Commentaire sur La Genèse 11:31

ויצאו אתם AND THEY WENT FORTH WITH THEM — ויצאו אתם Terah and Abram went forth with Lot and Sarai.

AND THEY WENT FORTH WITH THEM FROM UR OF THE CHALDEES. Because Abram was more important than his father and those that followed his counsel and for whose sake they went, Scripture says, And they went forth, [rather than “he went forth”] even though it says at the beginning of the verse, And Terah took. Lot and Sarai, however, went with them to the land of Canaan on account of Abram, for even after Abram separated from his father they went along with him.³⁸²The Tur concludes: “Thus it should have said, ‘and they walked with him,’ that is with Abram. But out of respect to his father, Scripture ascribes it to both of them.”

ללכת ארצה כנען, this land is prepared for enabling its residents to acquire all intellectual advantages, and, as far as G’d is concerned, it is the most preferred of all the countries on earth. We have this on the authority of the Torah itself which says of that land (Deuteronomy 11,12) ארץ אשר ה' אלוקיך דורש אותה תמיד עיני ה' אלוקיך בה מרשית השנה ועד אחרית שנה, “and concerning which G’d enquires constantly, His eyes being trained on it from the beginning of the year until the year’s end.” The climate of the land of Canaan had not been negatively affected by the rains of the deluge, as had the climate of all other parts of the globe. We have this on the authority of Ezekiel 22,24 ארץ לא גשמה ביום זעם, “a land which did not experience rain on the day of the fury.” This may well be the reason why the sages (Baba Batra 58) said that the climate of the land of Israel makes people smarter.

ויקח תרח את אברם בנו. Terach took his son Abram, etc. We must understand this verse as an extension of a popular proverb quoted by Baba Metzia 75, that if someone experiences bad luck in one location and he does not move to another location he only has himself to blame if his bad luck continues. When Terach realised that his son Abram did not beget children in Ur Casdim he left in the direction of the land of Canaan to see if his luck would improve. The Torah shows us that Abraham was so important in the eyes of the other members of his father's household that they all joined in the migration in order to stay close to him. This is why the Torah adds the words ויצאו אתם, "they emigrated with them (Abraham and Sarah)."

ויקח תרח, After G’d had told Avram to move to the land of Canaan (12,1) and Avram had told his father about this vision, Terach took him and set out on the journey towards the land of Canaan. Seeing that Terach was willing to accept these instructions Avram had received from G’d, he deserved that the initial stages of this trip be credited to him. After all, he was the father, and the sons were his offspring. Seeing that Lot’s father was no longer alive, and he had to depend on his family, Terach took his whole family with him.

Terah took Abram his son...to go to the land of Canaan. Even though there was not yet a divine word to Abraham our Father, still there was a heavenly illumination and he saw the sanctity of the land from afar...since Abraham was immersed in Godly ideas or wisdoms and was unable to direct the journey for him and his household he delegated the trip to his father who took Abram and all the baggage upon himself

ויצאו אתם מאור כשדים, “they departed from there with them.” Rashi explains that the plural mode ויצאו, refers to Terach and Avraham, Lot and Sarai, Avraham’s wife. I find his commentary difficult to accept as he represents the major personality in the story, i.e. Avraham, as secondary to the minor player, Terach. This is something most unusual. Furthermore, according to Rashi’s interpretation why would Avraham be paired with Terach, for according to Rashi Terach was the principal in the verse, seeing that he had taken Avraham and Lot with him as well as Sarai, and the correct reading should have been: ויצא תרח אתם, “Terach departed with them.” Nachmanides writes that seeing that Avraham was a more distinguished person than his father and the other people journeying with them, the Torah employs the plural mode: “they went with them,” seeing that, as the Torah writes, Terach had taken the initiative in emigrating. To the onlookers it appeared as if Avraham had gone along with his father’s decision in the matter. The other members of the entourage continued to travel with Avraham as their leader also after Avraham had left his father behind in Charan. (Genesis 12,4)

To go to the land of Canaan. However, once they arrived in Charan, which was outside of Nimrod’s domain, they settled there. Providence prevented Terach from continuing on so that Avraham could separate himself from his father’s idol-worshipping household and so that only Avraham would receive Hashem’s blessing and the promise of the land.

