Lech lecha ( “Hashem said to Abram, go” )

Here is Abraham at 99, having been converted to the concept monotheism and destroyed the idols of his father, now committing to this belief with “brit mila” – circumcision – as a sign of an everlasting covenant between the generations of Abraham and Hashem  (which translates as “the name” and it is a phrase used to indicate the Supreme Creative Beingness.) Abraham did this to himself and also to his offspring Ishmael who sits in the lap of his rejected mother Hagar in the upper left; while Sarah, Abraham’s wife stands behind him. The other males from his household wait to be circumcised.  Abraham’s cloak is covered with the letter “aleph” – the first letter of the alphabet – a letter that has no sound.  The beginning of speech before sound.  Also the blue color of his cloak is associated with the Sephirot of Chesed – Kindness. Abraham is the archetype of this Kabbalistic term.  Next to Abraham is the carcass of a goat, one of many sacrificed to Hashem, as the sun was setting with the stars in the sky promising the survival of his descendants.