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Sample lesson - Abraham in Ur Kasdim: An untold story

Teacher-Student Correspondence appears at the end of this document

Sources

[Note to this sample lesson: The book refers the reader to Genesis, chapter 12 (included in an appendix to the book), upon which this lesson is based.]

In Lesson One, we discussed Abraham’s discovery of God, and his efforts to publicize the existence of God to the people of Ur Kasdim. Abraham was forced to confront Nimrod, the regional monarch, and this resulted in Abraham’s miraculous deliverance from Nimrod’s fiery furnace. This well-known incident is vital to our understanding of Abraham’s character, for it illustrates Abraham’s staunch devotion to the truth of God’s existence, and it helps us understand why God chose Abraham to disseminate His knowledge to mankind. We can perceive the depth of Abraham’s devotion to God when we realize that Abraham had no foreknowledge of God’s intent to rescue him from the furnace.

Yet it is most puzzling that no mention whatsoever is made of this crucial event in the Torah text. Our knowledge of the incident has been preserved only in midrashic literature. Would we not expect the Torah to record for posterity Abraham’s great act of faith in the main body of the text? Ramban (Torah Commentary of Rabbi Moshe ben (son of) Nachman, 1195-1270, Spain-Israel) was disturbed by this problem, and found a logical solution.

Ramban (Genesis 12:2)

When the Torah records God’s promise of blessings to Abraham, it does so without first providing us with any background information. It is most unusual that the Torah text does not introduce Abraham as someone who was completely righteous and devoted to God, before describing the exceptional blessings God showered upon him. The passage opens without any explanation of why Abraham deserved all these blessings, whereas elsewhere in Scripture, we find God’s blessings are conditional upon an individual or group first demonstrating commitment to God (cf., Leviticus ch. 26; Kings II 2:4; 3:14). Why then does the Torah omit mention of so significant an event in Abraham’s life before mentioning God’s promise of such a great reward? Surely the Torah does not expect us to conclude that all the blessings resulted merely from Abraham’s fulfilling His command to leave his country and travel to an unknown destination.

Ramban explains:

The Torah relies on the student’s familiarity with midrashic literature to complete the incidents and concepts it presents. In this case, God wants us to understand through midrashic literature His promise to reward Abraham. The midrash details the extensive abuse Abraham suffered at the hands of the people of Ur Kasdim, on account of his monotheistic belief. Because of this abuse, life there became all but impossible for Abraham, so he fled Ur Kasdim, intending eventually to reach the land of Canaan. However, he was delayed in Charan (Genesis 11:31), and it was while he was living in Charan that God instructed Abraham to fulfill his original intention of journeying to the land of Canaan, God’s “chosen land,” where he was to devote himself to serving God and publicizing God’s existence.

God assured Abraham that in Canaan the population would appreciate him and his mission, in sharp contrast to the cruel treatment to which he had been subjected by the residents of Ur Kasdim, who had cursed him and even cast him into a fiery furnace in order to punish and to silence him. The inhabitants of Canaan would in fact invoke Abraham’s name in their blessings, recognizing him as the paradigm of one who had been blessed by God.

The reason the Torah does not describe anything of Abraham’s encounters with the people of Ur Kasdim is consistent with the Torah’s general approach of limiting any mention of idolatrous beliefs. Had the Torah related Abraham’s encounters with the people of Ur Kasdim, it would have had to elaborate on the religious debates in which they engaged. The Torah did not want to give credence to their idolatrous beliefs.

Synopsis of Source

Ramban

Had the Torah related Abraham’s experiences involving the residents of Ur Kasdim, it would have justified God’s promise of reward to Abraham. Nevertheless, the Torah characteristically minimizes any discussion of idolatrous views and beliefs. Yet inasmuch as Abraham failed in his efforts to publicize God’s existence to the inhabitants of Ur Kasdim, God promised Abraham that his efforts would meet with tremendous success in the land of Canaan.

Lecture

Two people rarely view things in the same way. Each will focus on different aspects; it is a matter of one’s perspective. A banker who is successful financially, but is suffering from a degenerative disease, can be viewed as either wealthy or poor, depending upon whether one views him from an economic or a physiologic perspective. A speaker whose words are well-ordered and well-delivered, who receives a standing ovation by the vast majority of his listeners, yet evokes a Bronx cheer from several hecklers in the crowd, can be viewed as either a success or a failure, depending on whether one focuses on his winning mass approval, or on his failure to influence a few hard-core detractors.

What is the Torah’s perspective relative to Abraham and his religious movement? Can Abraham be viewed as just another of many individuals in the annals of history who have introduced a new religion or social movement? Does Abraham’s setback in Ur Kasdim indicate some weakness or flaw in his religious teachings?

