This brings us to a profound question. Whereas on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos we show our deep desire that the entire world recognize Hashem’s kingship, and we intercede on their behalf, on the Yom Tov of Pesach the opposite message comes through.
On the first night of Pesach, one of the most dramatic portions of the Haggadah Shel Pesach is the recitation of the tefillah of Shefoch Chamascha right before Hallel.
What are we saying in that tefillah? “Pour out Your fury to the nations that have not known You, and upon kingdoms that have not called on Your Name. For he has consumed Yaakov and made his habitation desolate” (Tehillim 79:6-7). “Pour out Your rage upon them and let Your wrath overtake them” (Tehillim 69:25). “Pursue with wrath and destroy them from under the heavens of Hashem” (Eichah 3:66).
On Pesach, when we celebrate the birth of Bnei Yisrael as a nation it seems we have no interest in the nations recognizing the kingship and power of Hashem. Rather, we want to rid ourselves of them. On the Yamim Noraim, however, when we celebrate the creation of the world, we express a deep, abiding interest in the nations and in their gaining knowledge and understanding of Hashem.
Why are the messages during these major Yamim Tovim seasons so different?
Perhaps an answer can be gleaned from an intriguing Mishnah in Pirkei Avos. The Mishnah states (Avos, 6-10), “Five possessions did Hashem acquire for Himself in his world. They are: [The] Torah [is] one acquisition, heaven and earth [are] one acquisition, Avraham [is] one acquisition, Yisrael [is] one acquisition, the Beis HaMikdash [is] one acquisition.”
What is the significance of the Avraham Avinu being one of those five acquisitions? The Mishnah also lists “Yisrael” as one of Hashem’s kinyanim. Why does the Mishnah mention Avraham Avinu separate from the rest of Klal Yisrael, and how was his role different from all the other holy avos and leaders of Bnei Yisrael?
Avraham Avinu did have a unique role. After all, he was the first person to recognize Hashem on his own. He was the first person who not only believed in Hashem himself but introduced monotheistic belief to an entire world of idol worshipers.
The distinctive feature about Avraham Avinu was that, in addition to being the first believer in Hashem, he was the first person to have a direct spiritual impact on the nations of the world. He taught all of mankind at the time about chesed, engaging in acts of loving kindness; and he taught humans to be compassionate and thankful to Hashem for all the bounty He bestowed upon them.
These were absolutely novel concepts in that primitive world and Chazal teach us that Avraham made a colossal impact on his generation.
This remarkable task of spreading spirituality and the word of Hashem was not done by Avraham Avinu the “the father of the Klal Yisrael” but by Avraham Avinu the individual who deeply cared about every person in the world.
Thus, the Mishnah clearly shows that Avraham had two distinct roles: that of Avraham Avinu, the individual who brought Godliness into a Godless world and be mashpia on the world, and that of Avraham Avinu, the father of the nation that would later become the primary conduit for bringing the Divine Presence into the mundane world.
Avraham was the first person to have a direct spiritual impact on all the nations. That is why he is mentioned as a separate kinyan.
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Now that we understand the unique kinyan of Avraham Avinu, let us explore the kinyan of Yisrael. In order to do that, let us first seek understanding of one of the other kinyanim, the kinyan of the Beis HaMikdash.
