ABRAHAM AND THE IMPOSSIBLE PROF. PAUL EIDELBERG The Torah tells us that Abraham was extremely old and that Sarah was beyond child-bearing age. Indeed, the Gemara says she had no womb! The distinguished Rabbi Akiva Tatz, a physician and a philosopher, offers a familiar as well as unfamiliar commentary: “When these two people, totally devoid of any possibility of having a child, were told that they would in fact have a child, they laughed. And a child was born. And his Divinely-given name was Yitzchak—‘He shall laugh’. And is not that the entire story of the Jewish people? We begin where the impossible ends.” This last comment should be taken to heart by Jews despondent over Prime Minister Sharon’s decision to evacuate Gaza and its 7,500 Jewish residents—the first stage of his unilateral disengagement plan. Jews should bear in mind that prime ministers like Sharon are defeatists; they do not believe in the impossible or in miracles—which means they do not really believe in the God of Abraham. They are creatures of politics, and politics is nothing more than the “art of the possible.” What is deemed possible, of course, depends on the intellectual and moral character of the politician. As everyone knows, however, today’s politicians are little men whose horizon extends no further than the next election. Thoughtful Jews place no faith in politicians. Let us return to Abraham. The akeida (the binding of Yitzchak) reveals Abraham as the prince of faith. Abraham, the first Jew, was tested as no other human being. His test, to paraphrase Rabbi Tatz, was to sacrifice his son for whom he had waited into extreme old age, and in whom he saw the ascendancy of great and noble people. This same Abraham, after teaching the world that human sacrifice was wrong—Abraham, whose entire personality was kindness and love—how could he possibly slaughter is beloved son? “Beyond the emotional level, the intellectual level was no less difficult—it made no sense. Hashem had promised him progeny from Yitzchak—how could there be a contradiction in the Divine?” The Kabala expresses an even deeper problem. As Rabbi Tatz puts it, “Avraham knew that Hashem did not want this sacrifice (as the verse states: ‘V’lo alsa libi—which I never intended’) as one knows the mind of the beloved—and he was correct. In fact, ultimately, Hashem prevented him from carrying it out! So he had all levels of his consciousness crying out that this action could not be done, and Hashem said to him, in effect, ‘Yes, all that you feel and say is true, but kill him anyway’! That is a test! That is facing the impossible! And Abraham proceeded to do the impossible. “The result? The impossible occurred, the miraculous manifested. We are told in the Torah that Yitzchak was spared, he climbed off the altar, and a ram was offered in his stead. But we are told in the Midrash: ‘Efro shel Yitzchak munach le’fanai—the ashes of Yitzchak lie before Me’; in a higher dimension, he was sacrificed! Not the ‘ashes of the ram’ but the ‘ashes of Yitzchak’. He became an ‘olah temimah’—a pure, burnt offering. “The impossible paradox—a man who lives physically in this world, but spiritually in the next, simultaneously! And the qualities of the father and the son live on in the Jewish people—the ability to yield the emotions, the intellect, the entire personality to Hashem in emuna (faith), and the gift of being able to live in a physical world and transcend it at the same time.” This is Not blind faith. This faith springs from recognizing God as the Creator of heaven and earth, hence from rational trust in His providence. From the father of the Jewish people we learn that whatever the ordeal or suffering inflicted upon us, it is intended for our ultimate good by a just and gracious God. We must bear in mind that suffering is the spur of self-examination, reflection, insight, and transcendence. The heights of human perfection are not a gift but an achievement requiring the greatest trials of the human spirit. What is true of the individual is true of the nation. The ordeal of the Jewish people appears endless. Two thousand years of dispersion, persecution, and Holocaust issuing in the rebirth of Israel, but an Israel tormented by bloodthirsty Arabs who, aided by virtually the entire world, are dedicated to Israel’s annihilation. Yesterday by war, today by a deadly “peace.” After centuries of Jew-hatred still rampant in the democratic world, only shallow, effete, and “Establishment” Jews can ignore the genocidal war being waged against Israel. Arafat and his terrorists are but the spearhead of anti-Semitism: Eisav sonei Yaakov. Every nation in the democratic world has honored this serial murderer and is waiting to recognize his state of “Palestine”—another haven for Jew-killers. How can Israel stand up to this hatred of the people who gave mankind the Book of Books? How can Israel withstand such envious and implacable animosity? Is it not absurd to expect an Israeli prime minister to stand up to the American colossus: yesterday on behalf of Hebron and the tomb of Abraham, today on behalf of the Jews in Gaza, and tomorrow on behalf of the Jews in Judea and Samaria? Surely this is expecting the “impossible”! Politicians are “pragmatists” or “realists.” They are not men of faith. Before the impossible they are faithless. But this is no reason to despair. To do so is to distance oneself from the father of the Jewish people and the God of Israel. Just as the labor pains of a woman are part of the process of birth, so Israel’s present suffering is part of the process of its rebirth and ultimate redemption. Our Prophets and Sages tell us that this period will be one of great trials for Israel. But soon Israel will break the Covenant of Death of which Isaiah speaks. Soon the lies of the “peace process” will be swept away and the truth will emerge from Zion. Only keep faith with the God of Abraham. Sacrifice your doubts and fears and dare the impossible. Soon we shall have the last laugh on our enemies!
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 10:50:06 +0000
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