Intro:
Every Rosh Hashanah, I
struggle with the Akedah, the story of the binding of Isaac. On first
inspection, it seems to be about ideas that do not speak to my Jewish Identity:
blind faith and ultimate sacrifice. Like Jacob wrestling with the angel, I must
wrestle this text to the ground and hold it there until I can extract from it a
blessing: some kind of meaning for the day.
The Akedah is a terse
story with very little detail. So much is left unsaid. What was Abraham
thinking? What was Isaac thinking? What was Sarah thinking? The spaces in the
text are enormous. They are shadows that we must fill with light if we are to
see our way through.
Midrash is the ancient
tool for filling in these spaces. It’s an interpretive process for fleshing out
the story, filling in the gaps between the words with the truths of our own
lives.
One of my favorite
examples of Midrash comes from Pirke Avot. The Rabbis believed firmly that all
the disparate stories in the Torah were actually connected. So they imagine that
in the twilight of the 6th day of creation, in the hour before the
first Shabbat, God made 10 mystical items that would serve the Jewish people
later on. For instance, in that hour God created Moses’s staff, which he would
use to split the sea, and Miriam’s well, which provided the Israelites with
water in the desert. And, apropos for today, the ram, which would replace Isaac
in the Akedah sacrifice. Thus, the Rabbis use the tool of midrash to weaved
their own truth into the text.
Each year when I approach
the Akedah, I write my own Midrash in my head to demystify the text. What I
would like to do with you today, is share the story I’m telling myself this
year. Some of it comes from traditional sources, and some comes from my own
imagination. I will tell it as one coherent story, but I have placed an
annotated version in the library, if you are interested to know the sources for
these stories. What I present from here
is my own understanding of the Akedah – The binding of Isaac – that speaks to
me on this Rosh Hashanah.
My Midrash:
Abraham sits alone
outside his tent. His wife and son sleep inside but Abraham is restless. He
thinks back over the last 25 years of his life, since first he was called by
God. In the beginning, he had so much hope. The gods of the people around him
were angry and vengeful, fickle and cold. They required constant devotion and
sacrifice, sometimes even the sacrifice of children. [1]
But God’s promise to Abraham was a different kind of relationship, a covenant,
a ברית. Adonai would take Abraham and
his descendants to be God’s people, and Adonai would be their God.[2]
God would bless them and keep them.[3]
This would not be a covenant of fear and trembling, but rather a covenant of אהבה רבה
– of everlasting love on both sides.
But the last few years
had seemed different. Abraham feels like he has been testing God, and God is
barely passing. Abraham’s God had once again chosen to be a destroyer, leveling
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham had argued on their behalf. He had
stood in front of the Divine and convinced God to choose mercy, to believe in
the possibility of change. But when God could find nothing redeeming in those
cities, God laid them to waste. Only Abraham’s nephew had escaped God’s wrath,
but even his niece had died, when she turned to see her city one last time.
Abraham still wept for her sudden end. Salty tears on his cheeks.
All his life, he had
wanted a child, a son whom he could teach to love God as he did. And finally,
when he had that son, a treasured child, God had allowed the boy to be exiled.
The Eternal assured him that his younger son, Isaac, would carry on his name
and his faith, and that Ishmael, too, would grow up to father his own nation.
But still, Abraham was distressed.[4]
Was this God’s reward for his faith?
After all these things, Abraham
sits alone and thinks. What has become of the promise that God made to him? Was
this the God who was forging a new path? Had Abraham smashed his father’s idols
for this?
God watches Abraham
curiously. He is God’s prophet, God's pride and joy. God had tried different
types of relationships with humanity before, but they had all failed. Adam and
Eve’s expulsion from the Garden, Noah and the flood: examples of God’s
inability to keep humanity from sin. So God tried a new approach. God set out
to be a teacher, and not just a master, to lead the people towards a righteous
life. And this began with Abraham, whose charisma was matched only by his
kindness, who was gregarious and generous. Abraham embodied the spirit of the
new way, the way of faith and hope that God desired. So God made a covenant
with Abraham and the generations to follow him, to love them and care for them
if they would love God in return.
And things had been going
so well since then. Nine times, God gave Abraham tests. Not to prove anything
to God, but to prove to Abraham, and to the rest of the families of the earth,
that Abraham was a true prophet, and a man of faith. And Abraham had passed
each of these tests with flying colors. When God told Abraham that God was
going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, God was so proud to see Abraham argue
back, to hear him say, “You told me that you were the God of Justice and Mercy,
and if that is true, then have mercy here.” What a proud moment, to hear him
stand and declare firmly what was right. And it had caused God great agony to
find that there not even 10 righteous people in the cities. If only Abraham had
argued for a lower number!
