מִתְּחִלָּה IN THE BEGINNING, our ancestors were idol worshippers.
BUT NOW the Omnipresent has drawn us close in His service; as it is said:
“Joshua said to all the people, ‘This is what the LORD God of Israel has said:
Beyond the river your ancestors always dwelled – Terah the father of Abraham, the father of Nahor – and they served other gods.
מִתְּחִלָּה עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, וְעַכְשָׁיו קֵרְבָנוּ הַמָּקוֹם לַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹאמֶר יְהוֹשֻעַ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם, כֹּה אָמַר יְיָ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעוֹלָם, תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר, וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים.
מִתְּחִלָּה IN THE BEGINNING,
our ancestors were idol worshippers.
BUT NOW
the Omnipresent has drawn us close in His service;
as it is said:
“Joshua said to all the people,
‘This is what the LORD God of Israel has said:
Beyond the river your ancestors always dwelled –
Terah the father of Abraham, the father of Nahor –
and they served other gods.