D’var Torah Vayetze

Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth. You shall spread out to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south. All the families on earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. Genesis 28:14
Last year we suggested that the blessing "like the dust of the earth," which was given both to Jacob and his grandfather Abraham, contains a qualitative element in addition to its quantitative aspect.
Given that the blessing "like the dust of the earth" was given to both grandfather and grandson specifically in connection to the blessing of the Land [13:15; 28:13], at least on the level of Drash, we can translate “like the dust of the Land,” comparing Avraham and Jacob’s descendants to the dust of the Holy Land itself. Just as the soil of the Land is inherently holy, so too, the Children of Israel possess an innate level of sanctity.
I would now like to suggest an additional qualitative aspect of the blessing "like the dust of the earth." Adam, the first human being, was formed "of the dust of the ground." [Genesis 2:7] Thus, again on the level of Drash, we can understand the blessing of the Children of Israel as the dust of the earth to mean that it is specifically they who will realize the purpose of man who was formed of the dust. Our Sages teach that God created the world on the condition that Torah will be accepted. Since it is only we, the descendants of Abraham and Jacob, who accepted Torah, we guarantee the fulfillment of the condition of creation, and thereby provide significance to the creation of man from the dust of the ground. (David Magence)
Shabbat Shalom!
The Va’ad