One of the most important stories about Abraham describes how after becoming aware of their being One God, he broke all of the idols that his father would sell. As a result, his father turned him over to Nimrod, the ruler, who proceeded to throw him into a fiery furnace. Abraham miraculously survived, and with him, the beginning of monotheism.
One of the names used for idols in the Torah is tzelem, an image. Idol worship entails crafting physical images to represent a myriad of purportedly independent forces ruling different aspects of reality. It is thus highly significant that the numerical value of the name Avraham (248) equals “in the image of God.” This phrase is first used to describe how God created humankind in “His likeness and image.” Of course, all Jewish commentaries point out that the Divine image referred to here is absolutely not of any physical nature whatsoever and rather refers to various qualities we associate with Godliness.
According to Kabbalah Abraham contains the reincarnated soul of Adam, the first human being who was created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). Thus, we can understand the numerical value of Avraham equaling this phrase.
After the exile of Adam from the Garden of Eden, mankind continued a deep spiritual descent which included idol worship. Abraham as the reincarnated soul of Adam began the long and arduous journey of trying to wean the world from worshiping false images and recognizing the idea of one God.
King David in one of his psalms expresses a deeply pessimistic existential view of mankind’s level of consciousness: “Behold You made my days as handbreadths, and my old age is as naught before You; surely all vanity is in every man; this is his condition forever. Man walks but in darkness [b’tzelem]; all that they stir is but vanity; he gathers yet he knows not who will bring them in” (Psalms 39:6-7).
It is important to note that here the word tzelem is translated as “darkness,” as the two-letter “gate” of tzelem is tzel, which means “a shadow.” Belief in false images is like a dark shadow within human consciousness, blocking out the light of God. Abraham though walked in the light of God, and thus enlightened people’s consciousness to the truth of one unity manifest throughout all created reality. For Abraham and all who walk in his way, the words of the above verse can be read differently: that man is not forever destined to walk in darkness but rather can achieve being an image of God. In fact, the Torah records God directing Abraham to “walk before Me and be perfect” (Genesis 17:1). The educational mission that Abraham initiated so long ago applies to each and every person. We all can learn to walk before God and to merit to truly be a creation “in the image of God.”
