And they said to him: "Where is your wife, Sarah?"

And he said: "Here she is in the tent."

(Bereishit 18:9)

 

And they said to him: [Heb. eylav]. There are dots over the letters alef yod vav in the word eylav. And we learned: Rabbi Simeon the son of Eleazar says: "Wherever the [undotted] letters are more than the dotted ones, you must expound on the [undotted] letters, etc." And here, the dotted letters are more than the [undotted] letters, and you must expound on the dotted [letters]. [The meaning is that] they also asked Sarah, "Where is Abraham?" (Bereishit Rabbah 48:15) We learn that a person should ask in his lodging place of the husband about the wife, and of the wife about the husband (Bava Metzia 87a). In Bava Metzia (ad loc.) it is said: The ministering angels knew where our mother Sarah was, but [they asked in order] to make known that she was modest, in order to endear her to her husband. Said Rabbi Joseph the son of Hanina: In order to send her a cup of blessing (i.e., the cup of wine upon which the Grace after Meals is recited).

(Rashi ad loc, based on Judaica Press translation)

 

And they said to him: "Where is, etc. This means that their news was meant for Sarah, and they wanted to show Abraham that they had come to give the news to Sarah and not to him. That is why they asked, Where is your wife Sarah? - That we have come to give her the news, and Abraham replied, Here she is in the tent in order to hear what they would tell her.

(Or HaHayyim ad loc)

 

Childhood and Adolescent Experiences Shape Our Lives

Hillel and Yohanan Flusser

in honor of Hillel's Bar Mitzvah,

which is celebrated this Shabbat

and dedicated to the memory of Grandfather David Flusser z"l,

who died 10 years ago.

God commands Abraham to perform two acts which are contrary to divine morality; He asks Abraham to offer up his two sons. God is also the one who sends the angel in order to save the two boys from death and to guarantee their futures. Only God has the authority to command man to do something that seems to transgress the rules of morality, and only God has the power to save people from death. As human beings we are commanded to fear God and love Him; however, we are also commanded to love and understand our fellow human beings as well. In order to understand the Other we must try to imaginatively step into his shoes. Thus we must also try to understand what the heroes of our parasha - the parents Abraham and Hagar, and the sons Isaac and Ishmael - are going through.

The story of the Akedah (the Binding of Isaac) and that of Ishmael's expulsion, parallel each other in many ways. Uri Simon views the story of Ishmael's expulsion as an Akedah of Ishmael.¹ Both Akedahs involve sons of Abraham undergoing traumatic incidents in which their father finds himself about to part from them forever.

In the powerful and affecting story of the Akedah of Isaac it is unclear whether the only son will indeed die or whether he will be saved in some miraculous fashion; Ishmael's story involves an apparently certain death. It does not matter who asks Abraham to act - be it God or Sarah, Abraham responds with absolute obedience in both stories. In Ishmael's story we read, And Abraham arose early in the morning, and he took bread and a leather pouch of water, and he gave [them] to Hagar, he placed [them] on her shoulder, and the child, and he sent her away; and she went and wandered (Bereishit 21:14); in Isaac's story we find a quite similar account: And Abraham arose early in the morning, and he saddled his donkey, and he took his two young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for a burnt offering, and he arose and went (Bereishit 22:3). It is important to note that the Torah emphasizes how great the sacrifices are that are required of Abraham. Regarding Ishmael, he is told, Be not displeased concerning the lad and concerning your handmaid, and his special love for Isaac is mentioned in the story of the Akedah: Please take your son, your only one, whom you love (22:2).

In one story, the reader feels as if he is watching a suspense or horror film whose ending is obvious - unless something surprising happens, as in fact occurs. During the reading of the Akedah on Rosh HaShanah, our father and grandfather David Flusser would became emotionally engaged as if he were accompanying Abraham every step along his way. There are no expressions of despair in the story of the Akedah, but Hagar has clearly despaired when she throws young Ishmael under a bush and sits away at some distance, saying, "Let me not see the child's death." And she sat from afar, and she raised her voice and wept (21:16). The ending of the Akedah horror-film seems inevitable when we read, And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife, to slaughter his son. As in any good movie, salvation arrives unexpectedly, both stories end with "the Lord's salvation in the blink of an eye." Both involve angelic intercession: and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the lad's voice in the place where he is…" (21:17) and in very similar language at the Akedah:

And an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham! Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad... (22:11-12).

