Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 15:2/רמב"ן על בראשית ט״ו:ב׳

אוַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם ה' אֱלֹהִים מַה תִּתֶּן לִי הִנֵּה הִצַּלְתַּנִי מִן הַמְּלָכִים, אֲבָל מִן הַכָּרֵת לֹא הִבְטַחְתָּ אוֹתִי, רַק אָמַרְתָּ שֶׁתַּרְבֶּה לִי שָׂכָר הַרְבֵּה, וּמָה יִהְיֶה שְׂכָרִי בְּלֹא בָּנִים. וְהִנֵּה לֹא עָלָה בְּדַעְתּוֹ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הַשָּׂכָר הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה עוֹלָם הַבָּא, כִּי זֶה אֵין צֹרֶךְ לְהַבְטָחָה, כִּי כָל עוֹבֵד אֱלֹהִים יִמְצָא חַיִּים לְפָנָיו, אַךְ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה יֵשׁ צַדִּיקִים שֶׁמַּגִּיעַ עֲלֵיהֶם כְּמַעֲשֵׂה הָרְשָׁעִים, עַל כֵּן צְרִיכִים בִּטָּחוֹן. וְעוֹד כִּי "הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד", לֵאמֹר שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה לִשְׁתֵּי שֻׁלְחָנוֹת בְּכָל הַטּוֹב הָרָאוּי לַצַּדִּיקִים הַגְּמוּרִים מֵאֵין עֹנֶשׁ כְּלָל. וְעוֹד כִּי הַהַבְטָחָה לְמָה שֶׁהָיָה מִתְיָרֵא מִמֶּנּוּ, וְחָזַר וּפֵרֵשׁ לוֹ הַבְטָחָתוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יִפְחַד גַּם מִזֶּה, כִּי יָשִׂים זַרְעוֹ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לָרֹב. וְיֵשׁ עָלֶיךָ לִשְׁאֹל, שֶׁכְּבָר נֶאֱמַר לוֹ לְאַבְרָהָם (בראשית י"ג:ט"ו) "כִּי אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה רֹאֶה לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד עוֹלָם וְשַׂמְתִּי אֶת זַרְעֲךָ כַּעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ", וְאֵיךְ יֹאמַר עַתָּה "וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי" "וְהִנֵּה בֶן בֵּיתִי יוֹרֵשׁ אֹתִי", וְלָמָּה לֹא הֶאֱמִין בַּנְּבוּאָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יַאֲמִין בָּזֹאת. וְהַתְּשׁוּבָה כִּי הַצַּדִּיקִים לֹא יַאֲמִינוּ בְּעַצְמָם בְּחָטְאָם בִּשְׁגָגָה, וְכָתוּב (ירמיהו יח ט) רֶגַע אֲדַבֵּר עַל גּוֹי וְעַל מַמְלָכָה לִבְנֹת וְלִנְטֹעַ וְשָׁב הַגּוֹי הַהוּא וְעָשָׂה הָרַע לְפָנַי וְנִחַמְתִּי עַל הַטּוֹבָה. וְהִנֵּה רָאָה עַצְמוֹ בָּא בַּיָּמִים וְלֹא נִתְקַיְּמָה נְבוּאָתוֹ, וְחָשַׁב כִּי חֲטָאָיו מָנְעוּ הַטּוֹב. וְאוּלַי חָשַׁשׁ עַתָּה פֶּן יֵעָנֵשׁ עַל הַנְּפָשׁוֹת שֶׁהָרַג, כְּדִבְרֵי רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (ב"ר מד ה), וְכַלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה אָמְרוּ בִּבְרֵאשִׁית רַבָּה (בראשית רבה ע"ו:ב') "וַיִּירָא יַעֲקֹב מְאֹד וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ" (בראשית ל"ב:ח'), מִכָּאן שֶׁאֵין הַבְטָחָה לַצַּדִּיקִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וְכוּ':

