HaShem says to Avraham Avinu (12;2) ‘I will make you into a great nation and bless you and make great your name and there will be bracha.’ Rashi asribes each part of this sentence to each one of the Avos. ‘I will make you into a great nation’ refers to Avraham, ‘I will bless you’ appertains to Yitzchak, and ‘I will make great your name’ refers to Yaakov. But, you, Avraham will have bracha, ie it is with Avraham that there will be a chasima (a signing off). This is normally understood to refer to the opening bracha in the Amidah that mentions all the Avos but ends with ‘magen Avraham’ – mentioning only Avraham. The Kotzker Rebbe has another way of understanding this Rashi. He says that Torah, Avodah (tefillah/korbanos) and Chessed (Pirkei Avos 1;2) correspond to the three Avos. Chesed is the one which matches Avraham. Rashi citing that ‘with you Avraham shall be the signing off,’ means that just before the time of Moshiach there will be a reduction in widespread Torah and Avodah, but an increase in the amount of Chesed [represente by Avraham] in the world, as Chazal say ‘Yerushalayim will be redeemed through tzedakka.’ It means that the ending part of history (history’s signiture) before Moshiach will see much Chesed.
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