The story of Abraham, or Avraham in Hebrew, is a powerful exploration of just that. The ancient texts tell us that Abraham faced ten trials, each designed to test the depths of his faith. And the very first of these? Leaving everything he knew.
As we find in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, this wasn't just a simple relocation. It was a wrenching departure from his homeland, fraught with hardship and internal conflict. Abraham worried about leaving his aging father in Haran. "Wouldn't people criticize me?" he asked God, fearing they'd say, "He wants to bring the nations closer to the Divine Presence, the Shekinah (the Divine Presence), yet he abandons his own family!"
God reassured him. "Dismiss all care concerning thy father," He said, revealing that Abraham's own kin harbored ill intentions. So, with a heavy heart but unwavering faith, Abraham left Haran and journeyed toward the unknown land of Canaan.
This journey was accompanied by a threefold blessing, designed to counteract the challenges of emigration. God promised, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great." According to Ginzberg, these blessings were meant to address the common fears associated with travel: that it disrupts family growth, diminishes wealth, and reduces one's standing in the community. But the greatest blessing of all? "And be thou a blessing." The Zohar tells us that this meant everyone who encountered Abraham would be blessed. Even sailors at sea would benefit from his presence!
And it wasn't just a temporal blessing. God promised that Abraham's name would be mentioned in the Benedictions, that God would be praised as the Shield of Abraham. A distinction shared by no other mortal, save David. It's said that the full realization of "And be thou a blessing" will only be revealed in the world to come, when Abraham's descendants are recognized as "the seed which the Lord hath blessed." The promise wasn't just about Abraham himself, but about the ripple effect of his faith throughout history.
When God first called Abraham to leave, He didn't immediately reveal the destination. This, the texts suggest, only amplified Abraham's reward. He simply trusted. "I am ready to go whithersoever Thou sendest me," he declared. Only later did God direct him to Canaan, the land where He would reveal Himself.
Upon arriving in Canaan, Abraham didn't initially know it was his promised inheritance. Yet, as Ginzberg tells it, he rejoiced nonetheless. Having witnessed the decadence of Mesopotamia and Aramnaharaim, he longed for a land where people were dedicated to cultivating the earth. Seeing this in Canaan, he exclaimed, "O that my portion may be in this land!" God then confirmed his hopes: "Unto thy seed will I give this land."
Overjoyed, Abraham built an altar to express his gratitude. He traveled southward, toward the future site of the Temple in Jerusalem, establishing his presence and claiming the land. In Hebron, he built another altar. As we find in Legends of the Jews, he even raised an altar in Ai, foreseeing a future misfortune that would befall his descendants during Joshua's conquest. He hoped the altar would mitigate the negative consequences.
Each altar served as a center for Abraham's missionary work. He'd first erect tents for Sarah and himself, then immediately begin making converts, bringing them under the wings of the Shekinah. His purpose was to inspire all people to proclaim the Name of God.
However, Abraham was still a stranger in this promised land. According to the ancient texts, after the division of the earth among Noah's sons, Canaan, the son of Ham, saw the beauty of the land stretching from Lebanon to the River of Egypt and refused his assigned territory. He settled there, prompting warnings from his father and brothers: "Thou livest in a land that is not thine!" They prophesied that his actions would lead to curses and destruction for his descendants. But Canaan ignored them.
Despite the Canaanites' questionable claim to the land, Abraham respected their rights. He even muzzled his camels to prevent them from grazing on others' property! This demonstrates a profound respect for the existing inhabitants, even as he believed in his divine right to the land.
Abraham's journey to Canaan is more than just a geographical relocation. It's a evidence of unwavering faith, a willingness to embrace the unknown, and a commitment to spreading goodness in the world. It's a story that continues to resonate today, reminding us that true blessing comes from trusting in something greater than ourselves. What "Canaan" are you being called to journey toward today?
