For His Name’s sake

In the first blessing of שמונה עשרה we say: 

״ומביא גואל לבני בניהם למען שמו באהבה״

“And He (Hashem) brings a redeemer to their (Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov’s) children’s children, for His Name’s sake, with love.”

The Talmud in מסכת שבת brings an interesting future conversation between Hashem and the forefathers.

The Talmud cites the following verse: 

כי אתה אבינו כי אברהם לא ידענו וישראל לא יכירנו אתה ה' אבינו גואלנו מעולם שמך (ישעיה סג,טז)

Surely you are our father: For Avraham did not regard us, and Yisroel did not recognize us, You, Hashem, are our Father; from old, Your Name is “Our Redeemer”. (Isaiah 63,16)

R’ Shmuel bar Nachmani says in the name of R’ Yonasan that in the future Hashem will come to Avraham Avinu and tell him, “Your children have sinned against me”. To which Avraham will propose, “Forgive them for the sake of the holiness of Your Name”. Hashem won’t accept this proposition and will instead go to Yaakov Avinu and repeat the problem to him.

“Your children have sinned against me”, Hashem will say to Yaakov.

Yaakov will have the same reply as Avraham had, “Forgive them for the sake of the holiness of Your Name”.

Again, Hashem will reject this argument and say to Himself “There is no reason among elders and no advice among youngsters”, finding both the reply of Avraham (our oldest forefather) and of his grandson Yaakov (the youngest forefather) to be insufficient. 

Hashem will then go to Yitzchak Avinu and repeat the issue for a third time. 

Hashem will say to Yitzchak, “Your children have sinned against me”. To which Yitzchak will reply, “Master of the Universe, are they ‘my children’ and not ‘Your children’? At the moment that they said נעשה before saying נשמע You called them ‘Your child and firstborn’!

Also, how much could they have sinned already?

People on average live 70 years. Subtract 20 years for which they’re not yet punishable, and we’re left with 50. Half of that time they’re sleeping, so we’re down to 25. We can then subtract 12.5 of that due to the amount of time they spend praying, eating, and using the bathroom. All in all we’re left with 12.5 years. If you can tolerate that, great. If not, let’s go 50/50. And if You think that I should bear the burden of 12.5 years on my own, have I not already sacrificed my life to You?”

This vindication Hashem will accept!

At that point Klal Yisroel will declare and say to Yitzchak Avinu, “Surely you are our father: For Avraham did not regard us, and Yisroel did not recognize us”.

Yitzchak will tell Klal Yisroel that before they start praising him they should praise Hashem! He will then show Hashem to Klal Yisroel, at which point, they will lift their eyes up to heaven and say, “You, Hashem, are our Father; From old, Your name is Our Redeemer”.

In the Gemara we see both Avraham and Yaakov request that Hashem forgive the Jewish people for “the sake of the holiness of His Name”; yet Hashem does not accept this appeal. 

So how is it that we say Hashem will bring us a redeemer “for His Name’s sake, with love”? 

The answer is that the last part of the prayer is not describing the reason Hashem brings the redeemer, but rather the qualities of the redeemer himself. 

Hashem will bring us a redeemer who’s whole life purpose and drive is for His Name’s sake, out of love. 

This is clearly evident by the end of the Gemara, in which Yitzchak refuses to take praise for what he did. Saying that the praise belongs to Hashem. Everything that Yitzchak does is for Hashem. 

This can also be used to explain a different aspect of the aforementioned Gemara.

Yitzchak is the forefather who is generally associated with judgment. So how is it that somehow he becomes the one who advocates for our redemption, which is seemingly an act of kindness?

The answer is hidden in the words “with love”. As the תנא דבי אליהו writes in the beginning of chapter 3 about King David, opposites can coexist through the immense power of love that overrides them. It is through love that Yitzchak, who usually represents judgment, turns around and advocates on behalf of his children. 

May we all merit this high level of divine service למען שמו באהבה״”.