by Rabbi David Katz

We have learned with much repetition that the Tradition of Torah dates back to Shem, and that it was Shem who was the main influence to Abraham and Jacob, while being the Father of the Noahides as well. But isn’t there someone very essential missing in this chain? Where is Isaac and who was his Teacher?! – Looking to : “Pachad Yitzchak”/ “The Dread of Isaac,” as he was called, is this a hint to Shem, and the missing link to the Torah chain?

Abraham and Shem had their famous encounter in Jerusalem, where Shem had the title and status of “Malki Tzedek” / King of Righteousness; Malki Tzedek has a gematria (numerical value) of 294, of which he was a Priest To God. It was with this encounter, that we learned that Shem and Abraham had recognition of the same God! It should be of no surprise then that this 294 numerical value, is the same as, “The God of Abraham”, which we are confronted with this term at the end of this week’s parsha, in contrast to the Brother of Abraham Nachor and “his god.” The Torah refers to, “and the god of Nachor,” the gematria of “316”: “Cunning,” the same word used in relation to the serpent of the Garden of Eden; a total contrast from The God of Shem and Abraham.

In Song of Songs 6:8, (with Commentary) we are approached with a new concept: Children of Nachor and the future Noahides. The Nachorites, are the infiltrator of the Jewish Nation, who of a godless nation, attempt to undermine Torah, and reflect their “cunning” status. However of the “Worlds without number”, as it says in Song of Songs, reflects the Noahide, who is the opposite of Nachor: Sharing the God of Abraham, being directly linked to Shem/Malki Tzedek, and upholding the Torah in brotherly partnership with the Jewish Nation under the same God of Shem and Abraham; Each Noahide reflecting “Worlds without number.” This terminology and Gematria awareness can be easily seen in Genesis 31:53: “May The God of Abraham and the god of Nachor judge between us – the god of their father. And Jacob swore by the Dread of his father, Isaac.” Thus the biggest difference between Noahides/Jews and the Nachorites, is the belief in the God of Shem: Malki Tzedek served God, whereas the god of Nachor is a tool to be cunning and revealed as such, like a snake…both implying their respective numerical values: 294 (God of Abraham / Malki Tzedek) and 316 (Cunning / Naked – as used in the Story of Adam and Eve and the Snake.) Abraham therefore had the merit to be in the presence of Shem, whereas Nachor rejected the lineage: yet what about Isaac, and this “Dread of Isaac?”

As was stated, we know about the Torah of Abraham and Jacob…both having received from Shem, while the novelty is that Isaac did as well, and this is the Dread of Isaac: The Influence of Shem. It was this influence that affected Isaac upon separation from his Brother Ishmail, to strengthen Isaac, so that his destiny to be an Offering to God would be a success: going through the Akeida (Binding of Isaac) in the merit of The Dread of Isaac. Isaac would have to be of an intensity enough to allow Abraham to pass his 10^th and final test, which would ultimately seal the mission of Shem: To bring Torah and God-Fearing down to Earth…Abraham AND Isaac would be the instruments to make this possible, revealing God’s Truth and Unity in this plane of existence; something that Jews and Noahides, going back to Abraham, Shem, and Isaac would endeavor, while opponents such as Nachor, would strive to uproot from this world, even while attempting to do so within these two nations!

The only problem with this theory, is where do we see Influence of Shem upon Isaac?

As we have stated before, it was Shem who aided Abraham in his circumcision, and according to the Midrash, Shem had even attended Isaac’s weaning of his time of suckling from Sarah.

When Sarah, Isaac’s miraculous mother (Sarah became younger by 70 years to give birth and suckle Isaac) nursed Isaac, she had enough mother’s milk to suckle all the babies of the Land! Everyone brought their children to her, and she nursed them. Sarah was so pure in this, that the children who nursed from her, grew up to be God-Fearing! So here we can see that Isaac was destined to be a God-Fearing man: if the other children were influenced, all the more so Isaac! But where is Shem?!

When Isaac was weaned, there was a gathering of the greatest people of the Generation, which the Midrash (authoritative legend) says, “even The Head of the Academy came: Shem and Ever.” Thus Sarah was weaning Isaac, and as we saw with Sarah, she could influence through Nursing. One nature of a woman, is that she has the ability to draw into her soul, through emotions and feelings; all the more so while nursing. Combine Sarah’s sensitivity, coupled with the presence of Shem, and the product of this nursing would be ultra dynamic! It’s as if Sarah was in such Dread of Shem (Shem is called “The Great Shem”) that Isaac was nursed on this level of God-Fearing, being put into him from Sarah, and as we saw, all the babies who nursed from her became God-fearing – being that Isaac received the most, he certainly became the Dread Of Isaac! For he was in the presence of the father of Torah and Abraham, The Great Shem! This influence continued into Isaac’s children, as Rebecca went one step further, to influence her very womb with Shem, as she visited Shem and sought his guidance when her womb was turbulent; The famed rabbi the Vilna Gaon says God’s Unity was placed upon her womb at that time, and the result would be the father of the 12 tribes and the nation of Israel, thereby establishing a proper Noahide Nation as well, as the Torah could now be given; Shem having nurtured all the way back to Abraham, and then to Sarah.

Shem’s influence, by effect and proximity, and establishing Fear and Dread of God extends all the way to King Solomon, as it was Shem who inspired the teachings of the Son of David, according to an ancient Midrash. Solomon met Shem standing for 1300 years at Mt. Sinai, where by being in the presence of Shem, Solomon was forced to tell over the Torah to Shem “on one foot”, as Shem was there waiting to hear the Torah, as it was given in its purest form. Solomon responded with Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Song of Songs, and upon witnessing the Torah, Shem was free of his duty in this world.

If we look carefully, the Noahide Nations and the Jewish Nation, was sculpted by the influence of Shem, even in places where we never thought to look. Shem might not grab the headlines of the Torah, but if we read between the lines, and connect the dots, one can see that just as Sarah nursed Isaac, Shem seems to have nursed the entire world and its history, by acting for God and His Torah. For the time that Shem spent with Isaac, it was enough to make sure that the God of Shem and Abraham would be imbued into Isaac as the “Dread of Isaac.”  History would never be the same, as Isaac could now take his seat as the true Father of The Jewish People, spreading the Torah of the God of Shem and Abraham, while abhorring the cunning god of Nachor.

With Isaac’s Shem - presence, the world would have Shem’s impression lasting forever. The Noahides and Jews would have The Teaching of Shem eternally to turn to and suckle from. Great is Shem, who Loves God, and helped mold the God of Abraham, bringing the world to fight against evil by establishing God-Fearing and Dreadful Men of God. Serving Hashem is a Dreadful and daunting task in difficulty, and yet we have Shem to thank for helping us succeed, as he was a Priest to God, and a father figure in so many nurturing ways.