{"id":58620,"date":"2017-10-25T16:36:12","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T21:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=58620"},"modified":"2017-10-30T10:00:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T15:00:02","slug":"famous-first-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/famous-first-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous First Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most famous \u201cfirst words\u201d in literature are those of Ishmael, narrator of Herman Melville\u2019s classic novel, Moby Dick<\/em>. \u201cCall me Ishmael,\u201d he said. Not terribly profound, perhaps, but somehow memorable in its simplicity.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at the first words by which some other famous characters have been introduced to the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the day so young?\u201d \u2013 Romeo, Romeo and Juliet<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cShall we pick some flowers, Doctor? When a man visits an old girlfriend she usually expects something like that.\u201d \u2013 James T. Kirk, Star Trek<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It\u2019s a good non-specific symptom; I\u2019m a big believer in it.” – Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off<\/em><\/p>\n

Pretty unimpressive, huh? Now let us look at the first words spoken by Avraham Avinu, our forefather Abraham, in the Torah:<\/p>\n

\u201cI recognize that you are a beautiful woman\u201d (Genesis 12:11).<\/p>\n

This also does not appear to be what one would consider a \u201cblow-away\u201d introduction. This statement of Avraham is not one of the more famous verses in the Torah. We don\u2019t recite it as part of the liturgy. To my knowledge, neither Avraham Fried nor Shwekey has ever turned it into a song. But let\u2019s continue to compare it to the first words ascribed to others:<\/p>\n

\u201cMake yourself comfortable! I haven\u2019t time to attend to it!\u201d \u2013 Superman, Action Comics<\/em> #1<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d \u2013 The Doctor, Doctor Who<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSeems to me, that button is in the worst possible spot. The second button literally makes or breaks the shirt. Look at it: it’s too high! It’s in no-man’s-land. You look like you live with your mother.\u201d \u2013 Jerry, Seinfeld<\/em><\/p>\n

As a general rule, our heroes are introduced with some mundanity that establishes the protagonist\u2019s personality. \u201cBut I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!\u201d (Luke Skywalker\u2019s first words in Star Wars<\/em>) isn\u2019t meant to inspire us, it\u2019s meant to establish Luke for us.<\/p>\n

Abraham was 75 years old at the time his narrative begins. The Torah doesn\u2019t introduce him with words of faith from when he smashed his father\u2019s idols, nor with words of defiance from when Nimrod had him thrown into a fiery furnace. What does it accomplish by introducing him with, \u201cI recognize that you are a beautiful woman?\u201d<\/p>\n

I must have read this verse hundreds of times over the years and this question never even occurred to me, let alone the answer, until I saw the following observation from a gentleman named Paul Ginsburg, who sends out an email with thoughts on the parsha. His observation on this verse, in its entirety, is:<\/p>\n

The first words Avraham Avinu speaks in the Chumash are a compliment to his wife.<\/p>\n

Now, all of a sudden, it\u2019s a very powerful verse!<\/p>\n

Our mothers all taught us, \u201cIf you can\u2019t say anything nice, don\u2019t say anything at all\u201d but how many of us actually follow that advice? We never hesitate to vent all of our negativity but how often do we remember to accentuate the positive? We don\u2019t hesitate to complain to our family when the trash hasn\u2019t been taken out or about a host of other minutia but how often do we think to compliment our spouses and children? Long before we see Avraham taking in guests, the Torah establishes his kindness towards others \u2013 especially family members, whom we are the most likely to take for granted!<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a saying, \u201cyou only get one chance to make a first impression.\u201d With one very subtle verse, the Torah introduces Avraham, establishes his personality and teaches us a lesson about how to treat those closest to us. That\u2019s a pretty good introduction!<\/p>\n

The first words spoken by Fanny Brice, as portrayed by Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl<\/em>, are \u201cHello, gorgeous!\u201d Those may sound similar to Avraham\u2019s first sentiment until you realize that Fanny was speaking to herself, in a mirror.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not suggesting that we can aspire to be Avraham but we must each ask ourselves what first impression we make when introduced to the world. If we\u2019re not happy with the answer, we owe it to ourselves to re-write the narrative while we still can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the most famous \u201cfirst words\u201d in literature are those of Ishmael, narrator of Herman Melville\u2019s classic novel, Moby Dick. \u201cCall me Ishmael,\u201d he said. Not terribly profound, perhaps, but somehow memorable in its simplicity. Let\u2019s look at the first words by which some other famous characters have been introduced to the world. \u201cIs the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":58645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\nFamous First Words - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Torah doesn\u2019t introduce Avraham with words of faith. 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