The Echoes of Charan

A thought for Parashas Lech Lecha

The Torah tells us at the end of Parshas Noach, "Terach took Avram, his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, the wife of Avram, his son. They went forth with them from Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan, and they came as far as Charan and settled there."¹

This journey to Canaan ended prematurely, with Terach and his family settling in Charan, a very beautiful area reckoned as the metropolitan seat of Mesopotamia. Ultimately, Terach died in Charan. There are various reasons given for why they did not continue to Canaan at the time, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Charan is the place where Avraham began to preach about monotheism. He discussed how one can speak to God directly without the need for an intermediary, such as an idol. This is how he introduced the world to the concept of prayer, while asserting that one can simply speak to God no matter how far away they might feel from Him. In time, he gathered a following and became the guru of Charan. Avraham passed these teachings to his son Yitzchak, and he to Yaakov, to teach those around them. This became the legacy and mission of their descendants for generations: to teach the world to believe in one God, with whom we have direct access.² With such spiritual merit³, Avraham reached a point of connection with the Creator where he understood what Hashem was telling him - Avraham attained the level of Ruach Hakodesh. From this moment onward, Avraham’s life changed; in retrospect, we can say that the course of history and the entire world changed.

Hashem told Avraham:

"Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and curse the one who curses you; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you.”

Hearing the word of Hashem, Avraham picked himself up, took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed, and their students that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan.

We see that those who had gathered around Avraham were like his family, and they went together with him to Canaan.

It is interesting that Avraham was not the first person to teach about monotheism. This was already taught by Shem and Ever. Rashi, however, comments⁴ that initially, Hashem was only called the Lord of the Heavens, but now that He is well-known through Avraham, He is also the Lord of the Earth.

Rav Moshe Feinstein⁵ explained that the difference lies in their approach to teaching. Shem and Ever did not endeavor to find students nor did they engage in trying to influence the world. Rather, their attitude was that whoever is Divinely inspired to despise the world’s vices and desires the path of truth would seek out mentors in the academy of Shem and Ever. However, many other truth-seekers did not arrive at this Torah academy. Instead, they encountered others who would negatively influence and corrupt them.

In contrast, Avraham began to travel from place to place, seeking out students as he would call out in the name of Hashem and clarify the world’s futile errors while conveying the true path. Therefore, even though the students of Avraham were few in number, they established themselves in a manner that the Torah would not be forgotten and would be transmitted to subsequent generations.

Initially, it was possible that only those truth-seekers who were prepared to undertake the observance of the entire Torah would go to Shem and Ever to be taught. But Avraham taught the entire world — even those who would only undertake one mitzvah. Even people who kept one mitzva could provide perpetuation as there were not many great people and it was questionable if they would discover Hashem. So each person picked up Torah to the degree that he could. Then, in the next generation, the movement would pick up steam since the performance of mitzvos generates other mitzvos. Hence, Hashem is now called the Lord of the Earth, as there is perpetuity.

With all these grand ideas for the Charanites, what happened to these people? We don't find much mention of them further along in the Torah. During the famine which forced Avraham to go to Mitzrayim, but did these people come along too? Did they assimilate and become the Canaanites who later fought against the Jewish people? Do we even know their names?

My father, Rabbi Yaacov Haber, in his book "Beginnings," suggests that Avraham's focus when he came to Canaan was no longer about preaching monotheism to the Charanites. Yes, that was important, but the priority now was to create a new familial line in Canaan to impart the legacy of teaching about Hashem to the world. This was not a legacy for the people of Charan; it was a legacy for the descendants of Avraham.

The question still remains: as much as it was not the priority, what happened to them?

Perhaps the very fact that they came to recognize one God was enough, even if it was not something passed on to their children.

Rav Chanoch of Alexander explains that they were drawn specifically to Avraham and his kindness.⁶ When he died, so did their connection. They had no future, no continuation. There was nothing to keep pulling them along because the spring — the source of their growth — was gone. Once their source of direction and inspiration dried up and their teacher and leader was no longer present, the people who had been nurtured by Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu reverted to their old ways.⁷

Every person, in order to continue to grow and to maintain his knowledge and belief, needs to seek out ways to fill any void that arises once the current source of learning Torah and mitzvos is gone. If it is not filled appropriately, the old lifestyle will call once again, making it easy to return to the previous way of living.⁸

Since Yom Kippur, we have seen an interesting trend. Our brothers and sisters, who may appear as completely secular are doing things to show their trust in Hashem. Some may have started putting on tzitzis, others lighting Shabbat candles, while some have taken on bigger things such as keeping kosher or wearing tefillin. This trend has stretched across the board, even to the religious population, where people are doing more to be more outwardly identified with God in a world which is trying to force us to keep it all inside and unexpressed.

This is beautiful.

However, we must ensure that it doesn’t just stop here. Foundations are crucial and they need to be followed up. Let’s not get lost like the students of Avraham. All of us need to cling to the next person who fills that role, continuously solidifying and building ever more deeply upon the foundations laid by our original rabbis and teachers.

We need to create a framework for our brothers and sisters to learn more about our heritage and understand the idea of Hashem.

We must embrace the legacy bequeathed to us by Avraham, reaching out to educate and encourage those around us. We don't have to embrace the entire Torah at once; We can begin with just one mitzvah. However, a framework for continued education must be established. As the Mesilas Yesharim teaches us: The foundation of saintliness and the root of perfection in the service of God lies in a man’s coming to see clearly and to recognize as a truth the nature of his duty in the world and the end towards which he should direct his vision and his aspiration in all of his labors all the days of his life. This root and foundation is what Avraham Avinu taught us.

While writing this, a friend sent me a powerful interview with Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman of Migdal HaEmek concerning the current situation. He emphasized the need to travel from city to city, bolstering each other's emunah and working on personal refinement. He stressed the importance of avoiding disputes. Recognizing that everything emanates from Hashem leaves no room for such conflicts. We must seek ways to coexist harmoniously; though our external appearances might differ, we are all brothers and sisters and ought to treat one another with respect and love.

Let's ensure that this isn't just a fleeting moment in history where thousands embraced mitzvot, only to revert to their previous ways. With a proper framework in place, let's continue to work together to give each other the respect we all deserve, even though we may appear to be so different from each other. When we honor each other we bring honor to Hashem.

May we be worthy of witnessing the day when the entire world acknowledges the magnificence of Hashem.⁹

1. Bereishis 11;31

2. Rambam Hilchos Avodas Kochavim 1

3. Rav Chaim Vital, Shaarei Kedusha 2:7,7

4. Chaye Sara, 24;7

5. Darash Moshe Chaye Sara 24;7

6. My brother, Rabbi Sender Haber, noted that among the Bedouins and many Arabs, they excel at Hachnasas Orchim, a trait they learned from Avraham and Sarah. They may not have adopted everything from Avraham, but they certainly embraced this mitzvah.

7. Maayanah Shel Torah

8. Rabbi Judah Mischel, in his book Baderech, elaborates on this concept, drawing from the teachings of Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz. He wrote, “Reb Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz taught that the people of Charan were captivated by the specific form of avodas Hashem they observed in Avraham. Yet, when Yitzchak adopted a path distinct from his father's, they couldn't resonate with it, leading them back to their previous lifestyles. Reb Shraga Feivel's conclusion offers a lesson: a Jew should be open to multiple approaches to Torah.”

9. Some of the material is based on ideas from the following sources:

• "Rebuilding the Jewish World" by Rabbi Elazar Grunberger

• "Raising a Community, a Family, and Ourselves" by Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

• "Outreach in the Torah" by Rabbi Dovid Asher.