“We have finally come to a place in the Torah where the narrative will begin to slow down a bit. By way of retrospect, the Torah has spent the last eleven chapters covering everything from the creation account, to the fall of man, the birth of the first offspring, the first death, the first atonement, a series of lengthy genealogical lists, the world deluge, the Tower of Bavel, and the first official, biblical covenant between man and HaShem. All of this information covers a time period of about 2000 years! Yet in comparison, the story we are about to embark on centers around one man and his journey to become the father of HaShem’s chosen heritage of people, the Jewish Nation. His story unfolds before us, and the Torah uses the next 13 chapters to do so, while the time period covered is approximately one twentieth of that of the previously mentioned material!

What is HaShem trying to convey to us here? Are the details surrounding the beginnings of humanity less important to him, than one man from Ur? Of course not. What I believe our God is teaching us is that sometimes his Word “majors on the majors, and minors on the minors.” In other words, while at times we would hope for more information on certain aspects of the Torah, HaShem has graciously provided us with exactly the right amount needed to live our lives according to his instructions, and remain pleasing to him.”