In a previous post we addressed the Passuk that says, ויעבר אברם בארץ עד מקום שכם. Let's explain this interesting terminology of "passing through" from a slightly different perspective.
We all know that Avraham was a one man revolution. We went against the grain. The Ohr HaChayim HaKadosh points out one way he was radically different than the whole world. Most of the world thinks of themselves as important. Haughtiness is pervasive throughout the culture weather or not it is deserved. Avraham was in fact a man of esteem. A political rebel, the leader of of a massive spiritual movement and rooted in the world's wealthiest dynasty. Such a man could walk as tall as he wanted and no one would second guess him. Yet he carried himself as a transient vagabond. He didn't make a scene or generate fanfare. While he could have surrounded himself with an entourage and a parade where ever he went he chose to always seem as if he was just passing through. He would walk on eggshells and not disturb the scenery.
This is not only the meaning of the Passuk when it says, ויעבור עד מקום שכם. The Ohr HaChayim continues and says that this is the source of why we call our prototypical patriarch אברהם העברי, the term Ivri finds its source in the word VaYa'avor. This shunning of the fanfare that this world so commonly craves is the essential Jewish trait.
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