(1) The Eternal One said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you And curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth Shall bless themselves by you.”
וַיָּמָת הָרָן עַל פְּנֵי תֶּרַח אָבִיו (בראשית יא, כח)
רַבִּי חִיָּא בַּר בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב אַדָא דְּיָפוֹ, תֶּרַח עוֹבֵד צְלָמִים הָיָה, חַד זְמַן נְפֵיק לַאֲתַר, הוֹשִׁיב לְאַבְרָהָם מוֹכֵר תַּחְתָּיו. הֲוָה אָתֵי בַּר אֵינַשׁ בָּעֵי דְּיִזְבַּן, וַהֲוָה אֲמַר לֵהּ בַּר כַּמָּה שְׁנִין אַתְּ, וַהֲוָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ בַּר חַמְשִׁין אוֹ שִׁתִּין, וַהֲוָה אֲמַר לֵיהּ וַי לֵיהּ לְהַהוּא גַבְרָא דַּהֲוָה בַּר שִׁתִּין וּבָעֵי לְמִסְגַּד לְבַר יוֹמֵי, וַהֲוָה מִתְבַּיֵּשׁ וְהוֹלֵךְ לוֹ. חַד זְמַן אֲתָא חַד אִתְּתָא טְעִינָא בִּידָהּ חָדָא פִּינָךְ דְּסֹלֶת, אֲמָרָהּ לֵיהּ הֵא לָךְ קָרֵב קֳדָמֵיהוֹן, קָם נְסֵיב בּוּקְלָסָא בִּידֵיהּ, וְתַבְרִינוּן לְכָלְהוֹן פְּסִילַיָא, וִיהַב בּוּקְלָסָא בִּידָא דְּרַבָּה דַּהֲוָה בֵּינֵיהוֹן. כֵּיוָן דַּאֲתָא אֲבוּהָ אֲמַר לֵיהּ מַאן עָבֵיד לְהוֹן כְּדֵין, אֲמַר לֵיהּ מַה נִּכְפּוּר מִינָךְ אֲתַת חָדָא אִתְּתָא טְעִינָא לָהּ חָדָא פִּינָךְ דְּסֹוֹלֶת, וַאֲמַרַת לִי הֵא לָךְ קָרֵיב קֳדָמֵיהון, קָרֵיבְתְּ לָקֳדָמֵיהוֹן הֲוָה דֵּין אֲמַר אֲנָא אֵיכוֹל קַדְמָאי, וְדֵין אֲמַר אֲנָא אֵיכוֹל קַדְמָאי, קָם הָדֵין רַבָּה דַּהֲוָה בֵּינֵיהוֹן נְסַב בּוּקְלָסָא וְתַבַּרִינוֹן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ מָה אַתָּה מַפְלֶה בִּי, וְיָדְעִין אִינוּן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּ אָזְנֶיךָ מַה שֶּׁפִּיךָ אוֹמֵר.
נַסְבֵיהּ וּמְסָרֵיהּ לְנִמְרוֹד. אֲמַר לֵיהּ נִסְגוֹד לְנוּרָא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבְרָהָם וְנִסְגּוֹד לְמַיָא דְּמַטְפִין נוּרָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ נִמְרוֹד נִסְגּוֹד לְמַיָא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִם כֵּן נִסְגּוֹד לַעֲנָנָא דְּטָעִין מַיָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ נִסְגּוֹד לַעֲנָנָא. אָמַר לֵיהּ אִם כֵּן נִסְגּוֹד לְרוּחָא דִּמְבַדַּר עֲנָנָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ נִסְגּוֹד לְרוּחָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ וְנִסְגּוֹד לְבַר אֵינָשָׁא דְּסָבֵיל רוּחָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ מִלִּין אַתְּ מִשְׁתָּעֵי, אֲנִי אֵינִי מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה אֶלָּא לָאוּר, הֲרֵי אֲנִי מַשְׁלִיכֲךָ בְּתוֹכוֹ, וְיָבוֹא אֱלוֹקַּ שֶׁאַתָּה מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לוֹ וְיַצִּילְךָ הֵימֶנּוּ.
הֲוָה תַּמָן הָרָן קָאֵים פְּלוּג, אָמַר מַה נַּפְשָׁךְ אִם נָצַח אַבְרָהָם אֲנָא אָמַר מִן דְּאַבְרָהָם אֲנָא וְאִם נָצַח נִמְרוֹד אֲנָא אֲמַר דְּנִמְרוֹד אֲנָא. כֵּיוָן שֶׁיָּרַד אַבְרָהָם לְכִבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ וְנִצֹּל, אָמְרִין לֵיהּ דְּמַאן אַתְּ, אֲמַר לְהוֹן מִן אַבְרָהָם אֲנָא, נְטָלוּהוּ וְהִשְּׁלִיכוּהוּ לָאוּר וְנֶחְמְרוּ בְּנֵי מֵעָיו, וְיָצָא וּמֵת עַל פְּנֵי תֶּרַח אָבִיו, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וַיָּמָת הָרָן עַל פְּנֵי תֶּרַח וגו'.
