ב”ה
Why Bringing People Closer to G-d Is Only the Beginning
The Mystery of Avraham’s Disappearing Community
Avraham Avinu was perhaps the greatest teacher of monotheism in human history. In a world dominated by idolatry, he stood almost alone, proclaiming the existence of one Creator.
But Avraham did not keep his discovery to himself.
He travelled, taught, debated, welcomed strangers, and introduced people to the service of the One G-d.
His success was extraordinary.
The Rambam writes that thousands and even tens of thousands gathered around Avraham and accepted his teachings. They became known as the members of the household of Avraham.[1]
The Torah itself tells us:
וְאֶת־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן
“And the souls that they had made in Charan.”[2]
Rashi, quoting Bereishit Rabbah, explains that Avraham brought the men closer to G-d, while Sarah brought the women closer. The Torah credits them as though they had created these souls.[3]
Yet there is a remarkable question.
What happened to all those thousands of followers?
The Rambam traces an enduring, organized tradition through Avraham’s family and those who joined them. The knowledge of G-d grew strong among the descendants of Yaakov and those who attached themselves to them, until a nation that knew G-d was formed.[1]
But Scripture gives us no comparable account of an independent, continuously identifiable community formed by all the other people Avraham originally inspired.
Does this mean Avraham failed?
Or does the question reveal a deeper distinction between two missions that are often confused?
Two Different Ways of Changing the World
At the beginning of Lech Lecha, G-d commands Avraham:
“לֶךְ־לְךָ” — “Go forth.”
Leave your country, your birthplace, and your father’s house, and travel to the land that I will show you.
Immediately afterward, G-d promises:
וְאֶעֶשְׂךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל
“I will make you into a great nation.”[4]
But G-d also promises:
וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה
“All the families of the earth shall be blessed through you.”[4]
These promises describe two dimensions of Avraham’s mission.
First, a particular mission: to become the father of a nation with a unique covenant and responsibility.
Second, a universal mission: to bring blessing, knowledge of G-d, and moral direction to all humanity.
These are not competing ideals.
The Jewish nation would become a lasting vessel through which Avraham’s teachings could be preserved, while their influence was intended to reach far beyond that nation.
Avraham was not commanded to turn the entire world into one people. He was chosen to establish a people whose existence would ultimately benefit the entire world.
Why Did the Letter Reish Remain?
In Likkutei Sichos, Volume 25, Lech Lecha, Sichah 3, the Lubavitcher Rebbe discusses an intriguing detail in Avraham’s name.[5]
Originally, he was called Avram. G-d later changed his name to Avraham:
כִּי אַב־הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם נְתַתִּיךָ
“For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”[6]
Rashi explains that the letter reish in Avram refers to Aram, his original homeland. Initially, his fatherly influence was associated with his own place. Now he would become a father to the entire world.[6]
But why did the letter reish remain?
If Avraham’s mission had expanded beyond Aram, why preserve a letter representing his original, limited sphere?
The Rebbe explains that the expansion did not cancel his earlier responsibility.
His relationship to Aram remained meaningful even when he became a father to all the nations.[5]
In the final section of the sichah, the Rebbe draws a practical lesson: although every Jew possesses the ability to influence the world, the first responsibility is toward one’s own surroundings.
One must become a source of influence in one’s own place before seeking to influence the whole world.[5]
This is a profound principle.
Sometimes people dream of changing humanity while overlooking the people sitting at their own table.
They speak about saving the world but neglect the spiritual needs of their children, their neighbours, or their local community.
Avraham teaches that universal responsibility does not replace particular responsibility. It grows from it.
And there is another dimension to this teaching.
Influence becomes more enduring when it is rooted in real relationships. A person may be inspired by a teacher thousands of miles away, but the deepest changes often take place closer to home — through the example of a parent, the encouragement of a friend, or the support of people who share one’s commitments.
The ability to reach the whole world should never come at the expense of building something meaningful in one’s own surroundings.
