​Parashat Lech Lecha, 5786, 2025: "Avraham Avinu"

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The tragic failures of Adam and Chava, the Dor HaMabul, and Noach enable us to appreciate the unmatched greatness of Avraham Avinu. His spiritual drive led him to discover the truth of Hashem’s existence that had been lost in the sands of time. His “classroom” for so doing was Nature and the Cosmos, and his rebbe was HaKadosh Baruch Hu. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), presented this idea in his celebrated essay, The Lonely Man of Faith:

Abraham, the knight of faith, according to our tradition, sought and discovered God in the starlit heavens of Mesopotamia. Yet, he felt an intense loneliness and could not find solace in the silent companionship of God, whose image was reflected in the boundless stretches of the cosmos. Only when he met God on earth as Father, Brother, and Friend—not only along the uncharted astral routes—did he feel redeemed. Our sages said that before Abraham appeared majestas dei [the majesty of God] was reflected only by the distant heavens, and it was a mute nature which “spoke” of the glory of God. It was Abraham who “crowned” Him the God of earth, i.e., the God of men. (Kindle edition, pages 47-48, underlining and brackets my own)
 
Make no mistake about it: Avraham was an authentic religious revolutionary who repudiated the underlying “religious” axioms and behavioral norms of the nations among whom he lived. Based on his unceasing efforts, Hashem and His Divine will, rather than idolatry and immorality, would become the brilliant new light that would penetrate the nearly impenetrable darkness of his time. Avraham recognized, as Yeshayahu the prophet taught us so many years later: “shehame mishtachavim l’hevel v’rik, u’mitpallim el ale lo yoshiyah—For they bow to vanity and emptiness and pray to a god which helps not.” (Aleinu Leshaba’ach based on Sefer Yeshayahu 45:20, translation, Artscroll Tanach).
 
Avraham transformed the entire world by introducing the one true God to humankind. This remarkable individual forever altered the history of world. As such, he was, and will ever be, every Jew’s religious model and mentor. Moreover, Avraham’s entrance on the grand stage of world history was a great comfort for Hashem. He was the first person to faithfully rise above each trial he encountered, while worshipping the Almighty in ultimate love and heartfelt devotion. Little wonder then, that Hashem called him both Avraham avdi (Avraham My servant, Sefer Bereishit 26:24), and Avraham ohavi (Avraham My beloved friend, Sefer Yeshiyahu 41:8). At long last, Hakadosh Baruch Hu had a beloved compatriot who loved, served Him and publicized His presence before the entire world.
 
With the Almighty’s help, may we emulate Avraham Avinu and proclaim His glory before one and all. As the Aleinu teaches us: “Aleinu leshaba’ach l’Adon hakol, l’tate gedulah l’Yotzer bereishit—It is our duty to praise the Master of all, to ascribe greatness to the Master of primeval creation…” V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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