LECH LECHA 12:1-17:27
“If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to
where you can go.”, James Baldwin
HASHEM’S PLAN:
CHOOSE ABRAHAM’S FAMILY TO BE THE 1ST PROTO-JEWS,
AND RELOCATE THEM TO CANAAN
THIS RELATES TO THEIR PROPENSITY FOR ABSTRACT THOUGHT
In Summary
Abraham’s family 4,000 years ago was tasked with bringing the heretofore unknown concept of monotheism to the world at large. They were Sumerians, a people known for incredible innovations such as the invention of writing, an example of abstract thinking where symbols represent words.
Abraham’s family were trail blazers. Jews today carry on their legacy.
Why did God choose Abraham’s family to be the founders of monotheism and of the Jewish nation? What traits did this special family possess that singled them out to be the first leaders of the Jewish nation?
The answer to the first questions begins with the dawn of humanity, 100’s of thousands of years before Abraham and his family. It has to do with the connection between the first human beings and abstract thought, which means putting two and two together.
The answer to the second question is a no-brainer. Abraham’s family are not passive; they movers and shakers. The Patriarchs and Matriarchs are not complacent individuals, in that they will not stand for the status quo and will make sacrifices in order to achieve their goal. Moreover, They are innovators willing to break new ground.
This leads us to a more difficult question: Is there something in their DNA, their biological heritage and perhaps something in their cultural heritage that gives rise to the individuals chosen by Hashem to be our Fathers and Mothers, our אבות ואמהות ?
To answer the question, let’s start by doing some reverse engineering. Let’s take a look at today: of how Jews have made their mark in the land of Israel, and in the USA and in the world at large. Then let’s travel back by stages to the first human beings about 50,000 years ago, then to the Sumerian people about 6,000 years ago, and finally to Abraham and his family about 4,000 years ago, and then try to connect the dots.
JEWS MAKING THEIR MARK IN TODAY’S WORLD
ISRAEL TODAY
Israel is a land of innovation. Israel is called the “the Startup Nation”. Implied in this term is that Israel is a country characterized by the formation of thousands of brand new corporate enterprises that seek in some way to better human life, not only in Israel, but in the entire world. Innovation, initiative and intelligence are keys to this endeavor. They are also the characteristics that define Abraham’s family.
USA
As to the USA, Jews have made their mark:
• Forty percent of the top 40 of the Forbes 400 richest Americans are Jewish.
• One-third of American multimillionaires are tallied as Jewish.
• Twenty percent of professors at leading universities are Jewish.
• Forty percent of partners in the leading law firms in New York and Washington are Jewish.
Of American Nobel Prize winners, 37 percent have been Jewish Americans. This is 18 times the percentage of Jews in the population.
Then there are the Jews prominent n the visuals arts:
For instance, the roster of Jewish entrepreneurs in the American film industry is legendary: Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer, the Warner Brothers, David O. Selznick and Marcus Loew for starters.
How about Radio Corporation of America and the Columbia Broadcasting System. They were created by David Sarnoff and William S. Paley. And these Jewish innovators were also among the first producers of televisions, both black-and-white and color.
Of course there are Jews who have excelled in the performing arts, i.e., theater, dance and music. One, Bob Dylan, walked away with a Nobel Prize.
ABSTRACT THOUGHT IN THE FRST HUMAN BEINGS
Abstract thought is the basis of innovation and creativity.
Innovation, initiative and intelligence are keys to this endeavor. It has been so throughout 50,000 years of modern human existence. Abstract thought is a defining characteristic of human beings. It is also the characteristic that defines Abraham’s family.
The ability to think outside our immediate cultural setting and surroundings, beyond basic needs like eating, sleeping and reproducing, is indicative of a higher degree of thought. Without this ability to consider the implications of an abstract idea we would not have developed intricate tool use, complex cultures and unique social behavior that define humanity to this day.
For the first modern human beings abstract thought meant putting two and two together as in if we attach a pointed stone to a stick, we get a weapon, a spear for hunting and protection.
If we go back further in time, maybe 500,000 years, preparing food with fire is an activity unique to a predecessor of modern humans who were called Homo erectus humans.
The ability to form hypotheses using abstract thought and test them in physical form characterizes scientific thinking; abstract thought also goes hand in hand with the development of technical innovation, language, art and culture, in the progression of human behavior through time.
