Abraham was worthy of being created before Adam, but God said: "Perhaps Adam will spoil things by sinning, and there will be no one to set things right. Therefore, I will create Adam first, so that Abraham will come and repair what he spoils” (Bereishit Rabbah 14:6).

He is called "Abram the Hebrew” (Genesis 14:13) because he spoke the Hebrew language (Midrash HaGadol, Bereishit 14:13).

Abraham’s righteousness stands forever. He said, "I will not leave God,” and God did not leave him. Abraham did not rely on the words of his father or his teacher (Shocher Tov 118:11).

The Attribute of Kindness said, "All the days that Abraham was in the world, I did not have to do my work, for Abraham took my place” (Sefer HaBahir 86).

All of us look for paradigms to guide us in our lives. The ultimate exemplar of the characteristics our tradition extols is Abraham. His qualities of righteousness, humility, hospitality, Torah learning, belief in God, prophecy, leadership, and faithfulness, are unmatched in the Bible, Moses notwithstanding. Indeed we know Abraham as "our father.” Moses is "our teacher.” Despite recognizing the enormity of Moses’ gifts, he is portrayed in the Bible and the rabbinic writings as more intellectual than paternal and sentimental. These latter qualities adhere more readily to Abraham. Abraham’s tent was always open, from both sides, to his family, to strangers, to guests. With Moses, it was always a good idea to make an appointment.

This sentimental side of the father of the Jewish people does not diminish his standard of leadership. Abraham fought against his father’s idolatry; heeding God’s imperative, he transported all the souls he and Sarah "had made” in Haran to Canaan; his generalship defeated inimical kings and invading armies; he pleaded to the Lord to spare the evil city of Sodom; he entered a new covenant with the Almighty and Israel through the endurance of an adult circumcision; he displayed the loyalty of a servant by offering to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, on a priestly altar; he sought the dignity of burial for his beloved Sarah by acquiring the cave of Machpelah as a tomb for Israel’s greatest patriarchs and matriarchs.

Through all his accomplishments, Abraham was always able to understand the most intrinisic elements of human existence. Anchored to an acute personal faith, Abraham realized every material success without sacrificing the primacy of his spirit. He was perhaps the first sincerely religious and pious man in our people’s history. A Midrash tells us that Abraham was greater than Adam, for Abraham humbled himself saying: "I am but dust and ashes” (Pesikta Rabbati 7:10). The Sayings of the Fathers advises us to emulate Abraham by possessing "a generous eye, a humble spirit, and subdued desires.”

Abraham was tried constantly by God. Each time he answered Hineni - "Here I am." He is the great exemplar - for facing good and evil, happiness and pain, despair and loving acceptance. Avraham Avinu - Abraham, our father.