Questions tagged [abraham]
First of the Patriarchs אברהם
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Why weren’t the descendants of Esav or Yishmael also given the Torah alongside the benei Yaakob?
As we all know, Abraham had two descendants, Yishmael and Yitschak. Yitschak also had two descendants, Esav and Yaakob; however only the children of Yaakob were the nation that was chosen for the ...
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How does one reconcile the fact that Avraham Avinu proselytized to non-Jews and yet Judaism is not a proselytizing religion?
I've read that Avraham Avinu proselytized to anyone he encountered, encouraging them to acknowledge HaShem as the Master of the Universe and express gratitude to Him. Yet, it is generally understood ...
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Rashi's comment on Abraham's gifts
The Torah says:
וְלִבְנֵ֤י הַפִּֽילַגְשִׁים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם נָתַ֥ן אַבְרָהָ֖ם מַתָּנֹ֑ת וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֞ם מֵעַ֨ל יִצְחָ֤ק בְּנוֹ֙ בְּעוֹדֶ֣נּוּ חַ֔י קֵ֖דְמָה אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ קֶֽדֶם׃ -- but to Abraham’...
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Were the malochim who visited Avraham human?
Based on this answer, there is plenty of evidence that malachim can be human. There is a widespread opinion that the 3 visitors who came to Avraham were malachim. Are there any opinions who agree ...
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Abraham's female partners
The Torah says:
וְלִבְנֵ֤י הַפִּֽילַגְשִׁים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם נָתַ֥ן אַבְרָהָ֖ם מַתָּנֹ֑ת וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֞ם מֵעַ֨ל יִצְחָ֤ק בְּנוֹ֙ בְּעוֹדֶ֣נּוּ חַ֔י קֵ֖דְמָה אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ קֶֽדֶם׃ -- but to Abraham’...
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Why did Abraham run to greet the visitors in Genesis 18?
Did he run because he knew they were angels?
Or did he run to exhibit hospitality to strangers in the desert?
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On the status of Melchizedek as a Kohen [closed]
In Genesis 14:18 it is stated that "And MelchiZedek, king of Shelem, brought out bread and wine and he was a Kohen to the Most High God." A number of questions arise from this: How is it ...
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Who curses Abraham?
In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abraham:
וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר
וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃
-- And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses ...
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Lech Lecha: Avraham fulfilled G-ds mitzvos with joy
Rabbi Yerucham Brodianski in his sefer Siach Yitzchak (Parashas Vayigash, p. 480, sv. תשמע לאומרים) quotes the Nesivos Shalom and says that bitachon in Hashem will give a person inner joy when ...
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Why is the akeida called - the akeida of Yitzchak (named after Yitzchak)
Why is the akeida called - the "akeida of Yitzchak", after Yitzchak (and not, for example, the akeida of the son of Avraham) even though Avraham was the active one, he received the ...
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What did Abraham call himself in his language?
Curious to know what did Prophet Abraham call himself from a religious perspective in the language he spoke. Did he call himself "jew" or "yahood"?
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Genesis 22:18 ‘the seed’ include the Moshiach?
Genesis 22:18 speaks about Abraham’s descendants:
וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ עֵקֶב אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ
בְּקֹלִי׃
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; ...
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Why is the Mitzvah of Parah Adumah considered a reward?
The Gemara (Sotah 17a) says that the Mitzvah of Parah Adumah was given as a reward for Avraham Avinu’s humility, and Rashi explains that it’s considered a reward, because A. It purifies. B. It atones ...
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Midrash - Avraham Avinu and the idol worshipper
A came across a Dvar Torah here which states the following:
The souls that they made in Charan (12:5) – Rav Ovadiah Yosef ztl. cited a midrash which described how far Avraham went in order to be ...
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Tzafnat Panei’ach
I’m looking for some help with Tzafnat Panei’ach’s commentary to Genesis 17:23 (pages 137-138 of this PDF). Specifically:
The author queries whether Abraham circumcised himself before his household, ...
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Did Yitzchak carry out his father's legacy?
I had learnt that after Avraham had passed away, people whom Avraham had preached about the monotheism of G-d didn't hold on to the truth but went astray. Why didn't Yitzchak carry his father's legacy ...
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Reconciling the merits of Moshe, Aharon & Miriam in the desert vs the merit of Avraham?
In Parshas Chukas we are told that following Miriam's death, the be'er, the water source for the Bnei Yisroel, dried up.
