On The Limb

for the past two weeks, horrible covid made for misery and endless days of loopiness; a perpetual four drink intoxication state. mentally, i could blow past the legal limit. the shabbat- being the first day of rosh hashonah- uniquely subjected me to constant ear ringing without a shofar’s piercing primordial wake-up call. exhausted. i passed on the second day.

on the second day, despite not attending services, i spent some time with the torah portion, the binding of isaac. i took out professor richard elliott friedman’s torah and commentary and delved into abraham and isaac’s “together” venture. professor friedman’s translation marking the pre-sacrifice togetherness brilliantly takes the reader to the point where they howl at the end “where’s isaac?” “what on earth just happened?” the story’s careful writing manufactures “chaos.”

i jumped to isaac’s other sacrificial moment. i flipped to the section section in which jacob steals esau’s blessing from isaac. this too was another meeting shrouded with mystery. while there is much interchange between isaac and jacob, it is again a moment to wonder “what on earth just happened?” in the end, even isaac must disembark from reality as he takes some wine and perhaps gives a “l’chaim to chaos”? isaac, it appears, cannot escape surrealism. is all one big joke? who is laughing?

at that moment, i asked my wife was told to take a seat. i stood out on the limb of our literal tree house, i went on delivered a lecture as to how there is much in common is “chaos” with “faith”. thank god that there is a god who gave us brains to attempt to figure it out. thank god for such inspiration…and mystery. thank god.

happy new year!