Presence

As I see it, there are two categories of injustice. The first type is injustice visited upon man by his fellow man; this would include murder, theft and the like. The second type of injustice is that which is commonly referred to as an "Act of God," that is some sort of natural disaster or circumstantial happenstance that causes injustice, often indiscriminately. The recent tsunami and earthquake would be examples.

The goal, or intention, as portrayed in the Torah, was for Man to be free from suffering both these types of injustice. The initial commandment to man, "to be fruitful and multiply, to conquer..." holds within it the mandate to apply Man's rational capabilities in subjugating Nature, allowing Man to live with honor and dignity. Indeed, life in Eden before the chet was free of injustice of the second kind; only after the expulsion from the Garden was the Earth cursed, pitting Man against Nature in a battle for survival.

The ten generations between Adam and Noach were successful in subjugating Nature through technological means. The Torah recounts the innovation from generation to generation, culminating in Noach himself, the Ish HaAdamah. The injustice of Nature had been conquered. The injustice of the first kind, however, that perpetrated by Man on Man, remained prevalent, to the point that God (ironically) unleashed the wrath of Nature upon Man, all but obliterating him from the face of the Earth. Noach, the Ish HaAdamah, but also the Tzadik, was spared, and chosen to rebuild Mankind.

The subsequent generation showed a marked improvement; they all but eliminated the injustice of the first kind, banding together to build a technological wonder, a Tower to the heavens. But their technology became their focus, a goal rather than a means, and they too were punished, ironically, with dispersion and confusion, seperateing Mankind into nations that would forever visit injustice upon each other.

Finally, we arrive at Avraham. In him was the potential for a leader to create a nation that would finally eliminate both types of injustice from society. A nation that would strive to dignify Mankind's existence through technological innovation, while at the same time advancing Mankind morally to all but eliminate injustice. In short, Avraham would build a nation where each and every person wakes up in the morning feeling safe, secure and content, readily experiencing the presence of kindness, justice and truth of the created world he lives in, of the Presence of God.