So now, it pains God to
see Abraham acting so despondently, to see his faith and his hope wavering. A
final test was needed, to prove once and for all that this lonely man of faith would
start a people. God had always known that this test would come, and now it was
time.
The Torah Says:
Chapter 22, Verse 1:
Now after these events it was that God tested Abraham and said to him:
“Abraham,” and he [Abraham] said, “Here I am.”[5]
Verse 2: [God] said, “Pray
take your son, your only-one, whom you love, Isaac, and go forth to the land of
Moriah. Bring him up there as an offering upon one of the mountains that I will
show you.”
Abraham says nothing. Why
doesn’t he argue for his son? What has become of the brilliant orator who defended
Sodom and Gomorrah?[6]
This is it, Abraham thinks.
My last test of God. I thought You were the God who would not demand such a
thing. I thought you were the God who was more merciful than wrathful. I’ll do
as you ask, this last time. Perhaps you have a plan, and my beloved son will
survive. And if not, then your promise of a great nation will die with him. I
will go to this place you send me, not as a test of my moral fiber, but of
Yours.[7]
The Torah Says:
Verse 3: Abraham rose
early in the morning and saddled his donkey, he took his two serving-lads with
him and Isaac his son… and set out towards the place that God had told him of.
They walk in silence. Abraham
and his family were encamped in Hebron, and God sent them to Moriah, modern-day
Jerusalem. It should only take about eight hours to walk there, but the Torah says
it took three days.[8] Abraham
is dragging his feet. He looks down at the sand, considering his situation
carefully.
But as he walks, he makes
a subtle choice. It happens gradually, over the course of those three days. He barely
even notices it, but slowly, he decides to have faith. God will be what God had
promised to be. His God would not be the kind of God to demand such a sacrifice.
Abraham cannot imagine how it will work out, but slowly, surely, he becomes
more certain that it will. Even in the face of unspeakable fear, the threat of
unfathomable tragedy, Abraham has hope.
The Torah Says:
Verse 4: On the third
day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from afar.
On the third day, Abraham
is feeling better, and moving faster. And for the first time, he lifts his
eyes. In that moment, he sees before him the mountain, and at the top of the mountain,
he sees the presence of the Eternal waiting for him.[9]
When Abraham speaks to his servants, there is hope in his voice:
The Torah Says:
Verse 5: Abraham said
to his servants, “You stay here, and I and the lad will go yonder. We will
worship and we will return to you.”
He says, “We
will return to you.” [10] I
think Abraham is being honest. He really does believe that Isaac will return
with him, that they will both survive this ordeal. Even in the face of all the
evidence to the contrary, he believes that there is goodness and mercy to be
found in God. Abraham and Isaac leave the group and ascend, together. They go
up, to see what kind of God they will find there.
The Torah Says:
Verse 6: Abraham took
the wood for the offering [and] the fire and the knife. And the two of them
went together.
The two of them “went
together.”[11] The
time has come to talk. Abraham is nearing the end of his life. He wants to impart
to his son his hopes and dreams for the future. He wants to pass on his
relationship with God. But he does not know how to do it in a way that does not
feel compulsory. How can he bestow his faith without Isaac feeling bound?
But it is Isaac who
speaks first:
The Torah Says:
Verse 7: Isaac said to
Abraham his father, “Father”, and he [Abraham] said, “Here I am, my son.” He
said “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?”
Verse 8: Abraham said,
“God will see to the lamb for the offering, my son.” And the two of them went
on together.
Isaac is no fool. His father’s
answer sounds evasive, and it leaves him troubled. Isaac starts to sense that
he may be the lamb. To a younger generation, a parent’s faith can seem
impossible, fanatical even. How can you worship a God who would ask such a
thing of you?
But Abraham really means
it. As he walked those three days, he decided to believe that an answer would
come. And when he lifts up his eyes to the mountain and sees the presence of
God, he knows that God will be his help and Isaac’s salvation.[12]
Abraham says, “God will see to the lamb.”[13]
He is growing more confident that God will see them and remember God’s promise to
grant them life. As Isaac’s faith falters, Abraham’s resolve becomes strong.
The Torah Says:
Verse 9: They came to
the place that God had told him of. There Abraham built the altar and arranged
the wood and bound Isaac his son, and placed him on the altar on top of the
wood.
