From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
In the Midrash, our Sages tell us that Abraham "recognized his Creator" at the age of three, after which he began to disseminate the belief in One G-d. As a result of his faith, Abraham was even thrown into the "fiery furnace." Yet the Written Torah completely ignores these incidents. Rather, we are introduced to Abraham in this week's Torah portion, Lech Lecha when Abraham receives the command from G-d at the age of 75: "Go out (Lech lecha) from your country, and from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you."
As in everything else in the Torah, the omission of Abraham's early life is deliberate. Indeed, we learn from this that it wasn't until he received this Divine command that the Jewish people embarked on its unique existence.
Until that point Abraham was like any other human being, distinguished only by the fact that his superior intellect had led him to recognize the Creator. Nonetheless, the essential nature of his connection with G-d was still finite, as it was limited to the capacity of the human mind. Even Abraham's willingness for self-sacrifice was based on intellectual (and therefore limited) calculations on its necessity.
The Jew's connection with G-d, however, is not based on a rational acceptance of His existence. Rather, it is a connection that is deeply embedded in his essential being. The bond between the Jew and G-d is analogous to that of parent and child, i.e., simply because the child is part of the parent.
A human being does not have the ability to forge a connection of such magnitude. Only G-d, Who chose the Jewish people, can create a phenomenon of this nature.
When G-d commanded Abraham to "go out" of his country and birthplace, He was telling him to abandon his prior existence and acquire a brand-new, higher essence. With this command, Abraham was transformed into a Jew - a person connected to G-d simply by virtue of his essential make-up.
This radically alters the way we should look at and interrelate with our fellow Jews, as the change that was initiated with Abraham affected every single Jew throughout the generations. Every Jewish person, regardless of external factors, is connected to G-d with a super-rational bond that transcends even personal awareness of it.
In practical terms this means that it is not necessary for a Jew to wait until he learns enough to acquire an intellectual understanding of Torah and mitzvot. Rather, because he is already connected to G-d by virtue of his Jewish soul, he can immediately begin to observe G-d's commandments, which will in turn lead him to the proper understanding.
Reprinted from the Parshat Lech Lecha 5762/2001 edition of L’Chaim. Adapted from Volume 25 of Likutei Sichot.