Why Influence Alone Was Not Enough
This brings us back to Avraham’s thousands of followers.
We should be careful not to claim more than the sources tell us. The Torah does not record the eventual fate of every person Avraham inspired, and it does not establish that every follower abandoned monotheism.
Nevertheless, one observation is striking.
The enduring continuity of Avraham’s covenant is traced through his family and those who joined them, not through a separately documented community of all those whom he originally influenced.[1]
There is an important difference between persuading individuals of a truth and establishing a community capable of transmitting that truth across generations.
A person may become convinced by a brilliant teacher. He may experience a powerful spiritual awakening. His entire outlook may change.
But what happens when that teacher is gone?
Will the conviction survive?
Will it shape the home, the next generation, and the community?
Avraham’s lasting legacy required more than inspiration. It required transmission.
The Rambam describes how Avraham taught Yitzchak, Yitzchak taught Yaakov, and Yaakov established an organized system of teaching among his descendants, appointing Levi to lead the instruction.[1]
Through that continuity, the knowledge of G-d was preserved.
Yet the Rambam adds a sobering detail: even the descendants of Yaakov were later endangered by the idolatry of Egypt. Without G-d’s intervention through Moshe Rabbeinu, the foundation Avraham had planted might have been lost.[1]
Inspiration, even when genuine, requires constant cultivation.
The difference between a passing movement and an enduring spiritual legacy is not necessarily the number of people who attend its gatherings. It is whether its teachings become woven into daily life — into family relationships, moral decisions, education, and the willingness of people to care for one another.
A spiritual community becomes stronger when its members no longer depend entirely on the person who first inspired them, but begin to take responsibility for the values they have embraced.
The Third Altar: From a Journey to a Permanent Home
A complementary idea emerges from Likkutei Sichos, Volume 30, Lech Lecha, Sichah 1.[7]
The Rebbe examines the three altars Avraham constructed in Eretz Yisrael.
The first altar was associated with G-d’s promises concerning the land and Avraham’s descendants.
The second was connected with Avraham’s prayers for his descendants, who would one day face a spiritual challenge near Ai.[7]
The third altar was built at Chevron:
וַיִּבֶן־שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַה׳
“And there he built an altar to G-d.”[8]
What distinguished this altar?
The Rebbe observes that Chevron was the first place in Eretz Yisrael where Avraham established a permanent residence. Previously, he had been travelling from place to place.
Now he settled.
The altar was therefore connected not merely with receiving a promise, but with establishing a lasting home in the land.[7]
The sichah continues to explain the deeper significance of Avraham’s three altars as preparations for the different dimensions of Divine service, culminating in the perfection associated with the future Redemption.[7]
Although this sichah does not directly discuss the fate of Avraham’s followers, its distinction between travelling and settling suggests an important lesson.
Avraham’s mission required both.
He had to travel so that the knowledge of G-d could reach others.
But he also had to establish something permanent.
A message can travel across the world. A commitment must also be lived, preserved, and transmitted.
The world needs the traveller who brings light into unfamiliar places.
And it needs the home where that light continues burning long after the traveller has departed.
A Chassidic Story: The Light That Reached a Prince
An episode involving Rabbi Avraham-Yitzchak Gluck, a successful British businessman and emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, beautifully illustrates how far the influence of a single individual can reach.[9]
Rabbi Gluck worked in the lighting business. During an audience with the Rebbe in the early 1970s, the Rebbe connected his profession to his spiritual mission.
A light bulb fulfils its purpose when it is illuminated. A Jew, too, must help other Jewish souls shine.
Rabbi Gluck took the message seriously, dedicating himself to spreading Jewish education and observance throughout Europe.
On another occasion, as the Rebbe’s birthday approached, Rabbi Gluck wanted to give him a special present.
He decided to grow a full, untrimmed beard, expressing a deeper personal commitment to his Jewish identity.
At that time, such a beard was unusual in Britain, even among many Orthodox Jews, and could attract unwanted attention.
Nevertheless, Rabbi Gluck remained determined.