Abraham finds there an
Altar. It had fallen into disrepair. As Abraham rebuilds it, he thinks of the
history of this place. Our tradition says it was the same altar on which Adam
and Eve had made sacrifices when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. It
was the same altar on which Noah had made sacrifices after the flood.[14]
This was a place where people worshipped a God who had taken from them everything.
People had made sacrifices here after seeing God’s mighty and merciless hand. Now
Abraham stands in front of the altar and wonders, will God again choose
destruction, or will God choose faith in the future? Abraham’s resolve
flickers. Will God keep faith in my family as I have kept faith in God? Or will
God again make this a place where God demands ultimate sacrifices?
The Torah Says:
Verse 10: Abraham
stretched out his hand, and he took the knife to slay his son.
Abraham moves slowly. He
raises the knife. In each passing second, Abraham thinks he will hear God call
out to him and say, “This has gone far enough,” but no voice comes. He looks
down in to his beloved son’s eyes, tears streaming from his face and falling
onto Isaac’s.[15] The
whole world stands still. Life and death hang in the balance. He offers this
prayer:
מקור
חיים וברכה
– Oh Source of Life, and Blessing
Master of all things.
You, who sees all, and knows all,
הִנֵּנִי – here I am.
I am your faithful servant.
I have given so much for you.
I left my parent’s home and journeyed with you to a new
land.
I changed my name. I became a new person.
I circumcised myself, and my sons.[16]
I offered them up. Not for a sacrifice, but for a
covenant.
A promise for our future.
But now, my beloved Ishmael is banished.
My firstborn sent away.
And Isaac, whom I love dearly, lays beneath the knife.
I do not know what I have done to offend you,
That you
would ask of me such a thing.
But I beg of you forgiveness, and
that you will overturn your decree.
I will do this awful thing, this unspeakable deed, if
you ask.
So I beg of you not to ask.
Let the boy live!
So that he can continue to build after I am gone.
Let my children be a sign of my faith in you,
And a
sign of your faith in me.
Please, be the God of forgiveness.
Be the God of life.
As Abraham offers his
prayer, the angels in heaven also present themselves before God, weeping in a
bitter voice. They say, “Master of the universe, You are called merciful and
kindhearted. Have mercy. You promised Abraham that he would have many
descendants through Isaac. What will be of the destined nation Israel? Who will
accept Your commandments?”[17]
Abraham gazes into
Isaac’s eyes. Isaac, however, looks upward and sees the angels as they beg God
to invest in the future.[18]
In that moment, as he sees the kingdom of heaven standing in his defense, Isaac’s
faith grows. The seeds of faith that one generation plants for the next,
blossom into new relationships with of God.
God responds to the angels:
“When I created the world you begged me not to create human beings. You told me
they would be sinners.[19]
Would you have said this if you had you known then that there would be people
like Abraham?
“I put Abraham through
this ordeal to prove to the world, and to you, that man is more than just sin.
Humans have free will, and look, they want to choose righteousness. Even in the
face of certain death, they choose to hope for the future. And they demand of
me the same, that I choose life, and allow them to turn from their evil ways.[20]
From the very first moments of creation, I knew that people would choose life.[21]
I have always known, and I will prove it to you!”
The Torah Says:
Verse 11: Then out of
heaven, an Angel of the Eternal called to him, saying, “Abraham! Abraham!” He
[Abraham] said, “Here I am.”
Verse 12: He said, “Do
not stretch out your hand against the lad, or do anything to him! For now I
know that you are in awe of God – You have not withheld your son, your
only-one, from me.
At the last moment, the
voice of an angel screams out of the heavens.[22]
Abraham’s prayer is answered. God choses life. But in Abraham’s relief, there is
also anger. “After all I have done, how could you have even asked for such a
sacrifice? You are the God of promises. Now, I stand here, knife in hand and ask
you for one final promise:
“There may come a time
when Isaac’s descendants sin and are worthy of punishment. Promise me that at
such times, you will recall this day. Remember that in this moment, we stayed
our hands. You and I both. Just as you have released me from this sacrifice,
promise that you will forgive them, on account of our faithfulness to each
other today.” [23]
God says, “Let this day
be known as Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. On this day I will judge everyone in
the world, great and small alike. I will set a decree for each, depending on
his or her deeds. If your descendants want me to seek out merit for them and
recall the binding of Isaac, let them sound this shofar, and it will be benefit
them greatly.”[24]
Abraham is confused.
“What is this shofar?”
