The Birthplace of Avraham
INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA
PARASHAT
LEKH LEKHA
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This weeks shiurim are dedicated by Leonard Balanson
in memory of Rose Balanson zl
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Refua
Sheleima to Jonas & Lusia Pasternak of Brooklyn NY
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The
Birthplace of Avraham
By Rav
Michael Hattin
Introduction
Parashat
Lekh Lekha describes the momentous trek of Avraham and Sarah towards the
Promised Land. The history of Israel
as a people finds its tentative beginnings in their act of trust; as we follow
the defining chapters of their personal lives, we shall often see the travails
and the triumphs of the Jewish people reflected in their story.
Avraham
and Sarah were Mesopotamian, born and bred along the length of the great rivers
of the Tigris and Euphrates that between them nurtured one of the cradles of
civilization. The place names
associated with their early lives, Ur, Charan, and Aram Naharaim, are all well
known to us from external sources. Despite
the Torah's characteristic reticence on the matter, we can nevertheless
confidently reconstruct the cultural heritage and the social environment in
which they must have spent their formative years.
Although
the birthplace of Avraham Avinu seems to be mentioned explicitly in the text of
the Torah, we shall see that in fact the commentaries are in disagreement over
the reading of the relevant passages.
More significantly, these differences of opinion yield divergent readings
of the exact nature of Avraham's trial of abandoning home and hearth to travel
to Canaan. We shall examine two
views concerning Avraham's birthplace, and shall then proceed to evaluate the
merits and deficiencies of each in light of the local, as well as the larger,
context.
Ibn Ezra Ur and its Implications
The first
opinion is that of Abraham Ibn Ezra (12th century, Spain). He explains that Avraham was born in
the city of Ur, called in the Torah 'Ur Kasdim' or 'Ur of the Chaldees.' Certainly, the straightforward
reading of the Biblical text supports Ibn Ezra's contention, for the Torah
indicates at the end of last week's parasha that Avraham's brother Haran
perished in Ur Kasdim 'his birthplace':
"Terach
lived for seventy years and he begot Avraham, Nachor and Haran. Haran died during his father's
lifetime, in the land of his birth, in Ur Kasdim.
Avraham and Nachor took wives; the name of Avraham's wife was Sarai and
the name of Nachor's wife was Milka, the daughter of Haran who was the father of
Milka and Yisca. Sarai was barren
and had no child.
Terach
took Avraham his son, Lot his grandson (son of Haran) and Sarai his
daughter-in-law wife of Avraham his son, and they set out from Ur Kasdim to
journey to the land of Canaan. They
traveled as far as Charan and dwelt there.
Terach lived to be two hundred and five years old and perished in Charan"
(Bereishit 11:26-32).
Thus, Ur
is clearly designated as being the 'birthplace' of Haran, Avraham's brother, and
presumably of the rest of the family as well.
The matter is further reinforced by a pertinent verse from the episode of
the 'Covenant between the Pieces,' in which God and Avraham are bound together
in a common destiny that links Avraham's descendents to God's law and land. "I am God who took you out of Ur
Kasdim, in order to give you this land as an inheritance" (Bereishit 15:7),
announces the Deity, implying that Avraham was born and raised in Ur, from
whence God bid him to travel westward to Canaan.
Finally,
a proof text from quite late in the Biblical period further corroborates Ibn
Ezra's contention. When Nechemia
attempts to raise the flagging spirits of the people of Jerusalem, who had but
recently returned from Babylon and undertaken the difficult task of rebuilding
the Jewish state and the Second Temple, he recalls the journey of their faithful
forefather Avraham. God is the one,
he proclaims, who chose Avraham, "and took him out of Ur Kasdim and changed his
name to Avraham, finding his heart to be steadfast..." (Nechemia 9:7-8).
The
implications of Ibn Ezra's reading are profound, for they suggest that our
forefather was closely connected to one of the most important urban centers in
Mesopotamia, itself a cradle of human development. Ur was a prosperous and populous
city, located on the lower reaches of the Euphrates River, close to where it
empties into the Persian Gulf.
