Presence

Over the past week I've been reading transcripts of a series of lectures of Faith, given by R. Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi. They are quite good. I highly recommened any of them to anyone (the ideas presented are figure prominently in his books as well). I recently finished up an essay on theodicy that addressed an issue that has been bothering me for some time.

Why Avraham? What was so special about him. I am aware of the various midrashim. The more well known story describes Avraham destroying the idols of his parents, which leads to his confrontation with Nimrod, culminating in his family's departure for Charan. Apart from filling in a little of Avraham's history, this midrash sheds little light on the definitive idea or concept that precipitated God's choice.

The other well-known medrash describes Avraham contemplating the possibility of a palace without a master. The conclusion is the traditional ontological proof, the argument from design. Avraham saw a created world, a world of intricate beauty, and could not believe it came about or continually functioned of its own accord. Maimonides offers this interpretation in the Mishneh Torah, in Laws of Idol Worship, 1:3:

ט [ג] כיון שנגמל איתן זה, התחיל לשוטט בדעתו והוא קטן, ולחשוב ביום ובלילה, והיה תמיה: היאך אפשר שיהיה הגלגל הזה נוהג תמיד, ולא יהיה לו מנהיג; ומי יסבב אותו, לפי שאי אפשר שיסבב את עצמו. ולא היה לו לא מלמד ולא מודיע דבר, אלא מושקע באור כשדים בין עובדי עבודה זרה הטיפשים.

י ואביו ואימו וכל העם עובדים עבודה זרה, והוא היה עובד עימהן. וליבו משוטט ומבין, עד שהשיג דרך האמת, והבין קו הצדק, מדעתו הנכונה; וידע שיש שם אלוה אחד, והוא מנהיג הגלגל, והוא ברא הכול, ואין בכל הנמצא אלוה חוץ ממנו.

As this rock was weaned [i.e. when Avraham grew up] he began to question with his intellect, although he was still small, and he thought day and night, and wondered, "How is it possible that the universe (lit. spheres) conitually functions, without a visible leader (or master, driver)? Who 'spins' it, since it certainly can not spin itself?" And he had no teacher, no one explain anything to him, rather he was immersed in Ur Kasdim amongst stupid idol worhsippers.
His father, mother and all the nation worshipped idols, and he worshipped with them. His heart questioned and understood, until it grasped the truth, and knew that which was right[?], the proper understanding: And he knew there was a single God, who controlled (lead, drove) the universe, and He created all, and there was no God besides Him.

Putting aside whether or not this is a good argument, this is a philosophical argument, a logical approach to God. Avraham's conceptualization of the Divine is the all powerful, all good God.

The midrash, however, does not stop there. Maimonides likely extrapolated his ideas from the Medrash Rabbah, which, in it's complete form, paints a much more nuanced and complicated scenario:

"God spoke to Avram:" (Gen 12:1); R. Yitzchak said: It is as if one traveling from place to place saw a palace in flames, and asked, "Could it be that the palace has no master?" Suddenly, the master of the palace appeared and said, "I am the master of the palace."
So to: because Avraham our father asked, "Could it be that the world has no master?" God appeared suddenly to him and said, "I am the master of the world." (Yalkut Shimoni, Gen 12; also Bereshis Rabbah 39:1; translation my own).

Again, we have Avraham's recognition of the Divine role in creation. What is add is his inability to reconcile this logical concept of an all powerful, benevolent God with the existence of suffering (i.e. the palace in flames). This leads Avraham to question God's presence in the world. It is only then that God appears. God's statement of ownership is an imperitive to Avraham: "This is my palace, I am here. Help me put out the fire." According to R. Sacks, the recognition of evil translates into an ethical imperitive to oppose evil (see his essay, linked above, he says it much better than I do). This idea is similar to ideas proposed by R. Eliezer Berkovitz and Emmanuel Levinas.

The commentaries on the Medrash Rabbah offer a different interpretation. The palace in flames represents the punishments inflicted on the people of the world in the form of the Flood and the Dispersion. Avraham sees the palace (i.e. he recognizes the world as created by a benevolent God), but can not reconcile the cruel punishments they suffered as coming from this God (Avraham's conceptualization of the Divine was logical, and therefore God was good; the suffering, Avraham felt, was clearly not good). And so, Avraham questioned God's involvement with the world; perhaps He did not wish for Man to serve Him. It is only then that God appears, reveals Himself, and explains that He caused this suffering, that it was just; God's appearence acts as a challenge to Avraham's idea of God's nature. Considering this is the beginning of Judaism, it's a pretty profound idea that God reveals Himself through disorder rather than order.

This second interpretation fits nicely with the supporting verses quoted by the medrash (Psalms 45:11-12): "'Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king desire thy beauty; for he is thy lord; and do homage unto him." Don't worry about saving the old palace; let it burn. Follow me to a new palace that we will build together.

This second interpretation also fits nicely with Parshas Vayera, which reads, as a whole, as God attempting to introduce the concept and nature of Divine justice to Avraham. Avraham's essential quality of chessed, kindness, blinded him to the possiblity of God as the cause of suffering. This culminates in the Akeidah, the ultimate statement of God that no life is justified, so matter the kindness that brought it about.

This entire discourse, unfortunately, sheds no further light on the textual basis or criteria for Avraham's choseness. It does, however, realign and restate Avraham's mission in terms that fit with the flow of history up to this point, joining the narrative of Avraham and the mission of his children to the narrative of all Mankind. And it certainly amplifies much of Avraham's future encounters with God.

Posted by Greg at January 11, 2006 6:15 PM in Judaism, Religion, Torah | TrackBack