Rabbi Amit Kulaisthe rabbi of Kibbutz Alumim as well as of Beit Midrash Daroma at Ben Gurion University. [22]This distinction is similar to that of Achad Ha-Am between historical truth (the way a group relates to events from its past, what we now call cultural memory or mnemohistory) and archaeological truth (what actually happened in the past.) In the book of Abraham, translated in our day and generation, we are informed that Abraham was bound, and those priests sought to take his life, but the Lord delivered him from them. Abram is now 50 years old; he has lived with Noah and Shem for 39 years and a cave for 10. However, in this case, God was testing the obedience and faith of Abraham. The first and simplest is, What the Torah says about the event is what is important. The second is shorter but sharper, What the Torah says is what is important.. 39 And Abram answered Terah his father and he said, Not so my lord, for I brought savory meat before them, and when I came nigh to them with the meat that they might eat, they all at once stretched forth their hands to eat before the great one had put forth his hand to eat. He did his Ph.D.in Jewish thought atBen Gurion University, focusing on the writings of Rav Kook. It is one that any person who wishes to renew his or her faithperhaps even to limit its horizons for a timeshould take to heart. Rambams approach here applies to our case as well. To attempt an answer, I suggest that dry mechanical lists of rules, such as do not murder and do not steal, couldnt accomplish the transmission of lofty values to humankind. Donate. 59 Now therefore put away this evil deed which thou doest, and serve the God of the universe, as thy soul is in his hands, and then it will be well with thee. It is the Torah of God, turning its face to Torah students in every generation. that there is a real God, then that God will save him. The opposite is the case. Numbers 33:52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: Judges 2:2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 31Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, (A)broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the [a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until [b]they had destroyed them all. Delivered at Provo, Sunday Afternoon, August 28th, 1881, Reported by Geo. Abraham burns the idols unlike the Qur'anic account where we find Abraham smashing all but the largest idol. ORLOV 'The Gods of My Father Terah' 35 Testament of Abraham, also deny the possibility that God has a human- like form. The question the rabbis are trying to answer with the Midrash is why and how did Haran die in the presence of his father. Understanding the Torah this way can strengthen the deep vitality buried in its every story, every verse, every word even every letter. why dost thou worship . Hebrews 13:5 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. His analysis deals with how in modern times, Abraham came to be seen as the only monotheist. 2. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Terah exclaimed that such a thing was impossible, since idols could not quarrel or fight. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. Writing, not just in these examples, is a reality substitute of great value. 22 And Terah bowed down to his gods, and he then went away from them, and Abram, his son, went away with him. [5]A lot has been written about the principle of the slippery slope. See, for example, the essay by Yuval Cherlow, Halacha and the Slippery Slope,Akdamut23 (5769): 33-48 [Hebrew]. Why is Abraham is cutting up all these animals in Genesis 15? My gods cannot fight; they have legs, but they cannot walk; they have arms, but they cannot use them; they have eyes and ears, but they cannot see nor hear. Why, father, said Abraham, is it possible that you worship a god that cannot hear or see, walk or use himself at all? The god of the Christians, according to their own description of him, being a god without body, parts or passions, would be as unlikely to hear them when they called upon him, as were the gods of Terah, Abrahams father, when he called upon them. Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural, Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural, Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural, Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun, Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural, A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same, Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun, Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct, gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative, Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural, Holy things must be eaten in the holy place, and holy things must be eaten in the holy place, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT Law: Deuteronomy 12:3 And you shall break down their altars (Deut. 2 Chronicles 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 7In the third month they began to [e]make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. This is something best accomplished by narrative, not by list of laws or principles. Will Gods story be diminished if we do not connect it with the actions of specific people, as great as they may have been? Abraham responds that water puts out fire. Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 01:39, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_and_the_Idol_Shop&oldid=1140022488, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 01:39. As our rabbis taught us, all is in the hands of heaven except for fear of heaven (b. Berachot 33b); even the historical Abraham would have to fit into this rubric. These events are seennot without causeas being singular and special. Join today!. Sons were born to them after the flood. Shalom Carmy; Orthodox Forum; Northvale: Aaronson, 1996), 159-180. He is the father of three children including the Patriarch Abraham. what is the supplement of an angle measuring 54 degrees? God stopped him from actually following . Is there spirit, soul, or power in these gods to do all thou hast told me? [29] How should this believer relate to the fact that the very type of faith that he or she sees as inferior is exactly the one which sits best with the majority of the faithful? Bruce Feiler (Abraham) says that probably less than one per cent of the stories told about Abraham appear in the Bible, with an explosion of detail beginning to appear in Jewish tradition from the third century BCE onwards. Exodus 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. One approach (the older and more nave one) claims that the job of a historian is to make a copy of the past and place it, as-is, before present day students of history. 14Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the [h]voluntary offerings for God, to distribute the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. All rights reserved worldwide. Kula was formerly the Rosh haYeshiva of Yeshivat HaKibbutz HaDati in Ein Tzurim. Hence the verse in Genesis 11:28, And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.[6], The Midrash is not the only mention of this storythe Quran discusses the story in great detail as well. Over the years, the interpretive tradition has taken this statement far out of its original meaning, which refers to the way a person is to behave on the night of the 15thof Nissan, and turned it into a key phrase describing Jewish consciousness in general. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! How Modern Prophets Contextualized This Account, [Abraham] understood that there was a God in heaven, a living and true God, and that no man should worship any other God but Him. [21]An ant and an elephant are running through the desert. Terah was the father of Abram (his name was later changed to [b](P) 23Then Abraham approached him and said: Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? [7]Doubtless, this claim reveals an important educational principle whose significance is beyond reproach. I am not surprised, therefore, at the literary prowessvery much like human literary prowessdemonstrated in Torah by its author. [4]There is a third as well, which I deal with in my book, in a later chapter. In essence, we exchange a conversation about God for an encounter with God. Designed using Unos Premium. [20] Moreover, even if the Torah had been written from one perspective only, in one clear and flowing style, that would not have proven that it came from God. Can these idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? His father came in and asked what he had been doing, what great sin this was that he had committed, why he was so sacrilegious in his feelings and so wicked as to seek to destroy these gods? I cannot deny that the intuition of religious people, whether they be simple believers or great scholars, prefers to see the Torahs narratives as based in factual history. Are they not wood and stone? Thus, such a God can be greater than any image of a god based upon said Gods great size and dimensions as envisioned by those who assume that God is physical. In an ahistorical reading, we exchange Abraham the man, his biographic detailsonly some of which have any connection to Godwith Gods Abraham. The idols argued about which one should eat the offering first, then the largest idol took the stick and smashed all the other idols. In this story, he or she creates a new reality that never before existed, or, to be more precise, he or she describes a reality that bears a relationship with events that did occur in the past, but is not an exact replica of those events. 29 And Abram took the savory meat from his mother, and brought it before his fathers gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day, thinking perhaps they might eat. Would you like updates when content is posted? Abraham responds that clouds hold water. 20 And Abram said to his father, My lord, shew them to me I pray thee; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images and others less than they without number. 60 And if thy wicked heart will not hearken to my words to cause thee to forsake thy evil ways, and to serve the eternal God, then wilt thou die in shame in the latter days, thou, thy people and all who are connected with thee, hearing thy words or walking in thy evil ways. In many ways, the challenge faced by such a person is similar to the one faced by Rambam when he tried and demonstrate to the world that God has no body. It is thou that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote them all. Child sacrifice. are also to be treated as idols." Among the many events described in the book of Genesis, there are a handful that carry with them a mitzvahrequirementthe circumcision of Abraham (Gen. 17) and the injuring of Jacobs sciatic nerve (Gen. 32:25-33), for instance. The only similarity that one finds here is Abraham advising his father about the futility of idol worship. He has two wives, Sarah and Hajar and is well into his old age and childless. [22], Getting accustomed to this kind of thinking about the Torah is required, in my opinion, if a person wishes to acquire the ability to raise his or her faith in Torah from a peripheral attachment to an essential attachment to its contents. 