Already in the Patriarchal Age, Ur was championed as a hub of culture, commerce,
and moon worship. That it was
Avraham's birthplace would indicate that he had a cosmopolitan upbringing and a
worldly outlook, and was well versed in the complexities of urban living and
social intercourse. More
importantly, it indicates to us that notwithstanding its many attractions,
Avraham nevertheless rejected the values of Ur, undertaking a journey that would
soon put him at irreconcilable odds with its worldview.
Textual Difficulties 1) The Initiator
of the Journey
Assigning
Avraham's birthplace to the city of Ur, however, raises a number of textual and
thematic problems. This week's
Parasha of Lekh Lekha begins with God's clarion call to Avraham to begin an
odyssey of geographic and spiritual dimensions that is regarded in our tradition
as perhaps the most remarkable and momentous ever undertaken by any man. "Get thee out of thy land and thy
birthplace and thy father's home, to the land that I will show thee...." Here, Avraham is called upon by
Divine entreaty to renounce his land, his birthplace and his family, to leave
behind Ur and all of its imposing but shallow blandishments. Yet, a careful study of the end of
Parashat Noach clearly indicates that Avraham had already left the city of Ur at
the behest of his father, and had settled in Charan, at the northern end of the
Euphrates River, over one thousand kilometers distant from Ur. Moreover, it had been Terach who
initiated that journey, for the text clearly states:
"Terach
took Avraham his son, Lot his grandson (son of Haran) and Sarai his
daughter-in-law wife of Avraham his son, and they set out from Ur Kasdim to
journey to the land of Canaan. They
traveled as far as Charan and dwelt there.
Terach lived to be two hundred and five years old and perished in
Charan."
Thus, two
difficulties are created by assuming that Avraham was born in Ur. Firstly, God's spiritual challenge of
'Lekh Lekha' asks Avraham to leave behind his land and birthplace, but this he
had already done of his own volition, many years earlier. Secondly, Parashat Lekh Lekha plainly
places the onus (as well as the merit) of the journey on Avraham's shoulders,
for he is the one called upon to effect the break with his past. This stands in glaring contrast to
the end of Parashat Noach, where it is Terach who is credited with making the
portentous decision to leave Ur and journey towards Canaan.
Ibn Ezra,
aware of these difficulties, offers a possible interpretation that is
exegetically inventive but textually forced.
Concerning the words "God said to Avraham: 'Get thee out of thy
land...,'" Ibn Ezra comments that 'God had voiced this command while Avraham was
still in Ur Kasdim, and had there asked him to leave his land, birthplace and
his father's household. This is
because God knew that Terach would also embark on the journey but would only
travel with his son as far as Charan' (commentary to Bereishit 12:1). Let us clarify Ibn Ezra's position
further by quoting his words to last week's parasha, concerning Terach's seeming
initiation of the fateful journey:
"It
appears correct to say that God's call to Avraham at the beginning of Parashat
Lekh Lekha actually took place chronologically prior to the verse 'Terach took
Avraham his son...' (Bereishit 11:31).
In other
words, Ibn Ezra explains, the call to leave homestead and haven came to Avraham
while he was yet in Ur, still ensconced among family. Although it is Terach who is
described by the Torah as the one who launched the relocation, it was in fact
Avraham who was responsible for the move, for he answered God's summons. Presumably, the passage at the
conclusion of Parashat Noach revolves around Terach, for there he functions as
the family patriarch who sanctions the emigration of part of the family. Thus, Ibn Ezra reads: "God HAD said
to Avraham: 'Get thee out of thy land....'"
Textual Difficulties - 2) The Journey of
Eliezer
There is
another textual peculiarity that is created by Ibn Ezra's assertion that Ur was
the birthplace of Avraham. In a few
weeks, we shall read of Sarah's demise, and of Avraham's decision to seek out a
wife for his son Yitzchak. The aged
Avraham decides to dispatch his loyal servant Eliezer back to his family in the
hopes of finding a suitable mate among kin rather than among Canaanites.
