Most of us have read the story of Avram's departure from Ur Kasdim and his early career as an apprentice Patriarch--but we may be sleep-reading through a familiar story instead of asking ourselves some penetrating questions. Why Avram? What's so special about him? Our member Rabbi Steven Ettinger takes a close look at the Torah text and shows us what we may have missed.
If you are reading critically, Lech Lecha poses
a question rather than presenting a request or command. The question is, out of
every other living person, why does Hashem choose Avram as the progenitor of
His holy nation, effectively making him father of the three major world
religions? The Torah does provide limited background about him: who his father
was, that his brother died, that he got married and that his wife was childless.
It also tells us that it was his father—and not Avram—who began the journey
from their homeland. It conveys nothing of his character, his beliefs or his
fitness for such a pivotal role in human history.
Some mistakenly identify him as the first
monotheist. However, there were others
who preceded him: Adam and his three sons, Noach, Shem, Ever, Mesushelach and
Malkizedek (some say he was Shem). Yet Avram gets all the credit. Why?
There are midrashim that recount how Avram
1. inferred that Hashem existed by
observing the natural world;
2. destroyed the idols in his father’s
store and;
3. survived Nimrod’s attempt to burn him in
a fiery furnace for not worshipping other deities.
However, the Torah, which sometimes details
seemingly minor incidents, is silent as regards these events. The Torah does not provide this background.
The Avram narrative begins with Hashem directly addressing him – and Avram does
not seem surprised by this. Why?
All of this is even more perplexing when we
examine Hashem’s first communication/request: Hashem asks Avram to leave his
land, birthplace and father’s home to go to an unspecified land in exchange for
great reward. Avram had already left his land and birthplace. His father moved
the family from Ur Kasdim to Charan. Additionally, they set out to travel to
Canaan (Israel) – the place Hashem was going to show him, anyway (Gen. 11:31).
This is like receiving a reward for breathing. Yet this is considered a turning
point in history. Why?
As
explained, we know little of the pre-Lech Lecha Avram. However, there are three
narratives that follow Hashem’s revelation to Avram that may answer the three
“whys.”
The second is the Lot narrative. The story
begins with a family dispute over grazing land, following which Lot separates
from Avram and moves to Sodom. Lot is taken captive during the First World War
(the war between the Five Kings and Four Kings). When Avram hears this, he
gathers a small band of 318 men to challenge and defeat the larger, previously
victorious army; he defeats them and recovers Lot. Avram thus proves his mettle
as a protector of the family.
The third is the Hagar/Yishmael narrative. Sarai is barren so she encourages Avram to take her maidservant Hagar as a second wife. Hagar becomes pregnant but Sarai oppresses her and she flees to the desert. An angel bids her to return and she later gives birth to a son – whom Avram embraces and names Yishmael. Avram biologically creates a family. Immediately after this third event, Hashem forges a new covenant with Avram, changing his name from Avram to Avraham – signifying that now he is the father of a multitude of nations. Gen 17:5.
These three stories are stories of family: of
supporting the family, of preserving the family, of risking all to protect the
family, and of creating a family –-- of
being a father. Hashem chose Avraham because he was capable of being
Avraham Avinu. When this narrative cycle was complete Hashem
acknowledged this by designating him as the “Av Hamon Goyim,”. the
father of the multitude of nations.
In summary, here are the answers to the
three “whys” that we encountered above:
1.Avraham was not the first monotheist, but
he was the first to recognize that the one God ultimately relates to mankind
intimately as a father.
2.
The Torah did not recount the early, formative stories of Avraham’s past
because they are not relevant to understanding his critical essence. Yes, he
was a courageous champion of monotheistic faith. But more germane, he was the only
individual with the character to be the father of our nation.
3. Hashem’s request is not what it seems.
It is a code – it explains why Avraham was chosen. Avraham had already left his
land and birthplace. The family actually intended to relocate to where Hashem
ultimately sends him (Canaan/Israel). So, the only sojourn is from the house of
his father. In other words, to become the father, he needed to
leave the house of his father. The point of the command “lech lecha” was
not to tell him where to go. It was to separate the child from his father Terach
so he could become our father.