Abraham’s call to leave, in my view has something to do with an expression of abstract reasoning, a hallmark of our fellow coreligionists. Signs of abstract reasoning as expressed in the Bible are the concept of monotheism and of the Sabbath:
Monotheism -, Abraham, somehow or other 4,000 years ago, put together that the world was governed by one deity, a supreme deity. This is the revolutionary concept. What makes this leap in abstract thought even more amazing is that in contrast to how “gods” were perceived at that time, Abraham’s God was invisible and incorporeal.
Sabbath - About 500 years after Abraham, at Mt. Sinai, God commanded his people, recently freed from centuries of slavery, where they were worked like animals, to take one day off a week. He called this day the Sabbath, an unheard of abstract concept then and to some extent even now. The people hearing the command had to have the capacity to receive it, to get their “arms” around it; all of which requires abstract reasoning capability.
SUMERIANS
Terach, Abraham and family started their journey from the city of Ur ( אור), their birthplace, about 4,000 years ago. Ur was a city-state and part of the ancient civilization of Sumer. Interesting enough אור or Ur means “light”. Could it be that the inhabitants of Ur were “enlightened People”?
Here are some facts about Sumer and the Sumerians that relate to Abraham and his family:
Sumerians are noted for having black hair.
The Sumerian language has no demonstrable genetic relationship with other languages. It did not descend from a common ancestor language. Sumerian is unique.
At the time of Abraham, people in Sumer also spoke Akkadian, a Semitic language and they wrote in cuneiform.
Sumer may be derived from the Hebrew word “Shinar”, שִׁנְעָר.
Sumer is mentioned in the Book of Genesis at 11:1-2 when the descendants of the Flood come to Sumer and shortly thereafter in the text build the Tower of Babel.
יְהִי כָל-הָאָרֶץ, שָׂפָה אֶחָת, וּדְבָרִים, אֲחָדִיםוַ
וַיְהִי, בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם; וַיִּמְצְאוּ בִקְעָה בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר,
וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם
“And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there”.
SUMERIANS AND ABSTRACT THOUGHT
The Sumerians were great innovators. Among other things, Way back, 5,000 years ago they are credited with creating time and writing.
Prior to the Sumerians, a day began with the sunrise and ended with the sunset. People went to work from when the sun was positioned at a certain height in the morning sky and returned to their homes when it set.
It was the Sumerians who divided the day from the night by time, by increments of sixty-second minutes and sixty-minute hours which made up twelve hours of night and the twelve hours of the day
Cuneiform writing is said to be also of Sumerian in origin. Egyptian hieroglyphs came into existence a little after Sumerian cuneiform script . it is probable that the general idea of expressing words of a language in writing was brought to Egypt from the Sumerians.
Here is an example of cuneiform.
Other examples of Sumerian technology and the Sumerian legacy include: the wheel, arithmetic and geometry, irrigation, formal schools, mapping the stars, first known codified legal system, mail delivery, war chariots, and beer.
Since beer drinking is very personal to me, let’s expand on this subject: Beer brewing was very important to the Sumerians. It was referenced in an epic poem where one of the characters was introduced to beer and told: "Drink the beer, as is the custom of the land... He drank the beer-seven jugs! and became expansive and sang with joy!"
Clearly, when Hashem wanted to select a people to advance the concept of monotheism, the abstract thinking Sumerians made for a good choice.
PROTO - JEWS LIVING IN CANAAN
Remember that when they started out Abraham and his family were not Jews. The phrase in Devarim 26:5 carries some weight:
אֹבֵד אָבִי אֲרַמִּי,My Father was a wandering Aramean.
Actually we are not just talking about Jews or for that matter Hebrews or Israelites. What we are talking about is a particular Aramean or maybe an Akkadian Sumerian family. They are what I think to be a very special family, Proto-Jews, who show a propensity for abstract reasoning.
From an anthropological point of view, God notwithstanding, it all has to do with Abraham and family’s propensity for abstract reasoning or abstract thought.
Monotheism
Abraham 4,000 years ago, living amongst the Arameans in Charan, put together that the world was governed by one deity, a supreme deity. I don’t think that at first Abraham was completely convinced. I am of the opinion that when Abraham first landed in Canaan he still bore some of the influences of pagan culture.
