God’s 5 Possessions
Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim & Howard Salamon
Pirkei Avos (Ethics of the Fathers) is a masterpiece of our treasured rabbis’ advice on human perfection. The rabbis addressed knowledge of God, religiosity, Torah study, ethics, character, morality, justice, kindness, philosophy, psychology, role models, relationships, work and the full gamut of life. One should invest years studying our rabbis’ precious words.
As Rabbi Israel Chait stated, the first 5 chapters address “how” to perfect oneself. The rabbis conclude Pirkei Avos in chapter 6 with the “picture” of the perfected man. In closing, they share this quite interesting list of “God’s 5 Possessions”:
Five possessions (kinyan) did the Holy Blessed One acquire to Himself in His world, and these are they: The Torah, one possession; Heaven and earth, another possession; Abraham, another possession; Israel, another possession; the Temple, another possession.
The Torah is one possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written, “The Lord acquired me (Torah) at the beginning of His ways, before His works, from old” (Proverbs 8:22).
Heaven and earth, another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is said, “Thus said the Lord, ‘The heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool; what house could you build for Me, what place could serve as My abode?’” (Isaiah 66:1) And it says, “How many are the things You have made, O Lord; You have made them all with wisdom; the earth is full of Your possessions” (Psalms 104:24).
Abraham is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written, “He blessed him, saying, “Blessed by Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and Earth” (Genesis 14:19).
Israel is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is written, “Until Your people cross over, O Lord, until Your people whom You have possessed” (Exodus 15:16). And it says, “As to the holy and mighty ones that are in the land, My whole desire (possession) is in them” (Psalms 16:3).
The Temple is another possession. From where do we know this? Since it is said, “The sanctuary, O lord, which your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17). And it says, “And He brought them to His holy realm, to the mountain, which His right hand had possessed” (Psalms 78:54).
What is meant by “kinyan; possession”? “The Lord acquired me (Torah) at the beginning of His ways, before His works, from old.”
“Kanani; God acquired me”—teaches more than “Barasi; God created me.” An acquisition reflects an owner, and here the owner is God. Thus, the message of “Kanani; God acquired me”—is that Torah and these 4 other matters reflect God more than all other creations. This is the mishnah’s message. Based on the verses quoted, the rabbis teach that these 5 matters point to God more than all else in existence. These five matters reflect God's will greater than all else: man is to recognize God.
How does Torah reflect God? “The Lord acquired me (Torah) at the beginning of His ways, before His works, from old” (Proverbs 8:22). Here, King Solomon personified Torah as if it was talking. He said Torah not only preceded physical creation, but more: it existed “from old.” What does “from old” add, and where can it exist before creation, without a universe? The only thing in existence prior to the universe was God! Torah existing before creation, “from old,” must mean that Torah has always been God’s will. In the same sense that we cannot separate justice or kindness from God, even prior to man…we also cannot separate from God’s will that beings recognize Him. God does not change (Malachi 3:6), therefore, His will that beings recognize Him is eternal as His will. This is the meaning of Torah being eternal: God’s eternal nature includes beneficence: He desires to benefit other beings through their enjoyment of His wisdom embodied in Torah. Torah is the perfect system for man to understand God’s greatness and goodness. Torah existing before creation, refers not to a scroll of law, but that Torah was God's plan all along. Rashi comments:
He created Torah before the world. Since when it entered His thought to create the world, He said, “The world will exist for the sake of the Torah” (Rashi, Avos 6:10).
If Israel abandons Torah I will return the world to its primordial chaos and voidness (Rashi, Avos 2:8).
Rashi teaches that the world was created for man to recognize God through Torah. Heaven and Earth facilitate man’s needs so he might be physically suited to direct his energies towards Torah wisdom. If he does not, the world no longer has value to God. Based on Torah’s purpose of man recognizing God, God created heaven and Earth to serve that purpose.
How else does heaven and Earth drive man towards recognizing God? King David says so:
When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that You set in place, what is man that You have been mindful of him, mortal man that You have taken note of him? (Psalms 8:4,5)
In addition to Torah wisdom, man observes marvels in creation. And here in Avos the mishnah cites this verse: “Thus said the Lord: The heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool; What house could you build for Me, and what place could serve as My abode?” (Isaiah 66:1) Isaiah rebukes sinful Jews. The rote act of temple worship is not what God wants: “God desires man’s heart” (Ibn Ezra, Exod. 31:18). God desires man's good actions. But more fundamentally, human structures like temples cannot reflect God’s greatness better than God’s handiwork of the heavens and the Earth. Rashi says God says, “I do not need your Temple.”
When Abraham taught mankind of God, he did so through sharing Earth’s produce to direct man to appreciate God:
Abraham planted a tamarisk (eshel) at Beer-sheba, and called there in God’s name, the power of the world (Gen. 21:33).
Rashi comments:
Through this tree/orchard, the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, was called “God of the entire Universe.” For after they had eaten and drunk he said to them, “Bless Him of whose possessions you have eaten! Do you think that you have eaten of what is mine? You have eaten of that which belongs to Him, Who spoke and the Universe came into existence” (Sotah 10a).
Rashi elaborates on Abraham and Israel:
From where [do we infer that] Abraham is one possession, such that the Holy One, blessed be He, created him for this, to be a possession for the world? As it says, "And Noah’s son Shem blessed him, and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High.'" And why? Because [God] is “Acquirer of heaven and earth.” Because of Abraham the world exists; since he brought man close under the wings of the Divine presence and made them repent to better lives.
Israel [is] one possession: As it says, "the people whom You have made Your own.” And from where [do we infer] that the world exists because of them? As it says, “As for the holy that are in Earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all My delight”—that they (Israel) are the excellent ones of the world.
Finally, Temple, is God’s 5th acquisition:
“The sanctuary, O lord, which your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17). And it says, “And He brought them to His holy realm, to the mountain, which His right hand had possessed” (Psalms 78:54).
Torah is the perfect system to steer man towards recognizing God. Its towering personalities and numerous laws all formulated with brilliance, amaze and impress man. Man recognizes the Mind behind Torah. Heaven and Earth provide man with all his needs to pursue Torah. Abraham embodied recognition of God par excellence, and Israel then carried his mantle through monotheism and Torah observance. Temple is a beacon to mankind regarding religious practice.
1) Thus, we require the truth itself—Torah.
2) We require the physical environment to follow Torah—heaven and Earth.
3) Jews require role models—Abraham.
4) Mankind requires a proof that masses can follow God—Israelites.
5) And man’s religious expression requires guidance—Temple.
God’s 5 possessions are those matters most reflective of God so man can recognize Him.