Shortly before travelling to New York, business brought him to Leicester. Unexpectedly, the roads were closed because Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were attending the opening of a new shopping centre.
Rabbi Gluck joined the crowd.
As the royal couple emerged, Prince Philip noticed his beard and approached him.
The prince had served in the British navy and apparently wondered whether the bearded gentleman might have been a fellow sailor.
He asked Rabbi Gluck whether he had been in the navy.
Rabbi Gluck explained that he was an Orthodox Jew and that his beard was an expression of his religious observance.
The prince was impressed by someone who so openly and happily embraced his faith.
A friendly conversation followed, continuing longer than the royal attendants would have preferred.
A few days later, Rabbi Gluck arrived in New York and visited the Rebbe.
Upon seeing him, the Rebbe smiled, touched his own beard, and thanked Rabbi Gluck for the beautiful birthday present.[9]
The story is recorded by Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles, based on a report transmitted from Rabbi Gluck.[9]
Consider what happened.
Rabbi Gluck had not approached Prince Philip with the intention of converting him or persuading him to adopt Jewish religious practices.
He had simply remained faithful to his own identity.
And that authenticity created an opportunity for another person to encounter and appreciate Jewish religious commitment.
The encounter did not need to result in conversion to have meaning.
It was itself an example of influence.
Sometimes we imagine that success means persuading another person to become like us.
But perhaps an even more important form of success is helping another person see the dignity, truth, and beauty of serving G-d.
What Does This Mean for Bnei Noach?
Rabbi Gluck’s encounter with Prince Philip illustrates an important aspect of Avraham’s universal mission: bringing another person closer to the recognition of G-d need not mean making that person Jewish.
Avraham and Sarah brought people under the wings of the Shechinah, as the Midrash describes.[3] Yet because Avraham lived before the giving of the Torah at Sinai, their followers should not automatically be identified with converts under the later halachic framework of Judaism.
The essential message was recognition of the One Creator and rejection of idolatry — a message intended for all humanity.[1]
That universal task remains relevant.
But the Torah does not demand that every righteous person become Jewish.
The Jewish people have their covenantal obligations, and Bnei Noach have theirs.
In Hilchot Melachim 8:10, the Rambam uses the term לכוף, “to compel,” when describing the command concerning the nations’ acceptance of the Seven Noahide Commandments.[10]
The Lubavitcher Rebbe emphasizes the continuing responsibility to make these commandments known. In contemporary outreach, this mission is pursued through education, explanation, and encouragement, helping people understand their responsibilities before the Creator.[11]
A righteous non-Jew need not abandon his national identity or family heritage to serve the Creator faithfully.
He can build a home founded on belief in the One G-d, justice, honesty, kindness, and the Seven Noahide Commandments.
Yet Avraham’s example raises a further question for anyone seeking to bring others closer to the Creator.
What remains after the excitement of discovering the truth?
A person may discover the Seven Noahide Commandments through a lecture, a book, or an online discussion. Such an encounter may change his life.
But faith must eventually become more than something he studies or discusses. It must shape how he lives.
It should influence the way he treats his family, conducts his business, raises his children, and responds when another person needs help.
And when people who share these convictions develop genuine relationships, support one another, and help the next generation understand why these principles matter, something valuable begins to take root.
This does not require creating a new religion, adopting Jewish rituals, or inventing religious obligations. The Rambam cautions against such innovations in Hilchot Melachim 10:9.[12]
Rather, it means allowing the commandments already entrusted to humanity to become the foundation of a stable and meaningful life.
A person may begin by learning from a teacher. But the deeper achievement comes when he can continue serving G-d faithfully even when that teacher is no longer present.
This is perhaps one of the most meaningful ways to carry Avraham’s universal mission forward.
A Lesson for the Jewish People
For Jews, there is an equally important message.
The Rebbe’s teaching that one must first influence one’s own surroundings does not mean we should disregard the wider world.[5]
Tout le contraire.
Avraham remained a father to the nations precisely while retaining his connection to his own place.
