Who’s actually being tested with the Akedah? Rosh Hashanah’s Second Day Torah Portion feature the famous Binding of Isaac.
With its holiday reading, Abraham is not tested for his near sacrifice of his son Isaac. His test was a few thousands of years ago on Mt. Moriah. Rather, those presently reading, listening, and discussing the tale are the ones actually being tested. Unlike the Rorschach Test full of non-descript ink blots, this test has dispositive Hebrew letters spelling out a tale that should evoke empathy and understanding. The test is whether the reader, listener or discusser identifies the person in need of attention.
Part of this assertion comes from years of listening to High Holiday sermons.
The Sermons
Countless Akedah discussions focus on Abraham. He is either the story’s hero or villain. To some, he is the epitome of faith; to others, he is an abject moral failure. Most often, Isaac- the actual victim in the morality play- is not discussed. He is irrelevant. He is as much of a prop to the story as is the firewood, the rope, the flint, and the knife.
Why does this happen? The reason is that adults are adult-oriented. They see the story from a parent’s perspective.
The Query
Why don’t we think about Isaac? The reason is that adults are no longer children. The world of innocence is gone. The concept of parental authority has changed. Adults relate to Abraham. Abraham is riding the fence when it comes to transparency with his son. He can’t tell Isaac the truth; that Isaac is to be the offering. How many parents, to protect their children, conceal facts?
Thus, the following is lacking: no one ever concerns themselves with Isaac’s following his father’s suspect instructions; no one ever concerns themselves with Isaac’s doubt; and no one ever concerns themselves with Isaac’s lack of resistance towards being bound.
The lack of scrutiny allows for missed queries: What was a child to do in this instance? Could Isaac have seriously questioned Abraham over the lack of the ram to sacrifice? Could Isaac have put up a fight about being bound? What emotions did Isaac experience when Abraham had the knife on top of him and being prepared to plunge it into him? And, how did this experience impact Isaac’s life?
These queries lead to more questions: why do children implicitly trust their parents? Even during questionable times, why do children exhibit faith in their parents?
Perhaps, one answer is that children have faith that their parents will protect them from harm.
Lost In Adulthood
As adults reflecting on life, we forget both being a child and children. We wanted to grow up. We aspire for our children grow up. Childhood is tantamount to a prison. With time served, approximately an eighteen-year sentence, we are emancipated. During that time, however, we have to grow up both physically and mentally to escape it.
The consequences of this abandonment of childhood recently played out. A murder trial of a mother who killed her three children has spurred controversy. An exercise band was her instrument of death. Her children died allegedly because a voice told their mother to kill her children. Unlike Abraham, there was no voice or angel telling her to stop. Her children did not die facing what they believed to be a monster. The children faced their mother. The person they believed would protect them from harm.
True Crime Followers of the trial are fixated on the mother. They either express sympathy towards her or condemnation. They express opinion on the husband and his role in the tragedy. Very few, however, think about the three deceased children- the victims. While people don pink shirts to support the mother accused of murder outside the courthouse, there aren’t any pictures of the children. Nobody is to be seen standing up for them. The children are essentially an afterthought to the whole affair; the concept of justice has left them behind.
Much like Isaac, these three children’s experience has been lost among the adults. Adults either lack the ability or don’t take the time to imagine the experience that a child had in such a horrendous encounter. For other, it is simply too terrifying to think about.
Conclusion
Perhaps, the Akedah is something more than about Abraham’s faith. Perhaps, it is about the reader’s, listener’s or lecturer’s capacity to get into a child’s sandals. To reach far back into one’s childhood to understand and appreciate the experience of others is a daunting task requiring effort. Perhaps the Akedah is meant, in part, as an exercise to remove the adult-oriented perspective. Essentially, sometimes an adult has to reach back and recall what it was like to be the child. A child having faith that their parents are there to be their guardians.
Be well!!
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