It writes in 20:1-2:
וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ בְנֵֽי־יִ֠שְׂרָאֵ֠ל כׇּל־הָ֨עֵדָ֤ה מִדְבַּר־...
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From Adam to Moshe Rabbeinu
I noticed interesting parallels between Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moshe.
When Hashem was angry on humans sins and wanted to punish human or humanity, we can notice different behavior from Adam to Moshe.
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Arami Oved Avi reference to Avraham
Perhaps somebody can help me understand a phrase from this text from the Bechor Shor on דברים פרק כו פסוק ה:
ארמי אובד אבי: עתה מספר החסדים והצדקות שעשה הקדוש ברוך הוא לאבותינו, ולא ארמי היה אבי ...
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Did Abraham leave Haran before or after Terah died?
One of these days I heard from a local rabbi that according to the commandments of bnei noach one must respect father and mother even if it is not literally explicit in the 7 commandments, since ...
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Is there a Midrash around Rashi's claim of Terah's forefathers being from Canaan?
Rashi's commentary on Tractate Sanhedrin 44b implies that Terah and his forefathers originated from Canaan.
He references the mention of 'your Amorite father' - presumably citing Ezek 16:3 - 'Thus ...
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Did Abraham use a flint knife for circumcision and/or for the akedah?
I've seen it queried why Tzipporah and Joshua use/are commanded to use flint knives for the circumcisions they perform (Exodus 4:25, Joshua 5:3) when they had access to metal (bronze) knives in that ...
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Who was Abraham’s Mother?
I was wondering if we have any info/ sources on who Abrahams’s mother was?
It seems interesting that she was never mentioned, and doesn’t play any role in his story, or his leaving his “father’s house”...
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"land of the Chaldeans" or “fire of the Chaldeans.”?
According to midrash Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer.26.2
"The second trial was when he was put into prison for ten years—three years in Kuthi, seven years in Budri. After ten years they sent and brought ...
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The three messengers and Abraham
Talmud and Midrash give their explanation of the three angels that Abraham (be peace upon him) met in chapter 18 of Genesis. They both offer the same names for the angels: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael....
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How come the world was doing Avodah Zara, while Noach and Shem were still alive?
Noach and Shem were alive during the time of Avraham, and I know midrashim say he lived in their house for some time learning about Hashem, but how come the whole world was practicing polytheism, when ...
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Between Sanhedrin 108b & Sanhedrin.38b
According to Sanhedrin 108b:
Rav Ḥana bar Leva’ei says that Shem the Great said to Eliezer, servant of Abraham: When the four great kings of the east and the west
came upon you to wage war with ...
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How can we compare a Ba'al Ga'avah who did teshuva to avraham avinu?
It says in Masechet Sotah 5a:
דָרַש רַב עֲוְִירָא זִמְנִין אָמַר לָהּ מִשְּמֵיהּ דְרַב אַסִּי וְְזִמְנִין אָמַר לָהּ מִשְּמֵיהּ דְרַב אַמִי כָל אָדָם שֶיֵּש בוֹ גַּסּוּת הָרוּחַ לַסּוֹף מִתְמַעֵט ...
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How did the Avos know the Torah, who taught them?
Is there any source to what my Rabeiim taught me in yeshiva that the Avos knew the Torah by "reverse Engineering the Briyah" because Hashem looked into the Torah to create the world so the ...
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Does the covenant with Abraham affect any of his children besides the children of Jacob?
If God established the covenant he made with Abraham first with Isaac, and then with Jacob, does that covenant have any effects at all upon the other children in the family of Abraham such as Ishmael ...
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Why did Abraham receive news of Nahor's family
I'm referring to Genesis 22:20 - 22
Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of ...
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The abduction of Sarah Immeinu
When Sarah Immeinu was abducted by the Egyptians and Avimelech's thugs, the reason why she was passed as Avraham Avinu's sister is because they might kill him if they knew he was her husband.
Why did ...
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Did Avrohom own חמץ on פסח?
In Gensis 18 -6, when Avrohom hosted the angels, he told his wife to
מַֽהֲרִ֞י שְׁל֤שׁ סְאִים֙ קֶ֣מַח סֹ֔לֶת ל֖וּשִׁי וַֽעֲשִׂ֥י עֻגֽוֹת:
"Hasten three seah of meal [and] fine flour; knead and ...