Consider Genesis 21:33 where Abraham calls out or prays in the name of
אֵל עוֹלָם , and plants a tree to commemorate the event.
וַיִּטַּע אֶשֶׁל, בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיִּקְרָא-שָׁם--בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה, אֵל עוֹלָם
“And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and there in the name of the LORD, Everlasting God”.
Much later on in Exodus 6:3, Hashem tells Moses that to the Patriarchs 500 years earlier He was identified as אֵל שַׁדָּי, God Almighty:
וָאֵרָא, אֶל-אַבְרָהָם אֶל-יִצְחָק וְאֶל-יַעֲקֹב--בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי; וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה, לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם
“And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Hashem I made Me not known to them”.
Monotheism was a revolutionary concept. What makes this leap in abstract thought even more amazing is that in contrast to how “gods” were perceived at that time, Abraham’s God was invisible and incorporeal. In contrast this is how the Canaanites depicted their “El”. For them, El was the supreme god, the father of mankind and all creatures. And he also fathered many gods.
When Abraham is received by Abimelech, King and Priest of Shalim at Genesis 14:19 the Priest refers to his god as אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, God Most High.
וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ, וַיֹּאמַר: בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.
“And he blessed him, and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth”
What’s in a name?
In Genesis 14:13, Abraham is referred to by gentiles as an Ivri, עברי. The Biblical term Ivri means "to traverse" or "to pass over". The root is from ever (עֵבֶר) 'beyond, across' (avar (עָבַר) 'to cross, to traverse'), as a description of migrants who are 'from across the river', probably the Euphrates.
In Genesis 11:where the genealogy is laid out, Abram is described as a descendant of Eber, עֵבֶר from which perhaps the designation Hebrew is derived.
This raises a question: What character traits were exhibited by the Proto-Jews that distinguished them from the bulk of Sumerian society?
As best as I can see, Sumerian society was lax when it came to sexual norms and conventions. This is not a value judgment, but a fact. Compared to the “Thou Shall Nots” set out in the Chumash, Sumerian society was fast and loose.
From what we know when it comes to sexual intimacy, patience and the ability to forgo is highly regarded. Witness what is considered positive behavior:
Jacob waiting 7 years before marrying Rachel.
Joseph not giving in to Potiphar’s wife’s demands.
In contrast, consider these negative behaviors:
Lot being intimate with his daughters, Reuven's loss of standing when he cohabited with Billah, and the punishment of David and Bathsheba.
The analogy is not 100%, but points us in a certain direction. And in regard to the standards of morality for the descendants of the Proto-Jews in Talmudic and modern times, the same high standard holds true.
Historically Jews have been isolated, originally by geography, then by culture and religion. All of which leads to inbreeding and a resultant preponderance of mutant gene expression. It is not a wild speculation that throughout Jewish history, Jews married, if not a close relative, then within their tribes or villages or with a fellow Jew. If there is a 4,000 year history of inbreeding, then there should be evidence of some sort of mutant gene expression.
That having said, our ancestors married close relatives: Abraham married his niece Sarah; Isaac married his cousin Rebecca, as did Jacob marry his cousins Rachel and Leah. Even Moses’ father Avram married Jochebed his aunt.
it would appear that the Jewish population at large has a unique gene pool. I am of the opinion that our proto-Jewish ancestors through inbreeding developed into a special population, ands aided by culture, developed into an extraordinary genetic population.
This was all part of Hashem’s plan.
WHY WERE THE PROTO-JEWS DESTINED TO LIVE IN CANAAN?
I conjecture that as part of Hashem’s plan for us Jews, that we were destined to be called the “People of the Book”.
Cuneiform writing was made up of 600 characters and does not lend itself to be bound in a book. Cuneiform characters were inscribed in a soft clay tablet and then baked, the tablet becoming hard like a giving the tablet or a cylinder.
Schleping a 600 character tablet or cylinder does work, but using a 22 letter alphabet works even better. Such an alphabet and writing system existed in northern Canaan, and in my opinion was the major reason for Hashem sending us there.
In Summary:
Abraham’s family 4,000 years ago was tasked with bringing the heretofore
unknown concept of monotheism to the world at large. Abraham’s family
were Sumerians, a people known for incredible innovations such as the invention
of writing, an example of abstract thinking where symbols represent
words.
Abraham’s
family were trail blazers. We Jews today carry on their legacy.
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