With ten temptations Abraham was tempted, and he withstood them all, showing how great was the love of Abraham. The first test to which he was subjected was the departure from his native land. The hardships were many and severe which he encountered, and he was loth to leave his home, besides. He spoke to God, and said, "Will not the people talk about me, and say, 'He is endeavoring to bring the nations under the wings of the Shekinah, yet he leaves his old father in Haran, and he goes away.'" But God answered him, and said: "Dismiss all care concerning thy father and thy kinsmen from thy thoughts. Though they speak words of kindness to thee, yet are they all of one mind, to ruin thee." Then Abraham forsook his father in Haran, and journeyed to Canaan, accompanied by the blessing of God, who said unto him, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great." These three blessings were to counteract the evil consequences which, he feared, would follow emigration, for travelling from place to place interferes with the growth of the family, it lessens one's substance, and it diminishes the consideration one enjoys. The greatest of all blessings, however, was the word of God, "And be thou a blessing." The meaning of this was that whoever came in contact with Abraham was blessed. Even the mariners on the sea were indebted to him for prosperous voyages. Besides, God held out the promise to him that in time to come his name would be mentioned in the Benedictions, God would be praised as the Shield of Abraham, a distinction accorded to no other mortal except David. But the words, "And be thou a blessing," will be fulfilled only in the future world, when the seed of Abraham shall be known among the nations and his offspring among the peoples as "the seed which the Lord hath blessed." When Abraham first was bidden to leave his home, he was not told to what land he was to journey—all the greater would be his reward for executing the command of God. And Abraham showed his trust in God, for he said, "I am ready to go whithersoever Thou sendest me." The Lord then bade him go to a land wherein He would reveal Himself, and when he went to Canaan later, God appeared to him, and he knew that it was the promised land. On entering Canaan, Abraham did not yet know that it was the land appointed as his inheritance. Nevertheless he rejoiced when he reached it. In Mesopotamia and in Aramnaharaim, the inhabitants of which he had seen eating, drinking, and acting wantonly, he had always wished, "O that my portion may not be in this land," but when he came to Canaan, he observed that the people devoted themselves industriously to the cultivation of the land, and he said, "O that my portion may be in this land!" God then spoke to him, and said, "Unto thy seed will I give this land." Happy in these joyous tidings, Abraham erected an altar to the Lord to give thanks unto Him for the promise, and then he journeyed on, southward, in the direction of the spot whereon the Temple was once to stand. In Hebron he again erected an altar, thus taking possession of the land in a measure. And likewise he raised an altar in Ai, because he foresaw that a misfortune would befall his offspring there, at the conquest of the land under Joshua. The altar, he hoped, would obviate the evil results that might follow. Each altar raised by him was a centre for his activities as a missionary. As soon as he came to a place in which he desired to sojourn, he would stretch a tent first for Sarah, and next for himself, and then he would proceed at once to make proselytes and bring them under the wings of the Shekinah. Thus he accomplished his purpose of inducing all men to proclaim the Name of God. For the present Abraham was but a stranger in his promised land. After the partition of the earth among the sons of Noah, when all had gone to their allotted portions, it happened that Canaan son of Ham saw that the land extending from the Lebanon to the River of Egypt was fair to look upon, and he refused to go to his own allotment, westward by the sea. He settled in the land upon Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of the Jordan and the border of the sea. And Ham, his father, and his brothers Cush and Mizraim spoke to him, and said: "Thou livest in a land that is not thine, for it was not assigned unto us when the lots were drawn. Do not thus! But if thou persistest, ye, thou and thy children, will fall, accursed, in the land, in a rebellion. Thy settling here was rebellion, and through rebellion thy children will be felled down, and thy seed will be destroyed unto all eternity. Sojourn not in the land of Shem, for unto Shem and unto the children of Shem was it apportioned by lot. Accursed art thou, and accursed wilt thou be before all the children of Noah on account of the curse, for we took an oath before the holy Judge and before our father Noah." But Canaan hearkened not unto the words of his father and his brothers. He dwelt in the land of the Lebanon from Hamath even unto the entrance of Egypt, he and his sons. Though the Canaanites had taken unlawful possession of the land, yet Abraham respected their rights; he provided his camels with muzzles, to prevent them from pasturing upon the property of others.