Jewish particularity and universal responsibility are not contradictions.
A Jew has special obligations to his family, community, and people. At the same time, the Torah calls upon the Jewish people to be a source of wisdom and blessing to humanity.
We must not become so occupied with our own community that we forget the world.
Nor should we become so occupied with the world that we forget our own community.
Avraham teaches us how to hold both responsibilities together.
The Real Measure of Success
So did Avraham fail to build a lasting community among his thousands of followers?
It would be unfair to call his mission a failure.
We do not know the complete stories of those individuals or their descendants.
But we do know that the Torah directs our attention to something greater than the number of people Avraham reached.
It directs us to the covenant he established, the family he educated, and the blessing ultimately intended for all humanity.[1][4]
Avraham’s message was universal.
His covenantal legacy was particular.
And through that particular legacy, his universal message could endure.
For a Jewish family, a Jewish community, or a group of Bnei Noach seeking to serve G-d, the challenge is therefore not simply to inspire more people.
It is to help create a way of life that remains meaningful when the initial excitement fades.
A lecture can inspire a person for an evening.
A sincere conversation can change a life.
But a home built on faith, responsibility, and consistent practice can influence generations.
The true test of a spiritual legacy is not only what happens while the teacher is speaking, but what continues when the teacher has gone home.
Avraham’s greatness was not measured only by how many people listened to him. It was measured by the light he brought into the world — and by the foundations through which that light could continue shining.
May we merit to carry forward both sides of Avraham’s mission: remaining firmly rooted in our own responsibilities while bringing knowledge of the One G-d, goodness, and blessing to the world around us.
And may we soon witness the fulfilment of the prophetic promise:
כִּי־מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת־ה׳ כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים
“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea.”[13]
Shabbat Shalom.
Par le rabbin Avriel Rabenou, MSc. MBA
Sources et références
[1] Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 1:3 — Avraham’s discovery of monotheism, his teaching of thousands of followers, and the preservation of his teachings through Yitzchak, Yaakov, their descendants, and those who joined them.
[2] Bereishit 12:5 — “And the souls that they had made in Charan.”
[3] Rashi on Bereishit 12:5; Bereishit Rabbah 39:14 — Avraham bringing the men and Sarah bringing the women under the wings of the Shechinah.
[4] Bereishit 12:1–3 — Lech Lecha, the promise of a great nation, and the blessing intended for all families of the earth.
[5] Likkutei Sichos, Volume 25, Lech Lecha, Sichah 3, especially sections 4 and 9 — “The World Begins at Home”: The retained letter reish in Avraham’s name and the priority of influencing one’s own surroundings.
[6] Bereishit 17:5; Rashi ad loc. — The transformation from Avram to Avraham, father of a multitude of nations.
[7] Likkutei Sichos, Volume 30, Lech Lecha, Sichah 1, especially sections 2–3 and the concluding sections — “An Altar for Hashem Alone”: Avraham’s three altars, his settlement at Chevron, and their significance for later Divine service.
[8] Bereishit 13:18 — Avraham’s settlement at Chevron and construction of his third altar.
[9] Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles, “Growing a Spiritual Present,” Ascent of Safed, Weekly Chassidic Story #1252 (December 2021) — A published oral account of Rabbi Avraham-Yitzchak Gluck’s encounter with Prince Philip, transmitted from Rabbi Gluck through Rabbi E. Z. Gorman and Rabbi Yaakov Cass.
[10] Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 8:10–11 — The command to compel the nations to accept the Seven Noahide Commandments, and the status of the righteous among the nations.
[11] Likkutei Sichos, Volume 26, pp. 132–141 — The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s discussion of the obligation to influence non-Jews to observe the Seven Noahide Commandments and its contemporary application through education and persuasion.
[12] Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 10:9 — The prohibition against independently establishing a new religion or introducing unauthorized religious obligations.
[13] Yeshayahu 11:9 — The prophetic vision of the earth becoming filled with the knowledge of G-d.
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