The Trait of Faith in Israel
All humans have a basic trait of faith, which for most of them translates into belief in God, who is the source of all life, and grants supreme and sacred value to all values that give life great and elevated meaning. However, in Israel, the trait of faith appears with such strong intensity that it drives Israel not to settle for limited truth and goodness, and always encourages them to strive for greater progress, giving everything a deeper, and more eternal moral meaning. Not only that, but the story of the life of the people of Israel is the Bible, the book that tells the story of the revelation of faith in the world. Therefore, Israel is called “believers, children of believers” (Shabbat 97a).
The Desire to Understand and Correct
The trait at the foundation of the faith of Israel is expressed in the desire to understand existence and everything within it, and in the desire to be a partner with God in adding goodness to all creatures. This desire expresses the highest trait in man, who wants to understand the world, and make it better. In time, when the Torah was given, it became clear that this is the deep meaning of “the image of God” in man, and it became clear that through the desire to understand and do good, man comes closer to God in the highest and purest way. If we specify further, the main traits required to absorb the faith of Israel are the attributes of kindness and humility, wisdom and courage, and these are the traits that all the great ones of Israel excelled in.
The Attribute of Kindness
The attribute of kindness expresses the infinite desire to rectify the entire world, and a deep belief that it is possible. Thus, a person with the attribute of kindness dedicates himself as much as he can to add goodness and blessing to the world. Our Forefather Abraham, the greatest of believers, especially excelled in the attribute of kindness.
The Attribute of Humility
The attribute of humility is required to receive the Divine revelation without mixing in any personal stance, and without presuming to understand more than what was revealed to him. That is, it refers to humility towards Heaven, and not to the weakness of a person who does not dare to ask and initiate. One who is not humble towards Heaven, will try to understand what is beyond his grasp, and even if he has good intentions, he will inevitably mix his personal biases with the Divine idea, and will no longer be able to aspire for tikkun ain-sofi (infinite rectification), leading him to follow partial ideas, as idol worshipers do. Moshe Rabbeinu, the greatest of the prophets, especially excelled in the attribute of humility.
Wisdom and Courage
Wisdom is needed to purify understanding from any impurity that inclines a person towards idolatry. For without wisdom, even if a person is humble and good, he will not absorb faith and Torah. As our Sages said: “An ignorant person cannot be pious” (Avot 2:5). Courage is needed to dare to ask the great and deep questions, and even if it takes a long time to receive an answer, he will not be tempted to accept partial answers that will draw him to idolatry. Instead, he will continue with courage to wait until he receives a full answer. Courage is also required to dedicate oneself toTikkun Olam (rectification of the world) despite all obstacles, and even to be ready to give his life for the faith.
Our Forefather Abraham, Father of the Believers
From his early childhood, our Forefather Abraham wondered and asked who created the world, who leads it, and what is the purpose of the world. All the people he knew worshiped idols, but young Abraham gradually began to reject them. Initially, he understood that the statues themselves were nothing, but he examined the claims of those who worshiped the sun and moon, thinking perhaps they were the gods, and the statues represented them.
However, upon further reflection, he realized that their power was limited, so there must be a Creator whose power is greater than theirs. Thus, out of his burning quest for truth, Abraham our Forefather refused to accept any partial answer to his questions. Yet, driven by an infinite longing for truth and goodness, he did not give up seeking an answer, until God revealed Himself to him, and said: I am the Creator of the world. Our Sages said: “It is like a person who was traveling from place to place, and saw an illuminated castle.
He said, ‘Is it possible that this castle is without a leader?’ The owner of the castle peeked out at him and said, ‘I am the owner of the castle.’ So, too, Abraham our Forefather said, ‘Is it possible that this world is without a leader?’ The Holy One, blessed be He, peeked out at him and said, ‘I am the Master of the world'” (Genesis Rabbah 39:1; also see Nedarim 32a; Avodah Zarah 9a; Maimonides, Laws of Idol Worship 1:3).
Our Sages also related (Genesis Rabbah 38:13) that Terach, Abraham’s father, was an idol worshiper and made his living by selling statues. Once, he went on a journey and left Abraham to sell in his place. A man came to buy a statue, and young Abraham asked him: “How old are you?” He answered: “About sixty.” Abraham said: “Woe to a man of sixty who wants to bow to a one-day-old statue.” The man felt ashamed, and left. A woman came with a bowl of fine flour and placed it before the statues. After she left, Abraham took a stick and broke all the statues except the largest one, in whose hand he placed the stick. When his father returned, he asked, “Who broke the statues?” Abraham replied: “I will not hide the matter from you. A woman came with a bowl of fine flour, and the statues began to quarrel, saying ‘I will eat first,’ ‘I will eat first.’ The largest statue stood up, took the stick, and broke them.” His father said: “Are you mocking me? Do they know anything?”