Sometimes we, as human beings, are deeply distressed and are blocked from seeing our surroundings - they become a cul-de-sac for us. These two stories relay the message that we can discover solutions precisely in very difficult and apparently insoluble situations. God opens our eyes and reveals salvation. Abraham and Hagar were parents in severe distress and suddenly they became capable of discovering their salvation and the solution to their difficulties. In Ishmael and Hagar's story we read: And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled the pouch with water and gave the lad to drink (21:19), and regarding Abraham we find: And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw, and lo! there was a ram, [and] after [that] it was caught in a tree by its horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son (22:13). The well and the ram had been there from the start, but given their severe distress, Abraham and Hagar could not see beyond their own troubles.

Our wonderful haftara is linked to the parasha by the themes of the announcement of an expected birth received by the mothers and by their expressions of their disbelief in those promises. An additional link between the texts is especially relevant to the Shabbat of a Bar Mitzvah. The stories of the young Isaac and Ishmael connect up powerfully with the stories of the youths mentioned in the haftara; they all undergo traumas and must contend with difficult life stories. Isaac and Ishmael each live through a complicated situation involving a risk of death; their traumas will accompany them for the rest of their lives. In the haftara we meet other youths. First there are the two sons of the wife of one of "Sons of the prophets" - they are almost sold into slavery to pay their mother's debt. Scripture mentions their mother's distress and anxiety. All she has left to do is to cry out. Her distress is familiar to us today from various places in the world, not all of them far away. This anxiety will undoubtedly accompany her children into their future lives. The fifth child discussed this Shabbat is the son of the Shunamite woman; he dies in her arms, leaving her helpless. Again the unexpected takes place and Elisha revives the boy. Thus, all five youths undergo events that will mark them and their parents for ever. Gehazi - Elisha's helper - is the only youth we hear of who does not suffer a trauma. However, according to the midrash his life is not easy either. It is said that he and his sons were the four lepers who sat in the gate of Shomron and he is included in the short list of people who will have no part of the World to Come, because he caused many to sin. Thus, in our parasha and haftara we encounter six boys, each of whom bears a complicated life-story which will accompany him until the end of his days.

Let us conclude as we began - with Ishmael. We might expect that with Abraham's death the first-born Ishmael would be consumed with uncontrollable anger against Isaac, his father's favorite. However, when Abraham dies, not only are we told nothing of Ishmael's rage; on the contrary, the two brothers bury their father together: And he was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpela (22:9). Uriel Simon writes: "The unexpected cooperation of the two brothers in their father's burial demonstrates that the expelled brother was free of bitterness and jealousy and the favored brother was free of self-righteousness and snobbery." Simon claims that the two brothers realized that that which had driven them apart had brought them together. The two Akedahs forced upon Abraham by God had become a blessing from heaven for the two sons.

May the sons of Abraham learn today from the behavior of Ishmael and Isaac and find their way to renewed cooperation in love of humanity and of their shared God.

[1] See issue 4 of Shabbat Shalom.

Yohanan Flusser is an educator. He is presently engaged in setting up Merkaz Hey'anut for the families of people with special needs.

 

The Binding of Isaac - an Alternative Viewpoint

Meir Reuven Zelebsky

It came to pass when Isaac was old, and his eyes were too dim to see (Bereishit 27:1).

Rashi comments: "When Isaac was bound on the altar, and his father was about to slaughter him, the heavens opened, and the ministering angels saw and wept, and their tears fell upon Isaac’s eyes. As a result, his eyes became dim (Judaica Press translation).

