November 13th, 2024

In our triennial cycle of reading the Torah, we encounter the Akedah, the story of the binding of Isaac, only once every three years. Closing out the Abraham narratives in Genesis, it is one of our most challenging texts, the story of a father attempting to sacrifice his child and being seemingly rewarded for it. Especially with everything going on in our world today, the themes of broken relationships, offering up our children, and a capricious God are ones we might prefer not to face. Once in three yearIn our triennial cycle of reading the Torah, we encounter the Akedah, the story of the binding of Isaac, only once every three years. Closing out the Abraham narratives in Genesis, it is one of our most challenging texts, the story of a father attempting to sacrifice his child and being seemingly rewarded for it. s seems more than enough. But this is our year for the Akedah, so face it we must.

This week, I saw a post on social media from Sarah Tuttle-Singer, an American/Israeli author and blogger whom I follow. She attributed the post to a mutual friend; the original words seem to have been written by Marion McNaughton, a Quaker who lives in England and is involved in, among other things, interfaith work. I reposted her words, feeling that they gave voice to many of the feelings that arise for me when I read the Akedah: the frustration, the resignation. I want to share some of them with us here now:

And with a heavy heart Abraham went to his wife Sarah and said, "God has told me to take our son Isaac, whom we love, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering." 

[...]

And Sarah threw up her hands in despair and said, "Abraham, you are a bone-headed fool. What kind of a God do you think you are dealing with? What kind of a god would want you to kill your own son to prove how religious you are?...She's trying to teach you something; that you must challenge even the highest authority on questions of right and wrong. Argue with Her, wrestle with Her!" But Sarah's words smacked to Abraham of blasphemy, and he went into the mountains with his son Isaac. 

And Sarah said to God, "You are playing with fire. He is too stupid to understand what you are up to. He won't…challenge you; if you don't stop him, he will kill our precious son…" 

And God said, "Sarah, they have a long journey to the mountains; I'm hoping one of them will see sense." 

And Sarah said, "Like father, like son. You'll have to send an angel." 

And it came to pass as Sarah foretold, and the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham…and told him not to kill his son. And Abraham sacrificed a ram as a burnt offering. And the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham a second time and told him his offspring would be as numerous as stars in the heaven... And the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham a third time and said, "Because you were ready to kill your own son in the name of your God you will be known as a great patriarch and millions will follow your example. And they will believe that He is indeed a jealous and a demanding God, and they will willingly sacrifice their sons in His name and to His glory. And there will be bloodshed and slaughter in all the corners of the earth." 

And Abraham returned to his wife Sarah and said, "God is well pleased with me for I am to be a mighty patriarch." 

And Sarah said nothing. But she took the garments of Abraham and Isaac that were stained with the blood of the ram, and she carried them to the river to be washed. And the river ran red with the blood of generations to come, and Sarah wept bitterly. 

And God came to Sarah at the water's edge and said, "Sarah, do not weep. You were right. It will take time. Meanwhile hold firm to what you know of me and speak it boldly. I am as you know me to be. Many generations will pass and a new understanding will come to the children of Abraham, but before then I shall be misheard and misrepresented except by a few. You must keep my truth alive." 

And Sarah dried her eyes and said, "As if I didn't have enough to do." 

It’s the last line that does it for me. I feel Sarah’s indignation, her sense of overwhelm at being tasked with one. more. thing. when she already bears the weight of so much responsibility on her shoulders, when she already did everything she could to try and stop the train from running off the rails. She saw it coming; she tried to stop it; now she has to deal with the aftermath. 

But Sarah in this piece is also strong, resolute. She dries her eyes and does not reject what she’s being asked to do. She has a massive, but sacred, responsibility. Knowing that God’s presence in the world is best felt not through might, but through justice, she must carry that truth and ignite it in others. May we find the fortitude to follow her lead. 

Shabbat shalom.

​