“And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach.” (Gen. 11:28)
Rabbi Hiyya said: Abraham's father, Terach, was an idol-manufacturer. Once he had to travel, so he left Abraham to manage the shop. People would come in and ask to buy idols. Abraham would say, "How old are you?" The person would say, "Fifty," or "Sixty". Abraham would say, "Isn't it pathetic that a man of sixty wants to bow down to a one-day-old idol?" The man would feel ashamed and leave.
One time a woman came with a basket of bread. She said to Abraham, "Take this and offer it to the gods".
Abraham got up, took a hammer in his hand, broke all the idols to pieces, and then put the hammer in the hand of the biggest idol among them.
When his father came back and saw the broken idols, he was appalled. "Who did this?" he cried. Abraham said: "What can I hide from you? A woman came with a basket of bread and told me to offer it to them. I brought it in front of them, and each one said, "I'm going to eat first." Then the biggest one got up, took the hammer and broke all the others to pieces."
What are you trying to pull on me?" asked Terach, "These things have no consciousness!"
Said Abraham: "Do your ears hear what your own mouth is saying?!”
So he took him and turned him over to Nimrod. Nimrod said to him: “Let us worship fire!”
Abraham said to him, "Let us worship water, since water extinguishes fire."
Nimrod said, "Let us worship water!"
"In that case, we should worship the clouds, since they carry water."
Nimrod said, "Let us worship the clouds!"
"Then we should worship the wind, since it drives the clouds across the sky."
"Yes, we should worship the wind [ruach -- air, spirit.]"
"Let us worship human beings, for humans can withstand the wind."
"You're just playing with words," cried Nimrod. "I worship only fire [ur], and I am going to throw you into it! Let the God you worship come along and save you from it!"
Haran was hiding, and was of two minds, saying to himself: if Abraham is victorious, I will say I am with Abraham, and if Nimrod is victorious, I will say I am with Nimrod. When Abraham was thrown into the fiery furnace and saved, they asked [Haran]: who are you with? He replied: I am with Abraham. They took him and threw him into the fire [ur], and his insides burned up and he died in front of his father Terah, as it says: "And Haran died [lit., in the face] of his father Terach."
(26) When Terach had lived 70 years, he begot Abram, Nachor, and Haran. (27) Now this is the line of Terach: Terach begot Abram, Nachor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. (28) Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terach, in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans. (29) Abram and Nachor took to themselves wives, the name of Abram’s wife being Sarai and that of Nahor’s wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. (30) Now Sarai was barren, she had no child. (31) Terach took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Charan, they settled there. (32) The days of Terach came to 205 years; and Terach died in Charan.
(8) Kush also begot Nimrod, who was the first man of might on earth. (9) He was a mighty hunter before the Eternal; hence the saying, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Eternal.” (10) The mainstays of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Kalneh in the land of Shinar.
(א) לך לך. השם צוה לאברהם ועודנו באור כשדים שיעזוב ארצו ומקום מולדתו גם בית אביו. והטעם שידע השם שתרח אחר שיצא ללכת אל ארץ כנען ישב בחרן. ותרח לא מת עד אחר ששים שנה שיצא אברהם מבית אביו מחרן רק הכתוב לא פירש שניו בצאתו מאור כשדים.
“Lekh Lekha (Go forth)” - God already commanded Abraham, when they were still in Ur Kasdim, to leave his land and country and birthplace and the house of his father. And the reason is that God knew that Terach, after he went to go to the Land of Canaan, would stay in Charan. And Terach did not die until 60 years after Abraham left his house in Charan. But the Torah does not go into detail about all the years after he left Ur Kasdim.
(ב) מארצך וממולדתך כתב רש"י והלא כבר יצא משם עם אביו ובא עד חרן אלא כך אמר לו הקב"ה התרחק עוד מבית אביך ורבי אברהם פירש וכבר אמר השם אל אברם לך לך מארצך כי הדבור הזה היה בעודנו באור כשדים ושם צוהו לעזוב ארצו ומולדתו ובית אביו אשר שם
ואיננו נכון כי אם היה כן היה אברם עיקר הנסיעה מבית אביו במצות האלקים ותרח אביו ברצון נפשו הלך עמו והכתוב אמר (לעיל יא לא) ויקח תרח את אברם בנו יורה כי אברם אחרי אביו ובעצתו יצא מאור כשדים ללכת ארצה כנען
From your land and from your birthplace -
... Rabbi Abraham [Ibn Ezra] explained that God already said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your land,’ and so this is restating what was already said in Ur Kasdim, and it was there that God commanded him to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house there.
And this is not correct. Because if this were so, the point of the journey would be Abram’s leaving his father’s house on God’s command, and Terach would just be accompanying him out of his own personal desire. But the verse says, “Terach took Abram his son” (Gen. 11:31), which shows that Abram was following his father, and it was his father’s idea that they leave Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan.