Dear Friends,
I love—and I hate—the Binding of Isaac story in the Torah, which we read earlier today at Rosh Hashanah services.
I hate it—as it is inhumanely cruel—that God would test Abraham’s devotion by sending him forth to offer his beloved son, Isaac, on the mountaintop.
I love it, as it begs so many amazing questions about the morality of families, the ethics of parents and children, and the pains we suffer as a result of being each.
I hate it, as it condemns God to be a heartless, mean, and even duplicitous deity, rendering this test on his most dedicated servant, thus allowing that the God of Israel can be dismissed as callous and cruel.
I love it, as it is rich in poetic shifts of character and image and takes the reader on a powerful journey, even when the reader knows the ending, as the drama and urgency continue to build to its climax.
I hate it, as it consigns Isaac to a role of either dupe or dope—that he is blindly following his father without the mildest challenge, or perhaps he is fully ignorant of what is about to transpire.
I love it, as it demonstrates that God is willing and able to interrupt God’s own plan and wrench the knife from Abraham’s outstretched arm, showing either contrition or a shocking new self-awareness.
I hate it, as it leaves Sarah, Isaac’s mother and Abraham’s wife, a three-day journey away, though she intuits the calamity when she sees Abraham returning alone, and she then drops dead of heartache.
I love it, for it challenges every reader to ask what we would do, or not do, when major moral options befall us, and it offers a touchstone for assenting to or challenging unworthy authority.
I hate it, for it leaves me exhausted and wanting to shout at Abraham like the angelic messenger, “Abraham, Abraham! Stop!” You are about to undermine your own righteousness.
And, I love it, for year-after-year, it demands of me further searching and compels me to new insights and teaching moments, and though it exhausts me, it never tires me of seeking meaning.
How do YOU feel about this uniquely unique Torah vignette?
Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
I love—and I hate—the Binding of Isaac story in the Torah, which we read earlier today at Rosh Hashanah services.
I hate it—as it is inhumanely cruel—that God would test Abraham’s devotion by sending him forth to offer his beloved son, Isaac, on the mountaintop.
I love it, as it begs so many amazing questions about the morality of families, the ethics of parents and children, and the pains we suffer as a result of being each.
I hate it, as it condemns God to be a heartless, mean, and even duplicitous deity, rendering this test on his most dedicated servant, thus allowing that the God of Israel can be dismissed as callous and cruel.
I love it, as it is rich in poetic shifts of character and image and takes the reader on a powerful journey, even when the reader knows the ending, as the drama and urgency continue to build to its climax.
I hate it, as it consigns Isaac to a role of either dupe or dope—that he is blindly following his father without the mildest challenge, or perhaps he is fully ignorant of what is about to transpire.
I love it, as it demonstrates that God is willing and able to interrupt God’s own plan and wrench the knife from Abraham’s outstretched arm, showing either contrition or a shocking new self-awareness.
I hate it, as it leaves Sarah, Isaac’s mother and Abraham’s wife, a three-day journey away, though she intuits the calamity when she sees Abraham returning alone, and she then drops dead of heartache.
I love it, for it challenges every reader to ask what we would do, or not do, when major moral options befall us, and it offers a touchstone for assenting to or challenging unworthy authority.
I hate it, for it leaves me exhausted and wanting to shout at Abraham like the angelic messenger, “Abraham, Abraham! Stop!” You are about to undermine your own righteousness.
And, I love it, for year-after-year, it demands of me further searching and compels me to new insights and teaching moments, and though it exhausts me, it never tires me of seeking meaning.
How do YOU feel about this uniquely unique Torah vignette?
Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
