וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ. וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וַאֲבָרֶכְךָ וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ וֶהְיֵה בְּרָכָה. וַאֲבָרֲכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאֹר וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה. וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו ה'...
The Lord saidto Abram: Go forth from your native land and from your father's house to theland that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will blessyou; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will blessthose who bless you and curse him that curses you. And all the families of theearth shall bless themselves by you. Abram went forth as the Lord had commandedhim...
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל אַבְרָהָם וְאַתָּה אֶת בְּרִיתִי תִשְׁמֹר אַתָּה וְזַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ לְדֹרֹתָם. זֹאת בְּרִיתִי אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמְרוּ בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם וּבֵין זַרְעֲךָ אַחֲרֶיךָ הִמּוֹל לָכֶם כָּל זָכָר. וּנְמַלְתֶּם אֵת בְּשַׂר עָרְלַתְכֶם וְהָיָה לְאוֹת בְּרִית בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם.
God furthersaid to Abraham: As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the agesshall keep my covenant. Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and youroffspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall becircumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall bethe sign of the covenant between Me and you.
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה בְּאֵלֹנֵי מַמְרֵא וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב פֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל כְּחֹם הַיּוֹם. וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה שְׁלֹשָׁה אֲנָשִׁים נִצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיַּרְא וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתָם מִפֶּתַח הָאֹהֶל וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אָרְצָה. ... וַיָּקֻמוּ מִשָּׁם הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיַּשְׁקִפוּ עַל פְּנֵי סְדֹם וְאַבְרָהָם הֹלֵךְ עִמָּם לְשַׁלְּחָם. וַיהֹוָה אָמָר הַמְכַסֶּה אֲנִי מֵאַבְרָהָם אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה. וְאַבְרָהָם הָיוֹ יִהְיֶה לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל וְעָצוּם וְנִבְרְכוּ בוֹ כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ. כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה אֶת בָּנָיו וְאֶת בֵּיתוֹ אַחֲרָיו וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט לְמַעַן הָבִיא יְהוָה עַל אַבְרָהָם אֵת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר עָלָיו. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה זַעֲקַת סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה כִּי רָבָּה וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי כָבְדָה מְאֹד.
The Lordappeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre, he was sitting at the entrance ofthe tent as the day grew hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing nearhim....
The men set outfrom there and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham walking with them to see themoff. Now the Lord had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,since Abraham is to become a great populous nation and all the nations of theearth are to bless themselves by him? For I have singled him out, that he mayinstruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doingwhat is just and right, in order that the Lord may bring about for Abraham whathe has promised him.” Then the Lord said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah isso great, and their sin so grave! I will go down to see whether they have actedaltogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will takenote. The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standingbefore the Lord.
"וַיֹּאמֶר יהוה אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וְגוֹ'" ר' יצחק פתח (תהלים מה, יא ): "שִׁמְעִי בַת וּרְאִי וְהַטִּי אָזְנֵךְ וְשִׁכְחִי עַמֵּךְ וּבֵית אָבִיךָ" אמר רבי יצחק משל לאחד שהיה עובר ממקום למקום וראה בירה אחת דולקת אמר תאמר שהבירה זו בלא מנהיג הציץ עליו בעל הבירה אמר לו אני הוא בעל הבירה כך לפי שהיה אבינו אברהם אומר תאמר שהעולם הזה בלא מנהיג הציץ עליו הקב"ה ואמר לו אני הוא בעל העולם
(commentaryon source #1)
Rabbi Yitzchaksaid: This may be compared to a person who was traveling from one place toanother, and saw a palace in flames. The person wondered: Is it possible thatthis palace lacks an owner? The owner of the palace looked out and said: I amthe owner. In the same way, Abraham our father wondered: Is it possible thatthis world lacks a ruler? God looked out at him and said: “I am the ruler ofthe world.”
RabbiS.R. Hirsch, commentary on Genesis Chapter 12
(commentaryon source #1)
The sum totalof Jewish history was given to Abraham in these first three verses. In verseone, “Go for yourself, out of your country,” Abraham appears merely as an individual who is told to dare to be alone. In verse two, “I will make of you agreat nation,” the nation is already mentioned, but not yet in the context ofits relationship with the other nations. Then in verse three, “I will bless...”we see the Jewish nation in its relationship to the other nations. The blessingof Abraham is made depending on others blessing him; indeed, it is assumed thatsome might wish to curse him...
The text doesnot read “And you will be a blessing,” but rather “You, become a blessing.”These two Hebrew words subsume all the phases of the moral mission upon whosefulfillment the fulfillment of God's own wish depends: “I wish to make yourname great; therefore, you, become a blessing. I wish to make of you a nationto which the other nations need only look in order to become aware of their owntask. And the task which you are to fulfill, as distinct from all othernational aspirations, is: to become a blessing.
אמר אברהם עד שלא מלתי, היו העוברים והשבים באים אצלי, תאמר משמלתי אינן באים אצלי?! אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא: עד שלא מלת, היו בני אדם באים אצלך, עכשיו אני בכבודי בא ונגלה עליך. הה"ד וירא אליו ה' באלוני ממרא.
(commentaryon sources #2 and #3)
Abraham said:Up until now, I have not been circumcised, and travelers come to visit me. Tellme, once I am circumcised, will they stop visiting me?
God said: Up until youwere circumcised, people came to you. Now, I in my glory will come and revealmyself to you, as it says, “and God appeared to him by the the terebinths ofMamre...”1) Do you havea one or two sentence response to today’s framing question?
2) Based on theBiblical verses in the first three sources, why did Abraham become “Jewish”?How do you think Abraham experienced this shift? Can you tell from God’sspeaking parts, or from the Biblical narrator, what the point of having him be“Jewish” was meant to be?
3) What dothese sources tell you about how Jews are meant to relate to others?