The G-d of Abraham, take 2

According to oral tradition, Abraham discovered G-d, not once, but twice. The first time was when he was three years old. The second time when he was 40. 

Instead of saying that Abraham suffered from amnesia and had to rediscover at 40 what he had already discovered at three, it makes more sense to say that he began his discovery of G-d when he was three, and upgraded it to a new level at 40. But why is this upgrade at 40 considered an entirely new discovery of G-d? 

When the apple fell on Isaac Newton’s head, and he “discovered” gravity, his subsequent insightful gravitational theory was a formulation of his original core discovery, not a new one. 

Thus, the oral teaching must be revealing something else. And indeed it is. Something revolutionary that changes our understanding of G-d, of Abraham, and of ourselves, completely and irreversibly. 

There isn’t one type of discovery of G-d, but two. The first type of discovery of G-d pertains to a three-year-old. Yes, a three-year-old can discover G-d. Abraham did. Abraham may well have been highly precocious and gifted at three, but a three-year-old he was. And in truth, I would say that my own son, who, by the way we named Abraham, also knew about G-d at the age of three. Certainly, we were actively feeding him a spiritual high-in-G-d diet, and by three, he was already a yarmulka and tziztit clad Jew, being made aware of Hashem pretty much all the time. 

At 40, Abraham discovered that his first discovery of G-d needed not upgrading but replacement. He needed to discover G-d anew. G-d as “the One who exists as invisible, but wishes to be revealed” was good for a three-year-old, but was no longer good for a 40-year-old. When he reached 40, he discovered G-d as “the One who exists as invisible, and wishes to remain so”. It’s the discovery of a G-d who doesn’t want our preoccupation with Him. Quite the contrary. It’s the discovery of a G-d who wants our occupation with Him to be about “other-than-Him”. 

This discovery is clearly not a continuation but a complete turnaround of the first discovery. To the three-year-old mindset, at the centre of one’s discovery of G-d is a relationship of “two selves”: G-d Himself and me myself. Everything else is secondary. To the 40-year-old, at the centre of one’s discovery of G-d is a relationship of “two un-selves”: G-d not for Himself; and me not for myself. Everything else is primary. 

Mind-blowing. Sensational. Unequalled. 

So, Abraham didn’t suffer from amnesia. He was blessed with clarity. He discovered that his first discovery of G-d was a temporary, self-involved one. It was good enough for a three-year-old, but not good enough to become the father of the altruistic Jewish people who serve the altruistic G-d: The G-d of Abraham, take 2.