The Inner Will of the Universe
Abraham, the Sages noted, was the first person in history to address G-d as his 'Master' (Gen. 15:8). Why makes this so noteworthy?

by Rabbi Chanan Morrison

Completing the Master's Work
We must first understand the essence of the servant-master relationship. The servant fulfills the wishes of his master by completing the master's work. The servant is an extension of his master, his shaliach or agent. When the servant acts, it is as if the master acted.

Before Abraham, people acknowledged the existence of a Prime Mover, an infinite Being Who created the universe. But they could not fathom how a truly perfect Being would be concerned with an imperfect and lowly world such as ours. Why would G-d, transcendent beyond all things, be involved in the smallest details of the workings of the universe?

They failed to recognize that an integral aspect of creation - its inner core - was that the universe aspires to perfect itself. This underlying aspiration for perfection means that there is Divine Providence in all moral paths in the world, even the smallest and least significant.

The central conduit for the universe's perfection is the elevation of humanity in deed, traits, and thought. We have free will to choose good or evil. And that which leads us to choose good is the Creator's will in creation, the universe's inner aspiration to perfection.

By declaring G as his Master, Abraham publicly proclaimed that G-d governs the world and desires its moral perfection. G-d wills that we should be His agents in bringing about the world's gradual progress.

As we work toward our own spiritual growth, we advance the work of our Master - the universe's spiritual elevation.

Rabbi Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs RavKook.n3.net, a website dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community. He is also the author of "Gold from the Land of Israel".