Abraham: The Founder of Judaism
Abraham (Avraham) was the first Jew, the founder of Judaism, the physical and spiritual ancestor of the Jewish people, and one of the three Patriarchs (Avot) of Judaism.
Abraham also plays a prominent role in Christianity and Islam, which are the other two major Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic religions trace their origins back to Abraham.
How Abraham Founded Judaism
Although Adam, the first man, believed in one God, most of his descendants prayed to many gods. Abraham, then, rediscovered monotheism.
Abraham was born Abram in the city of Ur in Babylonia and lived with his father, Terah, and his wife, Sarah. Terah was a merchant who sold idols, but Abraham came to believe that there was only one God and smashed all but one of his father's idols.
Eventually, God called upon Abraham to leave Ur and settle in Canaan, which God promises to give to Abraham's descendants. Abraham agreed to the pact, which formed the basis of the covenant, or b'rit, between God and Abraham's descendants. The b'rit is fundamental to Judaism.
Abraham then moved to Canaan with Sarah and his nephew, Lot, and was for some years a nomad, traveling throughout
Abraham's life
Abraham's life
Map of the locations in Abraham's storyThe story of Abraham and his descendents is found in the book of Genesis. We first meet him in Genesis chapter 11, although at this stage his name is Abram. There is very little biographical detail about him apart from the fact that he was a shepherd and came from Ur in Mesopotamia - modern day Iraq - after which he and his family moved, with his father Terah, to Haran.
This is a polytheistic age, an age when people believed in and worshipped many gods. Yet within this atmosphere, Abram answers the call of God and it is because of this that he accepts and realises the reality of there being only one true God.
In the Jewish tradition called Midrash (a Hebrew word which means 'interpretation' and relates to the way readings or biblical verses are understood), there are a number of stories about Abraham smashing his father's idols when he realises that there can be only one God of heaven and earth. It doesn't matter whether the stories are true or not. They acknowledge that Abraham was the first person to recognise and worship the one God. And so, monotheism was born.
At the beginning of Genesis chapte
It is common for Jews to affectionately refer to the first Patriarch as Avraham Avinu, “Abraham our Father.” But is Abraham so certainly “our father” alone?
If we approach the figure of Abraham from the perspective of later Jewish exegesis, we note a number of additions to Abraham’s biography that seem peculiar and unwarranted by the biblical text. A more careful examination of the circumstances reveals that some of these added details reflect some very heated controversies that preoccupied the Jewish commentators through the generations in their contacts with competing religious outlooks.
As an example, let us look at an oft-quoted rabbinic tradition:
Our father Abraham observed the entire Torah before it was given to Israel, as it is written (Genesis )
“Because that Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws.” (Mishnah, end of Kiddushin).
This claim, which was extended to apply to the other patriarchs as well, gave rise to all sorts of difficulties.
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Abraham
According to Jewish tradition, Abraham was born under the name Abram in the city of Ur in Babylonia in the year from Creation (circa BCE). He was the son of Terach, an idol merchant, but from his early childhood, he questioned the faith of his father and sought the truth. He came to believe that the entire universe was the work of a single Creator, and he began to teach this belief to others.
Abram tried to convince his father, Terach, of the folly of idol worship. One day, when Abram was left alone to mind the store, he took a hammer and smashed all of the idols except the largest one. He placed the hammer in the hand of the largest idol. When his father returned and asked what happened, Abram said, "The idols got into a fight, and the big one smashed all the other ones." His father said, "Don't be ridiculous. These idols have no life or power. They can't do anything." Abram replied, "Then why do you worship them?"
Eventually, the one true Creator that Abram had worshipped called to him, and made him an offer: if Abram would leave his home and his family, then G-d would make him a great nation and bless him. Abram accepted this offer,
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