This week's portion recounts many of the most interesting events in the life of Abraham -- from the visit of the three angels; to the argument with God over the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah; to the expulsion of Ishmael and Hagar; and to the near-sacrifice of Isaac, the ultimate test of Abraham's faith and love.
It's hard to imagine a man who loves God so much that he is willing to sacrifice the thing he loves the most -- especially when it is his son. It is also, if we are honest with ourselves, hard to image why God would ever ask this of someone.
It seems there is a connection between the argument that Abraham has with God on the one hand, and the test of the sacrifice of Isaac, on the other.
If human beings needed to know that God would deal justly with the world, and had to test him, then perhaps God needed to know that human beings would believe in Him, and had to test Abraham just as Abraham had tested him.
Perhaps God also wanted to show Abraham just how painful it was for Him to sacrifice his own creatures in Sodom and Gomorrah, to show him -- though a similar experience -- that it was not easy for him to kill them, evil as they were.
The additional reading tells a related story from II Kings: the story of the Prophet Elisha and a young boy -- like Isaac, a prophesied gift to a barren couple -- who later died, and was resurrected through healing and prayer.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading.asp?aid=2492488&p=complete
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
