Abraham The Soul-Maker

At the end of last week’s Torah portion we were introduced to one of the most important characters in the Torah: the patriarch Abraham. At this time, however, he is simply known as Abram. Abram is the foundational material that Hashem uses to build both a people and a faith. Today, he is affectionately referred to as Avraham Avinu, Our Father Abraham. In the Apostolic Scriptures he is also called the father of all who believe (Romans 4:16). In this week’s Torah portion we read about the calling of Abram and how God commissioned him with a special purpose. The LORD also changes his name from Abram to Abraham as a promise of what the LORD was going to do through Abraham.

There is a curious passage, however, in our portion that begs to be explored. When God calls Abram to leave his family and his homeland, we read of Abram’s response:

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. (Genesis 12:5)

The Torah tells us that Abram and Sarai left with Lot, their possessions, and “the people that they had acquired.” A hyper-literal reading of the original Hebrew, however, says that Abram and Sarai set out with “the souls they had made.” The midrash takes issue with this phrasing by saying:

If all the nations assembled to create one insect, they could not endow it with life. Yet the Torah says, “And the souls that they had made in Haran!” This refers to proselytes. (Genesis Rabbah 84:4)

The Rainbow Covenant

When Noah and his family came out of the ark, God told them to be fruitful and multiply, repopulating the earth. He also entrusted them with certain moral obligations regarding the treatment of both man and animal. Last, He made a covenant with humanity to never again destroy the earth by water and created the rainbow as a testimony to this covenant:

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. (Genesis 9:12–15)

Now, whenever one sees a rainbow in the sky we are to recite a blessing: “Blessed are You, O LORD our God, King of the universe, who remembers the covenant, who is faithful to His covenant, and who stands by His word.” Whenever we see this sign of the covenant we are reminded of God’s promise to never destroy the world through water. Because of this, many people are excited when they see a rainbow, because they view it as a sign of God’s favor and blessing. However, we should examine the concept of the rainbow more fully to understand it's meaning.