1. Parsha Summary – Parshat Lech Lecha 

(Genesis 12:1 - Genesis 18:27 link to Sefaria here)

Mission: God calls out to Abraham to “go to the land that I will show you” and winds up in Israel. 

Egypt:  But when famine hits, Abraham and Sarah go to Egypt for food. Sarah is taken captive by Pharoh, causing God to retaliate – eventually leading Pharoh expelling Abraham and his family with great wealth. 

Shepherd: When they return to Israel, Abraham and his nephew Lot’s shepherd get into a fight – leading Lot to depart to Sdom while Abraham stays in Israel. 

War: When there’s a war between 4 kings and 5 kings, Lot is taken as a captive of war. Abraham chooses to let relationship stand before politics and saves his nephew. 

Promises: Abraham is anxious about his lack of children. God eventually promises that his children will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand by the sea. And that, eventually, Abraham’s children will be slaves then eventually freed and will come back home to Israel. 

Hagar: Sarai suggests that a means for Avraham to have children could be through her maidservant Hagar. And they do have a son named Yishmael. The relationship gets messy and eventually Hagar is banished. More on this later. 

Brit Milah and Sarai: God commands for Israelites to be circumcised. Sarai has her name changed to Sarah and God says she will give birth in a year (even though she was 90!). 

2. Story context: Avram Smashes his Father’s Idols 

(Breshit Rabah to Breishit 11:28, link to Sefaria here)

Considering how important Avraham is to the Jewish people, we would have expected him to have a birth narrative (like Adam, Yitzchak, Yaakov etc.) or at the very least some sort of narrative explaining why he was chosen to be God’s representative on earth. 

The Rabbinic imagination fills this lacuna with a story about how Avram smashes his father’s idols. When his father returns home, he pokes fun at his father – jesting, “well maybe the idols did it!” Needless to say, his father was not pleased and brought him to court. Avrahm was found guilty so he was put into a fiery furnace – but survived, indicating God’s protection and approval. When Avram’s brother then tried to also enter the furnace – he dies – explaining why Avram’s brother Nachor dies while their father Terach is alive. 

It is important to note that there are two biblical narratives being referenced here – namely – Gideon smashing his father’s idols and Daniel surviving a fiery furnace. 

This midrash is so widely accepted that some commentators go so far as to say that this might be the only Midrash one should assume to have been factual. 

Section 1 Avram destroys his father’s idols, proving a point about the uselessness of idolatry 

Section 2 Avram is brought to court – debates Nimrod

Section 3 Avram further proves his veracity when he is thrown into a fiery furnace but survives. His brother Nachor dies. 

3.Paintings