"Avraham
was aged, well on in days, and God had blessed him with all things. Avraham said to his loyal servant:
'Place your hand beneath my thigh, so that I might cause you to swear by God
Lord of heaven and earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the
Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
Rather, you shall go back TO MY LAND AND TO MY BIRTHPLACE, and take from there a
wife for my son Yitzchak'"(Bereishit 24:1-4).
The
dutiful servant proceeds to journey eastwards bearing ten camel loads of his
master's riches, but rather than returning to Ur, he instead arrives in Charan!
"The
servant took ten of his master's camels and went, taking with him all manner of
precious gifts. He journeyed to Aram
Naharaim, to the city of Nachor" (Bereishit 24:10).
Here, the
servant is met by Rivka who graciously offers water to his men and his camels. As it turns out, Rivka is none other
than the daughter of Betuel, and Betuel is one of the eight children of Milka,
wife of Nachor brother of Avraham (see Bereishit 22:20-24). Overlooking the convoluted family
tree for a moment, what emerges from the passage is that Avraham's brother
Nachor and his descendents, which is to say his family and father's household,
are not to be found in Ur at all, but rather in Charan! After all, Eliezer the loyal servant
fulfills the oath of his master, who explicitly sent him back 'TO MY LAND AND TO
MY BIRTHPLACE.' Now, Charan is a
city located between the northern reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers,
and we last came across the place name at the end of Parashat Noach, as the
location where Terach and Avraham had paused after taking leave of Ur. Since Nachor, Avraham's brother, did
not accompany them on the journey, we would have expected to find him back in
Ur, and not in Charan, hundreds of kilometers northwards.
Again,
Ibn Ezra attempts to explain, but again his interpretation seems forced. Commenting on the critical words
'rather, you shall go back TO MY LAND AND TO MY BIRTHPLACE, and take from there
a wife for my son Yitzchak,' Ibn Ezra explains: "'to my land' refers to Charan
where Avraham had dwelt, and 'to my birthplace' refers to Ur Kasdim." In other words, according to Ibn
Ezra, Avraham had in fact communicated a two-part oath to Eliezer his servant,
saying in effect "return first to Charan where we had stopped on the way to
Canaan, and where some of my family is still to be found. If you are unsuccessful in finding a
wife there, then you must continue on to Ur Kasdim my birthplace, to select a
mate for Yitzchak." He fails to
explain how and when Nachor had emigrated to Charan from Ur, as the Torah fails
to mention that fact as well.
To sum up
thus far, Ibn Ezra maintains that the birthplace of Avraham was Ur Kasdim. His claim is supported by a number of
Biblical references connecting Avraham to that place. It would certainly explain how
Avraham's journey is rightfully regarded as a watershed in Jewish history, for
by leaving that place of polytheism and spiritual complacency born out of
abundance, Avraham effects a decisive break with the moral equivocation that Ur
cannot but champion. In so doing, Avraham and his descendents unleash an ethical
and ideological revolution whose effects continue to reverberate across human
history. At the same time, there are
serious textual difficulties created by designating Ur as Avraham's birthplace,
and it is questionable whether Ibn Ezra succeeds in surmounting them
satisfactorily. Methodologically, we
may note that a successful interpretation must address not only a single,
isolated passage, but must be consistent with as broad a context as possible.
Ramban Hailing from Beyond the River
There is
another possible reading that grapples with the same verses and the same seeming
inconsistencies, but that arrives at a very different conclusion. "Our ancestor Avraham was not born in
Ur Kasdim," says the Ramban (13th century, Spain), "for his
progenitors were Semites (and did not hail from those lands). Also, the verse in Yehoshua states
that 'from time immemorial your ancestors dwelt beyond the River, Terach the
father of Avraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods...'