Abraham said: “Let your ears hear what your mouth is saying.” He continued: “This is what I have already said—that there is nothing in them.” However, Terach believed in idols, so he took Abraham and handed him over to King Nimrod, to force him to believe in idols. When Nimrod saw that Abraham denied the idols, he said: “Let us worship the fire itself.” Abraham replied: “If so, let us worship water that extinguishes the fire.” Nimrod said: “Let us worship water.” Abraham replied: “If so, let us worship the cloud that carries the water.” Nimrod said: “Let us worship the cloud.” Abraham replied: “If so, let us worship the wind that scatters the clouds.” Nimrod said: “Let us worship the wind.” Abraham replied: “If so, let us worship man who withstands the wind.” Nimrod said: “You are speaking too much. I only bow to the fire, and I will throw you into it. Let the God you worship come and save you.” He threw Abraham into the fiery furnace, and a miracle occurred—Abraham came out alive.
Because of his willingness to stand against everyone, deny the idols, and call upon the name of God, he was called “Abraham ha’ivri,” for “the whole world was on one side, and he was on the other” (Genesis Rabbah 42:8).
The Kindness of Our Forefather Abraham
The trait of faith in the character of our Forefather Abraham was manifested in his fundamental inclination. Unlike idol worshipers, whose main cult was to satisfy their desires and increase their honor at the expense of others, our Forefather Abraham loved people, and all his desire was to benefit them. Therefore, he opened his tent to every guest, and even in his weakness on a particularly hot day, he went out to the entrance of his tent to see if any guests might appear. He even prayed for the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, hoping they might repent.
Out of his love for God and people, he brought many closer to faith in God, and good traits and deeds. Our Sages said about his disciples, who had good traits: “A good eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly soul” (Avot 5:19). Many of them converted (Genesis Rabbah 39:14; Avot of Rabbi Nathan 12).
The Divine Revelation is the Content of Faith
The trait of faith is the tool for absorbing the faith of Israel, but the content of the faith of Israel, is the Divine revelation. This is the uniqueness of the faith of Israel – it does not begin with man who creates an image of God from his soul, but it is founded on the Divine revelation. In other words, the trait of faith in Israel does not define the content of the faith, but only allows for the reception of the Divine revelation, which is the content of the faith.
The initial Divine revelations were to the patriarchs, and they all focused on the people of Israel, the Land of Israel, and Israel’s mission to bring blessing to the entire world. As was said to Abraham our forefather: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).
The primary revelation is the entirety of the Torah and commandments that Israel received at Mount Sinai, and it continues with the words of all the prophets (as explained in the book ‘Kuzari’. In Part I, 11-25, it elaborates that the faith of Israel is based on the revelation of the Lord to Israel).
Maharal’s Words on the Story of Abraham in the Torah
To highlight the fact that the faith of Israel begins with Divine revelation and not with human understanding, the beginning of the story of our forefather Abraham in the Torah is marked by the Divine revelation to him. As it is stated: “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you'” (Genesis 12:1).
The Torah could have started by narrating the greatness of our forefather Abraham, who, with great wisdom, questioned and investigated the Creator of the world, and risked his life for his faith. Even when they threw him into the fiery furnace, he refused to worship idols and deny God. Similarly, it could have described how our forefather Abraham called upon the name of the Lord, and converted many people who followed his ways.
However, the Torah does not recount this, in order to emphasize that faith begins with God choosing to reveal Himself to Abraham, and not from human choice (Maharal, Netzach Yisrael 11). As it is stated: “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out from Ur of the Chaldeans, and named him Abraham” (Nehemiah 9:7).
The traits suitable for absorbing faith that exist in Israel, are also from the Lord. The Lord created the souls of Israel with an endless desire to understand the world and to rectify it, with the trait of humility to receive His word without biases, and with the courage to adhere to faith – despite all the challenges of this world. As it is stated: “This people I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise” (Isaiah 43:21).
The choice that stands before Israel is whether to be faithful to their inner nature, seek the word of the Lord, and bring His blessing to the world, or to deviate after idols and the evil inclination, and be punished. However, Israel does not have the choice to change their inherent nature.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.