(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה' אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ (ב) וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃ (ג) וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ (ד) וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ אַבְרָ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֤ר אֵלָיו֙ ה' וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ אִתּ֖וֹ ל֑וֹט וְאַבְרָ֗ם בֶּן־חָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנִים֙ וְשִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּצֵאת֖וֹ מֵחָרָֽן׃
(26) When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. (27) Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. (28) Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah, in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans. (29) Abram and Nahor took to themselves wives, the name of Abram’s wife being Sarai and that of Nahor’s wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. (30) Now Sarai was barren, she had no child. (31) Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there. (32) The days of Terah came to 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.
(1) The LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you And curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth Shall bless themselves by you.” (4) Abram went forth as the LORD had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- Briefly summarize what happened above, in order. What does Abraham, then called Abram, do?
- What can you learn about Abraham's relationship with his father?
- Look at how old Terach is when he dies. Is something strange going on here?
- Why does Abraham leave his father's house?
- Does he get something?
- Summarize the above text. What did Abraham do?
- Why does the Torah cover up what Abraham did, according to Rashi?
- What was he expected to do that he didn't do?
Primogeniture (noun): the state of being the firstborn child; the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate
The Soul of the Stranger, Joy Ladin
According to the Torah, before God speaks to him, Abraham has faithfully fulfilled his firstborn role by following his father, Terah, from their native city, Ur of the Chaldeans, to the city of Haran (Gen. 11:31). (Abraham’s second-born brother, Nahor, stays behind.)...
But when God tells him to go forth from the elderly Terah’s house, Abraham...does not hesitate to betray his father and violate the gender role he was born to. Without warning, apology, or farewell, Abraham abandons his father, taking with him his wife, Sarah (then called Sarai), and his nephew Lot, the only other relatives who accompanied Terah to Haran (Gen. 12:4–5)...Abraham not only violates his firstborn obligation to care for his father, who, the Torah tells us, will live for another sixty years after Abraham leaves him alone in a strange land. He also leaves his father impoverished, taking with him “all the wealth that they had amassed, and the persons that they had acquired in Haran” (12:5).
Abraham’s trans experience—the experience of rejecting his assigned gender role—is presented by the Torah as both fulfillment of God’s will and as required in order to receive God’s blessing. And like Jacob, Abraham is transformed by his trans experience into a new kind of man, one who doesn’t make sense in terms of primogeniture. On the one hand, Abraham becomes a firstborn who acts like a second-born by leaving his father’s house rather than remaining as his support and heir; on the other hand, Abraham becomes a patriarch whose inheritance (God’s promised blessings) and status come not from his father but from God.
- Why do you think G-d changes Abram's name?
- What does a name mean? What does it do?
- What does Abraham's new name do?
- "This change in name marks a change in destiny. Abram and Sarai were infertile, unable to have children. Abraham and Sarah, however, can have children."
- What do you think of the above idea?
- Why do you think G-d asks Abraham to change his body?
- Is there such a thing as a "Jewish body?"
- If so, what does that mean? What does a Jewish body look like?