Abraham:] ‘I will institute a blessing for you in the eighteen benedictions (The Amidah), but you do not know whether Mine precedes yours, or whether yours takes precedence.’ Rabbi Aḥuya said in the name of Rabbi Ze’eira: Yours precedes Mine, when one recites first: Shield of Abraham, and only then, He revives the dead.

Rabbi Levi said: No person [so much as] priced a cow from Abraham before he was blessed, nor did any person price a cow for him until he was blessed by Abraham.
How else? Abraham would pray for barren women and they would be remembered, and for the ill, and they would gain relief. Rav Huna said: It was not only when Abraham would go to the ill person, but even if the ill person would merely see him, he would gain relief.
Rabbi Ḥanina said: Even ships that set sail in the Great Sea were saved due to the merit of Abraham. But were they not laden with wine for idolatrous ceremonies? This is astonishing. The explanation is that [there is a saying:] Vinegar lowers the price of wine. Wherever the wine of idol worshippers is available, the wine of Jews is sold at lower prices.

Rabbi Berekhya said: “I will bless you” is already written; why does the verse state [further]: “And you shall be a blessing”? The explanation is that He said to him: ‘Until this point I was required to bless My world, from now on, the blessings are passed to you; whomever you deem worthy to bless, bless him.’

(4) והיה ברכה, the construction והיה is similar to the future tense (not imperative) תהיה, i.e. “you will become.” [the author, presumably, finds it difficult for man to be commanded to be a source of blessing. How does one go about carrying out such a directive? Ed.] We encounter a similar construction as an imperative when G’d orders Moses to ascend the mountain and to die there on the mountain, עלה ומות בהר, seeing that “dying” is understood to be something passive, not active. Hence he would translate that verse also as “ascend the mountain where you will die.” (Deuteronomy, 32,48-50)...G’d is telling Avram that his blessings and his fame will be so great that they will spill over to benefit those around him. This promise has become fulfilled to such an extent that when people bless their children they wish them: “may the Lord bless you with the blessing of Avraham”

(1) AND BE THOU A BLESSING. You will be the blessing by whom people will be blessed, saying, “G-d make thee as Abraham.” To this He added that "all families of the earth" (Genesis 12:3) will cite him in blessing, not just the people of his country alone. It may be that the expression, "And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3) means that they will all be blessed on his account.

(1) והיה ברכה, a true blessing by G’d is when G’d rejoices in our deeds and actions. Our sages (Berachot 7) illustrate this when they quote "Yishmael, My son, Bless Me!"...