Parshas Toldos

A PRESENT FROM THE PAST

“Because Avraham obeyed My voice”(26:5)

The Rambam teaches that Avraham was forty years old when he became aware of his Creator. From the age of forty and on, he began preaching to the world about monotheism and he amassed tens of thousands of students, until he reached Eretz Yisroel. There he continued to proclaim the name of Hashem to the entire world.¹

The Raavad cites a conflicting Chazal that states the following: “Eikev shama Avraham bekoli” - “Because Avraham obeyed My voice” -The numerical value of the letters of the word “eikev” is equivalent to one hundred seventy-two, for the one hundred seventy-two years of Avraham’s life during which he obeyed the voice of Hashem. Avraham died at the age of one hundred seventy-five. Therefore, concludes the Raavad, Avraham became aware of his Creator at the age of three. Additionally, the Raavad asks why there is no account of Shem and Ever, who ran academies of learning in Eretz Yisroel, protesting against idol worship and preaching monotheism as Avraham did.²

The Kesef Mishna attempts to answer the Raavad’s first question in the following manner: Avraham began accepting Hashem at the age of three and the process was complete at the age of forty.³ However, the Rambam states that Avraham served idols from the time he was weaned, the third year of his life, until he was forty.⁴ Therefore, it appears that Avraham did not begin accepting Hashem before the age of forty.

The Talmud teaches that a Baal Teshuva, a penitent is on a greater level than one who has always been righteous.⁵ This is derived from the verse ““Hashem greets those who were distant from Him prior to those who were always close.”⁶ It is difficult to understand why the Torah describes a Baal Teshuva as a “rachok”, one who is distant from Hashem. Even if we interpret the term as the Talmud does, to mean someone who “was”, but is no longer distant, it would still seem deprecating to associate him with having been distant from Hashem in the past. The Talmud must be teaching us that his distance in the past is what makes him greater.

Very often we find that a person who is reformed from a certain behavior will act as a crusader against others who exhibit the same behavior. For example, the person who will be most vocal about someone in his vicinity smoking, is a reformed smoker. This can happen with Baalei Teshuva as well. Sometimes we find that Baalei Teshuva can be the most intolerant of others who are in the same position that they used to be in. The psychology behind this behavior is as follows: A reformed smoker may still have an urge to smoke, and the way he represses his own feelings is to attempt to repress them in everyone else. However, a Baal Teshuva should not attempt to disassociate himself from his past and repress everything that he has experienced. He is in a position to identify with people who are going through the same things that he went through, and therefore, he is better equipped to help extricate them from their situations. A Baal Teshuva is more effective in revealing the glory of Hashem to the world, for he can connect more effectively to those who are distant from Hashem. Therefore, the Torah refers to the Baal Teshuva as one who was rachok, for this is precisely what gives him the opportunity to be greater than someone who was always a Tzaddik.

It is because Avraham grew up in an environment of idol worship, and even he himself was involved in it, that he is able to impact upon the world more effectively than Shem, who grew up in the house of a Tzaddik, his father Noach. The Talmud does not say that Avraham served Hashem from the age of three, rather it says that for the last one hundred seventy-two years of his life, he served Hashem. Once he perfected himself, Avraham put all of his previous experiences to use in a positive way. This changed all of his past experiences to mitzvos. The Talmud refers to this concept as “rebellious sins are transformed into mitzvos”⁷.

It is important that we do not view our pasts as wasted time, for every experience that a person has can be utilized in a positive manner. We can help others who are in the same position that we were in. This outlook allows a person to feel more positive about who he is now, for what he was can be used to make him a better person

¹Yad Hilchos Avodah Zorah 1:3;
²Ibid.
³Ibid.
⁴Ibid.
⁵Sanhedrin 99a
⁶Yeshiah 57:19
⁷Yoma 86a