Getting it All

Avraham Avinu, the Torah teaches us, was blessed with "everything" after his beloved wife passed away: "Avraham was now old, advanced in years, and Hashem had blessed Abraham with everything."

This verses raises certain complexities. Even on a basic algebra level, if y + x = everything, and the x represents his wife, that means in the absence of his wife he was complete, or had everything, which most certainly raises question about God's view, or rather Avraham's view of everything. He essentially had, or got everything, when his wife wasn't there, which means that on composite, having everything precludes having your wife by your side. 

Also, the sages teach that it's a husband who most feels the death of a woman, "a woman only dies to her husband." Sarah, our mother, the first of all of our matriarchs, and probably the most important one for ensuring that Yitzhak would remain pure and unadulterated by Yishmael's negative influences, died - the verse is teaching us - with a mere whimper; nothing changed, in fact, afterwards, Avraham got it all!

This question bothered me, and I didn't particularly like the illustrative answers given by various Talmudic commentators. Ranging from everything equaling "a boy" he needed to now marry off, or, alternatively, "a girl he named Ba'kol" (everything in Hebrew), or "hordes of wealth," or "the cessation of any new nisyonot or new challenges," something seemed to be lacking in communicating the simple meaning of the text. 

Then, the thought struck me that in Birkat Hamazon, "Grace after Meals," we say something very similar. 

"May the Merciful one bless us and all that is ours, just as our forefathers were blessed - Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, in all things, from everything and with everything, so may He bless us. (Translation: Metsudah Siddur)"

Regarding Yaakov, the Torah obviously uses the word "everything." When Yaakov implores Eisav to take the gifts he has sent him to assuage his anger, he famously responds to Eisav's averral that he already has "a lot," by saying, "I have everything."

Vis a vis Yitzhak, something similar happens. Where does he use the word "everything"? Ironically, he uses the word when telling Eisav that he's already eaten "all of the food" Yaakov has prepared for him, Rashi commenting that he could taste all of the qualities he sought in an inheritor in the food that his other son, Yaakov, had prepared. 

It would seem, thus, that the word all - or, "everything" - comes on the heels of great strain, or distress in one's life, but that the true interpretation of everything, taught to us by our first forefather, who was taught as much by Hashem Himself, is the recognition that we have been given the tools and abilities necessary to fulfill our spiritual goals in this world. Yes, "everything" is subjective, but the same way the Medrash teaches that Avraham sought God in the stars as a young boy and failed to find Him until Hashem revealed Himself, here too, Hashem has taught Avraham the most valuable lifelong lesson, namely, that what you have is exactly what you need to carry out your mission in life, something that Avraham, through living a fulfilled and ethical life then passed on to Yitzhak, who passed it on to Yaakov. They were able to see life through that lens at the most difficult junctures of their lives thanks to Hashem implanting that understanding in Avraham, and it could very well be that only through Sarah's loving presence at Avraham's side that he was able to attain the spiritual level that facilitated and enabled that recognition.