The Torah portrays Abraham as a universal personality, and his triumph as a universal triumph. Having discovered the God of Creation, Abraham became the innovator of a religious movement that attracted many followers even in his own lifetime, a movement that grew into nationhood, one that is destined eventually to affect all of mankind. Viewed in terms of this universal perspective, the fact that the residents of Ur Kasdim were unreceptive and even hostile to Abraham’s teachings is inconsequential, for their reaction is an anomaly in the larger picture of Abraham’s achievements.

Had the Torah recorded Abraham’s encounters with the people of Ur Kasdim (including his willingness to die in Nimrod’s furnace rather than to renounce his religious beliefs), it would have enhanced the reader’s esteem for Abraham’s firm convictions; moreover, it would have provided justification for the unprecedented promises of support and blessing that G-d made to Abraham. Nevertheless, describing significant events from Abraham’s life in Ur Kasdim would have given unwarranted coverage to the population’s erroneous religious beliefs, and would have highlighted Abraham’s failure to influence a single group of hard-core belligerents, when in fact he met with great success everywhere else he went.

When God instructed Abraham to travel to the land of Canaan, His message to Abraham was: “Disregard your failure with the people of Ur Kasdim. You will find success in the land of Canaan. There your teachings will be appreciated, and from there they will be disseminated among mankind.” This is the true and lasting image that the Torah depicts of Abraham.

In its description of Abraham’s arrangements for Sarah’s burial years later (Genesis, chapter 23), the Torah portrays this very image of Abraham. It quotes the Canaanites, who called Abraham “a prince of God in our midst” (Genesis 23:6). The people of Canaan thus eloquently attested to the profound impression that Abraham and his teachings had made upon them.

In examining Ramban’s approach to understanding the brevity of the Torah’s coverage of idolatrous beliefs, we can come to understand how we are to view ourselves and our religion. The belligerent attitude of the inhabitants of Ur Kasdim is in many ways parallel to that of all those who seek to undermine the destiny of the Jewish people. Though they may ridicule our beliefs, though they may persecute us, history has demonstrated that their efforts never succeed in destroying us; they all disappear from the face of the earth, while the Jewish nation remains.

For over three millennia, the Torah has nurtured us with a broad vision of our ultimate success in bringing all of mankind to recognize God, for this is our national mission. Our knowledge of Abraham’s confrontation with the people of Ur Kasdim prepares us for the reality of the world’s hostility toward us and our mission, and for the need to remain strong in our convictions. From the fact that the events that transpired in Ur Kasdim are not included in the Torah text, but only in midrashic literature, we are to learn that in spite of all the historical setbacks we encounter, our ultimate success is guaranteed by God.

 

Teacher-Student Correspondence

? Remembering the lessons of history

Dear Rabbi,

In response to the omission of the Ur Kasdim incident and how it relates to contemporary anti-Semitism, and how those sorts of incidents are recorded, I have several opinions.

Like the Torah not wanting to record in detail examples of evil behavior, so too should modern writers, talk show hosts, etc., not dwell on the evil doings of others, lest it incite someone to act similarly.  I have heard of cases where this sort of thing has occurred, particularly in cases of people without a good education or impressionable people, like young children.

However, there are many fine examples of works documenting anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, and as long as it is treated with sensitivity I don’t think the topic should be avoided altogether. We learn from history lest it repeat itself, that is true, but after the lesson is learned, I don’t feel that dwelling on it and dwelling on it some more accomplishes much.

Patricia

  

Dear Patricia,

You are correct that we should not avoid the issue of anti-Semitism; however I disagree with your conclusion that people learn from history. Hegel (1770–1831, Germany) wrote that history teaches us that people learn nothing from history.

Wherever we look we see a lack of remembrance, both by individuals and by nations. The same mistakes plague us to this very day. King Solomon, in Ecclesiastes, bemoans the fact that people mistakenly think that they have made new discoveries — new solutions to solving the world’s problems — and they fail to learn from their predecessors that these ideas do not succeed, whether in the short or in the long run (see Ecclesiastes 1:10).

For us, a vivid memory is one of the most basic features of preserving our Jewish nationhood. Why do we celebrate the Passover Seder every year? Haven’t we learned the messages of freedom after 3000+ years? The Torah itself warns us not to forget our history (e.g., Deuteronomy 4:9–10, 32:7). Our memory is our connection to the past and our foundation for building the future.

Since God has to tell us in His Torah repeatedly not to forget the Exodus and not to forget the Revelation at Sinai (e.g., Exodus 13:8, Deuteronomy 4:20–25), we can learn from this that people do have a tendency to forget even the most basic things in life.

M.Z.

 
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