Lech Lecha - The Baby and the Star

“When he saw the sun rise in the east, Avraham thought, ‘Surely, this is a great power. It must be the creator.’ That whole day he prayed to the sun. In the evening, however, the sun set and the moon rose. Avraham said, ‘Surely this one rules even the sun, for it is no longer shining.’ So he prayed to the moon all night. But the next morning, he saw the sun rise and the darkness pass. He said, ‘Surely all these have a higher king and a master who directs them in their courses.’ Then God saw Avraham seeking for Him, so He appeared to Avraham and spoke with him.”

“A parable: Once there was a king who sought to build a palace. He began to dig, going further down, to lay a foundation, but he found only swampy oil. And so it was in many places. He was not able to build until he dug in one place, and there he found bedrock. Thus he said, ‘I am building and placing foundations here,’ and he built. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to create the world. He was sitting and scrutinizing the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, and He said, ‘Why should I create the world and let those wicked men arise and vex me?’ But when the Holy One, blessed be He, saw Avraham arise in the future, he said, ‘Behold, I have found a rock to build upon and to lay the foundation of the world.’ Thus he called Avraham “Rock,” as it says [in Isaiah 51:1-2], ‘Look to the rock from which you were hewn.’”

“On the night of Avraham’s birth, the astrologers and the wise men of Nimrod came to the house of Terah, and ate and drank, and rejoiced with him that night. When they left the house, they lifted up their eyes to the heavens, and they saw, behold! One great star came up from the east and ran athwart the heavens and swallowed up the four stars at the four corners. They were all astonished at the sight, but they also understood, and knew its importance. They said to one another, ‘This only betokens that the child that hath been born unto Terah this night will grow up and be fruitful, and he will multiply and possess all the earth, he and his children forever, and he and his seed will slay great kings and inherit their lands”...and they went to the king and told him the sight they had seen, and their interpretation thereof, and they added the advice that he pay the value of the baby to Terah, and then he slay the baby.”

“Terah was an idol maker. On one occasion, he was embarking on a journey so he left young Avraham to mind the idol shop in his absence. When a customer came to purchase an idol, Avraham asked him, ‘How old are you?’ The customer answered that he was fifty or sixty years old. ‘Woe to this man!’ Avraham would decry. ‘He is sixty years old, yet he wants to prostrate himself before an idol only one day old.’ The customer would leave in shame. Once a woman entered the shop carrying a bowl of flour as a gift to the gods. ‘Take the flour and serve it to the idols for me,’ she told Avraham. He took a stick and smashed all the idols except the biggest one. When his father returned, he asked, ‘Who smashed the idols?’ Avraham replied, ‘Why should I try and conceal the truth from you? A woman entered the shop with a bowl of flour and told me to offer it to the idols. I placed it before them. One said, “I will eat it first.” Another said, “I will eat it first!” The biggest one took a stick and smashed the others.’ ‘Why are you lying to me? Terah demanded. ‘Do idols have intelligence? Can they move or speak?’ Avraham replied, ‘If only your ears would hear what your mouth speaks!’”