Mishnayos Avos Perek 6 Mishnah 10

Five possessions has the Holy One, Blessed be He, declared His own, etc.: “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way”: as He created it before the world. Since when it went up in His thought to create the world, He said, "The world will exist for the sake of the Torah."

heaven and earth [are] one possession: As they are the pillars of the universe, as it says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool." It says "earth" here and it says "earth" later; as it says, "full is the earth with Your possessions.” Just like [in the first verse], it is heaven and earth, so too here it is heaven and earth, and it is written, "Your possessions, etc."

From where [do we infer that] Abraham [is] one possession: such that the Holy One, blessed be He, created him for this, to be a possession for the world? As it says, "And he blessed him, and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High.'" And why? Because [God] is "'Maker of heaven and earth.’” As because of [Abraham] the world exists; since he brought close the creatures under the wings of the Divine presence and made them repent to the better and said to them the things that are mentioned.

Israel [is] one possession: As it says, "the people whom You have made Your own.” And from where [do we infer] that the world exists because of them? As it says, “As for the holy that are in the earth, they are the excellent in whom is all My delight” - that they are the main excellent ones of the world.

“The Sanctuary, O Lord, that Your hands have established”: We have still not found [that it is a] possession; except that since here it says, "Sanctuary" and later it says "And He brought them to His holy border, to the mountain, which His right hand had possessed.” Just like here the Sanctuary [of the mountain] is a possession, so too is the Sanctuary [in the first verse] a possession. And there is much confusion about the thing. And according to the matter, it appears to me that [this] berieta was not written as it should have been; as behold, in Tractate Pesachim in the chapter [entitled] Haeesha, we only learned Torah, heaven and earth and Israel; and it brings a proof for the heaven and earth from the same verse that is says about Abraham, "'Maker of heaven and earth.’”

חֲמִשָּׁה קִנְיָנִים קָנָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְכוּ'. ה' קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ. שֶׁבְּרִיאָתָהּ קֹדֶם הָעוֹלָם, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁכְּשֶׁעָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה לְפָנָיו לִבְרֹא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ נִתְקַיֵּם הָעוֹלָם בִּשְׁבִיל הַתּוֹרָה:

שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ קִנְיָן אֶחָד. שֶׁהֵם עַמּוּדִים שֶׁל עוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כֹּה אָמַר ה' הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדוֹם רַגְלָי, נֶאֱמַר כָּאן אָרֶץ וְנֶאֱמַר לְהַלָּן אָרֶץ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ קִנְיָנֶךָ, מַה לְהַלָּן שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ אַף כָּאן שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, וּכְתִיב קִנְיָנֶךָ וְכוּ':

אַבְרָהָם מִנַּיִן. שֶׁבְּרָאוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְכָךְ לִהְיוֹת קִנְיָנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם וְיִתְקַיֵּם בִּשְׁבִילוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ וַיֹּאמַר בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, וְלָמָּה, בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁהוּא קוֹנֶה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, שֶׁבִּשְׁבִילוֹ הָעוֹלָם מִתְקַיֵּם, לְפִי שֶׁהוּא קֵרֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת תַּחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה וְהֶחְזִירָן לַמּוּטָב וְאָמַר לָהֶן דְּבָרִים הַנִּזְכָּרִין:

יִשְׂרָאֵל קִנְיָן אֶחָד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר עַם זוּ קָנִיתָ. וּמִנַּיִן שֶׁהָעוֹלָם מִתְקַיֵּם בִּשְׁבִילָן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לִקְדוֹשִׁים אֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ הֵמָּה וְאַדִּירֵי כָּל, שֶׁהֵם עִקַּר הַדִּירָה שֶׁל אָרֶץ:

מִקְּדָשׁ ה' כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ. עֲדַיִן לֹא מָצִינוּ קִנְיָן, אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כָּאן מִקְּדָשׁ וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר וַיְבִיאֵם אֶל גְּבוּל קָדְשׁוֹ הַר זֶה קָנְתָה יְמִינוֹ, מַה כָּאן מִקְדָּשׁ בְּקִנְיָן אַף לְהַלָּן מִקְדָּשׁ בְּקִנְיָן. וְכַמָּה גִּמְגּוּם יֵשׁ בַּדָּבָר, לְפִי שֶׁהָעִנְיָן נִרְאֶה בְּעֵינַי שֶׁהַבְּרַיְתָא לֹא נִכְתְּבָה כְּתִקְנָהּ, שֶׁהֲרֵי בְּמַסֶּכֶת פְּסָחִים בְּפֶרֶק הָאִשָּׁה לֹא שָׁנִינוּ אֶלָּא שְׁלֹשָׁה, תּוֹרָה וְשָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ וְיִשְׂרָאֵל, וּמֵבִיא רְאָיָה לַשָּׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ מֵאוֹתוֹ הַפָּסוּק שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בְּאַבְרָהָם קוֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ: