Binding Our Children - A Kind of Sacrifice

Parshat Vayera

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The "Binding of Isaac" is a defining chapter in the story of the Jewish people. It inspires much of our liturgy (High Holidays, etc.). In some respects it represents what it means to sacrifice for one's children. In some of the darker annals of Jewish history, some took it as the inspiration to literally sacrifice their children as Jews to avoid death or the loss of Jewish souls at the hands of others.

It is not for us to judge those who chose the latter path, but it is noteworthy that they viewed Avraham's "sacrifice" as inspiration for such choices, even though Avraham did not ultimately harm his son.

"The Akedah" has inspired millions of hours of study and discussion, as well as countless pages of analysis, feeding conversations that will continue forever.

It is hard to stomach the idea that God "tested" Avraham through a riddle. Rashi is quick to note that he was never told to slaughter his son. He was told "to raise" him. Is the purpose of the test to see how far Avraham will go before being told to stop? Is it to see if Avraham unquestioningly does God's will? Could Avraham have misunderstood what God wanted? Is it possible that God did not give him enough information, and he drew his own conclusions?

What took so long for an angel to stop him, calling his name twice to tell him "Don't send your hand to the lad?" How did it even get that far, especially when just about every interpretation (following the line of "through Yitzchak you will be said to have offspring" – 21:12) understands that God never intended for Avraham to kill his son (Talmud Taanit 4a)?

The study of any Biblical subject as deep as the Akedah is incomplete without reading Abravanel's commentary, simply because he is so thorough, organized, and comprehensive. Here he poses 25 questions which he answers in his lengthy analysis. Some of his thoughts are summarized here as a conversation opener – not so much to understand what Avraham's test was, but what the task was meant to teach father and son.

"None of Avraham's 'tests' are introduced as tests. They were 'tasks,' and they were only derived to be 'tests' later. Borrowing money from a friend, for example, is a request that may indirectly test friendship.

"The 'Lekh Lekha' missive's goal was to get Avraham to the Holy Land, to establish roots there, and to become a model (banner) to all. Avraham's dedication in the Akedah strongly affirms his inspiring role.

"The Torah opens the segment saying, 'After all these things (22:1) AND God [having] tested Avraham…' – all of the preceding tales had been God testing Avraham. He has already passed with flying colors."

"This 'nisayon' was not a 'test' for God to see if Avraham could pass muster. 'Nisah' is from the word 'nes,' as in "Raise up ('nisah') over us the light of Your countenance." (Tehillim 4:7) Avraham's doing God's will is raised as a banner/flag for the nations to look to for inspiration. For us, it is a charge to serve God with all our heart and soul as did Avraham.

"Rav Yonah the Grammarian notes the vague nature of the command issued "V'ha'a'layhu sham l'olah" – which could be understood as "raise him as an offering."

"The "lamed" prefix in "l'olah" could also mean "in place of" – as if to say "he'll be considered an olah offering [in place of one] even though he won't actually 'be' an olah offering."

"God purposely led Avraham to believe that He wanted Yitzchak to be an offering so that Avraham would dedicate his heart and soul to the task. Thus he literally binds Yitzchak and full-heartedly reaches for the knife. The actions Avraham does before being stopped are considered before God "as if" he has actually brought the sacrifice. This elevates Yitzchak spiritually – it confirms his uniqueness and readiness to be the sole "line" of Avraham that carries the promise of God.

"Therefore God did not 'change His mind,' as it were, because He never commanded him to slaughter his son in the first place. And Avraham did not make a mistake or misunderstand for it was God Himself who was purposely vague.

Abravanel rejects a notion presented by the Ralbag (which must be read in context) that the entire episode of the Akedah is meant to be a "chinuch experience" of father teaching son important life lessons. But it is nonetheless most noteworthy that this tale contains the only interaction of Avraham and Yitzchak in the Torah, where father and son relate to one another and converse. [Their conversation is worthy of its own analysis.]

God will never ask us straight up or vaguely to sacrifice our children. But for us to have any notion of success with them, we must be prepared to bring them along, to show them what we do, to engage them in conversation, and to bind them – in a sense – to our way of life. Abravanel suggests that Yitzchak did not struggle as his father bound him because he thought his father was demonstrating how an olah is prepared – almost like they were playing charades.

Maybe if we play charades with our children, they will have the best opportunity to learn from us, to understand why we do the things we do as Jews, as they become bound to the eternal chain that is the lifeblood of our people.  

Yom HaZikaron - Remembering What

This can also be read in the Jewish Star

A Rosh Hashana Message

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Arguably the most enigmatic of the names of Rosh Hashanah is Yom Hazikaron. It is the concluding phrase of most of the blessings unique to the day, and it is also the inserted phrase in Yaaleh V’yavo and kiddush.

What is being remembered and who is remembering?

When one reads through the selichot, particularly those of the Aseret Y’mei Teshuvah, you can’t help notice the constant mention of the Akeidah story, which also is the Torah reading for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, as well as an oft-repeated shout-out to the “Bris Avraham.”

In essence, it seems, the Day of Remembrance is for G-d to recall why He loves us so much. He loves the Jewish people because He loved our forefathers: Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. He committed to a special relationship with them and their descendants.

The story of the Akeidah, the binding of Yitzchak, is also something we want G-d to recall on this holy day. Recall the ultimate sacrifice of the most devout Jew who ever lived. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 111a) recalls one of G-d’s laments when He is confronted by Moshe. G-d says “How I miss those who are gone but not forgotten!” Translation: Avraham and the other forefathers took my instruction and never complained about anything. With Avraham, the first of the lot, there were no questions asked. Avraham was willing to give up the son he had yearned for his entire life in order to serve G-d.

Yitzchak too underwent tremendous stress in order to achieve his maximum potential. Sacrificing yourself is not easy, but he was ready to do it in deference to what seemed to be G-d’s will. We ask G-d to remember that as well when He considers our fates on this day.

We ask G-d to remember the forefathers, so He will look upon us favorably. When you love someone because you loved their parents first, it is easy to see past their flaws and to recognize that their flaws are not so terrible, because you know from whose stock they emerged.

On a different note, the Gemarah (Brachot 29a) tells us “On Rosh Hashana, Sarah, Rachel and Chana were remembered.” This rounds out the greater picture of the Torah and Haftarah readings of the day. The first day’s Torah reading demonstrates Sarah’s joy over the birth of her son Yitzchak. The first day’s Haftarah reading is the story of Chana. The Haftarah relates how Rachel cried for her children, and how Ephraim, her “chosen” grandson, will be remembered by G-d.

However, the story lines blur when we actually compare the stories. Sarah yearned for a child for many years, and eventually gave Avraham her maid as a spouse so a child could be brought into the family. Rachel brought Bilhah into the relationship with her husband for a similar anticipated outcome.

In a different parallel, Rachel had to sit and watch while her rival wife, her sister Leah, gave birth to child after child. Chana, also the preferred wife in a polygamous marriage, similarly watched her rival wife Peninah give birth to 10 children.

It could not have been easy for Chana or for Rachel. Yet they both took matters into their own hands when they realized their husband would be of no help in their attempts to reach their goal of motherhood, of creating life.

Chana offered the anticipated child to G-d and promised that his hair would never be cut. Rabbi Yaakov Medan points out that Yosef, Rachel’s son, is called a “N’zir echav” (Bereishit 49:26) and may have also been a product of a prayer and a promise to not have his hair cut, for him to be dedicated to G-d.

Whether it is a lesson of how to pray, or a lesson of complete devotion and dedication to G-d and doing His will, on Rosh Hashanah we are meant to learn from these great fathers and mothers of our people. It is not “only” the fathers or “only” the mothers; both men and women play a pivotal role in how this day turns out for themselves and for our collective people as a whole.

Let us pray that this Rosh Hashanah be a successful one for all of us. May the merits of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and Sarah, Rachel and Chana stand as a merit for us all. May G-d remember us the way He remembered them, and fulfill our hopes and dreams for the good in this coming new year.

Finally, may He bless and guard over the people of the State of Israel, our brothers and sisters, who need His protection most of all. May He give their leaders keen insight to know what to do to respond to terrorism and to carry the country of the Jewish people into a peaceful safety for the future.