Kierkegaard wrote:

It was a quiet evening when Abraham rode out alone, and he rode to Mount Moriah; he threw himself upon his face, he prayed God to forgive him his sin, that he had been willing to offer Isaac, that the father had forgotten his duty toward the son. Often he rode his lonely way, but he found no rest. He could not comprehend that it was a sin to be willing to offer to God the best thing he possessed, that for which he would many times have given his life; and if it was a sin, if he had not loved Isaac as he did, then he could not understand that it might be forgiven. For what sin could be more dreadful? (Fear and Trembling, Lowrie translation, http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/tkannist/E-texts/Kierkegaard/fear.htm)

And years later Isaac may have written the following:

Father, ever since we walked together to Mount Moriah, ever since you bound me up on the altar, I have been unable to speak with you. Even beforehand I did not always understand you, but you could walk with me and tell me about the Great God Who is unlike the gods of the Amorites and Canaanites, Who does not demand human sacrifice. You called Him the God of justice and righteousness.

For many days you would walk through the fields and hills in contemplation while I walked alone around the tents, with Eliezer watching over me. He would go wherever I went. Those were good times for me; everyone called me Yis'hak, s'hak lekha Yitzhak [laugh/play, O Isaac] - they called me by such a funny name!

I still remember the terrible day when you woke me in the silent morning and said to me, "Come Isaac." Your hair was wild and your eyes red. "What happened, father? Where are we going?" "We will go to raise up a sacrifice to the Lord," you answered. And I immediately jumped up and said, "Evening is coming and God will want our burnt-offering." You hugged me but your eyes, father, they were somewhere else. Already at that moment I understood that today was not like yesterday. Something had happened, but I did not know what.

We were walking along the goat trails through the hills of Amorites and Jebusites; sometimes the sun burned us and sometimes it hid behind clouds. You walked ahead as if you were searching for something; your eyes - they were somewhere and I ran after you. "Father!" "What is it Isaac? Give me your hand." And you held me strong with your warm hand but your eyes gazed into the distance. We walked for an entire day until we found a spot under a big tree in a pasture; we sat under it and ate our fill. "Father?" "Yes Isaac, my son." "When shall we arrive, and where are we going?" "Soon Isaac, now rest." And I fell asleep instantly, for I was tired. I began to dream and in my dream I saw you, father, you took a knife and drew near me, and I screamed: "No father, no! Father, father... " "Isaac, what happened that woke you up?" "I had a bad dream." "Go to sleep, Isaac, there is nothing bad here. Sleep, Isaac." And you sang me the song I loved when I was young until I fell asleep again.

In the morning we continued our journey, walking half the day in silence. I had premonitions of trouble, but you attended to your own thoughts. Evening was near and the sun grew weak. A tall and brightly lit mountain appeared between the clouds; you said - "This is the place." Again we walked, stopping to rest when we reached the foot of the mountain. I said, "Father" and you answered, "Yes Isaac, my son." "Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" And you looked at me, your eyes pained and loving, and you said to me: "You are the lamb for the offering, Isaac. God has chosen you."

I remained silent, father. It was easier for me, knowing what you wanted to do, but then at that moment my heart fell. We walked until we reached the peak. The light was strong. I looked at you. Your motions were measured and calm. You prepared an altar from stones you found there; you collected wood and tied me to it. "Isaac," you said and looked into my eyes. In some strange way you looked at me but your eyes were elsewhere. Suddenly drops fell, heavy and warm as drops of the first rain. You raised up your hand and I closed my eyes and suddenly thunder and lightning filled the sky. Your hand fell with the knife still in it, and a cloudburst extinguished the flame. You opened the knots that bound me and sat off to the side, weeping. Your loud crying was heartbreaking. "What is it father, what?" And I heard no answer. I rested a hand on your head but you were no longer my father; it was another man I was seeing. You rejoined the boys and I was off on my way. From that day on we never spoke again.

Now have I am an adult; I have married a wife and grown old. You are no more, but I want to ask you: "Why did you not answer your God of justice and righteousness, the God Who revealed Himself to you? Why didn't you answer Him as you told me you had regarding Sodom? Where is your righteousness: did you hold Isaac to be wicked? What would Sarah say and what would your descendant say?

I know you were sorry, father. I saw it in your eyes, and I forgive you, father. I know you driven by your fear of God and I know that you loved me even as you bound my body. Your heart was with me but you could do no other. But I would have told God "No!" - even if I would be punished. For no one can take away the son given you in your old age; no one, neither man nor God.

Meir Zelebsky, a computer programmer, is involved in writing and Jewish thought.

 

 

 

 

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