The Search for Meaning

Where Judaism Begins

Judaism begins with an individual's search for meaning in life. This individual is named אברהם. After two thousand years, characters have come and gone, risen and fallen; empires have persisted and collapsed. During all this time there was not a single open-minded individual who asked the question "Where did all this begin?" Hashem sat on the sidelines, watched the world pass by and eagerly waited for that one individual to search for His existence and swim against the tide of society.

The first verse in the Torah is "…את השמים ואת הארץ", a creation of ארץ that reconnects itself to its root, the שמים, and by doing so reveals the glory of its Creator to the world. Every step of creation demands that one seek one level deeper behind the mask to unveil its Creator.

But very shortly the world fell into darkness as אדם committed the first sin, the first breaking off from its root and seemingly becoming an existence on its own. Soon after there is the first murder, the immoral generation of נח, the scattered generation of דור ההפלגה that wages war against G-d, and then the forgetful generation of אנוש. The root of the word אנוש comes from forgetfulness, as in the verse "נשני אלקים" (בראשית מא:נא). After all these years the Torah comes along to describe how אברהם arises to provide a תיקון for a perverted pathway that has been lost for generations.

Starting in the Middle of the Journey

As the Torah introduces אברהם he is already in the middle of his journey. All of the chains of events that led אברהם in this direction have been left out of the Torah. In a way the Torah is teaching us that no matter what age or stage one is in life, the path to truth must start with a לך-לך. One must shed all of his prejudices and the preconceived conditions of his past and begin anew.

No matter what society one is born into, even the most right-wing, religious environment, one must search for G-d on his own as an individual. He cannot believe in G-d because his father and his rabbi believe; rather, it must be a going for oneself.

The Story Our Rabbis Filled In

Our Rabbis have filled in the blanks and provided for us the background for אברהם's discovery of the path to truth. The Rambam writes (Avoda Zara 1, 1-3) that in the generation of אנוש the world was mistaken and believed they should show appreciation to the luminaries, since G-d gave them the power to provide for us light, air and the ability for life. After many generations they continued to serve their providers and forgot that it was Hashem behind every worldly power.

Along came a little boy who thought to himself day and night, "How can it be that this sun is constantly providing for us, but there is nothing that is providing for the sun? There must be one G-d who controls all other powers and there is no other besides Him." The moment אברהם asked how it can be that this world runs without a ruler, Hashem jumped out of the sidelines and said "I am that ruler." It was אברהם who contemplated the world's existence over and over again until the King of the world revealed Himself and said "It is I whom you are looking for." (Based on the Midrash in Beresheit Rabba 39:1.)

The Rambam continues to describe how אברהם began to teach others, debate people and answer their questions. He would show them they were not on the correct path, destroy their idols and help them understand their Creator. He would gather people from city to city until he finally reached ארץ כנען, and he made sure everybody knew the true path.

The Idol Store

‎אברהם would be placed in charge of his father's idol store, and he would ask the people who came in to buy idols, "How old are you?" They would respond 50 or 60 years old. אברהם would reply, "How can it be that a person 50 years old would bow down to an idol one day old?" The people would be embarrassed and walk away. (Beresheit Rabba 38:13.) אברהם would logically show them that there cannot be any power to an idol that was created by a person, does not have eternal existence and has no strength over humans.

Another story is that one day אברהם smashed all of the idols with a stick and placed the stick in the hands of the biggest idol. When his father came and asked him who broke all of the idols, he said a woman had come to buy an idol, and each one had a fight and wanted to be chosen, and then the biggest one out of all of them came and smashed all the other ones.

These stories show אברהם's wittiness and cleverness in using his rational mind to prove to his father that he cannot believe idols have any power. Logic dictates that there must be one central power behind the existence of the world. Otherwise, if there were separate powers, each power would fight with the others and there could not be one ruler.

Becoming an Avraham

There are many people living in our generation who live their lives without realizing the source of creation, and they live according to the belief system of the generation of אנוש: that the world runs according to the rules of nature and cannot be changed. Each one of us must become an אברהם. "אברהם העברי - העולם מעבר זה והוא מעבר זה." אברהם is on one side and the rest of the world is on the other side. It is up to us to swim to the other side of the river, to see how everything that happens to us in the world is attributed to His powers. In this way we will become partners in bringing the world to its ultimate purpose.

Why Were These Stories Left Out?

One continues to wonder how come all of these stories about אברהם were left out of the Torah. Knowing these stories of אברהם can help enlighten a person and bring him to have more loyalty to G-d. These stories are part of the actions of our fathers that can be used to learn from and to battle our darkened generations.

The Maharal explains that Hashem's choosing of אברהם and his future generations is not dependent on anything that preceded the לך-לך. Hashem asking אברהם to leave his hometown came as if it was spontaneous, without any preparation and without anything that preceded it. It is to show there is no reason for Hashem choosing us, and He does not have any conditions or limitations. Therefore the Jewish nation will never be switched for another nation, and there is no room for regret or return.

Faith Beyond the Intellect

Another reason is that our rabbis teach that אמונה is not an intellectual pursuit; rather, it is a belief and faithfulness that is built within the innards of a person. אברהם was strong-willed in his אמונה and therefore he was strong in his existence. Therefore he merited to be the solid foundation of everything else. He was tested with 10 strong tests to see if he was strong enough to uphold the pillars of the rest of the Jewish nation.

‎אמונה may be built up by knowledge and intellect, but it does not end with intelligence. אמונה is a level that must be measured by how strong a person is willing to be loyal against all of the calculations that may contradict his beliefs. אברהם's greatness is his belief in G-d even though all of his circumstances went against his אמונה. Not only did he engage in deep philosophy, but he also merited the level of being faithful to G-d, without anything being able to rock his foundation.

Where Avraham Began

This is why the Torah starts with לך-לך and leaves out all of his philosophical debates. The Torah begins with how אברהם had unshakable אמונה. This is when he overcame challenging tests and lived his life based on his personal outlook. Each one of his tests gave him a reason to quit and give up, but that was when he was able to prove what he really believed.

It is easy to have philosophical debates and to talk about endless discussions of what G-d is all about, but when put to live their life based on their beliefs, most people fail. This is where אברהם began.

Moving Forward

‎אברהם was given a promise of success and right away he is hit with a deadly famine in the very land that G-d asked him to move to. But instead of giving up hope and despairing, he kept moving forward without even a moment of anguish. Then there is the fight between his shepherds and his nephew, Lot, but he keeps moving forward. He is put in the middle of a battlefield between 4 kings and 5 kings, and yet he does not lose his אמונה.

The main part of this Parasha is to show how אברהם strengthened himself and did not move from his אמונה. He went after Hashem's will like a sheep following his shepherd, without asking any questions. We should all be able to walk in his ways even when the path is dark, and strengthen ourselves in our אמונה. And through our אמונה Hashem shall bring the world to its ultimate תיקון.