In this week’s portion Abraham is referred to for the first time as “Abraham the Hebrew” (Genesis 14:13). The root of the Hebrew word for “Hebrew” (ivri) literally means “to cross over.” Why does the Torah give Abraham this name? One opinion is that he gained this name because in coming to Israel he left his birth place in Ur Kasdim and crossed over the Euphrates, a major geographical demarcation line in the ancient world. Thus he was known as one who had “crossed over.” In a more spiritual sense, the Midrash describes the entire world standing on one side while Abraham crossed the boundaries of accepted thought and action by choosing to believe in one God (Bereishit Rabbah 42:13). Undeterred by physical hardship or the emotional difficulty of standing alone, Abraham was unafraid of crossing both physical and spiritual borders. As mentioned in the previous section, God took this one step further by urging Abraham to go “outside,” leaving behind the strictures of the natural world altogether.
The letters in Abraham’s name even allude to his standing alone, as only one letter – the letter alef ( א) – distinguishes the root of Abraham’s Hebrew name Avram ( אברם ) from the root of the word “ivri” ( ,(עברי which instead contains the letter ayin ( ע). Both letters sound similar, and in Kabbalah they are often exchanged in order to reveal a deeper hidden meaning of a word. In this case, the numerical values of the letters tell the story. The letter alef equals one and the letter ayin equals seventy. Seventy is the number of offspring from Noah’s sons who repopulated the world after the Flood. The Sages taught that these seventy souls represent the world’s seventy archetypal nations. This numerical code is the key to understanding the deeper meaning of the aforementioned Midrash: Abraham crossed over and stood alone because of his belief in one God (represented by the alef in his name) while all the other nations (the seventy nations represented by the ayin in the word “Hebrew”) were on the other side!
Some critics of the Jewish people have claimed that Abraham’s decision to cross over and leave the rest of the world on the other side indicates his disregard for the rest of the world. This is not the case. When Abraham is commanded by God to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father’s house and come to Israel he is promised by God that “in you will all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:4). God promises that Abraham’s separateness will actually be a source of blessing for the entire world. Abraham’s decision to cross over actually demonstrates how much he cares for the entire world. Indeed, Isaiah memorably defined the eternal Jewish national mission as being “a light unto the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). Abraham crossed over to the other side firm in his belief that eventually everyone would join him in believing in one God. The current separation was merely temporary. The embrace of monotheism by much of the world and the rejection of idol worship has proven Abraham’s assessment correct, and in truth his impact on human history has been tremendous. The prophet Zephaniah (3:9) spoke in God’s name when he prophesized: “For then I will convert the peoples to a purer language; that they may all call upon the name of God, to serve Him with one consent.” There will yet come a time when all the peoples of the earth will join Abraham, acknowledging and serving God in unison and unity of purpose. Then, and only then, will God’s promise to Abraham be truly fulfilled.
The notion of crossing over becomes a recurrent metaphor throughout the spiritual career of Abraham and his descendants. It describes the physical act of “crossing over” and alludes to several deeper messages. When Abraham enters the Land of Israel, the Torah reports that “Abram crossed into the land of Canaan” (Genesis 12:6). Here, by using the verb “to cross,” the Torah alludes to the additional level of holiness in the Land of Israel. Just as crossing over the Euphrates symbolizes a major transition and the forging of a new path in life, crossing into Israel also indicates entering a new level of reality.
When God makes a covenant with Abraham to give him and his children the Land of Israel as an eternal inheritance, Abraham falls into a deep sleep or altered state of consciousness and experiences a torch of fire passing through two rows of animal carcasses (Genesis 15:1-21). Once again the root word “to cross” is used to describe Abraham entering into an entirely new relationship, a covenant, with God.
Later in Jewish history, the Israelites cross the Reed Sea in order to escape the pursuing Egyptians and leave slavery behind them forever. And forty years after this, the Israelites cross the Jordan in order to enter the Land of Israel. In both cases the Israelites could only attain new material and spiritual levels after crossing over a physical border.
The various usages of the root “to cross over” whether they be the command to Abraham to leave most of his old life behind him or the request that he go beyond or “outside” his preconceived understandings are, in fact, consistent with a certain message God wishes to impart to Abraham. Through the ten trials, Abraham is being taught that he must “cross over” certain emotional, psychological, or spiritual limitations and stretch himself in every manner possible in order to pass the tests.
This insight into the nature of Abraham’s tests offers us a profound perspective on a verse summarizing the world’s creation: “These are the generations of the heaven and earth when they were created, in the day that God God [Hashem Elokim] made earth and heaven” (Genesis 2:4). The Sages point out that the Hebrew word בהבראם (behebaram), “when they were created,” contains the same letters as the Hebrew word באברהם (be’Avraham), “in [or through] Abraham,” (Bereishit Rabbah 12:9). The implication being that heaven and earth were created in or through the aspect of Abraham, for he is blessed with boundless creative energy!
From a Kabbalistic perspective this makes good sense, as in Kabbalah, Abraham is not only deemed the aspect of chesed, lovingkindness, but the “chariot” or vehicle through which love enters the world. In other words, Abraham represents an archetypal energy and his actions in this world channel the Divine blessing of love. Being a “chariot” means being (whether consciously or unconsciously) God’s agent of creative energy through which the world is constantly recreated.
Traditionally the letter heh, in the word בהבראם (behebaram) is written especially small in the Torah scroll. One explanation for this is that this very letter was added to Abram’s name when God renamed him Abraham. Why would this specific letter have been added to Abraham’s name? The Sages teach that the letter heh was used to create this world while the letter yud was used to create the World to Come. It is important to note that both these letters appear in God’s essential four-letter name, the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the letter added to Abraham’s name connotes the ability to create, to change one’s most basic worldly nature. Abraham truly lives up to this character trait as in almost every test he is called upon to adopt a stance or act in a way that is fundamentally opposed to his basic nature. Abraham is urged to “cross over” the confines of his nature and go “outside” all physical and even spiritual limitations. Such a capability is beautifully alluded to by the end of the aforementioned verse about creation – “in the day that God God [Hashem Elokim] made earth and heaven” (Genesis 2:4): earth is mentioned before heaven, the very opposite of the beginning of the verse.
Abraham and the other patriarchs and matriarchs bequeathed to their descendants the ability to overcome all obstacles. However, each person is obliged to make the effort and get the job done himself. They merely endowed us with the ability to be God’s “chariot,” drawing Godliness and goodness into the world. The rest is up to us.
