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What did Avrohom add beyond pre-Lech Lecha righteousness? Earlier generations, including Shem and Noach, made God their king but saw themselves as free agents. Avrohom was mechadesh that we are God's avadim — He owns us through creation — and the one thing we can still give Him is our ratzon, our will. That double relationship — slave who makes his Master a king by giving over his will — is the yesod of Klal Yisrael.
The shiur addresses fundamental questions about Parshas Lech Lecha: Why does Hashem (ה׳) need to tell Avrohom "lech lecha l'tovascha" — why add the incentive if commanding him to go would itself constitute a test? After the supreme test of Ur Kasdim where Avrohom was willing to die in the fiery furnace, how can Lech Lecha be considered a greater or even comparable test? Why does the Torah (תורה) give extensive space to Lech Lecha while the Ur Kasdim episode appears only as a hint in the text? Rashi (רש"י) on Parshas Chayei Sarah provides the key distinction: Before Lech Lecha, God was only "Elokei HaShamayim" — God of heaven. After Lech Lecha, through Avrohom's actions, He became "Elokei HaShamayim v'Elokei Ha'aretz" — God of both heaven and earth. This frames the entire discussion: what does it mean that pre-Lech Lecha righteousness, even Avrohom's own righteousness in Ur Kasdim, only made God "Elokei HaShamayim," while Lech Lecha made Him "Elokei Ha'aretz"?
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Parshas Lech Lecha
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