1AND ABRAM SAID, O LORD ETERNAL, WHAT WILT THOU GIVE ME? “Behold, Thou hast saved me from the kings, but Thou hast not assured me against extinction. Thou hast only said that Thou wilt give me great reward, but what can my reward be without children?”Now it had not occurred to Abraham that this great reward would be in the World to Come for there is no necessity for such a promise; every servant of G-d will find life in the hereafter before him. But in this world there are righteous men, unto whom it happened according to the work of the wicked.²²¹ It is for this reason that the righteous have need of assurance. Moreover, very great²²² implies that he will merit both worlds²²³ with all the best therein without any punishment whatever as befits the really righteous people. Moreover, an assurance is given for that which a person fears. [Hence, he needed no assurance concerning the hereafter. But he feared being childless; therefore G-d] rejoined and explained that His assurance included that he should not fear this either, as He will make his children as the stars of heaven for multitude.²²⁴You may ask: Has it not been told to Abraham already, For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth,²²⁵ and so, how could Abraham now say, Since I go childless…lo, my household slave will be mine heir?²²⁶ And why did he not believe in the first prophecy, as he would believe in this [second one which G-d will now relate to him?] The answer is that the righteous ones have no trust in themselves, fearing they might have sinned in error. Thus it is written At one instant I may speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and plant it; but if that nation turn and do evil before Me, then I repent of the good.²²⁷ Now when Abraham saw himself advanced in years and the first prophecy concerning him had not yet been fulfilled, he thought that his sins had withheld that good from him.²²⁸, 5:25. And perhaps he now feared that he would be punished for the people that he killed in the war, as our Rabbis have said.²²⁹ They have expressed a similar thought in Bereshith Rabbah:²³⁰, 76:2. “Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed.²³¹ From this we derive the principle that there is no assurance for the righteous ones in this world, etc.”

במַה תִּתֶּן לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי פֵּרְשׁוּ בּוֹ (יב"ע) אֲנִי מֵת בְּלֹא בָּנִים, כְּטַעַם "כִּי הֹלֵךְ הָאָדָם אֶל בֵּית עוֹלָמוֹ" (קהלת יב ה). וְהַנָּכוֹן בְּעֵינַי כִּי מִתְּחִלָּה יִתְאוֹנֵן מָה יִהְיֶה שְׂכָרִי אַחֲרֵי שֶׁאֵין לִי בָּנִים, וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ נָע וָנָד בְּאֶרֶץ נָכְרִיָּה יְחִידִי כְּעַרְעָר בָּעֲרָבָה, אֵין יוֹצֵא וְאֵין בָּא בְּבֵיתִי זוּלָתִי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אִישׁ נָכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לָקַחְתִּי לִי מִדַּמֶּשֶׂק, לֹא מִבֵּית אָבִי וְלֹא מֵאַרְצִי, וְאַחַר כָּךְ אָמַר "הֵן לִי לֹא נָתַתָּה זָרַע" כַּאֲשֶׁר הִבְטַחְתַּנִי, וְהִנֵּה בֶּן בֵּיתִי הַנִּזְכָּר יוֹרֵשׁ אוֹתִי, כִּי זָקַנְתִּי וְיָבֹא עִתִּי בְּלֹא זֶרַע, וְהִנֵּה אֲנִי עָנוּשׁ וְאָבַד שְׂכָרִי אֲשֶׁר הִבְטַחְתַּנִי בּוֹ בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה:

2WHAT WILT THOU GIVE ME, SINCE I ‘HOLECH’ (GO) CHILDLESS? They²³² have explained the word holech as meaning “I die childless,” even as is the meaning of that word in the verse, For man is ‘holech’ (going) to his eternal home.²³³ here refers to death, so in the words of Abraham it has the same connotation.The correct interpretation appears to me to be that at first he [Abraham] complained: “What can my reward be since I have no children and I go as a vagrant and vagabond alone in a strange land, like a tamarisk in the desert,²³⁴ no one going out, and no one coming in²³⁵ in my house except Eliezer, a stranger that I brought to me from Damascus, not from my family, and not from my country.” Then Abraham said, “Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed²³⁶ as Thou hast promised me, and lo my household slave, the one mentioned, will be mine heir, as I am old without child, and my time will come to die childless. I am thus punished, having lost the reward which Thou hast promised me at first.”