Adam? Noah? Abraham? Moses? Where do you begin “Jewish” history?
“In The Beginning” -Genesis 1:1
“Jewish history begins with the Torah that Moshe received at Sinai!” one may shout, however, is what we received at Sinai the physical Torah? Did Moshe write down the events that would happen, before they happened, for all to read? These questions consume contemporary minds and preclude them from delving deeper into the subject. In order to illuminate the truth behind the words of the Torah we must genuinely approach the subject through its own context.
Similar to the concept of an oral Torah, what was received at Sinai was not the complete Five Books of Moses. What was received at Sinai was a covenant between all current and future Jews on their relationship with Hashem. The origin of this covenant really lies with Abraham who, while not called “Jewish” at the time, and a progenitor of many nations, was the first individual associated with the religious tradition of ‘Judaism’. In other terms Abraham was the “First Monotheist” and is often credited as the “First Jew” in scholarship for this reason.
If Abraham is the first “Jew”, then it follows that an understanding of Jewish history should begin its journey with the first “Jew”. However, the flaw in this reasoning lies with the assumption that Abraham’s innovation was “Judaism” whose origin stems from the innovations at Sinai, and Mosaic law. In addition, Abraham’s legacy is not exclusive to the Jewish people, but rather it is Issac’s legacy that is exclusive to Jews. "To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt until the great river, the Euphrates river.”1 Abraham’s covenant with God is not for Abraham, nor for Abraham’s sons both Ishmael and Issac but for Isaac's son Jacob, eponymously named “Israel''. The conception of the Jewish people as the “sons of Israel'' rests within a wider understanding of the geopolitical context predating Abraham that explains Abraham’s surroundings leading up to his birth, the supposed origin of monotheism.
It should be mentioned that Adam, while the first figure introduced in the Torah and paramount to Jewish history, holds his own significance outside of Judaism as the progenitor of humankind. He has become embedded in a collective human tradition. Even secular or the non-religious have an understanding of Adam, and will use his imagery in a more decidedly scientific context. Analyzing the historicity of events surrounding Adam would be an immense undertaking, since the combined traditions of the “first man” are beyond the scope of a single religious tradition and have often become entangled with other theories of creation that do not stem from a strictly Jewish tradition. Even scientific understandings for a “common ancestor” are difficult and fraught with moral implications. This analysis becomes muddied, and a specifically Jewish understanding of Adam is far less important than that of Abraham as a pivotal religious figure. Abraham, unlike Adam, is unique to those who believe in God; he is not used as a ubiquitous stand-in for things outside of religion.
Besides the covenant at Sinai between the Israelites and God, and the one made between God and Abraham, there exists a third covenant. Noah, his sons, and all living creatures, establish a covenant with God in Genesis 9-11, stating “never again will all flesh be cut off by the flood waters, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth”. Through Noah, God makes this promise with all mankind, promising never again to destroy the nations of the earth. This makes Noah a fitting starting point for a “history” of the world’s peoples and nations.
For now, I will end the story here, but over the coming weeks I will continue this story of human history, taking us through a journey across nearly every civilization and major culture referenced inside the Bible.
If this topic sounds interesting, please subscribe for further posts. I have already written a books length of material regarding Noah’s sons, and intend to publish draft versions of them over the coming weeks. Don’t be afraid to contact me for question or suggestions as I’m still drafting and editing the long form text.
I will end with a quote from the RaMChal regarding the manner in which I intend to approach this subject material:
“The foundation of saintliness and the root of perfection in the service of God lies in a man's coming to see clearly and to recognize as a truth the nature of his duty in the world and the end towards which he should direct his vision and his aspiration in all of his labors all the days of his life.” Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, The Path of the Just
Genesis 15:18