The Torah tells us about lots of events that happen in the life of Abraham: He marries Sarah and then God tells him to go to Canaan. Abraham travels here, builds an altar, and then pitches his tent over there. He separates from his nephew over a fight between their respective herdsmen. He and his wife entertain guests. He pleads with God on behalf of Sedom. The question is: Do these events connect with one another, and if so, how? Are these disconnected short stories, or are they episodes in a developing saga?
In this series of classes, we build on themes developed in our last series, “A Brief History of the World, from Adam to Abraham”. We’ll try and show that the Abraham stories are, in fact, deeply connected to one another, and are connected as well to the events in the Torah that immediately precede them. Only by seeing these connections will we be in a position to answer the questions: What was this man trying to accomplish? What did he stand for? And how should we, his children, try and live up to that legacy?
