vayera
parashat vayera, genesis chapters 18—22
menu
and thoughts…
Artwork by Marc Chagall
Vayera
God Appeared
The binding of isaac
So much happens in this parasha to advance our story. Abraham and Sarah are visited by three angels. Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac. Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. Lot’s wife is turned to a pillar of salt. His daughters get him drunk, lie with him, and give birth to two nations that will give us trouble in the future. We have the Abimelech incident. Then there’s the altercation between Sarah and Hagar, and the expulsion of Ishmael and his mother. It’s hard to choose a topic to write about. Perhaps I’ll address some of these in the next cycle, but for now I want to talk about the Akeida.
There’s been so much written about the final alyiah of Vayera—the Akeida, the binding of Isaac—so many insights and interpretations—and they all have merit.
This morning I was pondering the event while feeding the cats. With 20 cats, feeding them gives me plenty of time to ponder.
And a parallel occurred to me, which led to another thought…
Was God testing Abraham? We’re told it was a test. If so, did he pass or fail? According to the text, he passed. Abraham lifts his knife to slaughter his son and an angel stays his hand. The angel tells him, "By Myself have I sworn, says the Lord, that because you have done this thing and you did not withhold your son, your only one, that I will surely bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the cities of their enemies. And through your children shall be blessed all the nations of the world, because you hearkened to My voice."
Seem pretty straight forward, yes? But maybe no.
We need to consider the strangeness of God’s request. God condemns human sacrifice. That’s inarguable. Judaism is firm on the importance of ethics and on the value of human life. To desecrate the Sabbath carries the penalty of being cut off from your people, but the greater sin is to not desecrate the Sabbath when it’s necessary to do so in order to save a human life. So, what was God asking of Abraham? When we list the thirteen attributes of God, cruelty is not one of them. God is not cruel.
It’s been pointed out that Abraham is told to offer Isaac up on an altar, but he’s never told to actually slay his son. Perhaps this was meant to be symbolic, a ritual. Here’s why I think Abraham failed the test:
Much later, we have the story of Hannah. Hannah, like Sarah, was also barren. Hannah prayed for a son, and when Samuel was born, she said, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” How does Hannah give Samuel over to God? Does she offer him as a sacrifice? Hannah gives Samuel over to God by handing him over to the priests, to be raised to serve God.
God is consistent. God couldn’t possibly be asking Abraham to kill Isaac. God is asking him to give Isaac over to God.
Realize that it’s an angel, and not God, who tells Abraham that because of his devotion, he and his future generations will be blessed. God appreciates Abraham’s commitment to adhering to the word of God, but God sends a messenger to deliver the blessing. We know God loves Abraham; that is unchanging and eternal, as is the covenant between them. But God, who has had so many one-on-one conversations with Abraham, does not address him directly here. In fact, God never speaks directly to Abraham again.
Why?
Abraham has become a fanatic. Just look at the changes Abraham has gone through. When God tells him that Sodom and Gomorrah are going to be destroyed, Abraham argues that God should refrain because there might be righteous people among the evil ones, and they should not have to pay for the sins of others with their lives. But by the time God asks Abraham to sacrifice his own son, Abraham doesn’t argue. He doesn’t even ask for clarification. He blindly obeys without giving it the first thought.
Abraham’s piety has surpassed his humanity. It has caused him to suspend his ability to think things through and discern right from wrong. Isn’t this why Eve and Adam chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? So that they could know the difference and make rational, informed choices? They chose free will over having an easy, perfect life. And Abraham has now rejected that choice.
I think the lesson here, or at least one of the lessons, is that we must never let our devotion to God overrule our humanity, overrule our ability to think and discern right from wrong. The name, Israel, means God Wrestler. If something doesn’t seem right, wrestle with it. Don’t act blindly. Stop and think before you do it. Argue. Investigate. Think!
Zealotry does not honor God. All it does is strip one of one’s humanity. All it can lead to is death and destruction. And that is not God’s will.
So, what shall we eat?
When Abraham and Sarah are visited by three angels, they serve them veal and dairy.
The laws of kosher, of separating meat and dairy, didn’t come into being until the time of Moses and the giving of the Torah. But since we’ve now been educated on the subject, instead of serving a copycat menu we’re going to go one way or the other. Dairy, or Meat? Your choice. Either way, you’ll find this menu to be perfect for an autumn night.
This meal actually comes together comparatively quickly, especially if you do some prep the day/night before.
If you do what I do—make a large pot of chicken (or no-chicken) soup at one time and freeze it in quarts—that way you’ve always got a base soup at the ready. This night, we’re serving three matzo balls for the three angels.
The salad comes together fast and will be even faster if you make the spiced pecans and the dressing the day before.
The squash takes minutes to prep and then it’s just a matter of popping it into the oven. The succotash is a quick, stovetop sauté. The fruit crisp comes together in 15 minutes, and it’s served with a squirt of canned whipped cream, or whipped coconut cream for an all natural dairy-free alternative. (Of course, you can make homemade whipped cream if you choose to add another step. In truth, that’s also pretty quick and easy.