Weekly Torah Portion

One of the most important structures for systematically learning Torah, as discussed above, is based on four levels of learning the text, referred to as Pardes. Rashi is best known for his lucid and deeply insightful commentary on the Chumash, dealing with the pshat level, the basic understanding of the story line and narrative. Yet upon closer investigation we see that in many cases Rashi’s “simple” literal meaning is drawn from midrashic sources that emphasize the more allegorical and homiletic level of learning the text. In addition, many times Rashi employs various methods that call attention to the more alluded to meaning in order to explain the pshat. It is therefore more accurate to say that Rashi’s explanation of the text is drawn from all strata of learning, yet always with an eye on elucidating the basic straightforward understanding of the text.

In most cases Rashi gives one explanation per verse. On occasion he will add a variant explanation or tradition and in rare cases will bring additional explanations as well. In this week’s portion we have a beautiful example of how Rashi’s commentary on a specific verse can be seen to employ all four levels of the Pardes system: “And He took him [Abraham] outside and said: ‘Look now towards the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. And He said to him: So will be your offspring!” (Genesis 15:5). This verse comes in answer to Abraham complaint that due to his having no children he had no one to inherit him.

The first explanation of Rashi that God took him outside the tent to show him the stars deals with the simple story line, the pshat, as Rashi clearly states. God spoke to Abraham within the confines of a ten, therefore He wanted to actually show him the stars in order to dramatize His promise. Parenthetically, this experiential method of teaching is highly effective in virtually all educational contexts.

Rashi’s next comment which he states is based on the midrash is actually comprised of two parts. The first part is based on an alluded to meaning, a remez, in the text where the words “He took him outside” becomes an instructional command by God to Abraham: go outside of your astrological wisdom which is telling you that you will not have children. In other words, by God taking Abraham outside he was also alluding to him that he also needed to go outside his preconceived notions of what he was capable of or what the stars tell him his destiny is. He needs to think “outside the box,” as it were.

Rashi continues the midrashic line of thought on an even more subtle, allegorical drush level, wherein God tells him that Abram and Sarai (their names at that point of the narrative) in fact cannot have children, but Abraham and Sarah could have children! By God changing their names to Abraham and Sarah their mazal, destiny, and those factors, physical or spiritual, that had till then prevented them from having children would be changed.

When a name is changed in the Torah it represents a qualitative transformation in the person, so much so that a new name is needed to designate that new reality. Yet that new reality must come from within the person. Therefore first God tells him to go outside his preconceived notions and self definition and then informs him that this process has the power to alter even a seemingly unchangeable situation.

Lastly, Rashi adds an additional deeper strata of understanding the text, the mystical sod, by including the opinion that God took Abraham outside the atmosphere of the earth and lifted him above the stars where he could look down upon the situation. This indicates God granting Abraham a more objective, Divine perspective on the situation. From that lofty viewpoint Abraham could come to understand the Divine plan behind his own life.

This Rashi gives us deep insight into not only this particular verse and its manifold levels of meaning but also sheds great light on the tools and methodology of Rashi’s commentary in general. We see that the various levels of interpretation ultimately are all connected and play off each other in a dynamic yet subtle manner.