(Yehoshua 24:2). The phrase 'from
time immemorial' indicates that they had been dwelling there forever, and the
verse continues 'I took your father (Avraham) from beyond the River and caused
him to traverse all of the land of Canaan...' (Yehoshua 24:3).
"A proof
for the matter may be adduced from the fact that Nachor (Avraham's brother)
dwelt in Charan. Now, when Terach
left Ur Kasdim, he took with him 'Avraham his son, Sarah his daughter-in-law,
and Lot his grandson.' If Ur was the
birthplace of the family, we would have expected to find Nachor still there, for
he did not undertake the journey with Terach his father. Instead, Nachor dwells in Charan!
"Therefore, one must truly conclude that the land of their birth was the land of
Aram, designated as the 'lands beyond the River,' and Avraham's ancestors had
forever been associated with that place" (commentary to Bereishit 11:28. See also Ramban's commentary to
Bereishit 12:1, where he develops his thesis at even greater length).
Thus, the
Ramban explains, Avraham had been born in the region of Charan, also known as
the 'land of Aram' because of the Aramean tribes that dwelt there. The geographical area called in the
Hebrew Bible 'the lands beyond the River' refer to this very location, for 'the
River' in question is none other than the Euphrates, and the lands 'beyond'
refer to its distant northern reaches.
These fertile lands, the 'Aram between the rivers' of Eliezer's journey,
are generously watered by not only the Euphrates, but by the upper headwaters of
the Tigris River as well.
Resolving the Textual Difficulties and
Offering a New Reading
Let us
return to the texts to see how the Ramban's interpretation addresses the
difficulties that we encountered above.
Recall that we had been puzzled by the abruptness of God's command to
Avraham, as if he was to be the initiator of the journey to Canaan when in fact
Terach had undertaken the move from Ur much earlier. Had they not already left behind
their land, birthplace, and family in Ur, thus lessening the renown of Avraham's
emotional and spiritual feat?
According to the Ramban, the answer is resoundingly negative, for Avraham's
birthplace and family were not to be found in Ur at all. Therefore, when Terach undertakes the
journey from Ur towards Canaan, it is not an odyssey AWAY from birthplace and
kin, but rather TOWARDS it, for their ancestors had dwelt in the 'lands beyond
the River from time immemorial!'
Arriving in Charan, the land of Aram and the birthplace of Avraham, thus
represents a homecoming, and it is for this reason that Terach is content to
conclude his leg of the journey and to settle down and eventually die in
familiar and friendly surroundings.
It is at
that time that the Divine command comes to Avraham with the fiery impact of a
hammer striking the anvil:
"Get thee
out of thy land and thy birthplace and thy father's home, to the land that I
will show thee..." 'Leave behind the
land of your birth and youth, your ancestral patrimony and the loving and
customary embrace of your father's household, for you are called upon to journey
to Canaan, to effect a break not only with Ur, but with Charan as well. You must abandon Terach your father
as well as Nachor your brother,' for he and the rest of Avraham's clan had never
left their Aramean estates to see the world.
How Avraham's trial of faith is now cast in even sharper relief! Rather than being able to henceforth
indulge in the warm glow of the family hearth, rather than remaining in Charan
with his aging father and beloved brother, rather than settling back into the
comforting routine of life beyond the River, he is called upon to change the
world, and in the arduous process about to commence, to transform himself as
well.
How then
had Terach and his children come to dwell in Ur, so distant from their
birthplace? The Torah and the Ramban
are silent on the matter, so we can only surmise.
Was it perhaps because Ur was a commercial and cultural magnet, drawing
people from far and wide to marvel at its material modernity and to bask in its
soothing idol-worship that assuaged spiritual yearning with empty ritual? If so, Terach's move to Ur with his
young sons in tow was telling indeed, and lends much credence to the hoary
traditions that cast him as the inveterate idolater and Avraham as the insistent
iconoclast. Whatever the reason, the
fact is that at some point in time, Avraham and his father became established
residents in Ur, but eventually were drawn away by the siren call of home.
