Parashat Lech Lecha

The רמב”ם describes how אברהם אבינו discovered ‘ה and shared his discovery with the world:

לא היה לו מלמד ולא מודיע דבר אלא מושקע באור כשדים בין עובדי כוכבים הטפשים ואביו ואמו וכל העם עובדי כוכבים והוא עובד עמהם ולבו משוטט ומבין עד שהשיג דרך האמת . . . ובן ארבעים שנה הכיר אברהם את בוראו כיון שהכיר וידע התחיל להשיב תשובות על בני אור כשדים . . . ושיבר הצלמים והתחיל להודיע לעם שאין ראוי לעבוד אלא לאלוה העולם . . . בקש המלך להורגו ונעשה לו נס ויצא לחרן והתחיל לעמוד ולקרוא בקול גדול לכל העולם ולהודיעם שיש שם אלוה אחד לכל העולם . . . עד שיחזירהו לדרך האמת עד שנתקבצו אליו אלפים ורבבות.

רמב"ם, הלכות ע"ז א:ג

אברהם was sunken, with his father and brothers, in the idolatrous practices of אור כשדים.  At age 40, through his own intellect, אברהם came to recognize his Creator, and he began to tell others about his discovery.  That led to אברהם breaking his father’s idols, which in turn led to אברהם’s confrontation with Nimrod, which in turn led to אברהם’s journey to כנען, where he further spread the name of ‘ה and amassed followers by the thousands and myriads.

The ראב”ד takes issue with the רמב”ם’s description:

א"א ותמה אני שהרי היו שם שם ועבר איך לא היו מוחין. ואפשר כי מוחים היו ולא אירע להם שישברו את צלמיהם לפי שהיו מתחבאים מהם עד שבא אברהם ושבר צלמי אביו.

ראב"ד, הלכות ע"ז א:ג ד"ה והיה מהלך וקורא וכו'

The ראב”ד’s question is short and to the point.  He doesn’t understand why אברהם had to rebuke everyone for worshiping idols.  After all, שם and עבר were both still alive, and surely they knew of ‘ה.  Why couldn’t שם and עבר rebuke everyone?

The ראב”ד suggests that שם and עבר tried to issue rebuke, but did not succeed.  אברהם, on the other hand, smashed his father’s idols, and so אברהם takes all the credit.

The ראב”ד’s answer requires further clarification.  The ראב”ד does not explain why שם and עבר did not succeed at rebuking others.  The ראב”ד also does not explain how אברהם’s smashing his father’s idols helped him succeed at rebuke, especially considering that, by the רמב”ם’s account, smashing those idols led to אברהם’s being thrown into a furnace.  What significance does smashing a few idols bear in differentiating the rebuke of אברהם from that of שם and עבר?

The ראב”ד’s question is also confusing.  The ראב”ד appears to take issue with the notion that only אברהם, and not שם and עבר, was available to rebuke others for worshiping idols.  The ראב”ד’s question thus presumes that שם and עבר were aware of ‘ה’s presence.  Yet the ראב”ד does not appear to take issue with the רמב”ם’s notion that אברהם discovered ‘ה all on his own, without any assistance.  How is this possible?  If שם and עבר were aware of ‘ה’s presence, and if שם and עבר could make ‘ה’s presence known to others, then why couldn’t שם and עבר make ‘ה’s presence known to אברהם?  Certainly אברהם would not turn down their rebuke!  How then can the ראב”ד accept the notion that אברהם discovered ‘ה on his own?

Perhaps we can offer a further insight into the difference between אברהם’s discovery of ‘ה and שם and עבר’s awareness.  שם and עבר did not discover ‘ה on their own.  Rather, ‘ה made His presence known to them and to their father נח.  Their awareness of ‘ה was thus forced on them.  This is what is meant by verse, את האלהים התהלך נח, Noach walked with ‘ה.  Only with the guidance provided by ‘ה were Noach and his sons able to recognize their Creator.

אברהם, to the contrary, discovered ‘ה on his own.  אברהם deduced that ‘ה existed, and that the idols worshiped by his peers were false deities.  Only afterwards did ‘ה appear to אברהם.  This is what is meant by the verse, התהלך לפני והיה תמים, walk in front of Me.  אברהם was already spreading ‘ה’s name throughout the world before ‘ה ever appeared to him.

With this distinction in mind, we can suggest that אברהם’s awareness of ‘ה’s presence was considerably different from that of שם and עבר.  שם and עבר were aware of of ‘ה, a powerful deity that flooded the world.  But שם and עבר did not know, and could not prove, whether other deities also possessed power.  Therefore, שם and עבר could not prove whether anyone else worshiped a false deity, and thus could not break their idols.

But אברהם was not only aware of ‘ה’s presence, but also knew that there was no deity other than ‘ה.  ‘ה controlled the world.  ‘ה put the sun, moon and stars in their place.  ‘ה brought forth the sky and ground and all living things.  ‘ה was the only deity, and all other deities were mistakenly worshiped.  That was אברהם’s discovery, and that was what he shared with the world.  אברהם knew, and could prove by his intuition, that no other deity rivals ‘ה.  Therefore, אברהם could prove that his father’s idols were false deities, and אברהם could smash those idols.

The ראב”ד’s question and answer thus highlights a critical aspect of אברהם’s discovery of ‘ה.  אברהם’s discovery of ‘ה garnered attention only because אברהם could smash the idols worshiped by others.  And אברהם could smash those idols only because he discovered ‘ה on his own.  Therefore, אברהם is given all the credit for bringing the awareness of ‘ה’s presence back to the world, whereas שם and עבר are given no credit at all.