28 Oct LECH LECHA: KIRUV SUCCESS “ON THE ROAD,” BUT NOT AT HOME

In enumerating
those who
a c c o m p a n i e d
Avram on his
journey from
Charan, the Torah
mentions that he
took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, the
property that they acquired, and “the
souls they made in Charan” (Bereshis
12:5). Chazal say that “the souls made
in Charan” were individuals that Avram
“brought under the Wings of the
Shechinah.” In other words, these were
people whom he introduced to
monotheism, and whom he influenced
to reject Avodah Zarah.
In the beginning of the Rambam’s
Hilchos Avodah Zarah, he describes the
development of the theology of Avodah
Zarahin the world, and how Avraham
Avinu was the first iconoclast. Avram
influenced the inhabitants of Charan
and had many followers who
accompanied him when he left on his
journey to Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Shlomo Glasner, a grandson of the
Chasam Sofer, notes that Avram was
not originally from Charan. Avram
originally grew up in Ur Kasdim. The
Medrash describes how Avram began
his lifelong battle against Avodah Zarah
in Ur Kasdim. He was challenged by
Nimrod, the ruling power, who
worshipped the god of fire. Nimrod
threw Avram into a fiery pit to “see if
your G-d can save you from the power
of my god.” The Medrash says that
Avram was miraculously saved from
the fiery furnace. Some Rishonim count
this challenge as the first of the ten
challenges that Avraham Avinu endured
(per Avos 5:3).
The question must be asked, why was
Avram apparently only successful in
bringing people “under the Wings of the
Shechina” in Charan? What happened
in Ur Kasdim? Why was he not
successful in drawing people to the
concept of monotheism in his hometown
of Ur Kasdim? We would imagine that
after having witnessed Avram

miraculously escape
from Nimrod’s
attempt to kill him,
the people in Ur
Kasdim would have
certainly been ready
to listen to Avram’s
message of One G-d
and follow him! And
yet, it appears that
Avram only
succeeded in his
‘kiruv‘ efforts in
Charan. Why was that?
Rav Shlomo Glasner gives an interesting
answer. Imagine the scene: All the town
people were gathered. Nimrod
challenged Avram. The people are
sitting in the bleachers watching. Avram
jumps into the fiery furnace and emerges
unscathed. One fellow says to the
person next to him, “Look at that! That
is amazing. This person must have a
real G-d!” The person next to him says
“Wait a minute. Not so quick. If this
Avram fellow is for real, then why is his

father still in the Avodah Zarah
business?” If Avram had a true religion,
wouldn’t he first have an effect on his
own family members? And yet, his
father rejected it. People murmured,
“There must be something fishy here.”
Avram must have worn a fire-retardant
suit or something. Therefore, Avram did
not have the same effect “at home” in
Ur Kasdim that he later had in Charan,
because there were sceptics in Ur
Kasdim who tried to debunk the
miracle, based on the fact that Avram’s
immediate family appeared
unimpressed.