The
interpretation of the Ramban deftly resolves another glaring inconsistency. Recall that when Avraham later avowed
Eliezer his servant by solemn oath to return to 'my land and birthplace' to seek
a wife for Yitzchak, Eliezer journeyed not to the distant and foreign city of
Ur. Rather, he set his course for
'Aram Naharaim (literally 'Aram that is located between the Rivers') to the city
of Nachor.' This was because the
environs of Charan was Avraham's birthplace, and from there most of Avraham's
family had never emigrated.
'Taken Out' of Ur
There are
a number of textual problems to still be worked out, for the Torah on more than
one occasion seems to indicate that Ur was Avraham's birthplace. Recall that Haran's untimely death
took place while Terach was yet alive:
"Terach
lived for seventy years and he begot Avraham, Nachor and Haran. Haran died during his father's
lifetime, in the land of his birth, in Ur Kasdim."
Doesn't
this passage unambiguously indicate that Avraham's birthplace was Ur, and not
Aram Naharaim as the Ramban maintains?
Indeed, explains the Ramban, Ur WAS the birthplace of Haran, for he, the
youngest of the brothers, had been born while the family dwelt in Ur as foreign
residents. It was not, however, the
birthplace of Terach or of Avraham, for they had come from 'beyond the River.' The Torah is therefore especially
precise in designating Ur as 'the land of his (Haran's) birth,' for Terach and
Avraham were NOT born there at all. But
rather hailed from Aram.
What
about the other references to Ur Kasdim, the one concerning the Covenant of the
Pieces, and the other from the passage in the Book of Nechemia? Do these not make it clear that
Avraham was born in Ur?
Did God
not proclaim "I am God who took you out of Ur Kasdim, in order to give you this
land as an inheritance" (Bereishit 15:7)?
Didn't Nechemia recall that God chose Avram "and took him out of Ur
Kasdim and changed his name to Avraham, finding his heart to be steadfast..."
(Nechemia 9:7-8)? But, explains the
Ramban, a careful reader notices that in both places, the same verb is used to
describe the act of God bringing Avraham forth from Ur, namely 'to take out'
(lehoTziH). The texts did not state
simply 'to take' (laKaChat), but rather 'to take out,' for this expression
"indicates some sort of miraculous intervention, as a prisoner is freed from
incarceration. In a similar vein we
find at the Decalogue 'I am God your Lord who TOOK YOU OUT of the land of Egypt
from the house of bondage'" (commentary to Bereishit 11:28). In other words, the expression of
being 'taken out' of Ur does not necessarily imply that Ur was Avraham's
birthplace at all. Rather, it
suggests providential involvement, preservation in the face of peril, and a
destiny that beckons to be fulfilled.
Avraham is 'taken out' of Ur, for in Ur took place the formative
experiences that were to shape the remainder of his life.
Bnei Yisrael were 'taken out' of Egypt,
for although they had been born as a family far from its borders, the
experiences of Egypt had been the potent and far-reaching catalysts that had
forged them as a people and forever bound up their future with God.
Conclusion
To
conclude, this week we saw two possible interpretations concerning the
birthplace of Avraham. Both the Ibn
Ezra as well as the Ramban attempted to grapple with a variety of scattered and
discrepant passages, and to offer a comprehensive textual solution that
addressed all of them. Either
Avraham was born in Ur, or else he hailed from the lands 'beyond the River.' As we saw, the solutions to the
textual problems had far-reaching thematic consequences, for they cast Avraham's
trek in completely different lights.
In either case, the general outline of Avraham's great undertaking is the same:
it is the halting and hesitant movement away from the temporal to the timeless,
and from 'idolatry' in all of its pernicious forms to the true God. It is the model that continues to
inspire the Jewish people and to steady their steps, as they uncertainly embark
on the thirty-eighth century of their odyssey.
Shabbat Shalom