When Abraham reached the ripe old age of twenty, his father Terah, an idol maker, fell ill. Now, Terah needed some cash, so he asked his sons, Haran and Abraham, to sell a couple of his idols. Haran dutifully followed orders. But Abraham? Well, he had a different approach.
Whenever someone approached Abraham to buy an idol, he'd quote a high price – say, three manehs (an ancient unit of currency). Then he'd ask the prospective buyer, "How old are you?" If the person replied, "Thirty years old," Abraham would retort, "You're thirty years old, and you'd worship an idol I made today?" Unsurprisingly, the customer would usually walk away.
He'd even drag the idols through the streets, faces down, yelling, "Who'll buy an idol that profits neither itself nor the buyer? It has a mouth but doesn't speak, eyes but doesn't see, feet but doesn't walk, ears but doesn't hear!" Imagine seeing that spectacle!
Then, one day, an old woman approached him, eager to buy a large, impressive idol to worship. Abraham, never one to miss an opportunity for a teachable moment, questioned her: "What happened to the big idol you bought from my brother Haran?" The woman lamented that thieves had stolen it while she was at the bath.
Abraham pounced: "How can you worship an idol that can't even save itself from thieves? How can it save you from misfortune? If it's a god, why didn't it defend itself?" He was really laying it on thick, wasn't he?
The old woman, now genuinely confused, asked, "If what you say is true, whom should I serve?" And here it is, the million-dollar question! Abraham replied, "Serve the God of all gods, the Lord of lords, who created heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is within them!" He even took a shot at Nimrod, saying "Who is Nimrod, the dog, who calleth himself a god, that worship be offered unto him?"
Remarkably, the old woman got it. She became a zealous convert, smashing her recovered idol and proclaiming in the streets, "Whoever wants to save their soul from destruction and prosper, let them serve the God of Abraham!" According to Ginzberg, she converted many to the true belief.
This, naturally, didn't sit well with King Nimrod. He summoned the old woman and rebuked her for worshipping anyone but him. But she stood her ground, accusing Nimrod of denying the One True God. Her courage cost her her life.
But the seed had been planted. Nimrod, terrified by Abraham's growing influence, tried to intimidate him with a grand festival showcasing his wealth and power. He even invited Abraham through Terah, hoping to impress him. Abraham refused to attend.
Instead, he took care of his father's and the king's idols while everyone was at the festival. And here's where it gets really interesting. While repeating the words, "The Eternal He is God, the Eternal He is God!" Abraham struck the king's idols from their thrones, and began to belabor them with an axe! He hacked off feet, beheaded others, and crushed eyes. He left the axe in the hand of the largest idol, a silent accusation.
When Nimrod returned and saw the carnage, he demanded to know who was responsible. Abraham, with a straight face, replied, "I didn't do it! The largest idol shattered the rest. See? He still has the axe!" Then, with a touch of sarcasm, he added, "If you don't believe me, ask him!"
Can you imagine the sheer audacity?
This story, found in Legends of the Jews, based on earlier sources like Midrash Rabbah and the Zohar, isn't just a funny anecdote. It's a powerful illustration of Abraham's unwavering conviction, his courage in the face of authority, and his willingness to challenge the status quo. It shows us that even the most deeply ingrained beliefs can be questioned, and that truth, however uncomfortable, is worth fighting for. It makes you wonder, what idols are we clinging to that need to be challenged?
