Parshas Lech Lecha: The True Emunah of Avraham

You are the G-d that chose Avram and took him out of Ur Kasdim and made his name Avraham and found his heart loyal to You.

And so it is fitting to Avraham, since he is the beginning of the Israelite nation, it is fitting that he should have a stronger existence; that because of this he is the foundation and the beginning. And his strength was that he was strong in his emunah; and that is his strength and because he was strong in his emunah he had a stronger existence, and because of that he merited to be the head, the cornerstone and the foundation of all. And that is why Avraham was tested with ten tests to see if he would be strong in his emunah, and when he was tested with ten tests, then he became known and appointed to be the head, cornerstone and on him all was built.

(1) In the days of Enosh, humans made a great error and the sages of that generation gave ignorant advice and Enosh himself was one of those in error. This was their error. They said, since G-d created these stars and the spheres that guide the world and placed them in the heights and treat them with honor and they are the servants that serve before Him. It is fitting to praise them and to glorify them and treat them with honor. This is the will of G-d, blessed be He, that they make great and honor those whom God made great and honored like the king who desires to honor those who stand before him and this is the honor of the king...

(2) As time went on, first false prophets began to arise amongst humanity, and claimed that G-d commanded and said to them, "Worship such-and-such star—or all of the stars—and offer sacrifices and libations to it. Build it a temple, and create an idol to its form, in order to bow down to it. The entire nation should do this, the women, children, and rest of the laymen." The false prophet would show them the image that he fabricated of his own volition and would say this is the form that he informed the people of in his prophecy. And humanity started on this path, making images in temples, under trees, and on top of mountains and hills. They would gather together and bow down to these idols, saying to the entire nation that this idol has the power to deal kindly and unkindly, and therefore is deserving of worship and fear...

(3) Once this mighty one (Avraham) was weaned, he began to question these practices while he was young, and to ponder day and night. He would wonder, "How could this sun behave like this always, without a Guide, or someone to keep it in motion? Because certainly it is impossible for it to cause itself to orbit." And he had no teacher or informer; rather he was immersed in the idolatrous environment of Ur Kasdim amongst the foolish idol worshippers. His father and mother, along with the rest of the population, were all idol worshippers. He would worship with them, but he would question and wonder, until he found the true and just path from his own correct understanding. And he knew that there is only one G-d, that He guides the sun, that He created everything, and that there exists no other G-d besides Him. And he knew that the entire world was mistaken, and that which lead them astray was that they worshipped the stars and the idols, until they lost the truth. And Avraham was 40 years old when he recognized his Creator.