Why Abraham Doesn't Need a Prequel
Tech Tribe Dispatch #324
š” Think:
āGo from your land, from your birthplace and from your fatherās house, to the land which I will show you.ā
When we meet Abraham, the first Jew, he is commanded to leave his home. His reward for following this seemingly mundane commandment is the destiny to be āa great nation andā¦ a blessing.ā
But who is Abraham? What did he do to deserve such a great reward for merely moving? We have no clue or context. Abrahamās narrative in the Torah begins at age seventy-five.
If we look at rabbinic literature - in the Talmud and Midrash - we are regaled with a host of epic stories about Abrahamās past: His precocious recognition of the Creator at a young age, his gambit to smash his fatherās idols and his miraculous escape from Nimrodās fiery furnace. All of these stories help us understand who Abraham was, how much he accomplished and put on the line for his burgeoning Jewish identity.
But the Torah tells us none of this. It doesnāt even tell us that Abraham was righteous or upright, as it does with other previous figures. We meet Abraham in medias res, as heās set to depart for the Holy Land.
The lesson is one foundational to being Jewish today: Abrahamās previous exploits were based on his personal service - his understanding, his cunning, his willingness to sacrifice himself for his own convictions. But ultimately, no matter how powerful and true or actions are, they are limited. Everything we see, think and do is born out of the physical limitations of our corporeal existence.
Abraham was no different. He may have been thrown into a fiery pit . . . but it was for his beliefs.
The performance of a mitzvah, the foundational actions of Judaism, are altogether different. They are not the actions of creation, but rather the will of the Creator. They are the divine bonds that hardwire us to our Source.
When Abraham left his home, when he set forth on a personal exodus, he was following the commandment of G-d. This was not an earthly act of a limited entity, but rather the forging of a transcendent bond with an infinite Creator.
That is where the story of the Jewish people begin - everything before that is just commentary.
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Abraham smashes the icons of his father. Art by Sefira Creative
š Read:
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šµ Tech Tribe friend, and TwelveX speaker A.J. Jacobs shares what life is like 48 Hours Without A.I.
š«¶ A special profile on #ChaiSociety member Manilan Houle āThank God for this moment,ā says Native American advocate converting to Judaism
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