Avraham ben Terach Avinu

Avraham Avinu – the first Jew in the world, the founder of the Jewish people. The power of this day lies in the fact that it unites two powerful channels — the festival of Chanukah, with its endless flow of Light and Miracles, and Rosh Chodesh, the beginning and potential of the entire month. On Erev Rosh Chodesh Teves, we light the 6th candle of the Chanukiah. The 5th candle represents the complete darkness into which we bring Light. The 6th candle already brings much more light. And therefore, this day is a segula for complete teshuva — the most fitting time to pray by the Chanukah candles for those whom we would like to bring back to faith, to lead to teshuva, to add the Light of the Creator into their lives. Because Rosh Chodesh Teves is also the time of the passing of our forefather Avraham Avinu from this world, and before he left this world, he saw that his son Yishmael had begun to do teshuva. Erev Rosh Chodesh Teves is also a segula for praying for those Jews who are involved with non-Jews, that they leave them and return to their Jewish identity, become Jews, cross over to the other side, like Avraham Avinu — Avraham ha-Ivri (Bereishit 14), from the word "avar" (crossed over) — all of humanity stood, as it were, on one side, and Avraham on the other. The soul of the first man, Adam, was embodied in him (Seder HaDorot). According to the midrash, it was actually Avraham who was meant to be the first man, but out of concern that if he were to sin there would be no one left to correct it, the Al-mighty first created Adam — so that if Adam were to sin, Avraham would come into the world and be able to rectify it (Bereishit Rabbah 14:6; Shocher Tov 34). His grandfather Nachor was the great-great-grandson of Ever, who in turn was the great-grandson of Shem and the great-great-grandson of Noach, the ancestor of modern humanity. He was born on the 10th of Tishrei in the year 1948, on Yom Kippur, in the city of Ur Kasdim (Ibn Ezra, Bereishit 11:26). His father Terach, son of Nachor, was 70 years old at his birth (Bereishit 11:26). His mother's name was Amtelai, daughter of Karnevo (Bava Batra 91a; Sefer HaYashar), and the newborn was given the name Avram (Bereishit 11:26). In the kabbalistic book Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), it is told that Avram independently explored the world around him and his own inner nature. Rising from level to level, he managed to grasp the secret of the creation of the world through the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and he was able to create — and perhaps did create — human beings, as the words of the Torah also hint: "the souls that they made in Charan." And only when Avram reached the limit of his comprehension did the Creator reveal Himself to him and establish an eternal covenant with him, choosing him as the father of the Jewish people (Sefer Yetzirah 6:7, Raza DeYetzira; see also Bereishit Rabbah 61:1; Kli Yakar, Bereishit 1:1; Chochma U'Musar 1, 445). Avraham left this world at the age of 175; the Creator shortened his years by five, so that he would not see his grandson Esav stray from the path of the Jewish people — for it was on the very day of Avraham's death that fifteen-year-old Esav committed adultery and murder, and also turned to idolatry. And it was impossible to delay the day of Esav's spiritual downfall, because "everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven" (Bereishit Rabbah 63:12; Rashi, Siftei Chachamim, Bereishit 15:15). It was on this very day that Esav sold his birthright to his younger brother Yaakov (Bereishit 25:30-33, Rashi; Bava Batra 16b). Our forefather Avraham was one of the 6 greatest tzadikim who died a special death, which the masters of the hidden wisdom call "the kiss of the Shechinah" — and the bodies of those who die such a death are not subject to decay (Bava Batra 17a, Rashi; Derech Eretz Zuta 1). His sons Yitzchak and Yishmael buried Avraham in the Cave of Machpelah beside Sarah (Bereishit 25:9–10; Zohar 3, 164a). His teachers Shem and Ever took part in his burial (Bereishit Rabbah 62:3; Sefer HaYashar). In the Talmud, Avraham is counted among the 7 "shepherds of humanity" — the greatest tzadikim of all time — alongside Adam, Shet, Metushelach, and three of his own descendants: Yaakov, Moshe, and the prophet Shmuel (Sukkah 52b). The grave of Avraham Avinu is in Hevron, in the Cave of the Patriarchs — Machpelah. May the tzadik Avraham Avinu watch over our people. ("Zechut Avot")