Terach and Avram went forth. [Theoretically,] it could be the other way around: Lot and Sarai went forth, bringing along Terach and Avram. Thus, Rashi is telling us that Terach and Avram were primary while Sarai and Lot were secondary. But if so, why is it written before: “Terach took his son Avram...” implying that Terach [alone] took them out, while here it implies that also Avram took them out? The answer is: Also Avram took them out. Nevertheless, he accorded the honor to his father as if his father alone took them out, which is why it is written, “Terach took...” And if not for, “With them they departed,” we would assume that in truth, Terach alone took them out. (Nachalas Yaakov)

כַלָה von כלה, die Vollenderin, weil sie das letzte Glied ist, das die Familie des Schwiegervaters vollendet. Auch die Wurzel כלל, von welcher nach Jeremias 2, 2 כלה zu stammen scheint, hat die Bedeutung vollenden, vollkommen machen. So כללו יפיך Ezechiel 27, 4. Die Schwiegertochter tritt in den Kreis des Schwiegervaters ein, der ihr gegenüber חָמִיהָ, von חמה, ihre Mauer heißt; er umschließt sie mit in seinen Kreis. Während in anderen Sprachanschauungen das Verhältnis der Schwiegertochter und des Schwiegersohns zu dem Schwiegervater ganz gleich begriffen wird, blickt die hebräische Sprache tiefer. Schwiegervater und Schwiegersohn sind zu einander חותן und חתן, ihr Verhältnis ist ein gegenseitiges, sie "mit einander verbindendes". Das Verhältnis der Schwiegertochter zum Schwiegervater ist aber ein viel innigeres "Aufgehen" und "Aufnehmen". Er empfängt und "umfängt" sie als die kommende Vollenderin der Seinen in seinem Kreis.

ויקח תרח את אברם בנו, Terach took his son Avram, etc;” he intended to take him all the way to the land of Canaan, seeing that he was descended from Shem and that land had been given by G-d to the descendants of Shem as we know from Genesis 9,27. Lot and Sarai went with Terach, seeing they were the survivors of Haran’s family.

ויצא אתם, this is the first time that the departure from Ur Casdim is portrayed as having been initiated by Avram, his father appearing as traveling with his son. The reason is that the command to migrate was issued to Avram (and wife) and not to Terach. The latter joined Avram and he took his grandson and his livestock with him. This is why the Torah added the word אתם, “with them.”

Wie רמב"ן gründlich nachgewiesen, war Therachs und Abrahams und Nachors heimatlicher Geburtsherd nicht Ur-Kasdim, sondern Aram, wo auch Charan lag. Nur Haran war in Ur-Kasdim geboren, es war ארץ מולדתו. Sollte er dort vielleicht auch gewohnt und geheiratet haben und nach der Überlieferung Sarai und Jiska identisch, somit auch Sarai Harans Tochter, Lot und Sarai demnach aus Ur-Kasdim gewesen sein, so fände das: ויצאו אתם seine Erklärung. Sarai und Lot gingen mit Therach und Abram aus ihrem Geburtslande.

ויצאו אתם מאור כשדים, “they emigrated with them from Ur of the Chaldeans at the command of G-d.” The basis for this interpretation is found in Genesis 15,7, where G-d is quoted as telling Avraham: “I am the Lord Who has taken you out of Ur Casdim;” (not Terach). According to this interpretation, we do not know precisely where G-d had told Avram to leave Ur Casdim. The author of this interpretation is Ibn Ezra.

ללכת ארצה כנען, actually, G’d had not told Avram to go to the land of Canaan, as anyone reading 12,1 will have no difficulty in ascertaining. He had reserved for Himself the right to tell Avram a specific destination at a later stage. The fact was that the first country under a different rule they encountered would be the land of Canaan. Avraham was aware that once in the land of Canaan he could expect further directives from G’d so that it would become clear which country G’d wanted him to settle in.

Die Erzählung von der Auswanderung der Therach׳schen Familie macht ganz den Eindruck, als ob sie die Anschauung wiedergibt, in welcher dieses für die ganze Zukunft so folgenreiche Ereignis in Aram und für die dort Zurückbleibenden erschien. Es wusste es keiner, dass Gott es war, der zu Abraham gesprochen לך לך. "Unangenehme Familienereignisse veranlaßten die Leute zum Auswandern" Im übrigen sahen wir, dass Therach und die übrigen Familienglieder dem Entschluß, nach Kanaan zu wandern, auf halbem Wege untreu wurden. Sie blieben in Charan, wo wir sie ja auch später wieder finden. Nur Abram folgte, mit Lossagung von seinem Vaterhause, dem Gottesrufe, womit das folgende Kapitel anknüpft.

ויבאו עד הרן, “they came as far as Charan.” Terach was not able to complete the journey all the way to the land of Canaan, and died in Charan.

וישבו שם, they experienced a delay in Charan. Terach, after initially agreeing to move to the land of Canaan, had changed his mind in the interval since leaving Ur Casdim. He simply could not completely sever his links with his birthplace. He felt that by settling in Charan, which was on the border between Ur Casdim and the land of Canaan, he had complied with G’d’s command to Avraham to emigrate. By staying in Charan he felt he would not be too distant from Avraham, while not having severed his ties with his homeland completely. Avraham moved on. When the Torah described Avram’s wife Sarai as Terach’s daughter-in-law, something that appears to be self-evident, this is only meant to convey to us the readers, that Sarai was very willing to uproot herself and to move on with her husband. She was his wife in the first instance, and her relationship to Terach both as daughter-in-law and as granddaughter was of a secondary consideration. She had full faith in the Lord, the G’d of Avram, and was prepared to carry out His will.