23 And when Abram had gone from them he went to his mother and sat before her, and he said to his mother, Behold, my father has shown me those who made heaven and earth, and all the sons of men. 12They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge (N)of them, and his brother Shimei was second. 52 And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king. The idols argued about which one should eat the offering first, then the largest idol took the stick and smashed all the other idols. Philip Munoa notes that 'the Testament of Abraham studi- ously avoids physical description of God when describing Abraham's heavenly ascent and tours of heaven explicitly identifying God with But Abraham, inspired by the Lord, went on a certain occasion into the temple of these gods and smote them right and left, upsetting and breaking them in pieces. On the other hand, Haran needed to see that Abraham would be saved by God before believing, and because of this, Haran was not saved from the fire by God. Hebrews 11:10 says of Abram: "He was awaiting the city having real foundations, the builder and maker of which city is God.". 14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. The image of Abraham smashing idols in his fathers store and blaming it on the god is likely to bring a smile to the lips of any person who is familiar with the story from his or her childhood. [14]M.Pesachim10:5. [26] Therefore, even if a believers intellectual powers allow him or her to consider the possibility that an ahistorical Torah could be more sophisticated and spiritual than a historical one, nevertheless, he or she cannot ignore the outer voiceor even the inner voicethat makes it difficult to be satisfied with scholarly justifications. On its own, the sentence can be understood as conveying the opposite meaning, as a call for those involved in studying the exodus from Egypt to remove themselves from the present, to transport themselves through time and view the event the way it would have been viewed by Moses and Aaron, Datan and Abiram. He was looking forward. Considering this, insofar as observance is concerned, is it important to defend the belief that all of the stories narrated in the book of Genesis actually happened? The first statement, the simpler one, would probably be acceptable to anyone. 54 And the king said to Abram, Had they power to speak and eat and do as thou hast said? If this is a story, he said, it is a very human story. 8When Hezekiah and the rulers came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and (J)His people Israel. 21. Enter code SPRINGSTUDY15 and have answers to your Bible questions at your fingertips. 27 And Abram mocked them, and said, Surely the savory meat that I prepared has not pleased them, or perhaps it was too little for them, and for that reason they would not eat; therefore tomorrow I will prepare fresh savory meat, better and more plentiful than this, in order that I may see the result. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. This Midrash can be interpreted as an example of persecution against those of monotheistic beliefs during a time when polytheism dominated.[8]. The interpretive strategy of the received text is paramount takes an entirely different approach, which attempts to encounter the word of God without any mediation. One time a woman came carrying a dish of fine flour. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. In his view, such an approach implies a weakness of faith and a deviation from the authentic approach of the Jewish tradition. Save 15% on BibleGateway+ with code SPRINGSTUDY15. When Terah saw his idols shattered and scattered all over the floor, he accused Abram. idols of any kind. And Abram answered the king, saying, And if there be no power in them why dost thou serve them and cause the sons of men to err through thy follies? Many in Maimonides generation believed that the existence of God was coterminous with Gods physical existence. Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same, Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular, Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural, Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct, Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct, Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular, Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel, He takes order for the repair of the temple, Josiah sends to Huldah to enquire of the Lord, Huldah prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, but respite thereof in Josiah's time, Josiah, causing it to be read in a solemn assembly, renews the covenant with God, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT History: 2 Chronicles 34:7 He broke down the altars and beat (2 Chron. This is true even for a person who can digest the nuances of the ahistorical approach to the Torah. 33 And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his fathers gods. It is precisely this struggle with which I attempt to grapple in my book. Even for such a person, something still lingers from the dissonance required in reframing the story as ahistorical. Idols Are Destroyed 31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the [ a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until [ b]they had destroyed them all. In a world where there are many doubts about the historicity of core events in the Torahs narrative,[24] establishing the palace of Torah upon a higher foundation would seem to be a constructive goal. Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols. They meant the world to me and taught me crucial lessons. But the Lord inspired Abraham to leave there. Abraham's brother Haran sees what happened and says that he believes in the God of Abraham. And Abram answered the king in the words that he spoke to his father, and he said, The large god that was with them in the house did to them what thou hast heard. 15 And Terah his father was in those days, still captain of the host of king Nimrod, and he still followed strange gods. Rambam expressed this idea in his unique idiom. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. [16] Only from the time of its inclusion in the Sinai covenant could a given law become the Archimedean point for the spiritual makeup of a person. I cannot thank them enough for the happy homelife they created for me and my siblings. So Nimrod declares they worship wind. However, see the words of Maimonides about Adam, Eve and the serpent inGuide of the Perplexed(2:30). [27]See Rambam,Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentence, 3:7. 10Azariah, the chief priest (K)of the house of Zadok, said to [f]him, (L)Since the contributions started coming into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.. Because of the signs in the heavens that were associated with his birth Nimrod tried to kill him at that time. This story is taken from The Book of Jasher 11:21-49, Terah, in response to Abrahams question to him about who the God was that had created heaven and earth and the children of men, took him to the hall wherein stood twelve great idols and a large number of little idols, and pointing to them he said, Here are they who have made all thou seest on earth, they who have created also me and thee and all men on the earth, and he bowed down before his gods, and left the hall with his son. Therefore, it is the job of the historian to tell his or her story about history. These events occurred at some point in the past, and the Holy Author (God) describes them from the unique perspective of the divine. In order to answer this question let us investigate the basis for this phenomenon: what is the point of writing? Hosea 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. The ant says to the elephant, Just look at the dust-clouds were making!. Therefore, we should be careful not to miss even a single hint or implication that may be imbedded in the direct speech of God to us. Although these events have halachic weight in Jewish tradition, this is not because they happened in the past (before the revelation at Sinai) but because they were included in the Torahs narrative at Sinai.[15]. Abraham is cast into the fire and is saved by God. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. One day I jumped on the streetcar and went to an LDS bookstore to find a book about the Church. New International Version (NIV). This second approach, in my opinion, works well with what seems to be occurring in the biblical narratives. It is, furthermore, impossible to deny another benefit of the ahistorical model of understanding the Torahs narratives. script>. Narrower concepts. [11]It is virtually impossible to exaggerate the political, sociological and emotional implications of this assertion. The priests of those days offered sacrifices to their gods, and, like the priests of these days, they were generally opposed to new revelation from God. Although the Bible says Terah "worshiped other gods" Therefore I will prepare fresh savory meat to-morrow, better and more plentiful than this, that I may see what cometh therefrom. But the gods remained mute and without motion before the second offering of excellent savory meat as before the first offering, and the spirit of God came over Abraham, and he cried out, and said: Woe unto my father and his wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone, which cannot eat, nor smell, nor hear, nor speak, which have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs without motion!, Abraham then took a hatchet in his hand, and broke all his fathers gods, and when he had done breaking them he placed the hatchet in the hand of the biggest god among them all, and he went out. Abraham mocked them, and said, Surely, the savory meat that I prepared doth not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you! A similar point was made by R. Abraham Kook inEder ha-Yakkar, (Jerusalem, 5726), p. 42. then he. And Terah answered his son Abram and said, Behold those who created us are all with us in the house. Furthermore, this objection often remains inchoate and not fully articulated. NASB 1995 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle, and she sat on them. Bible verses related to Idols from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance. Said he, Father, I did not do anything to them, they quarreled among themselves and went to work fighting and knocked one another down, broke one anothers heads and knocked off one anothers arms and legs. Oh, said his father, my sons do not tell me anything of that kind, for they are made of wood and they could not move or stir from their place nor knock one another down; it has been some other agency that has done it. Why, father, said he, would you worship a being that could not stir or move, that had hands and could not handle, that had legs and could not walk, a mouth that could not speak, and a head and it was of no use? Powered by WordPress. Whereupon Abraham responded by saying that you deny their knowledge, yet you worship them! 20Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and (W)he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God.
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