God answers him, “Turn
around, and you will see it.”[25]
The Torah Says:
Verse 13: Abraham
lifted his eyes and saw a ram caught behind the thicket by its horns! Abraham
went, he took the ram and offered it up as an offering in place of his son.
Again, Abraham lifts his
eyes, in hope and faith, and sees the ram caught in the thicket.
God continues, “There may
come a time when your descendants are entangled in sin, just as the ram is
entangled in the thicket. If they repent, I will forgive their sins on the merit
of this moment, on the merit the Akedah.”[26]
God says, “I have known,
since the very beginning that humanity would sin. But I have also known that
humankind would return to me in repentance, and that I would forgive them. As
the sun set on the 6th day of creation, after I had created human
beings, I created a symbol of this day, and of my eternal forgiveness. In that
twilight, I created this ram.[27]
I gave you this test Abraham because I always knew you would pass. That your
faith, your hope, and your desire to return to me, would shine like a beacon, a
sign to all the nations.”[28]
And Abraham takes the ram
and sacrifices it on the altar in his son’s place.
The Torah Says:
Verse 14: Abraham
called the place Adonai Sees. To this day, people say, “On the mountain of the
Eternal, [God] will be seen.”
The place is called
“Adonai will see” but also “Adonai will be seen.” This mountain is the place
where God and humanity truly saw each other. Where each peered into the other’s
soul, and saw reflected back, their own hopefulness, their own belief in the
power to do better, not to destroy, but to create, to return and repent, and to
forgive.
The Torah Says:
Verse 19: Abraham
returned to his lads, they arose and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed
in Beersheba.
וַיָּשָׁב
אַבְרָהָם
– And Abraham returns. Yashav. From the same Hebrew root as T’shuvah – To
return, to repent. After his crisis of faith. After he loses hope, and finds it
again, Abraham returns, to walk again with God. That very first Rosh Hashanah
ends with Abraham performing t’shuvah, repentance; returning to walk in his
path with the Eternal.
The Akedah begins by
saying that God tested Abraham. So what was Abraham’s test? Rabbi Bradley
Artson suggests that “Abraham’s test was whether, in trying times, he would
still insist on his Jewish identity, would still retain confidence that God’s
promised covenant would survive. By refusing to abandon hope in the face of a
bleak reality, Abraham remained true to the brit, to the covenant.”[29]
In this last test, Abraham finally becomes the first Jew. A Jew chooses hope. A
Jew chooses faith in the future. A Jew chooses life. Even in dark moments, a
Jew believes in the power of T’shuvah, the power of our ability to return. A
Jew believes in a God who believes in them. Not the God of blind faith, but the
God of covenant. A God who wants us to stand up like Abraham did for Sodom and Gomorrah.
And the God who will stand up for us when we cannot. The God who renews God’s
faith in the covenant each year. The God who knows that however far we wander, the
mighty sound of the shofar will bring us back.
[1] Rabbi
Joshua Heller in Rosh Hashanah Readings, edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz
Elkins, p125
[2]
Exodus 6:7
[3]
Numbers 6:24
[4]
Genesis 21:11
[5]
Translation based on The Five Books of Moses, translated by Everett Fox
and The Torah: A Modern Commentary, edited by Gunther Plaut
[6]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez. P320
[7] Ed
Levin in Rosh Hashanah Readings, edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins
[8]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p314
[9]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p325 (based on Pirkey Rabbi Eliezer)
[10]
Yalkhut Me’am Loex, p314
[11]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p327 (based on Yafe Eynaim)
[12]
Psalm 121
[13]
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson in Rosh Hashanah Readings, edited by Rabbi
Dov Peretz Elkins, p141
[14]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p332 (based on Targum Yonatan)
[15]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p334 (based on Bereshith Rabbah)
[16]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p334 (based on Sanhedrin 89b, Bereshith Rabbah,
and Targum Yonatan)
[17]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p334 (based on Pirkey Rebbi Eliezer and Yafe Toar
p335)
[18]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p335 (based on Targum Yonatan)
[19] Bereishit
Rabba 8
[20]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p335 (based on Tanchumah)
[21]
Deuternonomy 30:19
[22]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p336 (based on Yafe Toar p335)
[23]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p339 (based on Tanchuma)
[24] ibid
[25] ibid
[26]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p340
[27]
Yalkhut Me’am Loez, p340 (based on Yalchut Shimoni
[28]
Concept of Maimonides as explained by Gunther Plaut in The Torah: A Modern
Commentary, p142
[29]
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson in Rosh Hashanah Readings, edited by Rabbi
Dov Peretz Elkins, p141