Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Halakhah הֲלָכָה
The first בְּרָכָה (berakhah, blessing) of the Amidah describes God like this:
אלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ
אֱלֹקֵי אַבְרָהָם
אֱלֹקֵי יִצְחָק
וֵאלֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב
God of our ancestors,
God of Avraham,
God of Yitzhak,
and God of Yaakov
Some Jews were not born Jewish but chose to become Jewish through conversion. How can these Jews describe Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov as “our ancestors”?
Once Rambam was asked this question by Ovadiah ha-Ger, a person who converted to Judaism. Rambam answered:
“You should pray ‘Our God, and the God of our ancestors,’ because Avraham, peace be with him, is your father… You have come under the wings of the שְׁכִינָה (Shekhinah, God’s presence in the world) and agreed to worship God, so no difference exists between you and us.”
The אָבוֹת (avot, fathers) and אִמָּהוֹת (imahot, mothers) in Sefer Bereishit are the parents of the Jewish people, but not only in a physical way, and not just to people biologically born from them. The connection we have to our avot and imahot is also a spiritual connection, to the people who follow in their faith and tradition.
The Rambam also mentions Talmud Yerushalmi (Bikkurim 1:4), which explains a pasuk in our parashah:
"כִּי אַב הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם נְתַתִּיךָ" (בראשית יז:ה) -
לְשֶׁעָבַר הָיִיתָ אַב לָאֲרָם. וְעַכְשָׁיו מִיכָּן וְהֵילֶךְ אַתָּה אַב לְכָל הַגּוֹיִם.
“For I have made you the father of many nations” (Bereishit 17:5) -
In the past, you were the father of Aram. But now, from now on, you are the father of all the nations.
This means that no matter what nation you come from, you can be a child of Avraham.
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