When Abraham attained the age of twenty years, his father Terah fell ill. He spoke as follows to his sons Haran and Abraham, "I adjure you by your lives, my sons, sell these two idols for me, for I have not enough money to meet our expenses." Haran executed the wish of his father, but if any one accosted Abraham, to buy an idol from him, and asked him the price, he would answer, "Three manehs," and then question in turn, "How old art thou?" "Thirty years," the reply would be. "Thou art thirty years of age, and yet thou wouldst worship this idol which I made but to-day?" The man would depart and go his way, and another would approach Abraham, and ask, "How much is this idol?" and "Five manehs" would be the reply, and again Abraham would put the question, "How old art thou?"—"Fifty years."—"And dost thou who art fifty years of age bow down before this idol which was made but to-day?" Thereupon the man would depart and go his way. Abraham then took two idols, put a rope about their necks, and, with their faces turned downward, he dragged them along the ground, crying aloud all the time: "Who will buy an idol wherein there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that buys it in order to worship it? It has a mouth, but it speaketh not; eyes, but it seeth not; feet, but it walketh not; ears, but it heareth not." The people who heard Abraham were amazed exceedingly at his words. As he went through the streets, he met an old woman who approached him with the purpose of buying an idol, good and big, to be worshipped and loved. "Old woman, old woman," said Abraham, "I know no profit therein, either in the big ones or in the little ones, either unto themselves or unto others. And," he continued to speak to her, "what has become of the big image thou didst buy from my brother Haran, to worship it?" "Thieves," she replied, "came in the night and stole it, while I was still at the bath." "If it be thus," Abraham went on questioning her, "how canst thou pay homage to an idol that cannot save itself from thieves, let alone save others, like thyself, thou silly old woman, out of misfortune? How is it possible for thee to say that the image thou worshippest is a god? If it be a god, why did it not save itself out of the hands of those thieves? Nay, in the idol there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that adores it." The old woman rejoined, "If what thou sayest be true, whom shall I serve?" "Serve the God of all gods," returned Abraham, "the Lord of lords, who hath created heaven and earth, the sea and all therein—the God of Nimrod and the God of Terah, the God of the east, the west, the south, and the north. Who is Nimrod, the dog, who calleth himself a god, that worship be offered unto him?" Abraham succeeded in opening the eyes of the old woman, and she became a zealous missionary for the true God. When she discovered the thieves who had carried off her idol, and they restored it to her, she broke it in pieces with a stone, and as she wended her way through the streets, she cried aloud, "Who would save his soul from destruction, and be prosperous in all his doings, let him serve the God of Abraham." Thus she converted many men and women to the true belief. Rumors of the words and deeds of the old woman reached the king, and he sent for her. When she appeared before him, he rebuked her harshly, asking her how she dared serve any god but himself. The old woman replied: "Thou art a liar, thou deniest the essence of faith, the One Only God, beside whom there is no other god. Thou livest upon His bounty, but thou payest worship to another, and thou dost repudiate Him, and His teachings, and Abraham His servant." The old woman had to pay for her zeal for the faith with her life. Nevertheless great fear and terror took possession of Nimrod, because the people became more and more attached to the teachings of Abraham, and he knew not how to deal with the man who was undermining the old faith. At the advice of his princes, he arranged a seven days' festival, at which all the people were bidden to appear in their robes of state, their gold and silver apparel. By such display of wealth and power he expected to intimidate Abraham and bring him back to the faith of the king. Through his father Terah, Nimrod invited Abraham to come before him, that he might have the opportunity of seeing his greatness and wealth, and the glory of his dominion, and the multitude of his princes and attendants. But Abraham refused to appear before the king. On the other hand, he granted his father's request that in his absence he sit by his idols and the king's, and take care of them. Alone with the idols, and while he repeated the words, "The Eternal He is God, the Eternal He is God!" he struck the king's idols from their thrones, and began to belabor them with an axe. With the biggest he started, and with the smallest he ended. He hacked off the feet of one, and the other he beheaded. This one had his eyes struck out, the other had his hands crushed. After all were mutilated, he went away, having first put the axe into the hand of the largest idol. The feast ended, the king returned, and when he saw all his idols shivered in pieces, he inquired who had perpetrated the mischief. Abraham was named as the one who had been guilty of the outrage, and the king summoned him and questioned him as to his motive for the deed. Abraham replied: "I did not do it; it was the largest of the idols who shattered all the rest. Seest thou not that he still has the axe in his hand? And if thou wilt not believe my words, ask him and he will tell thee."
