“ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה”
(בראשית י”ב ב’)
רש”י: “…ואעשך לגוי גדול זהו שאומרים אלהי אברהם, ואברכך זהו שאומרים אלהי יצחק, ואגדלה שמך זהו שאומרים אלהי יעקב. יכול יהיו חותמין בכולן, תלמוד לומר והיה ברכה, בך חותמין ולא בהם.”
Rashi: “And I will make you a great nation – this is what they say (in Shemoneh Esrei) ‘Elokei Avraham’. And I will bless you – this is what they say ‘Elokei Yitzchak’. And I will make your name great – this is what they say ‘Elokei Yaakov’. One might have thought that they should conclude (the beracha) with all of them (Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov), but the verse teaches otherwise: And you will be a beracha – we conclude with you, Avraham, and not with them.”
“אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, ואלקי יעקב” – it is with these words that we begin the Shemoneh Esrei, and thus they serve as the springboard for the many praises, requests and thanks that follow. We can acquire a greater appreciation of their significance from the Rashi above.
When we say “אלקי אברהם”, we refer to Hashem’s promise to Avraham, “I will make you a גוי גדול – a great nation.” גדלות denotes the existence of an additional dimension, that there is more to an object or person than what appears on the surface. In the case of Avraham, despite his being only a person, there is an additional dimension of “אלקי אברהם”: that he is linked to “אלקות”, the Divine. We should appreciate just how incredible that is, that a single, physical being can be connected to the Borei Olam.
The words “אלקי יצחק” also refer to Hashem’s promise to Avraham. Extraordinary occurrences are typically temporary. Over time, nature “triumphs”, and life returns to its ordinary course. As such, it would have been expected that Avraham’s גדלות should end with him. Og claimed as much: “אברהם פרדה עקרה ואינו מוליד” (Bereishis Rabba, 53:10) – Avraham is (like) a sterile mule, and will not reproduce – meaning to say that as great as Avraham was, his greatness would not carry on. But Hashem promised to Avraham, “ואברכך – And I will bless you.” When something is said to be מבורך, the intention is that its inner potential should be expressed, without hinderance from the natural world. And thus Avraham’s unique connection with the Borei Olam, the גדלות of “אלקי אברהם”, was able to continue with Yitzchak: “אלקי יצחק”.
“אלקי יעקב” refers to yet another stage of Hashem’s promise. Yaakov was the third generation to possess this connection with the Borei Olam, thereby forming a חזקה – a precedent. A person’s name is meant to capture his essence. The meaning of “אגדלה שמך” – a greatness of name – is that the aforementioned גדלות of Avraham will never cease because it is part and parcel of Avraham’s essence, who he (and his descendants) is.
One would have thought that this beracha (the first of Shemoneh Esrei) should conclude with all of the Avos, because Hashem’s promise to Avraham was realized by way of the three of them together. But Hashem tells Avraham, “And you will be a beracha – we conclude with you.” In truth, all of this greatness was to be found already within Avraham, and originates from him. It was only realized fully through Yitzchak and Yaakov, because the continuance and permanence of “אלקי אברהם” can only be appreciated with time, through subsequent generations.
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We actually begin the Shemoneh Esrei by saying “אלקינו ואלקינו אבותינו, אלקי אברהם…” – Our G-d and the G-d of our fathers, the G-d of Avraham…”, meaning that this incredible connection with the Borei Olam, of “אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, ואלקי יעקב” is relevant to us as well. If it were not explicit in the words of the tefillah, we would not believe it was true. But it is. And it is upon this basis that we approach Hashem in tefillah: the גדלות of the sons of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.