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A Lesson for the RoadShorts AreaFemale LessonParashat HashavuaSeriesLibraryPiskei Din (Hebrew)Test Yourself
The piece de resistance of our Sedra is, of course, the Akeida. It was the crowning achievement of Avraham's heroic life, & it epitomizes the devotion & self-sacrifice that is the essence of Jewish life. The Akeida, the last of Avraham's 10 Trials, not only tested Avraham the individual, but empowered essential traits & strengths of the Jewish People for all times. In fact, each one of us may be asked to take these same tests, in one form or another, during our own lifetime. *Avra(ha)m was pursued for 13 years by cruel king Nimrod, who finally caught him & threw him into a fiery furnace (per the Medrash). Do we have the guts to "take on" & confront corrupt people or institutions, even if we know they have the power to punish & harm us? *Avraham had to uproot himself & his wife from their familiar surroundings & start over in Canaan. Do we have the courage to put our past behind us & forge new beginnings; to answer a call to change for the better? *Avraham loved all peoples, & tried to bring them close to G-d. But when his nephew was unjustly taken captive, Avraham went to war, even though this must have greatly pained him. He would also later expel Hagar & Yishmael from his home, further distressing him. Are we capable of suspending our own desires, to go against our nature for a greater good? *Hashem revealed to Avraham that his offspring would suffer greatly in the future, that they would be persecuted by mighty empires. Are we mentally prepared to stay the course & keep our faith, even under the most hostile of conditions? Would we compromise our Judaism or flee from Israel if there was a high price to pay for it? Avraham obeyed G-d's command to circumcise both Yishmael & Yitzchak. This was a highly innovative ritual not practiced by the peoples around him. Would we, in a foreign or resistant environment, hold fast to our laws & & customs, even if they brought us a negative reaction? *Finally, the Akeida. I believe that the real test here was not just Hashem testing Avraham, but Avraham testing Yitzchak – then a grown man of 37 – as well as Yitzchak testing himself. Was Yitzchak prepared to sacrifice his preconceived notions of justice & fairness & submit to G-d's will? Could he, like his father, sublimate his desires to a higher power? If so, then father Avraham could be sure that his radical path to Hashem would continue long after he was gone. He passed this last test, & that is why we are here today. ASK THE RABBI: ANALYZING THE AKEIDA: HOW COULD YITZCHAK AGREE TO COMMIT SUICIDE? Halacha prohibits the unwarranted taking of a life – even our own lives. Our bodies belong to G-d, not us; even making an unnecessary cut in our bodies is prohibited. And while we may rule – after the fact - that a suicide may have resulted from mental or emotional distress, that would not be grounds for allowing one l'chatchila to take his/her life. So how did Yitzchak, who was then 37 years old – willingly agree to be offered up at the Akeida? Many commentators wrestle with this issue; some say that giving up one's life in response to a request from Hashem (Avraham being a navi who heard Hashem's command) is an act of Kiddush Hashem, rather than suicide. Others (e.g. Ibn Ezra) hold that both Yitzchak & Avraham fully expected the order would be rescinded at the last moment. Some suggest father & son believed that even if Yitzchak was killed, he would be immediately resurrected, since Hashem had promised Avraham that Yitzchak would be his heir & continue his legacy.
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