When you sit in shul this Rosh Hashanah..... keep this in mind.... “And HaShem remembered Sarah… And Avraham went and took the ram, and elevated it as a sacrifice in place of his son.” (Gen. 21:1-22:24) An integral part of the Torah reading on Rosh HaShana is the Akeida, the binding of Yitzchak as a sacrifice. Ultimately he was not slaughtered, a ram that miraculously appeared was offered instead, and a ram’s horn, now known as the Shofar, is used to commemorate that event in our history. The merit of Avraham for being willing to sacrifice his son, and of Yitzchak for agreeing to be sacrificed to carry out HaShem’s will, stands by us on the Day of Judgment. There are two days of Rosh HaShana. On the second day we read the story of the Akeida, when Yitzchak was “almost” offered as a sacrifice. The first day, however, we read the story of how HaShem remembered Sarah and blessed Avraham and Sarah with their promised child, Yitzchak. What is significant about this for Rosh HaShana? Of course, we need to know that Yitzchak was born to understand who he was when we read about him the next day, and we need to know how beloved he was as a child born after so many years of childlessness. But there is more to it. The Akeida is a merit both because of Avraham and because of Yitzchak. They played different roles in it, but each was key. Yitzchak was the progeny of two highly-developed, devout, renowned, religious individuals. One could perhaps expect that he would be able to participate in such an event. Avraham on the other hand, was the son of idol-worshipers, who became what he did only by working on himself. That is an important message for us. The idea is highlighted in the retelling of Yitzchak’s birth which begins with the fact that “HaShem remembered Sarah.” Yitzchak’s greatness was enhanced by his parents to be sure, but the seeds of his greatness came from the third partner in his creation, G-d Himself. This means that we are all on a level playing field when it comes to our possibilities for growth because we are all children of HaShem. This is underscored again in Haazinu when the Torah says, “Is G-d not your Father, your Master? He made you and established you!” Yitzchak’s birth because of HaShem’s involvement is a reminder of our internal greatness and that’s why we read it on Rosh Hashanah. The laining continues with the story of Yishmael, Avraham’s son who was cast out with his mother Hagar. Rather than allowing him to die of thirst and thereby avoid the vast suffering that his descendants would cause the world, HaShem said, “I will look at him as he is now, and judge him at this moment.” Hagar found the well of water and her son recovered. It is these two messages: That we all have the possibility for greatness, and that HaShem will look at us as we are in this moment, which give us the inspiration to return to Him on Rosh HaShana and do it unhesitatingly. That’s how Avraham and Yitzchak approached the Akeida and by emulating them in this fashion, we gain their merit as well and will be inscribed for a sweet new year in the Book of Life, the first chapter of which we will have begun writing ourselves on this holy day. #TheObservantJew
Posted on: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 22:17:18 +0000
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