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Abraham’s Childhood
Why doesn’t the Torah detail Abraham’s upbringing or just talk more about his childhood and family and how he discovered Hashem? Like by Moshe Rabbeinu, the savior of Israel, his whole life since he ...
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Why Abraham noticed Sarah's beauty in Egypt?
When Abraham went with Sarah to Egypt, he said: "Now I know that you are a beautiful woman." Why did this happen on their way to Egypt? I heard that this happened specifically there because ...
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Why is it important to state that Avraham was a prophet?
In Beresheet 20:7 it says:
"וְעַתָּה הָשֵׁב אֵשֶׁת הָאִישׁ כִּי נָבִיא הוּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּל בַּעַדְךָ וֶחְיֵה וְאִם אֵינְךָ מֵשִׁיב דַּע כִּי מוֹת תָּמוּת אַתָּה וְכָל אֲשֶׁר לָךְ"
"...
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Why did Sarai & Abram have the slave Hagar?
Why did Sarai & Abram have the Egyptian slave/servant girl (שִׁפְחָ֥ה) Hagar? Was it custom for newlywed Hebrew couples like them to have servants?
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Philistines destroyed the Temple?
Posting for someone else:
The Rashbam on Bereshis 22:1 brings that Hashem, in retaliation for Avraham giving 7 sheep to Avimelech, says that Avimelech's descendants will destroy 7 sanctuaries of ...
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A prophet from the seed of Ishmael is necessary to fufill Genesis 17:7?
In Genesis 17:7 I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after ...
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How did Abraham end up in Ur Kasdim when Shem and Ever lived in Israel?
IIRC, it starts with Noah landing on the Ararat mountains somewhere in nowadays Turkey. Some 300 years later we hear that Shem runs a Yeshiva in Eretz Israel together with his grand-grandson Ever and ...
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Avraham was one of the builders of the Tower of Bavel?
Ibn Ezra to Gen. 11:1 says that "Avraham was amongst the builders of the Tower." "Hu haya Avraham mibonei hamigdal." Does Ibn Ezra mean that Avraham Avinu was actually one of the ...
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Why would Abraham establish the morning prayer?
The Talmud proposes that the morning prayer was established by Abraham (Berakhot.26b):
"תַּנְיָא כְּווֹתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא:
אַבְרָהָם תִּקֵּן תְּפִלַּת שַׁחֲרִית, ...
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Why did God listen to Lot's prayer to save Sodom, yet didn't listen to Abraham's?
After all of Abraham's wondorous prayers to Hashem to save Sodom the posuk says (י״ח:לג):
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר כִּלָּ֔ה לְדַבֵּ֖ר אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם וְאַבְרָהָ֖ם שָׁ֥ב לִמְקֹמֽוֹ
God 'went' when ...
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Why the long delay for Akeidas Yitzchak?
In Bereishis 21:8 the pasuk writes:
וַיִּגְדַּ֥ל הַיֶּ֖לֶד וַיִּגָּמַ֑ל וַיַּ֤עַשׂ אַבְרָהָם֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֣ה גָד֔וֹל בְּי֖וֹם הִגָּמֵ֥ל אֶת־יִצְחָֽק׃
The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a ...
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Were there any Tzaddikim in Sodom?
In Vayera, Avraham asks HaShem to save Sodom if even 10 righteous people exist. Sodom gets destroyed. Are there any sources that say Sodom had any righteous people, even if less than ten?
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Signing off the bracha of 'magen Avraham' with just Avraham
In Parshas Lech Lecha 12:2, the pasuk famously reads:
וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃
I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; ...
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Hashem vindicates Sarah's jealousy?
According to the Ibn Ezra (21,9), Sarah's demand to banish Yishmael was based purely on jealousy. Why would Hashem agree with her and instruct Avraham to send him away?
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What do Chazal say as to why Avram and Terach left Ur Kasdeem
The Torah in Bereishis does not elaborate as to why Terach and Avram left Ur Kasdeem.
Could it have been because of a massive earthquake and the fear that it might reoccur and harm the family? The ...
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Why did HaShem send an angel to speak to Avraham?
During the Akeida of Yitzchak, the Torah tells us twice that an Angel called out to Avraham. HaShem spoke to Avraham Avinu many times; why here was an angel used (twice!)?
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Did the patriarchs travel at night?
I have heard that Abraham and the other Patriarchs would have travelled during the night and encamp during the daytime.
What evidence is there for such a claim?
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